Commentary: Your library – We need each other
Mary Ellen Icaza You have the best library system in the state. You are so informative and always so helpful. I am so happy I live in Canton and can use your library. Thank you so much, and keep up the good work!
Across Stark County, our dedicated library staff hear statements like this every day, and I couldn’t agree more. I am proud of the important services that we provide to our community. Throughout the past year, your Stark Library stepped up and met the needs of our community as we all tried to navigate living through a pandemic. It hasn’t been easy for any of us, but together we have persevered.
CANTON – One by one, famed and best-selling author R.L. Stine fielded a reporter s questions at the pace of a fan quickly turning the pages of one of his Goosebumps books.
Why does he make the time to speak to groups like the Stark County District Library? (An online program via Zoom is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday as part of the library s Virtual Speaking of Books Author Series. )
Talking to fans and audiences is the fun part of his job, Stine enthused, although he misses the opportunity to experience in-person the reactions of children and adults. A positive, however, is the ability to reach more people across the country.
Stark Library helping to give lifetime of opportunity
Patricia Faulhaber
Suburbanite correspondent
CANTON Early literacy is one of Stark Library’s core missions. The library believes that building a solid foundation today will build a better community tomorrow.
That is one reason CEO and Executive Director Mary Ellen Icaza gave for why Stark Library is entering a second year as part of Dolly Parton s Imagination Library. Through the program, kids in Stark County can receive a free book every month until they’re five years old – each child could receive up to 60 books for their personal library if their parents start them in the program before the age of one.
What s Up Stark? podcast gets personal with local movers and shakers
The doldrums of COVID-19 inspired the creation of What s Up Stark?, a lively weekly podcast that features casual conversations with Stark County movers and shakers. Going into the pandemic, it had gotten awfully quiet, people were disconnected, said Derek Gordon, who co-hosts the hourlong episodes with his friend Brock Hutchison. I had this idea for a podcast that would bring levity and entertainment and at the same time feature people doing interesting things in the county. Find out their interests, what they like and don t like about Stark County, and what makes them tick.
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In the immortal words of Arthur the Aardvark, “Havin’ fun isn’t hard, when you’ve got a library card!”
But how much fun can you really have with a library card? Turns out, more than I expected. Libraries across America are adding video games to their collections available for checkout. Gamers with an incessant appetite for new experiences or anyone looking to play video games for free should contact their local library to see if they have a collection.
Over the past few months, I’ve borrowed a number of Xbox One games from my local library, the Lawrence Public Library in Kansas. From the half-pipes of