Library U

Small Business: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday

Small Business and Side Hustles Library U newsletter

In November, we're thinking about "Black Friday" and how you can leverage it and other big shopping days this holiday season to boost your retail sales. What deals are you offering at your small business? Are you offering your products for sale online? Are you promoting your small business during Small Business Saturday? With free resources from the Library, you can learn everything from how to build a small business website with Shopify or how to start a side hustle by selling on Amazon or Etsy. We also have some community partners offering some great workshops for anyone thinking of starting up a new business!

The Screening Room: Watch and Discuss the Silent Film The Flying Ace

The Screening Room: The Flying Ace Moderated by Norman Studios

Released in 1926, The Flying Ace was a classic silent film that featured an all-African-American cast, with principal photography shot right here in Jacksonville. Made in the South during a period that arguably represented the height of "Jim Crow," it was one of many films by white filmmaker Richard E. Norman that challenged the stereotypes about Black people found in the overwhelming majority of the films of that era. In 2021, The Flying Ace was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Writer's Lab: Self-Publishing with Kindle Vella and Amazon KDP

Writer's Lab with Mike Messier

If you plan to come out of National Novel Writing Month with a ready-to-publish manuscript (or you just want to plan your next steps), join us at Writer's Lab in December for a hands-on how-to session with Mike Messier. He will instruct you, step-by-step, on how to write and publish fiction and nonfiction on Kindle Vella & Amazon KDP. If you bring your finished manuscript, you could even leave with a published book!

Adult Programs at the Library this November Including Tips for Writers!

Library U: Adult Programs

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Have you been planning and plotting your first novel? Or maybe you've been hoping to craft the next great American novel by the seat of your pants? Whether you're a plotter or pantser starting your first draft or you have a completed manuscript ready to go, the Library has some great workshops coming up that can help you cross the finish line to publication!

We start out the month with a Lit Chat Interview with local author, Tim Gilmore. He's written 22 books and even cofounded the Jax-by-Jax Literary Arts Festival. There are also free Writer's Lab workshops starting in November and continuing into early December that are focused on revising your first draft and then self-publishing the polished final product through Kindle Vella and Amazon KDP.

Join a Book Club at the Library this November

Join a Book Club

Fall is finally showing up in Jacksonville! Are you prepping for all those extra hours of darkness by building your to-be-read list? It'll be dark by 6 p.m. before you know it! You might also consider joining a Library Book Club! You'll get to talk about what you loved, what surprised you, and what you'd recommend for anyone looking for something similar. Of course, our librarians can recommend read-alikes too!

Book clubs are one of the best ways to discover what other people are reading (and what they think about the books everyone else is reading).

November Life Lit Workshops: Winter Yard Prep, Curb Appeal & More!

Life Lit workshops

Looking for ways to increase your property value? Want to spruce up your home's exterior? Not sure how to prep your yard for winter? Learn everything you need for a successful, all-season yard from Master Gardeners and our friends at the UF Extension Office! Or get entrepreneurship basics and more from our partners at EY at a Life Lit workshop this November!

Get Free Help on Your Path to U.S. Citizenship

On the path to United States Citizenship?

"I have lived in this country for a long time and [until now] I could not vote. I didn't have a voice," Milu Benko said. "As a high school teacher, I would always encourage my students to vote and register to vote. But I myself couldn't do that. One summer, I took my daughter to the Southeast Library and saw a flyer for classes for citizenship... I decided it was time." Now, Milu has a voice and with FREE help preparing for the U.S. Naturalization Test and Interview, you can too!

Lit Chat with Prolific Local History Author Tim Gilmore

Lit Chat Interview with Tim Gilmore

A prolific local history author, Tim Gilmore, has written extensively about Jacksonville. The writer and creator of www.jaxpsychogeo.com, he has told more than 700 stories of strange and historic locations in and around Jacksonville, Florida. He is also the founder of JaxbyJax. A literary arts festival, now in its 10th year, JaxbyJax was built on the theme of “Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville.” Few have written about Jacksonville more. He joins us this November to talk about his latest book, The Culture Wars of Warren Folks.

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