A wide-angle photo of the five-story interior of the public library of the city of Stuttgart. Photo by Flickr user Schub@. Click image to view source.

In this issue:

Women’s History Month show @ Downtown OKC Library
Why libraries matter and how we can help
Alternatives to Amazon
Libraries of Things
Tiny Libraries
That Time Winnie-the-Pooh Went to Rehab
A Video For Those Who Read This Far

Above: 2012 photo of the interior of Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart, housed at the Stadtbibliothek am Mailänder Platz as of 2011. Photo by Flickr user Schub@

The Women's History Month Art Show

Photo of the small patchwork quilt titled Self Love 1: Horizons Continue Broadening, created by Sarah Atlee. This abstract quilt features fabrics that are pink, purple, orange, green, maroon, brown, and black. The quilt has an irregular rectangle shape. Wavy lines of hand stitching are visible.

Self Love 1: Horizons Continue Broadening. Reclaimed garments and household linens, commercial cotton, silk, wool. Machine pieced and hand quilted. 2024 by Sarah Atlee.

For the month of March, the Oklahoma City Public Library (Downtown branch) is having an art show to honor Women’s History Month. My quilt Self Love 1, shown above, is part of the exhibit.

THE Library is YOUR Library.

I got my first library card before I started kindergarten. That’s not a flex - if anything, I’m bragging on my parents who understood how important it is for kiddos to have access to books. For most of my childhood, we made weekly visits to our public library.

A library is a sanctuary. A library is a safe place to ask questions. A library is a place where you can find yourself.

And they need our help right now. Here are some suggestions for actions to take. The easiest way to help your library? Use it.

Can I recommend a title for my library to purchase using the Libby app?

Yes. I do this through the Libby app all the time.

How to request a title for your public library (in person)

If you'd rather see your librarian face-to-face (they'd love to see you!), here's how to request a title in person.

Alternatives to Amazon

A graphic mimicking repeated lines of text on a chalkboard. The black background is square. The white handwritten text reads "I will not finish books I don't like." over and over. This image was created by Austin Kleon - click image to visit Kleon's website.

I Will Not Finish Books I Don’t Like. Image by Austin Kleon.

Get the Library browser extension

How do you find new books to read? I get book suggestions from bloggers, social media, word of mouth, and yes, algorithmic suggestions on bookseller sites like Amazon. I use the Library Extension when I’m browsing bookseller sites to see if the title I want is available through my public library (or Libby, Hoopla, Libro.fm, and more). Amazon might be a quick way to find a book I want to read, but the Library Extension is the best way to get it for free.

Tired of Goodreads? Try StoryGraph instead.

I use StoryGraph and the recommendations for what I should read next are excellent. If you’re a GoodReads user, you can import your libraries to StoryGraph. I use both the StoryGraph site via a desktop browser and the Android mobile app.

Libraries of Things

Photo of an orderly interior of a workshop where multitudes of tools are available for people to check out. The room has a wood floor, white tile ceiling, and walls painted cerulean blue. The walls have many tools hanging on them. Several tables and carts hold more tools.

A look inside a tool library in Western New York.

What if there were libraries for everything?

From Andrewism: “Can you imagine libraries of tools, clothing, and even housing? The library economy can be the bridge to an entirely new world of human flourishing. Let’s explore what the library economy is, what may or may not be included, and what it might take to bring it to life.” (Video is about 25 minutes.)

If you’d rather read than watch, the text version is available for free here.

Turns out, there are libraries for LOTS of things.

Here are some things available at the Belle Isle Branch of the OKC Metro Library.

Tiny Libraries

Photo of a handmade wooden book cabinet, titled Nautilus, created by artist Katie Hudnall. The cabinet is a swooping shape spiraling out from the middle, sitting atop pointed feet. Books are visible behind several odd-shaped doors in the structure. The overall structure is painted white, placed on a while tile floor, in front of white walls. — *Nautilus* by Katie Hudnall

Nine Artist-Designed Miniature Book Sharing Libraries Appear in Indianapolis

This article is from 2015. I no longer live near Indianapolis, so I’d love to know how these urban libraries are doing a decade on.

How to Start Your Own Little Free Library

I'm changing how I use social media. Let's connect.

You can find me on my website, Bluesky, Mastodon, Pixelfed, and Cara.

That Time Winnie-the-Pooh Went to Rehab

Did you know that the stuffed animals that originally inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh books live at the New York Public Library? During 2015-2016, the stuffies got a careful cleaning and restoration under the care of conservation specialists. You can see some before-and-after photos in this article.

A Video For Those Who Read This Far

I’m envious of the team at the Milwaukee Public Library. The public generally knows what libraries are, so they get to really have fun with their social media. Here’s one of my favorites.

Until next time,

xoxo Sarah

The Fold: I <3 Libraries