Shelf Talk 57: Enrich Your Life in the New Year

Upon each new year, many people make the decision to be a better version of themselves than they were the year before. Social media is flooded with a trending hashtag “NewYearNewMe” and many take to posting their resolutions. Some set their goals high, but others choose to change the small things. If you’re looking for ideas on self-improvement, the Mississippi County Library System specializes in helping people to enrich their lives. “Enrich Your Life” is a tagline we often use; you may have seen it in MCLS advertisements or on our Facebook page. This stems from our organization’s mission statement. This can be viewed on our website, but for those who are unfamiliar, our mission is, “We bring people, ideas, collections, services, and technology together to advance a rich quality of life in our communities.” Using the resources we have, we can provide the tools needed to seek better opportunities for our community members. In doing so, we can enrich the lives of those who use their libraries! The MCLS offers a variety of services including free Wi-Fi, computer access, books and other reading materials, meeting rooms, print, fax, copy, and passport processing. Each of these can be used in the New Year as a tool for self-improvement. The library system also holds various types of programming including wreath-making classes and weekly Game and Craft Nights at the Blytheville Public Library. Our programs give you the opportunity to learn a new skill or improve on what you already know. Thursday nights at 6:00 you can engage in gaming with adults or children ages 7 and up, or join the Craft Club and learn to knit, sew, or crochet. Not only does the MCLS seek to provide its community with a rich quality of life, but we also have the ability to save you a few dollars this year! A lot of people pay monthly subscriptions to various audio or e-book applications in order to read their favorite authors wherever they are. Luckily for this group of our community members, we have Libby. Libby is an app that has over 100,000 e-book and audiobook options. The best part about it is that you get free access to all these titles with your MCLS library card. I encourage you to make a goal of utilizing your public library more often. Whether this be attending programs, participating in the summer reading program (it’s for adults, too!), downloading Libby, or using the day-to-day resources that we offer, I promise that the MCLS could be your biggest asset. The new year means a clean slate, and there is no better time to seek enrichment in your life than now!