I attended my first and only Laborers’ Union meeting when I was a young teen. I accompanied my father and grandfather, both of whom were receiving awards for their 20 and 50 years, respectively, as members of the Union. Someone sitting at our table asked if I thought that I would join the union as well when I was older. My father laughed and quipped that I was “too smart” for road construction, a comment that was rightfully read by the table filled with highly intelligent construction workers as an underhanded compliment to my much more artistically minded personality.
Now, as I write this article, I am treated to the recently commonplace dulcet harmonies of the library: the grinding, whirring, and crashing of construction equipment, causing me to almost feel as though I did follow in my patriarchs’ footsteps after all. As the Great Library Flooring Project creeps ever closer to my desk in the Teen Area, the noise increases and my concentration decreases proportionally. Some patrons, not bound to the library desk as I am, may want to take advantage of our digital resources more thoroughly so as to avoid the ever-changing labyrinth that is the current library grounds.
The following list includes just a fraction of some of the places where you can acquire library materials, along with some of my favorites therein.
Kanopy: Kanopy is a library streaming service for films, TV shows, and documentaries for all ages. Patrons can use their library card number to create an account, which will give them six credits for checkouts each month. Kanopy is the streaming home to many classic and award-winning films, and most importantly, several of my favorite movies of all time. For horror fans, Kanopy has a wide range, from campy classics like George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” (1968) to modern masterworks such as Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” and Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” (2019). For anyone who enjoys artsy non-English language horror films, one of my favorites on Kanopy is Iranian American director Ana Lily Amirpour’s “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” (2014). Kanopy also currently has a number of queer classics, including “Shiva Baby” (2020), “The Babadook” (2014), the Academy Award for Best Picture-winning “Moonlight” (2016), and “But I’m a Cheerleader” (1999).
ComicsPlus: ComicsPlus is a comics-specific digital resource. Like Hoopla, it contains a plethora of different kinds of comics, including popular American comics publishers such as Dark Horse, Image, and Fantagraphics, as well as manga publishers such as Yen Media, Kodansha and TokyoPop. Some personal favorites include Dark Horse’s continuation of “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” manga series “Dear Noman,” and Image Comics’ “The Wicked + the Divine.”
Librarians outside the main library: As always, BCPL librarians and resources can often be found in the wild. The Bookmobile, Book Express, and Hope Branch libraries are accessible despite the chaos of the Main Branch. Programming librarians are venturing more outside the building, with many residing in Columbus parks throughout the spring and summer. (See the Parks and Rec Fun Guide and the BCPL Program Guide to catch us at your favorite park!)
Dakota Hall is teen programming librarian at the Bartholomew County Public Library. Send comments to [email protected].
