Jacksonville Public Library Blog

It’s 2021 and many of us could use a fresh start. Whether it’s training for the career of your dreams, finally investing some time and energy into your art or music, or it’s about getting serious and opening that small business: Lynda.com and the Library can help you. If you’re pressed for time or just a little “Zoomed out” at this point (and let’s face it, most of us are)… and all you can commit to right now is “30 Minutes of Learning” a week, trust that you can still make incremental and meaningful progress toward that #goal.

Universal Letter Writing Week is recognized every year during the second full week of January and it encourages us all to pick up a pen and paper and write to someone. For inspiration, we’ve also put together a list of letter-writing themed books, including some how-to guides and popular fiction titles that expertly feature this fading method of communication. Keep the tradition of pen pals, postcards, and other personalized posts going strong this week and throughout the new year.

Why do so many of our New Year's resolutions end up failing? In addition to commitment and accountability, you also need 1) to be Specific, 2) have some Measure for success, and you need to 3) make it Achievable, 4) and Realistic given the 5) Time frame in which you hope to complete said S.M.A.R.T. goal. It's best to start small. As we kickstart 2021, ask yourself: What 1-2 skills have you always wanted to learn? Accept the 30 Minute Learning Challenge.

Alternate history novelist Taylor Anderson joins our Lit Chat series on Tuesday, January 12th, at 7 pm. Taylor will be discussing his Destroyermen series and his most recent and final book, Winds of Wrath.