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Richland Library Main

Remembering Dixie Super Market

  • Margaret D.
  • Tuesday, March 28

From 1937 to 1988 there was a unique supermarket at 1438 Assembly Street where folks from the surrounding neighborhoods could buy local meat and produce.

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Richland Library Main

Celebrating Martha Cramer

  • Margaret D.
  • Monday, March 06

Almost lost to history, Mrs. Martha Cramer was instrumental in establishing Columbia’s first public library. We at Richland Library owe her a debt of gratitude for spearheading the creation of our current library system more than 125 years ago.

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Richland Library Main

History of Richland Library

  • Margaret D.
  • Tuesday, February 07

To mark the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Main Library at 1431 Assembly Street, I decided to take a look back at the Richland Libraries of years past.

To Look a Nazi in the Eye
The Light in Hidden Places
List

International Holocaust Remembrance Day for Teens

  • Richland Library
  • Thursday, January 26
"Oskar Groening, the man accused of aiding and abetting in the murder of more than three hundred thousand Jews in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, was about to enter the German courtroom."--To Look a Nazi in the Eye:  A Teen's Account of a War Criminal Trial by Kathy Kacer with Jordana Lebowitz
If then
American Inventions
List

#BroaderBookshelf 2023 - Technology (History)

  • Mahogany S.
  • Monday, January 23
Check out one of these titles and fulfill the #BroaderBookshelf 2023 Reading Challenge prompt "read a fiction or nonfiction book about technology".  This list is part of the #BroaderBookshelf 2023 Reading Challenge. Find more lists here.
Martha Graham
Savor
List

New in Biography and Memoir

  • Bland L.
  • Monday, December 12
New and noteworthy titles include You Don’t Know What War Is, the diary of twelve-year-old Yeva Skalietska, who had to flee Ukraine with her grandmother at the outset of the current war, and Neil Baldwin's Martha Graham: When Dance Became Modern.  Amo
South to America
Ardennes 1944
List

2022 Charleston Literary Festival Authors

  • Bland L.
  • Wednesday, October 05
This year’s Charleston Literary Festival, taking place November 4-13, will feature a spectacular array of fiction and nonfiction writers.  The fiction roster includes literary-fiction heavyweight Ian McEwan, as well as best-selling authors Geraldine Brooks and Nic Hornby.  Among those representing nonfiction are African American studies scholar Eddie S.
All This Could Be Different
When We Were Sisters
List

2022 National Book Award Longlists

  • Bland L.
  • Friday, September 16
The 2022 National Book Award longlists have just been announced.  The finalists will be named on 4 October.  In the meantime, check out these contenders in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young people's literature, and translated literature.
Nickel and Dimed
Bait and Switch
List

Remembering Barbara Ehrenreich

  • Bland L.
  • Tuesday, September 06
Barbara Ehrenreich, who for more than fifty years dissected American culture in a series of perceptive books (many of them best sellers), died on 1 Sept.
Database

StudySC

Explore South Carolina through StudySC! Learn about your community, South Carolina history, and the people who have made a significant impact on the state and the world.

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The Pioneers
1776
List

American Biographer

  • Bland L.
  • Tuesday, August 09
Author David G. McCullough, who died on 7 August, has left a rich legacy of biographies and histories that met with both critical and public acclaim.  The recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Book Awards, among many other literary prizes, McCullough published a series of best-selling books from 1968 to 2019, all still fresh and relevant for their insight and erudition.  Check out these landmark works from our collection.
Assignment Russia
The Brink
List

The Cold War

  • Bland L.
  • Friday, July 22
The Cold War was famously never a declared “war” but an ideological struggle that unfolded in a decades-long series of proxy conflicts.  Researchers are still uncovering new information from archives and other sources to better explain this strange period, which one historian has referred to as the “Fifty-Year Wound.”  Check out these recent titles from our collection if you’re curious to learn more.
Who Killed Jane Stanford?
The Ghosts of Eden Park
List

Historic True Crime

  • Bland L.
  • Tuesday, June 21
Many true crime books are roughly contemporary in setting.  But there’s a whole subgenre of nonfiction crime narrative drawn from historical cases, many of them scandalous in their day and some of them still unsolved.  A recent standout in this subgenre is Who Killed Jane Stanford? by respected historian Richard White, which explores the poisoning murder of the widow of Stanford University founder Leland Stanford.
Level Up
The Good Retirement Guide 2022
List

New Business Books

  • Bland L.
  • Friday, June 03
Noteworthy new titles include Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back, by Georgia politician (and serial entrepreneur) Stacey Abrams and her business partner, Lara Hodgson; Dade Hayes and Dawn Chmielewski’s Binge Times: Inside Hollywood's Furious Billion-Dol
Never Simple
Beatrix Potter
List

New in Biography and Memoir

  • Bland L.
  • Wednesday, June 01
Liz Scheier’s Never Simple, about her difficult upbringing as the child of a mother with Borderline Personality Disorder, has been getting a lot of notice, as has Mary Laura Philpott’s Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives, a set of
Blog
Richland Library Sandhills

Why is Juneteenth Celebrated?

  • Brittany S.
  • Saturday, July 02

Join us as we reflect on Juneteenth with stories that honor the past, illuminate black culture, and commemorate living unapologetically free.

Chasing Me to My Grave
Refractive Africa
List

2022 Pulitzer Prizewinners

  • Bland L.
  • Monday, May 09
The 2022 Pulitzer Prizes have just been announced.  Check out the following prizewinners and finalists in the categories of fiction, biography, general nonfiction, history, and poetry.
The Heartbeat of Trees
National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America
List

Arbor Day Reads

  • Bland L.
  • Friday, April 22
National Arbor Day is observed annually on the last Friday in April (4/29 this year), although South Carolina marks its own Arbor Day on the first Friday in December, since saplings planted at that time of year will have a better chance of becoming established before the brutal heat of summer arrives.
Bellevue
CERTAIN PEOPLE
List

True Tales of the Gilded Age

  • Sara M.
  • Tuesday, April 05
Are you all caught up on the HBO series The Gilded Age?  Check out these nonfiction books about the real people and places of New York society in the late nineteenth century.
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Richland Library Sandhills

Interview with Councilwoman Jesica Mackey

  • Brittany S.
  • Wednesday, March 30

I had the honor of chatting with Richland County Council Vice-Chair, Jesica Mackey, (District 9) about her leadership, community, and the importance of Women's History Month.

Blog
Richland Library Main

Columbia Women: A Walking Tour

  • Heather B.
  • Monday, March 14

Grab your walking shoes for a brief stroll and learn more about a few of the women who have made huge impacts and continue to advance Columbia, the South, and our nation. 

The Girls Who Stepped out of Line
The Unwomanly Face of War
List

Her Story: Women Heroes of WWII

  • Kristin A.
  • Thursday, March 03
Women have always served their countries in many ways during wartime, but the sheer scope of World War II demanded more of them than ever — and they answered the call. Around the world, women served as military nurses, pilots, resistance fighters, codebreakers, spies, and served in other roles. For decades, their stories went untold. For Women's History Month, we're celebrating these courageous women and the important role they played during this time. Thrilling and inspiring, these books will shed new light on the women who answered the call to serve their country. 
Anansi Does the Impossible!
List

A Year of Black History

  • Helene F.
  • Thursday, February 10
A Year of Black History Continues   Folktales, comics and history ... here we are!  Also, Hoopla is allowing 15 checkouts for the month of February, as well as bonus borrows.  Hoopla offers many comic book/graphic novels to choose from!  Please, enter your email address and password associated with Hoopla.
Orwell's Roses
A Little Devil in America
List

2021 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalists

  • Bland L.
  • Thursday, February 10
The finalists for the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Awards were recently announced.  Given annually since 1976, they are the only major book awards selected by critics.  The winners will be announced in March.  Check out the following finalists from our collection, in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, biography, autobiography, poetry, and criticism.  (The list also includes the finalists for the NBCC's John Leonard Prize for Best First Book.)
Blog
Richland Library Main

Black-Owned Newspapers in Columbia

  • Margaret D.
  • Tuesday, February 01

Over the years, there have been several newspapers published in Columbia covering news and events for Black readers. Let’s take a look at some of these titles and find out where you can access them.

Patricia Highsmith
Redeeming Justice
List

New in Biography and Memoir

  • Bland L.
  • Wednesday, December 29
Notable new releases include Chinese artist/activist Ai Weiwei’s 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows and Indian economist (and prolific author) Amartya Sen’s Home in the World.  Carole Angier’s
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
After Henry
List

Remembering Joan Didion

  • Bland L.
  • Monday, December 27
Joan Didion, who died at age 87 on 23 December, astutely sized up American culture from the 1960s onward in a series of nonfiction and fiction works that met with both critical and popular acclaim.  The prolific Didion is perhaps still best known for her first two essay collections, Slouching Towards Bethlehem and Th
Trillions
Get Good with Money
List

New Business Books

  • Bland L.
  • Wednesday, December 22
This batch of new business books features some sharp corporate take-downs, including Peter Robison’s Flying Blind: The 737 MAX Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing and Bartow J.
Blog
Richland Library Main

What Exactly Is DHEC?

  • Dusty R.
  • Friday, December 17

DHEC has been in the news a lot lately. Learn more about this crucial part of the South Carolina government.

Blog
Richland Library Edgewood

Dinner Table Talks: Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story

  • Taelor J.
    Heather M.
    Jocelyn T.
  • Friday, November 04

Dinner Table Talks create the opportunity for families to have important conversations centered around books.  This conversation focuses on the nonfiction children's biography, Buffalo Bird Girl:  A Hidatsa Story by S.D. Nelson.  

Now Beacon, Now Sea
The Secret to Superhuman Strength
List

New York Times Books of the Year: Biography and Memoir

  • Bland L.
  • Sunday, November 28
The recently released list of the New York Times notable books of 2021 includes a number of compelling biographies and memoirs you won't want to miss.  Check these titles out from our collection.
Blog
Richland Library Main

A-maize-ing Corn Husk Dolls

  • Richland Library
  • Monday, November 29

A perfect Fall activity to spice up your holiday; the art of corn husk doll making is steeped in tradition and fun for the whole family. 

Blog
Richland Library Main

Women Who Dared

  • Caitlin B.
  • Friday, November 19

The Children's Room holds many fascinating biographies about these women, from Ada Byron Lovelace, who created the language for future computer code, to Maryam Mirzakhani, modern mathematician. These women kept asking questions, kept reading, and kept discovering, no matter what obstacles they faced.

1984
1984
List

Rory Gilmore's Reading Challenge (List #1 - Starting with '1984')

  • Ariel H.
  • Thursday, November 18
☕ Take a deep dive into all the books seen and referenced on the Gilmore Girls from Season 1 to A Year in the Life.  📚 Just in time for our winter weather. So, grab your books, a cup of coffee (or hot cocoa), and bundle up by the fire. ❄️Smells Like Snow❄️ (except for SC)   Since there are 408 titles, there will be multiple lists sent out over the next few months. Enjoy!
#NotYourPrincess
Native American Voices on Identity, Art, and Culture
List

Soaring Voices

  • Helene F.
  • Friday, November 12
Many First Nation voices, past and present tell us of their worlds, experiences and dreams.  Some of these titles are available as ebooks and other formats. You can also get personalized reading recommendations by email.
Braiding Sweetgrass
The Botany of Desire.
List

If You Like...Braiding Sweetgrass

  • Ariel H.
  • Monday, November 08
📚Below you'll find a variety of books that share a theme or more with Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Enjoy!🌱
All That She Carried
A Little Devil in America
List

2021 National Book Award Finalists

  • Bland L.
  • Tuesday, November 02
The 2021 National Book Award finalists in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature, and young people’s literature have recently been announced.  While you're waiting to learn who the winners will be (to be announced on 17 November), check out these finalists from our collection. 2021 National Book Awards
No One is Talking About This
Call Me by Your Name
List

If you can't make it to the Charleston Literary Festival . . .

  • Bland L.
  • Thursday, October 21
This year's Charleston Literary Festival, running from 5-14 November, features a stellar lineup of speakers, with an admirable mix of fiction and nonfiction authors, ranging from icons such as Paul Auster and Walter Isaacson to recent stars such as Yaa Gyasi and Patricia Lockwood. But if you can't make it to the festival, don't worry - Richland Library features many titles by the participating authors.  Check out the list below; given the variety of the author list, you're sure to find something to intrigue you.
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Richland Library Main

iRead: Selina Alko

  • Heather M.
  • Friday, September 24

iRead features the best ebooks, eaudiobooks and print books for children and teens curated by the Children's Room and Teen Center staff.  

Growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia with a Turkish Jewish father who spoke seven languages and taught painting, and a Jewish mother who worked in the family’s century-old metal recycling business, Selina Alko was surrounded by the melody of words and stories from different places and varied visual possibilities.

Blog
Richland Library Main

iRead: Sean Qualls

  • Heather M.
  • Friday, September 24

iRead features the best ebooks, eaudiobooks and print books for children and teens curated by the Children's Room and Teen Center staff.  

Artist and Children's book illustrator Sean Qualls finds inspiration everywhere.

Unbowed
The Basics of Ecology
List

🌍World Environmental Health Day [September 26, 2021]🌍

  • Ariel H.
  • Monday, September 20
Here is a list to jump-start your dive into learning more about the biosphere you live in, and the ecosystems surrounding you (and also living within you). In addition, for those that are familiar with environmental science, there are additional books to expand your knowledge while possibly making an activist out of you.
The Only Plane in the Sky
After the Fall
List

Fall and Rise: 9/11, 20 Years On

  • Bland L.
  • Tuesday, September 07
As the nation prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, consider these titles from our collection to learn more about what happened on that day, both from the perspective of the immediate aftermath and from mor
The Women with Silver Wings
2013 Instrument Rating Test Prep
List

Aspiring Female Pilots

  • Ariel H.
  • Wednesday, August 25
✈️Zara Rutherford, a 19-year old Belgian pilot, may become the world's youngest female pilot to fly around the world to date. Currently the title is held by Captain Shaesta Waiz, an Afghan refugee, who completed the trip in 2017 at age 30. Rutherford mentioned a huge reason for doing this flight was to help encourage more girls/young women to go into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)✈️
Killing the Black Body
Four Hundred Souls
List

National Wellness Month: Black Women's Health

  • Ariel H.
  • Thursday, August 05
August is National Wellness Month⚕️ Here is a list on systemic racism and the history on the battle for control of black women's health throughout the centuries. Also, included are some wellness guides promoting self-care and healing. 
Best of Japan.
Seeing Kyoto
List

Japan 2021 for Olympics 2020

  • Helene F.
  • Wednesday, July 14
We now get to see Japan, her culture and history after seeing China and Korea present their cultures in previous Olympic Games.  What do you want to learn about first, anime, manga, the language, the food, and the places they all come together in?  Looking for more, and in different formats? Check out our personalized recommendations here or call us at 799-9084.
The Olympics, A Very Peculiar History
Olympic Track and Field
List

Tokyo Olympics 2020

  • Helene F.
  • Tuesday, July 13
Tokyo Olympics 2020 games are about to begin!  The trials for the USA team members are going on now.  You can pick and choose which parts of the games you watch, the gymnastics, track and field, soccer, equestrian, or one of the new sports like surfing.  Looking for more? Check out our personalized recommendations here or call us at 799-9084.
How to Be Human
Notes on Grief
List

New in Biography and Memoir

  • Bland L.
  • Thursday, June 24
Featured in this roundup of new titles are memoirs by two authors with ties to the Midlands: Columbia native and Today Show anchor Craig Melvin, who writes of his complicated relationship with his father in Pops: Learning
Black Panther
The Black Panthers
List

YA and Middle Grade Reads for Juneteenth

  • Kenyanah B.
  • Tuesday, June 15
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. The books recommend below showcase the continued fight for freedom.
The Night Watchman
A Treatise on Stars
List

2021 Pulitzer Prizes

  • Bland L.
  • Saturday, June 12
The winners of the 2021 Pulitzer Prizes have just been announced.  Check out the winners (and finalists) in the categories of fiction, history, general nonfiction, biography, and poetry from our collection.
Black is Brown is Tan
The Case for Loving
List

Celebrate Loving Day for Families

  • Heather M.
  • Thursday, June 10
Celebrate Loving Day by sharing stories of families brought together by love. "The “Loving” in Loving Day is actually the last name of Mildred and Richard Loving. The Loving Day Story begins when they were arrested for being married in 1958 because they were an interracial couple living in Virginia.
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
Belle.
List

Celebrate Loving Day in Media

  • Richland Library
  • Thursday, June 10
Celebrate Loving Day by checking out or streaming a favorite film or TV show featuring an interracial love story. "The “Loving” in Loving Day is actually the last name of Mildred and Richard Loving. The Loving Day Story begins when they were arrested for being married in 1958 because they were an interracial couple living in Virginia.
Voyaging Southward from the Strait of Magellan
Prague Pictures
List

Travel Writing, Classic to Contemporary

  • Bland L.
  • Tuesday, May 11
As summer approaches and public health restrictions are eased, the prospect of travel, long denied for many, beckons invitingly.  If you are not quite ready to plan a trip yet, consider some of the best that travel writing has to offer, from classics like William Bartram’s exploration of the Southeast in the 1770s to the latest from best-selling travel writer/novelist Paul Theroux.  The following list leans heavily toward the literary travel-writing end of the spectrum (no Fodor’s or Rick Steves guides here).  Only one title per author is included, although several, such as Ther
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Richland Library Cooper

Being Vietnamese-American

  • Charlotte D.
  • Wednesday, May 05

For Asian-American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month, representation matters in our books.

Ladies Get Paid
Humor, Seriously
List

Ladies Get Paid (and other new business books you might enjoy)

  • Bland L.
  • Friday, April 30
Check out these business and finance books recently added to our collection.  Popular titles include Ladies Get Paid, a manifesto on workplace equality by Claire Wasserman, and Black, White, and The Grey, a memoir by Mashama Bailey and John O.
The Killing Floor.
10,000 Black Men Named George.
List

Movies for Workers' Day

  • Keith B.
  • Thursday, April 29
The first day of May has been celebrated as International Workers' Day since 1889 when labor activists were demonstrating and organizing for the eight-hour-day.  The following list is made up of dramatic features, documentaries, and educational series on the labor movement, unionizing, leftist political activism, economic inequality, and working conditions. Mostly focused on American culture and history, it nontheless includes films set around the globe, helping to illustrate the shared struggles of workers everywhere. 
Our Time is Now
Our Time is Now
List

Our Vulnerable Democracy: Past, Present and Future

  • Chantal W.
  • Friday, April 23
One of the many things that we learned in the year 2020 is that democracy is a fragile thing.   How do we as regular citizens combat white supremacy?  How do we go about demanding that the institutions that are the foundation of our democracy and government be fairer and actually represent all of us and not just some of us? 
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Richland Library Main

Augusta Baker and the Art of Storytelling

  • Rebecca T.
  • Thursday, March 24

"Storytelling at its best is mutual creation. Children listen and, out of the words they hear, create their own mental images; this opening of the mind's eye develops the imagination." - Storytelling: Art and Technique by Augusta Baker and Ellin Greene

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Richland Library Sandhills

Five Trailblazing Women of Richland County

  • Brittany S.
    Alex B.
  • Tuesday, April 27

Let's look at five amazing women leaders who not only have made a positive impact all across Richland County, but have broken down barriers while they were at it. 

Brazen
Drawing Power
List

Women's History Month: Graphic Novels For YA Readers

  • Thomas M.
  • Monday, March 29
Women History Month is a time to celebrate and examine women’s history, issues, and contributions. Our team's contributions this month will be providing a quality booklist every Monday featuring strong female characters, movements, and historical figures. 
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Richland Library Main

She Changed Her Name

  • Helene F.
  • Thursday, May 20

Many generations work together to reveal how Sojourner Truth fits in our history or herstory.