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.

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

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.

For me the summer means more time to read, and specifically, if the weather is decent, more time to listen to audiobooks. I love to listen to audiobooks when I walk, either running errands or just walking by the lake. It seems that many people are now listening to podcasts while they commute to work, but I haven’t made that leap. I often choose audiobooks that I don’t think I will be able to read in the traditional manner. A few years ago, I listened to War and Peace in its entirety while I walked to work. This summer, I have chosen Middlemarch. This is a book I have always wanted to read, but never have. One of my favorite customers at the bookstore where I used to work told me that it was her favorite book ever, and I often wished that I could have discussed it with her.