Library U

The Library U Small Business and Side Hustle newsletter connects you to resources within the Library and community programs. If you would like to sign up to receive the Library U Small Business and Side Hustles quarterly newsletter, click here.

Links to the Library’s collection (READ), online programs through the Library (WATCH), and local non-profits and other community resources (EXPLORE) designed to assist you with your small business needs are part of the newsletter. Small Business and Side Hustle is delivered to your inbox in August, November, February, and May.

Join us for one (or more!) of our ten book clubs meeting this November, in branches and online. Try our quarterly Cookbook Club at the Regency Branch, or our newly monthly ComiClub at the Willow Branch Branch, or one of our online book clubs via Facebook or Zoom. Fun fact: The New Leaf Book Club’s selection this month is written by a Jacksonville-raised author who graduated from Stanton College Prep!

Deesha Philyaw, a graduate of Stanton College Prep and Yale University, is now a multiple award-winning author for her work, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. Join us for an in-person and live-streamed conversation with Deesha about her book and her writing process at the Mandarin Branch Library!

Join Keith Ashley and Denise Bossy from the University of North Florida as they discuss Jacksonville's indigenous history and share research tips! 

Screening Room: Beyond the Battlefield will include a screening of the documentary Military Medicine: Beyond the Battlefield followed by a group discussion. This program is a part of the Wreaths Across America celebration at the Beaches Branch Library.

Jacksonville Public Library + MOCA present Art & Conversations, a series of innovative programs focused on literacy and the arts. In this series, the Jacksonville Public Library and MOCA collaborate to provide the community access to a rich set of resources by partnering an educational library program with a museum exhibition.

This series of programs centers around MOCA’s current exhibition, Structure of Nature | Nature of Structure by Jacksonville artist Doug Eng. His art and advocacy highlights the need to preserve our endangered wetlands and forests in Northeast Florida.

Cap off this year’s Spooky Season at our chat with Sherry Thomas, author of the Lady Sherlock series of historical mysteries, including the upcoming Miss Moriarty, I Presume?  

Kristen Arnett’s novels and short stories explore queer life and life in Florida, combining the two with her signature dark humor. Join us to chat with the New York Times bestselling author about the stories that motivate her to write, what she’s learned from writing, and more!

October’s book club reads bring you some old favorite authors as well as new and upcoming authors. Stephen King and Agatha Christie headline at Beaches and Highlands branches. West branch reads The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi, a debut novelist at 62 and Mandarin delves into Haben’s Story about the first Deafblind graduate of Harvard Law School, and her amazing journey from isolation to the world stage.

National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner! Whether you’re an eager Wrimo, stocking up on snacks, water, and writing tips to see you through your 1667-word days, or a curious aspiring writer, wondering what you can really accomplish in a month of writing, our October Writer’s Lab workshops have you covered!