MakerTools!

Thanks to a generous grant from LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act), makertools are arriving at all FRL libraries this winter. But what are makertools? You may have heard the term "makerspace" in recent years -- MakerTools is FRL's take on that concept. MakerTools are the equipment and knowledge needed for making, learning, exploring, and …

National Parks and Recreation Month

Hi Shelf Life Readers! Happy National Parks and Recreation month! I am writing to you from the Jackson County Public Library but if you tried to find me during the summer months from 2012 to 2015, you would’ve had to look deep in the wilderness of either the Sumter or Chattahoochee National Forest, where I …

Libraries Rock this summer!

This summer the Summer Learning Program theme for children and teens is "Libraries Rock!" What a great way to think about libraries. They do rock, especially today, when the era of the silent library and the Shushing Librarian is firmly in the past. Mind you, most libraries offer quiet spaces for those who want or …

Let’s clear the air: a Vulture is not a Buzzard

  Today’s blog focuses on the Turkey Vulture, another one of the most commonly seen birds here in the Southeast. Before we talk about identifying characteristics though, I thought we could dive into the semantics of the terms vulture and buzzard, because it can be pretty confusing. Before researching this topic, whenever I heard the …

Libraries Lead

This past week, April 8th to 14th, was National Library Week! Hooray! We hope everyone celebrated appropriately with books and movies borrowed from your library. If not, don’t worry, Governor Cooper has declared this month as Library Appreciation Month!  National Library Week was first officially sponsored in 1958, making this the 60th anniversary! This week …

Red Tailed Hawk vs Red Shouldered Hawk

Hello to all the readers of the Shelf Life in the Mountains Blog! My name is Annie and I have been working at the beautiful Jackson County Public Library in Sylva for almost two months now. I have also been an avid bird watcher for about four years. It all started when I moved from …

Nonfiction for November

I have to admit, I choose fiction over non-fiction writing most of the time.  Since my life is non-fiction, my inclination is to “escape” some of the “fun” of politics, mass shootings, celebrity scandals, and cleaning up cat vomit. HOWEVER…sometimes the non-fiction is good enough to pull me in.  So I’ll share a couple of …

Flying Mammals, Insect Warrior, Friend

The light is turning shades of blue and purple as the sun drops below the horizon. The air is cooling from a warm summer day.  Crickets are beginning their night time singing, and through the sky comes the faint whirring of bats. Swooping and gliding through the air, indulging in an early evening snack. Some …

Broadband Connectivity on the Regional Level

By Guest Contributor Sarah Thompson, MPA Sarah Thompson is the Executive Director of the Southwestern Commission, and Administrator of the Mountain West Partnership. -What is Region A and the Southwestern Commission? The Southwestern Planning and Economic Development Commission was formed in 1965 by concurrent, joint resolution of the counties and municipalities within the seven westernmost …

Katrina, Ike, Harvey, Irma, Maria, Etc.

  Note:  In addition to books available in the collections of Fontana Regional Library and the NC Cardinal consortium I used articles from databases in NC Live. In recent weeks three category four or five hurricanes devastated multiple Caribbean islands, Puerto Rico,  the Gulf coast of Texas  and the whole state of Florida.  Remnants of …