Jacksonville Public Library Blog 2022 Archive

Jax Bicentennial Special Guest Speaker

Jacksonville Origins: A Talk with Emily Lisska June 11 1-2pm Conference Center at the Main Library

The countdown to our City’s bicentennial has begun! How will you celebrate Jacksonville’s 200-year anniversary? The Library’s doing what it does best: sharing and collecting stories! We hope you’ll join us for "Jacksonville Origins: A Talk with Emily Lisska" on Saturday, June 11 at 1 p.m. And leave your mark on Jacksonville's history: Add your story, your family history, and your vision for the future of this Bold City to the Library's permanent collection!

Books to Celebrate Military Appreciation Month

Throughout the month of May, and especially Memorial Day, we pause to appreciate all those who have stepped forward and answered the call to serve in our Armed Forces – sailors, soldiers, airmen, marines, and coastguardsmen. We also recognize the commitment and sacrifices of the entire military family: spouses, children and parents. Jacksonville is a proud military town! We salute each and every one of you.

Looking for ways to celebrate this weekend? Jacksonville Public Library will be closed on Monday, May 30 in observance of Memorial Day. But there’s still time to visit!

Be a part of Jacksonville's Story

What do you like people to know about you another 80 years from now?

How have you shaped – or been shaped by – this Bold City?

To celebrate the City's upcoming Bicentennial, the Jacksonville Public Library will be doing what it does best: Collecting stories, preserving history, and sharing what it finds with the community. But we need your help!

Books And Music That Will Get You In The Mood For Jazz Fest!

In just a few days the city will be filled with the sweet sounds of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival! To help get you ready for the festival, Jacksonville Public Library's reading experts have put together a list of books and music that will get you in the mood for Jazz Fest! This is just a small selection of the Library's collection, to see more book and music options be sure to check out the catalog.

Kick-Off June (And Summer!) With A Jacksonville Public Library Book Club

Kick-Off Summer With A Jacksonville Public Library Book Club

Kick-off the summer season and join one of our 11 book clubs in June! From serious memoirs to glitzy mysteries, one of these clubs will speak to you!

Check out the list of book clubs below and join your fellow readers for a great chat!

Teen Lit Chat Online Author Talk with Mackenzi Lee

Teen Lit Chat Author Talk with Mackenzi Lee

Celebrate Pride Month and the kickoff of our brand-new Teen Lit Chat series with our upcoming interview with author Mackenzi Lee. Her book, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, was declared by Teen Vogue to be "the queer teen historical you didn’t know was missing from your life."

Forward Thinking: Preserving Historic Neighborhoods

Celebrate Historic Preservation Month at the Brown Eastside Library on Tuesday, May 24! A panel of preservation experts will discuss the various processes that go into preserving historic neighborhoods, challenges, and preservation trends in our city. The program will wrap up with an audience Q&A session!

Lit Chat with Brit Bennett

Brit Bennett wowed readers in 2016 with her debut novel, The Mothers, and again in 2020 with her New York Times number-one bestselling novel The Vanishing Half. If you were one of those readers, you now have a chance to meet Brit Bennett in person at the library! Come hear about her books and writing process, and get a chance to ask her questions during our Q&A session.

Get Free Comic Books at the Library

Free Comic Book Day, held the first Saturday in May, is great for attracting new comic book readers. It’s often cross-promoted with a new superhero film. This year, of course, it coincides with release of Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and the season finale of Moon Knight.

But what do you do when all those free comics have been given away? Get free comics at your library, of course!

Books For Mom To Read This Mother's Day

What's a Mother's Day gift that Mom can never have too many of, never goes out of style, and always fits? Answer: a good book!

This Mother's Day, gift the busy mom in your life a quiet place to read, unwind and catch up on the to-be-read pile. If Mom needs help choosing a book, guide her toward this blog post that contains a list of Mother's Day must-reads hand-picked by our expert Readers' Advisory Committee.