Tag: Memphis Public Libraries

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Opinion The Last Word

Memphis Is My Boyfriend: Family Fun? Check!

A satisfying weekend of sewing, bakeries, and strategizing chess moves. (Photos: Patricia Lockhart)

It’s time for another intentional tween/teen-friendly Memphis weekend! My kids are 15, 11, 11 (twins), and 10 years old. While most weekends they are content to stay home in their pajamas and play video games, every once in a while, they’ll beg me for a good time. I try my best to find fun, safe, and wallet-friendly places for my kids to enjoy themselves. So here’s to another fun weekend!

Friday — Memphis Public Library

The Memphis Public Library is one of the most underused resources in Memphis for tweens/teens (in my opinion). Did you know that most library branches have drones, 3D printers, sewing machines, crafts, gaming systems, and so much more available for our kids? Well, they have all of those things. They also have writing clubs, exercise groups, knitting clubs, robotics teams, movie days, D&D, trivia, gardening, chess club, cooking classes, and more. And the best thing is, everything is free. I’ll say it louder for the people in the back, everything is free! I mean, if you can name it, the Memphis Public Library probably has it.

Whenever I am looking for something for my kids to do, I always check the library first. Simply go to memphislibrary.org. Next, click on ‘Events’ and then on ‘Calendar of Events’. My home library is the Raleigh Branch Library. But the Cordova, Hollywood, East Shelby, and Benjamin L. Hooks Central branches are poppin’, too!

Don’t get me started on the 901 Cloud. My kids love that place! They appreciate the Homework Helpers that help them with their homework. After they have “stood on business” and finished their work, they engage in their favorite hobbies and even play with VR goggles!

As for me, I absolutely love the Raleigh Branch Sewing Club! I have made an apron, pot holder, bag, key chain, and a catch-all bucket. I’m so proud of myself and my newly learned abilities.

Saturday — Sift Bakery

I have two clear sets of children. One set of kids is very adventurous. They love going outside to play. They are my bikers, skaters, trampoline jumpers, and builders of random things in the front and back yard. They get bored easily, but also have the greatest imaginations. After putting in a full week’s worth of ‘work’ at school, they are ready to let loose on the weekends. The other two kids, however, find value in doing absolutely nothing. If you were to ask them their perfect outing, it would include the exact same things they can do at home. In their words, “I like to do ‘at home’ stuff, but just in different places.” So when my adventurous kids complain that they’re bored, but my relaxed duo are … well, relaxing, I try to think of something to appease the adventurers without disturbing the others’ relaxed peace. And there’s only one place I can think of that will put a smile on all of their faces — Sift Bakery! My kids love nothing more than grabbing their Nintendo Switches and heading to a local bakery. We pick up some of those fancy spiral croissants, a few macaroons, and any other delicious treats Lala has baked up and head to a local park. My adventurous kids get to snack on amazing delicatessens and run around the park, while my relaxed kids enjoy their treats and don’t miss a single beat of their video games. Bada-bing! Everyone is happy!

Sunday — Memphis Chess Club

My kids enjoy a good game of chess. Scratch that … some of my kids enjoy a good game of chess. No, let’s try again … some of my kids enjoy a good game of chess as long as it’s accompanied by pizza. And there’s only one place in Memphis where they can get both a chess game and pizza. Memphis Chess Club! Upon entering, we place our order: one medium Fabi (cheese) pizza, one medium Greco (pepperoni), a basket of fries, some mac-and-cheese, a huge cinnamon roll, and a couple of beers for the adults. Next, we head to the game wall. We grab a couple of bags of chess and some random board games. Memphis Chess Club has too many games to name.

Since we are frequent flyers of the Memphis Chess Club, we have the family membership. This allows us to play all board games for free, which usually costs $5 a visit. We also get 10 percent off of everything we order! But most importantly, my kids and I can attend all chess classes for free.

But let’s get real. That’s not my favorite thing about the Memphis Chess Club. (Sidebar: I’m a pretty average player and proud of it!) They have this thing where you can ask them for a random cocktail and receive 10 percent off. A drink that contains alcohol and a discount?! What more could I want? Go to the cashier and say you want a random cocktail. They will swivel their register thingy around to you and you will push a button. That button will then randomly give you a number. That number coincides with the cocktail you will receive. It’s the best surprise ever!

Enjoy Memphis!

Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. Her days are filled with laughter with her four kids and charming husband. By day, she’s a school librarian and writer, but by night … she’s asleep. @realworkwife @memphisismyboyfriend

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We Recommend We Recommend

Literally Literary

Past exhibiting authors (Photo: Courtesy Memphis Public Libraries)

Are you an overdue book? ’Cause you have fine written all over you. And if that pick-up line doesn’t make you want to check out your nearest library, I don’t know what will. Seriously, that’s the only pick-up line I have left in circulation. Maybe, I should just let Memphis Public Libraries (MPL) speak for themselves; the competition is really stacked against me when it comes to them. Take for instance their motto for this year’s Bookstock festival: Come Back Stronger. With a line like that, you just know they’re ready to impress.

And impress, they will. For its 10th anniversary, the family-friendly festival will feature 60 local authors for book-signings and meet-and-greets. New York Times bestselling author Richard Grant will be a keynote speaker and will talk about The Deepest South of All, a part-history and part-travelogue about Natchez, Mississippi. Additionally, University of Memphis professors Susan O’Donovan and Beverly Bond will speak about their book Remembering the Memphis Massacre. For teens and kids, two local authors will facilitate presentations and Q&As: Erica Martin, who wrote And We Rise, a collection of poems about the Civil Rights Movement, and Ali Manning, founder of Food Science 4 Kids and author of the children’s book Can I Play With My Food?

But the day will have even more than just books, says Wang-Ying Glasgow, MPL adult services coordinator. That’s not to minimize the importance of books, of course — after all, books immerse readers in different times, places, and points of view. Hence, Bookstock will showcase different cultures with Latino music, Mongolian and Tibetan dances, a Japan outreach initiative, and a “Memphis in May Salutes Ghana” exhibit, which will include books all about Ghana and even a few giveaways.

In addition to the cultural groups, some Memphis cosplayers will dress up in different period costumes, but, Glasgow adds, “We encourage everybody to dress up in costumes, too, as their favorite book characters.”

The day will also have food trucks, Cloud 901 tours, a poetry workshop and creation stations for teens, and a balloon artist and storytime for kids. “There’s something for everyone.”

At the end of the day, Glasgow hopes that Bookstock attendees can leave inspired — inspired to read and learn, and maybe even inspired to write. As an anecdote, Glasgow mentions a woman who went to Bookstock one year and became inspired to finally finish her novel. “The next year she came back as one of the exhibiting authors,” Glasgow says. “We say everybody has a story and everybody can write a book to share their story.”

For a full schedule of the day’s happenings and a list of exhibiting authors, visit memphislibrary.org/bookstock.

Bookstock: Memphis Area Authors’ Festival, Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., free.

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Famous Memphians, Grizzlies, and Digital Mysteries

Posted to YouTube by Ryan’s Shorts

Memphis on the internet.

Famous Memphians

Ryan Hailey — 2020’s Best of the MEMernet winner — dropped a new Memphis classic on his Ryan’s Shorts YouTube channel last week. It names dozens of famous Memphians, all in under two minutes:

“Al Green, B.B. King, Shannen Doherty, Penny, and Lil’ Penny … Drake’s dad, Disco Duck, Howlin’ Wolf, Saliva … Reggie White, Lil Wyte, Herman Cain pizza bites, half of MGMT.”

Nothing left

Posted to Reddit by u/JediArchitect

Fartlek

World got you down? Jim Eubanks had some ultra-specific advice on Nextdoor: Run a fartlek. It was something about brain chemicals, evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, pollution, waste, and alienation. As of press time, the only comment on the post got to the heart of it all: “What’s a fartlek?”

History Mysteries

Posted to memphislibrary.org

Historians with the Memphis Public Libraries need your help. They have Memphis photographs for the digital archive but can’t identify the people in them. Have a look at the Dig Memphis Collection and see if you can solve what they call Dig Memphis Mysteries.

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News News Blog

Students Get Involved in Memphis Public Libraries

Zahra Chowdhury, a Pleasant View School senior on the Benjamin Hooks Branch Council (Courtesy Zahra Chowdhury)

This summer, Memphis Public Libraries (MPL) has partnered with BRIDGES to assemble the Comeback Stronger Youth Councils, as part of an initiative to boost teen engagement and expand libraries’ teen programming. The councils consist of middle and high school students, who represent five branches: Benjamin L. Hooks, North, Poplar-White Station, Raleigh, and South. 

“We wanted to have a group of young people who could speak for themselves as to what they wanted to have in those [teen-specific] spaces,” says Terrice Thomas, manager of South Branch Library. “We looked for applicants with leadership experience or leadership potential, willingness to be engaged in their community, and willingness to be outspoken and talk to people.” With this goal in mind, MPL reached out to the BRIDGES Youth Action Center, an organization already creating authentic youth leadership opportunities in Memphis. 

“BRIDGES believes that youth have the answers,” says Mahal Burr, BRIDGES Youth Action Center director. “When adults intentionally seek young people’s perspectives in efforts to shape the city’s future, we create a more inclusive community. Youth-adult equity in decision-making spaces like our public library system also ensures the decisions we make that directly affect the lives of youth are better informed and more effective.”

Burr continues, “We are currently in the process of supporting the piloting of the Comeback Stronger Youth Councils’ in five branches but will be supporting the expansion of these councils to all branches within the next three years. … Youth who are involved in the Comeback Stronger Youth Councils will benefit from stronger libraries that better serve them.”

(Credit: Terrice Thomas)

The pilot cohort of 22 students has met weekly since June to discuss how the libraries can better support young people. They facilitated their own meetings with minimal intervention from library and BRIDGES staff, collected data from their communities about community needs and perception of the library system, and each council member received a stipend for their work. All of this effort culminated on August 5th in a presentation to the library staff, board, and funders. The students recommended solutions to a range of priorities, including transportation access, mental health services, community violence education, and financial literacy and career planning programs. A summary report can be found here. 

Zahra Chowdhury, a Pleasant View School senior on the Benjamin Hooks Branch Council, says that her branch looked to improve intergenerational engagement through social media, adult-equity training, and youth-centered programming and spaces. “The libraries already have a wide range of programming and resources, but most young people don’t know or have never heard of them because they aren’t being actively advertised on the platforms youth use,” she says. The council also suggested that MPL host library tours and scavenger hunts to show “how libraries are more than just books,” not to mention how all the library’s programming and resources are free.

The Ben Hooks council, Chowdhury continues, also recommended programming around mental health through meditation and yoga classes or self-care and mindfulness journals, as well as educational support through ACT/SAT prep courses, peer tutoring, and a teen book club with discussions led by youth on books recommended by youth.

“We are still waiting to hear back from [administration] about feedback and what requests they can fulfill,” she adds, “but it was an amazing opportunity just to present to them and get their ideas on what the library needs to better engage young people.”

Thomas says that the administration is looking forward to bringing to fruition as many of the councils’ ideas as possible. Already, MPL is helping the Raleigh council with their initiative to have a block party this fall. “It’s great to see that the library is the opposite of what [the students] thought it was,” Thomas says. “Before they might’ve been like, ‘Oh, I thought the library was a place that wasn’t really for me, that people would be shushing me.’ But no, we want you here and we want you to be heard and express yourself.”

“Too often are young people offered a seat at the table but their voices go unheard or completely ignored,” Chowdhury says. “That’s why I am so grateful and appreciative that the MPL staff working with the youth council has continuously upheld the principles of youth and adult equity and are truly listening to what young people have to say.”

The end of the month marks the end of the pilot group’s term. MPL will start recruiting and interviewing for the next group of council members in September. This group will meet twice a month and will serve for the duration of the school year. To apply, students can go to memphislibrary.org. 

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Music Music Blog

Memphis Public Libraries’ Five Fridays of Jazz Returns Tonight

After shutting down during the quarantine era, Memphis Public Libraries are bringing back the popular Five Fridays of Jazz series, and it kicks off tonight at 7 p.m., and will continue every Friday thereafter until May 7th. However, in a nod to the ongoing need for public health precautions, the series will not be held at the main library location, as in the past, but will be live-streamed for free on the Memphis Public Libraries Facebook page. It will also be free to watch on demand on Facebook for a limited time.

Lisa Webb
(Photo courtesy Memphis Public Libraries)

This year’s opening concert is “From the Twenties to the Twenties,” featuring Lisa Webb on piano, voice, and ukulele. Tune in for a journey through a century of music, as Webb takes listeners from Bessie Smith through Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and beyond, including her own jazz originals.

One new element being added to the series is a curated list of fiction and nonfiction book suggestions to tie in with the theme and era of each night. Readings salient to tonight’s online concert are listed here.

Five Fridays of Jazz is sponsored by the Memphis Library Foundation and presented in conjunction with Levitt Shell.

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Music Music Blog

WYPL brings you the Memphis Sound

I recently stopped by the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library to see a local legend at work. No, it wasn’t some superhero librarian working the stacks. I was down in the basement, where George Klein was celebrating the taping of his 150th episode of Memphis Sounds on WYPL, the library’s broadcast wing (channel 18 on local cable, 89.3 on your FM dial, and streaming on the internet).

Klein was every bit the professional and in very fine fettle as he wrapped up the broadcast. Of course, he’s an old hand at such things, having started in television with 1964’s Talent Party, not to mention his years of DJ’ing before that. He recounted to me how he first persuaded Talent Party‘s producers to integrate the show. “They said, ‘Okay, we’ll do it. But you’ve got to get a big star to start with. I called Fats Domino, who was an old friend, and he agreed. He insisted that I personally pick him up at the airport. So as we were on our way to the station, he tells me to stop at a liquor store. I told him, ‘Fats, you know that’s against FCC rules to drink on the show.’ He said, ‘I know George, but here’s what we’ll do. You get me a little paper cup and I’ll keep it down on the floor while I’m playing, and then I can take a little sip now and then’.”

Once he’d hosted Fats, it was an easy matter to get James Brown and many other great African-American artists on the show, which was on the air until 1973.

But while Klein was one of the first to take the Memphis Sound to the airwaves via WYPL, he’s now being joined by other DJ’s on the station’s radio channel. Every night of the week is dedicated to a different aspect of Memphis music, drawing on the library’s deep archive of local artists’ output. There are shows on Memphis music of the 60s, the 70s, gospel, soul, Sun Records, and current sounds. And with the radio programs live-streamed online, WYPL is taking these sounds around the globe.

“Honestly it all comes from the upgrades we’ve done in the last two years,” says station manager Tommy Warren. “The city of Memphis has put in a lot of upgrades. You can do so much more with the latest computer software; we’re actually able to do more with the same amount of staff.

“The Memphis music programming promotes the Memphis music collection that we have here in the library. Over the last few years while we’ve been doing that, I’ve had my two radio producers working on those shows, but with all the equipment upgrades and reevaluating what we do, we decided that the Memphis music programming is now what we need to focus on as far as building up. And that’s where we’ve started having people come in and start volunteer hosting these shows. And we’ve gotten really good feedback in the short amount of time we’ve been doing it. And I think the streaming of the shows has a lot to do with it. Everybody knows how much people love Memphis music. We look at ourselves as a marketing branch for both the library and the city of Memphis.”

But Warren adds that the daytime programming of live readings of current magazines and newspapers, a public service for the vision and reading impaired, is still important to the station. “We have readings 365 days a year. People overlook the significance of that program, until you need that program. The audience that we have for that depends on our programming more than other radio audiences do.”

WYPL brings you the Memphis Sound

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News The Fly-By

Check-Out Time

Beale Street worker Reginald Matthews, 37, walks to the downtown Cossitt Library from his job every day. “I use the computer a lot,” he says. “I read my USA Today. It’s so quiet. It’s a relief from the rest of downtown.”

But the Cossitt Library is one of five branches listed for closure in a recent study.

At a committee meeting last week, members of the Memphis City Council heard a presentation on the $700,000 efficiency study conducted by Deloitte Consulting. The 189-page study suggested changes to the Fire and Police departments, including hiring more civilians to work at the Memphis Police Department and firing more than 200 city firefighters.

What wasn’t mentioned in the presentation was the study’s suggestion to close five Memphis Public Library and Information Center branches — Cossitt, Levi, Gaston Park, Highland, and Poplar-White Station — a suggestion that has drawn criticism in local media.

Linda Crump, a retired school librarian who often brings her grandchildren to various branches, calls the suggestion “a bad idea.”

“[The five branches are] all in high use, especially Poplar-White Station,” she says. “Libraries, swimming pools, and community centers keep neighborhoods going.”

According to the study, the library closures could save the city $1.1 million, most of which would come from salaries and benefits. The study proposes allocating the savings back to the library system.

The study suggests that the five branches should be closed due to their lack of physical space and their proximity to other library branches. All five are smaller than 15,000 square feet, the amount of space the study says is necessary to provide a full range of services. With the exception of Poplar-White Station, all fall more than 5,000 square feet below the standard.

Toni Holmon-Turner, public relations representative from the mayor’s office, says that the branches might not be closed. “These [closures] were recommended by a private organization. Just because it’s in the study doesn’t mean it will take place,” she says.

Robert Lipscomb, the city’s chief financial officer, concurs. “You could have a school closing and a library closing, and you could close the community center in the same area and you don’t want that. … We have to make sure they don’t go out at the same time. We need to look at everything within the context of what we’ve got.”

For Matthews, that is good news. After Cossitt, the next nearest library branch is Cornelia Crenshaw on Vance, a two-mile walk from Beale. “[Mayor Willie Herenton] wants to build a new stadium and we only have one football team. I’d rather have a library than a stadium,” he says.

The City Council is expected to make a decision on the study June 19th.