September is Library Card sign up month. Do you have a library card? If not, now is the perfect time to get one. A library card unlocks a plethora of materials and services. Getting a library card is easy! Milwaukee County residents just need a photo ID and documentation with a current address to sign up for a card.

 The new catalog is live, have you tried it out yet? This refers to the visiting the catalog through a web browser (the CountyCat app has stayed the same). You can log in to your account as usual to manage holds, pay fines, and browse for new things to borrow.

I always like to read a scary book around this time to get in the spirit of Halloween. I’ve got some good recommendations that may have you keeping the lights on.

Summer reading program is back at the Whitefish Bay Public Library from June 12 through August 26.

The library hosted our Annual Edible Book Festival in April. An edible book is an item that looks like a book, puns on a title, refers to a character, or just has something to do with books. The only rule is that entries must be made from edible ingredients. During the festival, all who attend get to vote on their favorite edible books. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone that participated. We had a lot of amazing entries so thank you and we hope to see you back in 2024!

February is Library Lover's month and we'd like to set you up with a blind date......with a book! Stop by the library, and check out our 'Blind Date with a Book' display. Each 'Blind Date' has been hand picked by a staff member. So you aren't walking in totally blind we've listed the genre and a brief description of the book. Choose a book, check it out, take it home, and unwrap it. Who knows, maybe you'll have a wonderful future together! We've got books for kids, teens and adults! Return the rating card inside by March 8 for your chance at a $25 Kilwins Gift Card.

Halloween is right around the corner, and so is the tradition of the Whitefish Bay Great Pumpkin Festival. The festival runs from Wednesday, October 26 through Saturday, October 29 from 6-9pm each night. The pumpkins are located right across the street from the library in Old Schoolhouse Park. On Sunday, October 30 and Monday, October 31, there will be a lighted display only from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. with no additional activities. See all the details at: https://www.wfbcivicfoundation.org/communityevents Want to get into the Halloween spirit and read about things that go bump in the night? Here are some scary Halloween reads.

June is Pride month, celebrating all things LGBTQIA+. Pride month was started to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. It is celebrated in small and large cities across the United States. Milwaukee has its own Pride celebration at the Summerfest grounds and it is usually the first festival of the season. Librarians Scott and Valerie have assembled a list of titles featuring LGBTQIA+ characters.

News got you down? Need an escape from reality? I’ve got the genre just for you! Travel the universe, experience first contact, and fight a battle against aliens with some science fiction. As the genre diversifies, there are some great new authors to check out and travel out of this world.

October 17 – October 31 is National Friends of the Library Week. We wanted to take this opportunity to give a big thank you to our Friends of the Whitefish Bay Public Library. We are so lucky to have a very active and supportive Friends. Friend volunteers work year round on different projects to help make your library one of the best libraries in the Milwaukee County Federated Library System.

Excite your mind, try out a hobby, learn a new skill, or just have fun with our new Take and Tinker collection! This is a collection of tools, games, and more made up of items that you wouldn't expect to find in a library. Take and Tinker is generously funded by Friends of the Whitefish Bay Public Library.

Summer has officially begun. While I love the warmer weather and spending time outside, my favorite season is fall because that’s when many big authors drop their new books! We recently ordered a bunch fall releases and while it’s still months before you can dive in, you can go into CountyCat now and place a hold. Get on the list early and you’ll be reading your favorite author’s book right after the release date.

Here are the entries for our 2021 Virtual Edible Book Festival. Vote for your favorites now through the end of the day on Sunday, April 25.

April 4 through April 10 is National Library Week! This is a chance for the community to recognize the value of libraries and to support the library to assure our continued success. There are so many ways to love your library, but here are a few ways to celebrate.

Looking to stay busy during these cold winter nights? Read and you could win prizes with our Excite Your Mind Winter Reading Program! This program is for any age (yes adults too) and is completed totally online using a tool called Beanstack.

Halloween is the perfect time to read a scary story, although I enjoy them any time of the year. I find horror novels are great escapism, especially if they have fantasy elements that veer theses far from reality. Here are a few reads that kept me up late but had me leaving the lights on at bedtime.

Here are the entries for our 2020 Virtual Edible Book Festival.

The Edible Book Festival returns, this time in virtual form. Have you always wanted to participate, but couldn’t find the time? Then this is your year! Make an edible creation, or check out the creativity of others!

Do you find yourself with a bunch of free time on your hands? Although the library is closed, we still offer a bunch of digital resources that can keep you entertained and perhaps teach you a new skill (or language). All you need is your card and library PIN to get started. Don’t have a library card? You can sign up for a temporary card that will give you access to all these resources at https://countycat.mcfls.org/selfreg

This is a chance for the community to recognize the value of libraries and to support the library to assure our continued success. There are so many ways to love your library, but here are a few ways to celebrate.

Today it’s not uncommon for folks to have a number of different devices that they can read and listen to books on. Transporting an iPad with 10 books downloaded is so much easier than stuffing 10 physical books in your luggage. So chances are you’ve heard about our digital collection of e-books and e-audiobooks in the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) collection available through Overdrive or Libby. If you are familiar with the collection, you may know that at times the holds list for e-books is much longer compared to the printed copy. There are a number of reasons why this occurs.

We’ve all been there. You have a ticket, boarding pass, school project or paper you need to print and your printer has run out of ink. The library has made it even easier to print from your phone, tablet, or even your desktop computer from home! And you do not need to have a library card in order to print.

I like a story that takes me far and away from Earth’s atmosphere. It can be fun to fantasize about the future and imagine what life lived in space will look like. Science fiction has grown in popularity over the years and shows such as Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and more recently The Expanse have brought this genre to larger audiences. There are a lot of exciting and adventure filled space operas that have been published in the last few years. Here are a few of my favorite sci-fi series novels.

This year PBS is airing The Great American Read, a series of programs “which celebrates the power, passion and joy of reading through the lens of America's 100 best-loved books as chosen by the public.” This is an opportunity for those who love books and literature to engage in a national conversation about our favorite books.

Interested in reading local? The last few years there have been a number of really great books that are written by Wisconsinites. Whether you like fiction or nonfiction, mystery or graphic novels, there’s something here for everyone.

The library hosted our 5th annual Edible Book Festival in March. An edible book is an item that looks like a book, puns on a title, refers to a character, or just has something to do with books. The only rule is that entries must be made from edible ingredients. During the festival, all who attend get to vote on their favorite edible books. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone that participated. We hope to see you back in 2019!

We are in a golden age of television. Long episodic storytelling is very fashionable and we’re seeing a lot of books being adapted in TV shows for network, cable channels, as well as streaming services. Television does a great job of translating books onto the small screen in comparison to feature films because TV can take it’s time telling the story. When you’ve got a 700 page book, there is so much left out of a 2-hour film adaptation. Get your Tivo or DVR ready for these upcoming book to TV adaptations.

Are you in a book club? Does your book club want to read the newest titles on the best seller list? There can be long waits at the library for the hottest reads, which doesn’t work when you only have a month or so to read a book. Need some other ideas? Here are some suggestions that will still have that book club appeal but don’t come with that long waiting list.

This is a good opportunity to highlight some great books written by black authors. I think it’s important to read books by diverse authors and Black History Month is a great reminder that we should incorporate authors of color into our reading all year long. Here are some of my picks.

Our universe is full of mysteries and what better way to explore than in a book. Until space travel becomes commonplace, books may be the only way for us Earthlings to explore the starry skies.

Do you have a long and looming card ride in your future? Help to pass the time by listening to an audiobook. We’ve got quite a few new titles to keep you tuned in during your drive.