<![CDATA[Des Plaines Public Library Blog]]> https://www.dppl.org/ News, recommendations, and more from the Des Plaines Public Library en blog@dppl.org Copyright 2024 2024-03-15T14:00:00+00:00 <![CDATA[Miner Recs Episode 87: 96th Academy Awards]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/miner-recs-episode-87-96th-academy-awards https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/miner-recs-episode-87-96th-academy-awards#When:1710511200 On this episode, Angelo, Ariana, Quinn and Charlie discuss the 2024 Oscars, including their own picks and predictions of movies nominated, opinions about actors and films that have been unfairly snubbed, and suggestions to the Academy for future categories.

Listen to their conversation in the player below:

Place a hold on some of 2023's finest films today:

Barbie DVD cover

Barbie

Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans. (Also available on Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD.)

Oppenheimer DVD cover

Oppenheimer

The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb. (Also available on Blu-Ray.)

The Holdovers DVD cover

The Holdovers

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them a damaged, brainy troublemaker, and with the school's head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam. (Also available on Blu-Ray.)

Past Lives DVD cover

Past Lives

Nora & Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Decades later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront destiny, love, and the choices that make a life. (Also available on Blu-Ray and through Hoopla.)

Poor Things DVD cover

Poor Things

From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. (Also available on Blu-Ray.)

]]> 2024-03-15T14:00:00+00:00 <![CDATA[Celebrating Women’s History Month]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/celebrating-womens-history-month https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/celebrating-womens-history-month#When:1709919480 March is National Women's History month and we are celebrating in the way we know best! 

Recommending great books, movies, music and other resources available with your DPPL library card.

Starting off with some of the stellar DPPL staff recommendations and posts from the past:

Women Who Rocked…and Continue to Rock

Bad*** Women of Television 

Witch Fix 

Misconceptions of Female Rulers

8 Picks for Women’s History Month

And don't sleep on all the digital content available, as well: 

Access Video on Demand

Access on Demand

Kanopy

Kanopy

Freegal Music

Freegal

Hoopla

Hoopla

Need more?

Stop by any of DPPL's service desks for more recommendations and personal suggestions. 

We love to share!

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2024-03-08T17:38:00+00:00
<![CDATA[DIY With DPPL: Mason Jar Lanterns]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/diy-with-dppl-mason-jar-lanterns https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/diy-with-dppl-mason-jar-lanterns#When:1709391600 Hey, Kiddos! It's time for a new edition of DIY with DPPL!

This time, you'll learn how to make your very own mason jar lanterns.

 

The Lantern Festival, called Yuan Xiao Jie in Mandarin Chinese, falls at the end of the Chinese New Year. It takes place on the first full moon of the new year and celebrates the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Create your very own lanterns to celebrate the the Lantern Festival and use them to let in light into your world.

Starting on Saturday, March 2nd, stop by the Youth Services desk on the second floor of DPPL to pick up a kit (while supplies last!), and then use the materials to do the project we show you step-by-step in the video.

(Grade 1 and up.)

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2024-03-02T15:00:00+00:00
<![CDATA[It’s Monarch Award Time - Vote by March 10th]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/its-monarch-award-time https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/its-monarch-award-time#When:1709221800 Calling all Kids in Kindergarten through Third Grade.

It’s Monarch Award time and we need your help to pick the winning book!

Every year, the Association of Illinois School Library Educators chooses 20 books to participate in the Monarch Reader’s Choice Awards for kindergarten through third grade.  

Kids all over the state get to vote for their favorite book on the list and you can be one of them!

Yes – that's right, all you have to do is read at least 5 of the books, vote, and you can help choose the winner.

Pretty cool, right?

Wait, it gets better.

If you read 10 of the 20 books on the list, you get a FREE copy of the winning book to keep!

 Stop by the Youth Services department to pick up a form, check out some of the nominees and make your vote count!

The deadline to vote is March 10th, 2024.

Monarch page 2

Monarch page 3

Monarch page 4

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2024-02-29T15:50:00+00:00
<![CDATA[Romance and Regency with Bridgerton’s Julia Quinn]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/romance-and-regency-with-bridgertons-julia-quinn https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/romance-and-regency-with-bridgertons-julia-quinn#When:1708961400

Julia Quinn, bestselling and award-winning romance author, has written close to 40 novels including her popular series about the Bridgerton family which was adapted into an Emmy-nominated series on Netflix. Quinn will be joined in conversation with Sarah MacLean, bestselling historical romance author, romance columnist for The New York Times and The Washington Post, and co-host of the weekly romance novel podcast Fated Mates.

(This program originally aired over Zoom on February 20, 2024 and will be available until March 8, 2024.)

]]>
2024-02-26T15:30:00+00:00
<![CDATA[Miner Recs Episode 86: Dungeons & Dragons]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/miner-recs-episode-86-dungeons-dragons https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/miner-recs-episode-86-dungeons-dragons#When:1708102320 On this episode, Angelo (the Dungeon Master), Amy (the Druid), Quinn (the Sorcerer) and Sarah (the Paladin) talk about the fantasy tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.

Listen to their conversation in the player below:

Place a hold on some D&D essentials from our collection:

Barbie DVD cover

Barbie

Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans. (Also available on Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD.)

Oppenheimer DVD cover

Oppenheimer

The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb. (Also available on Blu-Ray.)

The Holdovers DVD cover

The Holdovers

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them a damaged, brainy troublemaker, and with the school's head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam. (Also available on Blu-Ray.)

Past Lives DVD cover

Past Lives

Nora & Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Decades later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront destiny, love, and the choices that make a life. (Also available on Blu-Ray and through Hoopla.)

Poor Things DVD cover

Poor Things

From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. (Also available on Blu-Ray.)

Dungeon Master's Guide book cover

Dungeon Master's Guide

The Dungeon Master’s Guide provides the inspiration and the guidance you need to spark your imagination and create worlds of adventure for your players to explore and enjoy. Inside you’ll find world-building tools, tips and tricks for creating memorable dungeons and adventures, optional game rules, hundreds of classic D&D magic items, and much more!

D&D Essentials Kit picture

D&D Essentials Kit

Unleash your imagination! Defeat the dragon of Icespire Peak. Dungeons & Dragons is a cooperative storytelling game that harnesses your imagination and invites you to explore a fantastic world of adventure, where heroes battle monsters, find treasures, and overcome epic quests. This box contains the essentials you need to run a D&D game with one Dungeon Master and one to five adventurers.

The Monsters & Creatures Compendium: A Young Adventurer's Guide book cover

The Monsters & Creatures Compendium: A Young Adventurer's Guide

Discover the terrifying monsters and fascinating beasts of Dungeons & Dragons with this A-to-Z illustrated guide to all the creatures you might encounter during your adventures. (Other titles in the Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer's Guide series include Monsters & Creatures, Places & Portals, Wizards & Spells, Dungeons & Tombs, Dragons & Treasures, Warriors & Weapons and Beasts & Behemoths.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves DVD cover

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people in this hilarious and action-packed adventure. (This film is also available as a 4K Ultra HD disc.)

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance video game cover

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance (for Xbox)

Team up to bring down frost giants, vengeful dragons, and armies of abominable creatures. Beat back the onslaught as one of four legendary heroes from the Dungeons & Dragons universe. Defend your homeland of Icewind Dale against the invading armies of evil. (Also available for PS4 and PS5.)

]]> 2024-02-16T16:52:00+00:00 <![CDATA[DIY With DPPL: Frog Game]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/diy-with-dppl-frog-game https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/diy-with-dppl-frog-game#When:1706972400 Hey, Kiddos! It's time for a new edition of DIY with DPPL!

This time, you'll learn how to make your very own frog game.

Starting on Saturday, February 3rd, stop by the Youth Services desk on the second floor of DPPL to pick up a kit (while supplies last!), and then use the materials to do the project we show you step-by-step in the video.

Then use the materials to do the project we show you step-by-step in the video. (Grade 1 and up.)

]]>
2024-02-03T15:00:00+00:00
<![CDATA[Explore Black History Month Through DPPL’s Online Collections]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/explore-black-history-month-through-our-online-collections https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/explore-black-history-month-through-our-online-collections#When:1706725260 During Black History Month & throughout the year, we invite you to explore our online collections of history, music, film, books and more!

Kanopy

A special collection featuring African American cinema, Arts & Culture, History, Biography & more.

Kanopy

Hoopla

A collection of ebooks, audiobooks, comics, movies, television programs and musical recordings.

Hoopla

Freegal

Curated playlist for Black History Month.

Freegal

African-American History from Infobase

Historic documents, videos, biographies and more.

African-American History from Infobase

Black Americans in Gale in Context Biography

 

Portraits of 561 prominent Black Americans.

 

Black Americans in Gale

 

Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: Challenges and Triumphs in the Pursuit of Equality

3,000 documents focused on six different phases of Black Freedom: Slavery and the Abolitionist Movement (1790-1860); The Civil War and the Reconstruction Era (1861-1877); Jim Crow Era from 1878 to the Great Depression (1878-1932); The New Deal and World War II (1933-1945); The Civil Rights and Black Power Movements (1946-1975); The Contemporary Era (1976-2000)

Proquest

Want more? 

Checkout our book, movies and music recommendations here.

]]>
2024-01-31T18:21:00+00:00
<![CDATA[Celebrating African Americans and the Arts]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/february-is-black-history-month https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/february-is-black-history-month#When:1706720520 Every February, the United States acknowledges the history and achievements of African Americans with Black History Month.

The Des Plaines Public Library plays its part in this annual observance by featuring Black History Month displays containing media from and about Black artists on both the third and fourth floor.

Here is a brief overview of how this month-long observance came to be and explain this year’s theme as decided by the ASALH.

 A curated list of books, films, and music related to the theme is included, as well.

Why was February chosen as Black History Month?

BHM 2024
In 1926, historian and journalist Dr. Carter G. Woodson declared the second week of February as “Negro History Week.”

Woodson chose this particular week in order to honor two Americans who played a prominent role in the advancement of African American people: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas, whose birthdays are respectively the 12th and 14th of February.

The shift from being only a week-long observance to one that lasted the whole month prominently began in the 60s, a decade in which Black educators and students across the country used their influence to bring greater awareness to Black history.

Their collective efforts would prove fruitful when, in 1975, President Gerald Ford officially recognized February as Black History Month.

You can read the full origins of Black History Month on the ASALH’s official website.

What is the ASALH?

ASALH stands for the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History.

According to their website, the ASALH was established by Dr. Carter G. Woodson on September 9, 1915 in order to help teach the public about Black history.

Every February, the ASALH decides on a new theme for Black History Month in order to explore a new facet of African American culture.

2024’s Black History Theme is African Americans and the Arts

This year, the ASALH announced that the theme of 2024’s Black History Month will be African Americans and the Arts.

As part of the announcement, the ASALH highlighted a number of artistic forms and cultural movements in which African American influence was and is prominent, including the Black Renaissance of the 20s and 30s, music such as jazz and hip-hop, and even a contemporary subgenre of speculative fiction called Afrofuturism.

If you want to experience the many rich and diverse forms Black art can take, please consider checking out any of the following recommended media listed below.

Want More?

Barbie DVD cover

Barbie

Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans. (Also available on Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD.)

Oppenheimer DVD cover

Oppenheimer

The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb. (Also available on Blu-Ray.)

The Holdovers DVD cover

The Holdovers

A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them a damaged, brainy troublemaker, and with the school's head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam. (Also available on Blu-Ray.)

Past Lives DVD cover

Past Lives

Nora & Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Decades later, they are reunited for one fateful week as they confront destiny, love, and the choices that make a life. (Also available on Blu-Ray and through Hoopla.)

Poor Things DVD cover

Poor Things

From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos and producer Emma Stone comes the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. (Also available on Blu-Ray.)

Dungeon Master's Guide book cover

Dungeon Master's Guide

The Dungeon Master’s Guide provides the inspiration and the guidance you need to spark your imagination and create worlds of adventure for your players to explore and enjoy. Inside you’ll find world-building tools, tips and tricks for creating memorable dungeons and adventures, optional game rules, hundreds of classic D&D magic items, and much more!

D&D Essentials Kit picture

D&D Essentials Kit

Unleash your imagination! Defeat the dragon of Icespire Peak. Dungeons & Dragons is a cooperative storytelling game that harnesses your imagination and invites you to explore a fantastic world of adventure, where heroes battle monsters, find treasures, and overcome epic quests. This box contains the essentials you need to run a D&D game with one Dungeon Master and one to five adventurers.

The Monsters & Creatures Compendium: A Young Adventurer's Guide book cover

The Monsters & Creatures Compendium: A Young Adventurer's Guide

Discover the terrifying monsters and fascinating beasts of Dungeons & Dragons with this A-to-Z illustrated guide to all the creatures you might encounter during your adventures. (Other titles in the Dungeons & Dragons Young Adventurer's Guide series include Monsters & Creatures, Places & Portals, Wizards & Spells, Dungeons & Tombs, Dragons & Treasures, Warriors & Weapons and Beasts & Behemoths.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves DVD cover

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people in this hilarious and action-packed adventure. (This film is also available as a 4K Ultra HD disc.)

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance video game cover

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance (for Xbox)

Team up to bring down frost giants, vengeful dragons, and armies of abominable creatures. Beat back the onslaught as one of four legendary heroes from the Dungeons & Dragons universe. Defend your homeland of Icewind Dale against the invading armies of evil. (Also available for PS4 and PS5.)

Music Is History  by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

NONFICTION

Music Is History

by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

Focusing on the years 1971 to the present, Questlove finds the hidden connections in the American tapestry, whether investigating how the blaxploitation era reshaped Black identity or considering the way disco took an assembly-line approach to Black genius.

Artbook Kehinde Wiley: A Republic “The works presented in Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic raise questions about race, gender, and the politics of representation by portraying contemporary African American men and women using the conventions of traditional Eu

ARTBOOK

Kehinde Wiley: A Republic

“The works presented in Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic raise questions about race, gender, and the politics of representation by portraying contemporary African American men and women using the conventions of traditional European portraiture. The exhibition includes an overview of the artist's prolific fourteen-year career and features sixty paintings and sculptures.” – Brooklyn Museum website

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois  By Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

FICTION

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

By Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

To come to terms with who she is and what she wants, Ailey, the daughter of an accomplished doctor and a strict school teacher, embarks on a journey through her family's past, helping her embrace her full heritage, which is the story of the Black experience in itself.

One Night in Miami…  Directed by Regina King

FILM

One Night in Miami…

Directed by Regina King

A fictional account of one amazing night where icons Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown gathered, discussing their roles in the Civil Rights Movement and cultural turmoil of the '60s.

To Pimp a Butterfly  By Kendrick Lamar

MUSIC

To Pimp a Butterfly

By Kendrick Lamar

Prominently a hip-hop album, Kendrick Lamar incorporates a diverse selection of music styles associated with African-American music history, such as jazz and funk. Lamar’s lyricism and social commentary are unparalleled, exploring themes of racial discrimination, depression, and materialism. Content warning: this album contains explicit lyrics.

Poetry African-American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song Across a turbulent history, Black poets created a rich and multifaceted tradition that has been both a reckoning with American realities and an imaginative response to them. One of the great Am

POETRY

African-American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song

Across a turbulent history, Black poets created a rich and multifaceted tradition that has been both a reckoning with American realities and an imaginative response to them. One of the great American art forms, African American poetry encompasses many kinds of verse: formal, experimental, vernacular, lyric, and protest.

DOCUMENTARY Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)  Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

DOCUMENTARY

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

Directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

A powerful and transporting documentary--part music film, part historical record--created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was largely forgotten--until now.

MEMOIR  Finding Me  By Viola Davis

MEMOIR

Finding Me

By Viola Davis

“In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever. This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn't always see me.” – Viola Davis

]]> 2024-01-31T17:02:00+00:00 <![CDATA[Read, Watch & Listen: Miner Recs January 2024]]> https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/read-watch-listen-miner-recs-january-2024 https://www.dppl.org/blog/post/read-watch-listen-miner-recs-january-2024#When:1706560920
BHM 2024
Here's what DPPL's Readers' Advisory staff recommends you read, watch, or listen to this month!

READ

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2024-01-29T20:42:00+00:00