Need to catch up on Game of Thrones before the end is really near? Want to watch all the Jurassic Park movies at once, or just planning a fun night in? Binge Boxes have got you covered! We've compiled collections of DVDs that are simply better together,...
Ho! Ho! Ho! Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday! Did you receive a cool new kitchen appliance under the tree? Maybe a new air fry cooker or an electronic pressure cooker? Need some culinary inspiration for recipes? The library is the first place to look...
The La Porte County Public Library is pleased to announce that we have renewed most titles with our Flipster digital magazine subscription. Customers will continue to have access to many highly desired titles, like Better Homes and Gardens, Consumer Reports, People, Reader’s Digest, Time, and...
The Library is starting a Community Helper Series the first Friday of each month at our Stories & More class at the Main Library! During these early literacy classes, various individuals or organizations from around the county will share a book that they feel highlights...
Do you remember when Harry got his letter? Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first installment of the Harry Potter series with your La Porte Library and Overdrive! From August 27 until September 10, the Overdrive digital eBook collection will be offering unlimited access to Harry Potter and the...
Do you have a child going into kindergarten this upcoming school year? Are they (or you) nervous? Maybe a little excited? Here are a few book recommendations to help everything run as smoothly as possible! The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing---This book follows the format of...
Did you know that you have access to more than 600,000 biographies online? Through Biography in Context, you can search for the most obscure subject and come up with results. With a simple interface, you can search a subject, and at a glance see how many...
I was at the Fish Lake Branch shelving some books recently when I saw Sad Animal Facts by Brooke Barker for the first time. The title struck me as funny and I saw a cat on the spine of the book. As a self-proclaimed cat...
The Happy, Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful,...
At the Coolspring Coffee and Canvas event on Saturday, April 14, we sipped on coffee, munched on cookies, and painted a canvas. We had an awesome time! The idea for this event came to me when I found...
I recently reviewed a different book of poetry by Neil Hilborn called Our Numbered Days. You can read my review on the library's blog. As promised, Hilborn released another book of poetry in early April 2018. The Future reads similarly to Our Numbered Days - it is...
Challenge yourself to read over summer break by joining the summer reading program! Beginning May 1, students beginning Kindergarten through 12th grade, can set a reading goal to achieve this summer. Everyone who meets their reading goal is invited to attend the Summer Challenge Celebrations with...
The history of La Porte is rich in manufacturing, agriculture, and even architectural design of many of the homes that pepper our scenic streets. But did you know that some of the deepest, most intriguing history of our town lies within the walls of the...
Welcome to May, warm weather, and National Bike Month 2018! There are loads of reasons to ride your bike to work, to school, or for just for fun. Cycling positively impacts your health and the environment. According to Cycling Weekly magazine online, cycling: Helps build muscle...
This talented lady is Dr. Lucinda Ann Marsh Alfieri---- my recently discovered Great, Great, Great Aunt Dr. Lucy. I first found out about Lucinda about 5 years ago. I was here at the La Porte County Public Library in the Indiana Room, using the microfilm readers...
Did you know that the La Porte County Public Library visits area senior living communities and nursing facilities? These visits provide enrichment to those who can’t necessarily make it to the library. Presentations include a number of visual objects, like photos or props from lesson...
If you’ve ever wondered how some of our community’s gorgeous buildings came to be, come to La Porte County Public Library’s Local Lore series topic on La Porte Church Histories on Thursday, May 3 and on Thursday, May 10 there will be a guided walk...
Art-----defined by Webster's dictionary as skill acquired by experience, study, or observation. Where would science, technology, engineering, art and math be without the skill acquired by knowledge, study and observation? Many of the great inventions, discoveries, and breakthroughs wouldn't have happened. This the is the...
Introduce your child to the voting process AND help ignite their love for books. All of our locations are participating in voting for the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award, which is an award for picture books. The voters are children ages 0-5. The books have...
You asked. We listened. You can now check out STEAM kits for up to 6 weeks of inventing, tinkering, and learning! Thanks to a grant from the Unity Foundation of La Porte County, LPCPL is piloting this new collection that includes a mixture of high and...
Pack up your supplies and dust off the projects! We have the perfect opportunity for you to work on (and maybe even complete) those scrapbook, quilt, or other craft projects you just can’t seem to find the time or space to complete. Our first crafting meet-up...
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and...
In the third post in our series on STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math; the focus is on engineering. Most of us are engineers in our own right because engineering is the process of solving problems---whether you are organizing a drawer or building the...
This is the second post in a series on STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. These blog posts explain some of the unique ways that the La Porte County Public Library helps you learn all about STEAM one letter at a time. This post...
This is the first of a series of blog posts on STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. These blog posts explain some of the unique ways that the La Porte County Public Library helps you learn all about STEAM one letter at a time. Sally...
Poetry can feel out of reach sometimes...
Do you want to have a neighborhood of birds in your backyard? Build them a home “tweet” home at the La Porte County Public Library at our DIY Birdhouse Building class at Rolling Prairie, Saturday, March 24 at 9:30am. You can learn more about birdhouse...
Our Moon can be very dramatic at times with full moons, supermoons, lunar eclipses, and even Super Blue Blood Moons! There’s a lot to know. On March 19 come to It’s Just a Phase at our Rolling Prairie Branch and learn weird and wonderful facts...
Is your son or daughter thinking about career and college decisions? Or how about you? Are you thinking of returning to school in order to improve your job skills or to start a new career? (It’s never too late for that!) If so, you will...
As a parent, you want to ensure that your child will receive high-quality and nurturing care and education. His or her hours at preschool may be their first extended period of time away from home and you and your child both want to feel comfortable...
Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their roles in history. In honor of Black History Month, the library is celebrating some of Indiana’s African American history makers. The celebration began as “Negro History Week,” which...
Sphero is one of the robots we use to teach young innovators about robots, engineering, and coding. Come to the Coolspring Branch on February 24 at 1:00pm for the Sphero Swim Meet. This event challenges kids and families to think like engineers to design and build...
The American Library Association announced the Youth Media Awards this week. These awards celebrate the best of the best in youth books published in the past year. If you’re looking for a good read, check out one of these award winning titles! Hello, Universe by Erin...
The library has several new titles and a platform change for your 2018 magazine browsing pleasure! Here magazine "offers a fresh look at the growing creative community that makes up a large part of Northwest Indiana’s local economy: the entrepreneurs, artisans and locally sourced business that fill...
Did you know the Library has 23 different book club kits you can check out for your book club to read? In each kit, you'll find 10 copies of a book, a book sign-out sheet, discussion guide, and the author's biography. Take a look at these...
Does your child use words like posh, fuchsia, and plume correctly? These are just a few of the fabulous words that author Jane O'Connor uses in her series, Fancy Nancy. One of the many reasons why the Fancy Nancy Series is so incredible is that these...
Tax season already?! The library can help you find the forms you need. Basic state forms are available at all locations. The federal instruction booklets and basic forms are not all in yet. We have received the 1040EZ forms, but the rest are coming. Staff...
This February, I thought it would be relevant and inspiring to highlight the comprehensive collection of more than 3,000 instructional resources TeachingBooks.net offers for the Coretta Scott King Book Awards and Black History Month. Since its inception in 1970, the Coretta Scott King Book...
La Porte County Public Library has the tools you need to research and organize your family history. You might have heard that baseball is America’s pastime, but do you know what Americans report to be their favorite hobbies? USA Today reports that genealogy is the...
Your La Porte County Public Library is full of surprises! The Library still has books, DVDs, video games, music CDs, and digital collections. The library also has Lego-Mindstorms, 3-D printers, a heat press, a personal die-cut machine and soldering equipment. The library teaches valuable STEAM skills...
February is Low Vision Awareness month. Did you know the library has a number of great resources to help individuals with low vision? Read on to learn more! Magnifier Our magnifier machine, conveniently located in the Indiana Room, can magnify any type of written material from newspapers...
Join us at the Hanna Branch for a DIY Soap Carving class on February 10 from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Local artist, Carl and Heather Banas will be teaching this class which is designed for ages 10 and up. Carl has been carving as a hobby for...
Do you want to keep a pulse on the latest titles? Are you looking for a few good books to read yourself or recommend to your child? Come to the Kingsford Heights Branch of the La Porte County Public Library for a kids’ Book Tasting on...
Join us at the Union Mills Branch for a Card Making class on February 6 to make creative and unique cards using the Cuttlebug, Cricut, and Sizzix Big Shot. There will be blank cards, envelopes, and paper for the class to use for making their cards. Amy Morrison, a...
Are you ready to take the Operation Ozobot! Challenge? Do you have what it takes? Then again----What exactly is an Ozobot? Ozobots are a one-inch-tall robots that use photo-sensory perception to recognize patterns, lights, colors, and codes to perform a task. These small but mighty robots...
Do you love bowling?! Yes? Not Sure? Then the La Porte County Public Library has an event just for you. At Robot Bowling, you can program your bowling ball ( Sphero Robot) to roll itself! No more picking up and throwing balls! Sphero Robots are a...
Uh-oh! Mr. Bear broke his chair! We need to build a new chair for Mr. Bear! Building a chair for Mr. Bear lets our creative kids become engineers! Engineers are people who create solutions to problems. And that's exactly who Mr. Bear needs to help build him...
Let’s talk about all those memories from the ’80s and ’90s stored on home videotapes. It’s time to brush off the dust and convert VHS tapes to DVDs. Here’s the deal. Your tapes are degrading. The sounds and images on VHS tapes are magnetized onto...
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is January 15, 2018. Get involved by participating in MLK Day Legacy of Service through volunteer opportunities and free lesson plans for...
Ever wonder what your mom looked like when she was a freshman? Or what your dad wore to his senior prom? Wanna dig up embarrassing pictures of when your sister was in Swing Choir to show your niece and nephews? The La Porte County Public Library...
Did you unwrap some new technology over the holidays, but you’re not sure how to use it? No fear, the library is here! Let the La Porte County Public Library help you discover the joy technology can bring. We are offering classes at many of...
I have always been interested in the origins of traditions. Be it a family tradition, local tradition, or holiday tradition, if it has a story behind it, I want to hear it! Since it's the holiday season, I was curious about the tradition of sending holiday...
It has been said that a child's mind is like a sponge. They absorb everything so readily when they are young! That is why it is essential to introduce them to a wide range of different experiences! Learning a foreign language is one such experience...
Enjoy stories, music, activities, and crafts that develop and reinforce early literacy skills at this upcoming storytime for children ages 3-5 with their adult caregiver. Special guest, and local author, Janet Beutner will be joining us to share her first children's book: Zip and Zap: a...
It never fails. During Fall clean-up at home, I discover projects I just haven’t gotten around to -- things like two necklaces I set aside for repair, the pair of pants with the hem partially undone, and mini-blinds still waiting to be hung. Lucky for...
Customers of the La Porte County Public Library in La Porte can now access their favorite digital magazines using Flipster® from EBSCO Information Services. Flipster is a next-generation magazine service that allows people to browse digital versions of the latest issues of popular magazines, courtesy...
The 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to English author, Kazuo Ishiguro. Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, describes Ishiguro as a "mix of Jane Austen and Franz Kafka, then you have Kazuo Ishiguro in a nutshell, but you have to add a...
October 2-7 More than 600 saloons in New York have refused to renew their licenses. One hundred fifty more men will be examined to give service to the country before the close of this week. Count von Bernstorff, the German ambassador, spent the enormous total of $27,000,000 in...
If you are a fan of psychological suspense, give Final Girls by Riley Sager a try. The lone survivor of a massacre, Quincy Carpenter gains notoriety despite her inability to remember the events of that night. Labeled a “final girl” by the press, in reference...
What is a bullet journal? As quoted from the official bullet journal site, a bullet journal “can be your to-do list, sketchbook, notebook, and dairy, but most likely, it will be all of the above.” Why am I extremely curious about bullet journals? Because my whole life...
John Green is finally publishing a new book! The beloved Nerdfighter, author of “The Fault in Our Stars”, will release “Turtles All the Way Down” on Tuesday October 10th. Reserve your copy today from the Library! Be first in line to enjoy this new powerful...
If you like using our Ancestry Library Edition database, do you check Recently Added/Updated Collections? The link is located at the bottom of Ancestry’s homepage under Quick Links. Many collections are added or updated every week and sometimes daily. Each listing is noted as Updated...
Colleges across Indiana are waiving their application fees for students who apply on College Application Day. This year, College Application Day will be held on Friday September 29th. Schools all over the state will offer assistance and various activities to help students apply for college. Are...
La Porte County Public Library’s Indiana Room Did you miss a tour of the Indiana Room at La Porte County Public Library, 904 Indiana Ave.? Here are some important points in case you did or if you want a refresher. Also, the library has made some...
Our Play, Grow, Read spaces offer children and their caregivers a place to read, write, sing, talk , play, and now -- fly. Fly? Yes! We've added a Flight Lab to our Rolling Prairie Play, Grow, Read space. Preschool and school-age children love to test...
What could be better than reading? Reading and cooking and eating, of course! Explore our vast collection of cookbooks and join this delish new club. Simply choose a cookbook on that month's theme, pick a recipe to make, and bring your dish with the recipe to...
There's no place more magical than a library. Think about stories with dwarves, dragons, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, mermaids, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, witches, and maybe some magic, too! Fairy tales are a great way to introduce life lessons to children in a way that...
When it comes to motion, Newton’s Three Laws summarize everything you need to know about teaching young children about how things move. I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to...
Starting Friday, September 1, 2017, Spark Labs will host open lab hours at the Main Library. We are excited to provide this space where people of all ages can get together and informally learn STEAM related technologies. It’s a great opportunity to learn new skills...
Stephen King fans, rejoice! Not one, but two films based on King's novels will be coming soon to a theater near you. If you've never read Stephen King but always wanted to, now is the perfect time. Read or reread these books before seeing the movies. Check...
Do you need to get online at the library? Then you should consider trying out a Chromebook. All of our library service locations have added the option of Chromebooks which library card holders 18 and older can check out for 1 hour at a time....
Tumblebooks is a digital library of eBooks, and it has the added bonus of being accessible – 24/7 – from any device with an internet connection. With your La Porte County Public Library card, your family can access unlimited Tumblebooks. Tumblebooks recently added an app to make...
This summer has been full of fun surprises at the library. Last week I met Brenda (Wade) Guernsey and her sister who were visiting La Porte. Besides visiting friends and seeing the brick added to the Veteran’s Walk in honor of their father, they stopped...
We are nearing the end of the eighth week of our summer reading program and we have 1,024 students registered who have recorded a total of 148,138 minutes! That’s almost 2,469 hours of reading! Below are the top 5 schools in registrations and minutes logged. Students...
It’s that time of year, where we want to keep the hot out and the cool in. That makes it the perfect time to grill. But really, any day is a good day to grill! You can literally grill almost anything. We tend to have...
The first Jr. Lego Maker Camp at Rolling Prairie was a blast! Kids in 2nd - 4th grades built and programmed Milo the rover using Lego WeDos. They learned how to write code to program the tilt sensor, motion sensor, and motor to solve real world...
Summer has arrived and visitors to La Porte have begun to stop by our library locations to check out all of the recent remodels and new buildings. Earlier this month I had the distinct privilege of meeting four women from the La Porte High School graduating...
There’s been a lot of publicity lately about how much water we should drink everyday and why. But what if you (or your kids) just don’t like the taste of water or think it’s boring? The best idea seems to be to add flavorings to plain...
We are nearing the end of the seventh week of our summer reading program and we have 983 students registered who have recorded a total of 125,878 minutes! That’s almost 2,098 hours of reading! Below are the top 5 schools in registrations and minutes logged. Students...
Travel Indiana Do you ever want to just get away? If you answered no to this question, you might not be human. For the rest of us, money and time don’t always allow the lavish getaways that we dream of. But sometimes you need to look...
We are in the sixth week of our summer reading program and we have 777 students registered who have recorded a total of 87,220 minutes! That’s almost 1,454 hours of reading! Below are the top 5 schools in registrations and minutes logged. If you haven’t registered...
Building with Legos is one of the first engineering activities most kids do...
The weather is finally warming up and I've begun to enjoy spending time outdoors again. The wind is no longer bitterly cold and the rain is slowing down - or at least we hope, right? When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to...
The sun plays an important role in maintaining life on Earth and it's climate. It heats the world to keep us warm enough to grow food and live comfortably. It also helps us mark the passing of time. But how can we harness the power of...
We are at the halfway point of our summer reading program and we have 655 students registered who have recorded a total of 68,038 minutes! That’s almost 1,134 hours of reading! Below are the top 5 schools in registrations and minutes logged. If you haven’t registered...
The Indiana Library Federation announced the winners of the Young Hoosier Book Awards (YHBA) and Eliot Rosewater Award (Rosie) for this school year. These awards are chosen annually by students across Indiana. Students who read any of the nominated books may rate each book they've read. In...
Do you enjoy hands-on engineering challenges? What about working with robots or making your own art? Kids and teens, expand your knowledge of science, technology, engineering, art, and math at a different branch of the Library each week! You'll get to take part in challenging activities and...
It’s almost the end of the fourth week of the summer reading program and we have 595 students registered who have recorded a total of 46,702 minutes! That’s just over 778 hours of reading! Below are the top 5 schools in registrations and minutes logged. Check...
Are you a maker interested in electronics? Then soldering is a skill you will want to learn. It’s fun, and the best thing about soldering is that it’s pretty easy to learn, so you feel accomplished in no time at all. What is soldering? Here’s a...
It’s the third week of the summer reading program and we have 263 students registered who have recorded a total of 19,212 minutes! That’s just over 320 hours of reading! Below are the top 5 schools in registrations and minutes logged. Check back next week to see...
The 19th Sunflower Fair will take place this September in downtown La Porte. Have you already started your sunflowers? If not, don't worry! You can get your children involved in the planting process by bringing them to our upcoming Sunflowers by Design event at the Fish...
It’s the second week of the summer reading program and there are already 209 students registered who have recorded a total of 7,986 minutes! That’s just over 133 hours of reading! Below are the top 5 schools in registrations and minutes logged. Check back next week to see...
Design your perfect summer at the La Porte County Public Library by joining our summer reading program! Beginning today, May 1, students entering Kindergarten through 8th grade can register and begin logging the minutes they read. Students who read 6 hours by June 30 earn...
April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate, residents at living facilities in La Porte created their own free verse poems using the TimeSlips technique. They were shown this photo and asked open ended questions about it: What is happening in this picture? What is the...
Through a generous donation from the Unity Foundation of La Porte County, the Library has purchased coding and robotics equipment. This fall, teachers can borrow Bitsbox, Lego WeDo, and Ozobot curriculum kits for up to 6 weeks. So that educators feel equipped to use these kits in their...
To celebrate National Crayon Day, Crayola is retiring the color dandelion. Learn more about Dan D.'s retirement tour on Crayola's website. Dandelion will be replaced with a shade in the blue family, and fans can help select the name of the color this summer. So,...
Since March Madness and Women's History month coincide, I thought I'd share some family photos that celebrate local women's basketball teams. The first photo is of a 1959 Union Township team, and the beauty 4th from the left is my maternal grandma, Loretta (Rita) Zahrn...
“See the ‘New’ Indiana Room” is next in the Local Lore series that will be held Thursday, April 6 from 6:30-7:30pm in the newly remodeled Indiana Room at the Main Library. Admire the beautiful, exposed brick wall uncovered during the remodeling process from the original Carnegie Library...
ILL stands for InterLibrary Loan. It is a service that we offer here through the state-wide ILL system, SRCS (pronounced "circs"). If we don't own an item, but you would like to read/listen/watch it, we ask other libraries throughout the state of Indiana to let...