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The library can be a great resource for planning your next vacation to anywhere in the world. Our staff can help you find travel books to your destination and can direct you to some online vacation resources. You can also checkout items from the library that you might want/need on your vacation. You can check out a Canon DSLR camera to capture your vacation memories and we also have a metal detector that I wish I would have placed on hold because that would have been something fun to do while on the beach. The wifi hot spots we have available for checkout can be great for a long car ride with kids. We also have different lawn games available for check out which would be great additions to a camping trip or a stay at the beach. You can visit our Library of Things for a complete list. Here are some photos from my family’s vacation to South Haven, Michigan. I highly recommend this vacation spot to anyone who enjoys the sand but dislikes salt water.  It’s the best of both worlds.  You can dig your feet in the sand and avoid the salt water. The kids had a blast running along the beach and kicking sand in the air. Lake Michigan is cold at the beginning of June but that didn’t stop the big kids from jumping in!                  David (left) & Collin (right); cousins/best buds.   Beach Frisbee anyone? A lawn game from the library would also have been a great addition to our vacation. Pier at North Beach   Downtown South Haven is a shopper’s paradise. Also, if you are a connoisseur of food [...]

Holiday gatherings are a great source of family fun. They can also be a great source of family information to help you learn more about your history. Here are five things you should do at your next family gathering so those family memories last forever: Think about what you want to learn. Where did grandma meet grandpa? Where was great-great cousin Lou born? What war did great uncle Joe serve in? Make a list of questions ahead of time and be sure to ask: birthplace, names of parents and siblings, where they lived, churches attended, burial locations, marriages, occupations, military service, public service, schools attended, etc. Not only will you get valuable information, you’re sure to hear some entertaining stories! Create a list of family members. Sit down with some of the older members in your family and ask them to list names of their brothers, sisters, grandparents and so on as far back as they can remember. Make sure to write down all the names and details like place of birth if possible. Even better, use your smartphone or tablet to record members of your family talking about it. Share and share alike. You may find that someone else in your family is working on your genealogy as well. Share what you’ve learned. Genealogy is a great way to connect with others and sharing family data, research tips, and resources can go a long way in making contacts and/or finding those missing pieces. If you have extended and far away family, use social media to let them know what you’re doing and ask if they have anything to add. Create a Facebook group where you post family history and invite your family to join. [...]

Between school, work, a social life, and other responsibilities, sometimes reading can get tossed to the side or postponed indefinitely. Here are some tips and tricks to help you continue reading while living your busy life to the fullest. Don't force yourself to read. For some people, goals such as "number of books per year" or "number of chapters per night" are helpful to organize their reading and make it a priority, but you know yourself best. If those goals will only stress you out or distract you from other responsibilities, then don't worry about them. Reading is supposed to be fun (unless it's an assignment, then it's fun AND mandatory) so don't turn it into a chore. Similarly, if you start a book and you decide you don't find it interesting, don't read it! I generally go through 1/3 or ½ a book before I give up on it. If it hasn't piqued my interest (or shown me why I should read it anyways) by then, it probably never will.     Try audiobooks or podcasts. These you can listen to while driving, doing chores, working, etc. I even listen to them as I fall asleep at night. Audiobooks are available on your phone/computer through companies like Audible or iTunes, or for free here at the library. Podcasts can be found online or on your phone as well and are typically free.         eBooks. They aren't for everyone, but eBooks are certainly useful. They're easier to carry, and you probably always have your phone on you, so if you happen to have some downtime but didn't prepare by bringing a book? Your handy dandy phone is there with the latest thriller! You don't have to have a specific device for this, smartphones are enough with Apple's Books, Android's [...]

Life is busy as a mother of four boys between the ages of 2 and 10 and stepmom of a teen girl. For the past two school years I allowed my boys to get lunch at school since it is provided for free to all students. I thought this was a great way to save money and assumed they were getting a decent meal but they always came home starving. They would eat a such a large snack that they didn’t want dinner but would be hungry again by bedtime.                   The school offered free breakfast and lunch over the summer and since my children were attending a summer program, I allowed them to eat there. Again, they would come home hungry. I know my children are bottomless pits, but this was over the top. I discovered the portions were more snack size than meal size. Lunch included a choice of two cheese filled bread sticks, a Trix yogurt or two pieces of sliced cheese, as well as milk, fruit and a vegetable. This just wasn’t enough to get them through the day. This year is full of changes for my family, which includes a new school. Their new school doesn’t offer free meals for everyone, so breakfast is 75 cents and lunch is $2. The menu is very similar to their old school, so I decided they will be packing most days since full bellies, allowing them to focus on learning, is important to me. In the past, we let them pack for themselves, but they would take at least 10 minutes to do so and what they chose wasn’t always the best lunch. This year [...]

Alice and Maggie Hair have a new hobby thanks to Maker Camp at the Erlanger Branch of the Kenton County Public Library. The twins attended the Maker Camp - Rug Weaving program in June. They learned how to make their own looms and weave.                                       They loved it so much that they had their mom Sarah help them make looms at home.                                     Maker Camp is offered every Thursday in July, August 2 and August 9 for  children ages 7 and older from 6-7:30 pm in the STREAM Center at the Erlanger Branch. Each week has a different theme: July 5th - Print Making July 12th - Build a Tiny House July 19th - Playdough Test July 26th - Circuits, Circuits and More Circuits! August 2nd - Balloon Hovercraft August 9th - Paper Roller Coaster Maker Camp is a great way to beat the heat or the rain. The children will learn a new skill while having fun and the rest of the family can pick up a few books and movies. Visit kentonlibrary.org for more information.          

Munch was only a few pounds when he came to the Library. He is now 50. The Kenton County Public Library staff welcomed Munch the tortoise to the Durr Branch in 2014. The then three pound turtle had plenty of room to grow and move around. But as time went on, Munch grew and grew. The staff built a new home for him but he eventually outgrew that as well. Munch has grown so much, 50 pounds, that he is too big to live at the library. After many discussions and tears, it was decided Munch needed a new home where he could continue to grow and have space to move around. Luckily the Ark Encounter agreed to take him. Munch is scheduled to move today, July 9, 2018. Once he gets settled in, people can visit him at the Ark. Many of our patrons are sad Munch is leaving. Please know this was not an easy decision and was done in the best interest of Munch. Staff has had so much fun with him over the years. I personally had the opportunity to work with Munch on several occasions. Munch loves basketball so he made his own bracket the last few years. I had the opportunity to work with him on Munch Madness. You can watch the video here. Other staff members worked with Munch to depict what a day in the life of Munch is like. You can watch that video here. Munch truly has a personality of his own, which is why we started Tortoise Tuesdays on social media. We had to show off his cuteness.                             [...]

Four years ago, I was asked to start facilitating the Writers Group at the Erlanger Branch. The group had already been in existence for several years, but needed a new staff member to organize the meetings. I jumped at the opportunity and have loved being part of the group ever since. Twice a month, writers join together to share their ideas, thoughts, and writings. We talk about what we are working on, what we should do next, and how to make our ideas better. Over the years, we’ve had many different attendees, but have become a sort of support group for each other. It has even helped me become more confident in my own writing and I hope I have instilled the same feelings in my fellow writers. The group is always open to new members, but is just for adults. Each meeting is set up the same way. Three people sign up and send samples to me ahead of time. During the meeting, those three writers take turns reading their samples out loud and then the group gives them feedback and we all discuss the piece. That’s it! It’s easy, laid-back, and inviting. We have had every kind of writing shared at our group, including chapters from novels, poetry, graphic novels, blog posts, nonfiction, memoir, and more.  We’ve also had all different kinds of genres from fantasy to fairy tales to historical to science fiction. Everyone is encouraging and supportive. Along with sharing ideas and discussing writing, attendees give each other advice and share tips and tricks. Each meeting is an opportunity to bounce ideas off an unbiased, welcoming group of people who all share a common passion for writing. If you’ve always wanted [...]

What does your to-do list look like? Maybe it's tangible, a legal notepad filled with Sharpie scribbles or a whiteboard hanging on the wall of your office. Maybe it's something you keep in your head and mentally check off boxes every now and again. Or maybe lists aren't your style and your responsibilities are kept on a calendar or just dealt with as they come. However you keep track of these tasks, the big problem is completing them. Even the most determined people need a jump-start of motivation sometimes! I've heard of lots of ways to find inspiration for projects: from Pinterest to reward systems and everything in between. One of my favorite methods, however, is using entertainment. There are some books, films, television shows, etc. that, either through the story they tell or the techniques used to tell it, give me the momentum needed to get started on that aforementioned to-do list. For example, one of my favorite books is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, which tells the fictional story of a young writer starting college. Reading about her experiences in Fiction-Writing Class and her struggles/successes with writing always inspires me to write more myself! I've compiled a list below of some works that have helped me in the past & that are all available right here at the library! Books Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert Origins of a Story by Jake Grogan The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan The Marvels by Brian Selznick Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira Afterworlds by Scott Westerfield From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. [...]

    My husband Nick and I are walking movie encyclopedias. Between the two of us, we have seen thousands of movies and can quote several of our favorites. I remember going to the theater to see ET, Star Wars, Back to the Future, Ghost Busters, Goonies, Gremlins and so many more classic movies with my family as a kid. We didn't get cable or a VCR until the mid-80's so going to the theater was really the only way to see movies at the time.   These inventions made it possible to see old classics like Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and Bambi. I fell in love with all of these movies. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is still one of my all time favorite movies. I think I ruined the VHS tape from watching it so many times with my older brother and our friends. I was ecstatic to see it as a musical at Broadway in Cincinnati earlier this year. I can't wait to see the Mary Poppins Returns when it is released in theaters on December 19th. Until then, I might have to check out the book or music. Just typin the titles of all of these movies takes me back to my childhood. I have shared all of these movies with my kids and hope they will one day share with their children. As a lover of most movie genres, I was shocked last week when I discovered my co-worker, who is within five years of my age, hasn't seen a lot of these movies. She hasn't seen Alice in Wonderland, Willy Wonka, Sound of Music, Mary [...]

Summer learning is a priority at the Kenton County Public Library. I am lucky enough to be the Children's Services Coordinator at the Erlanger Branch, and I am so proud of the work our Library does to support summer learning!  Both inside our Library buildings and out in the community, KCPL staff members spent the summer of 2018 working hard to make sure all children had plenty of educational and recreational experiences to continue learning throughout the summer. Let me share a few highlights from this past summer! One of the most important things that children need to do during the summer is to READ! To encourage reading, KCPL’s Summer Reading Club provides incentive prizes. Every child ages 2 through 12 who read, or listened to, 10 books, OR spent 10 hours reading or listening to books, received a free book and a choice of a drawstring bag or our KCPL summer reading tee shirt, designed this year by local artist Becca Stadtlander. These are the incentive prizes that children received for reading during the summer! Library storytimes at all locations kept our youngest patrons engaged and entertained! Preschoolers enjoyed Rise 'n Shine Storytime with Miss Morgan on Monday mornings at Erlanger.   Music, Motion and Stories with Mr. Joel the Singing Librarian was a big hit with preschoolers at Durr on Tuesday mornings. Programs for school aged children included arts and crafts, science, and technology. Canvas Art at Erlanger provided an opportunity for tweens to exercise their creativity and artistic skills!   School aged children in Covington enjoyed Bubble Art!   There was always something fun going on at the Trailblazers program on [...]

Have you been to any good plays lately? What about a musical or ballet? We have a lot of great options for theater in the Greater Cincinnati area. Here are some of my favorites! Broadway in Cincinnati- I have had the opportunity to see many Broadway shows at the Aronoff downtown with friends and my husband. My favorite is probably Wicked. I actually was able to purchase lottery seats for $25 and sat in the front row. It was truly amazing. The show is basically a prequel to the Wizard of Oz and will give you an entirely different perspective of the original movie. I wanted to see it over and over and definitely plan to see it again when it returns to Cincinnati. We have also seen A Christmas Story, School of Rock, The King and I and Aladdin. They were all fantastic! A Christmas Story was really exciting for me since it is my all time favorite Christmas movie (well, tied with Elf). I can quote the most of the movie. The actors portrayed the Parker family perfectly. We are looking forward to seeing the rest of this season's musicals including Ronald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Play that Goes Wrong, Rent, Fiddler on the Roof, Hamilton, On Your Feet, Miss Saigon, Dear Evan Hanson and Cats. You can find the dates and tickets to all of these shows here. Surprisingly, I have never seen Cats so I am really looking forward to this show. Actually, I'm looking forward to all of them! Charlie and the Chocolate Factory coming to Broadway in Cincinnati.                                 [...]