NewspaperArchive Database Trial (through 4/24/25)

The Nebraska Library Commission is pleased to announce that World Archives Holdings, LLC, of Provo, Utah, is offering Nebraska libraries trial access to NewspaperArchive content through April 24, 2025.

NewspaperArchive features:

  • The ability to search across nearly 16,000 newspaper publications, containing over 3 billion articles and photos.
  • Content dating from 1607 to the present.
  • Coverage from 48 countries and all 50 U.S. states.
  • Tools to help search, discover, save, and share the stories you find.

This will be popular with genealogists as well as those interested in primary source historical content.

Collections: The following NewspaperArchive collections will be available for subscription on a July 1st through June 30th term:

  • Single-State Access: Dive deep into the heart of individual states, unearthing local history and events (e.g., Nebraska)
  • Multi-State Access: Travel across state borders and explore stories that resonate across regions (e.g., Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa).
  • United States Access: Covering the entire United States, NewspaperArchive collections provide a comprehensive view of the nation’s past and present.
  • Global Access: Expand your horizons with our global coverage, delving into international events. Covers 48 countries, including all 50 U.S. states.
  • Special Collections, including:
    • African American Newspapers
    • Caribbean Newspapers
    • Irish Newspapers
    • Military Newspapers
    • Spanish Newspapers

See newspaper title and coverage information on NewspaperArchive’s Publications page. For coverage by state or country, explore the NewspaperArchive Site Map.

A consortium discount is currently available through the Nebraska Library Commission and ranges from 5% to 15% depending on the collection selected. This discount correlates to a consortium of 3-5 member libraries. Larger discounts may be available in the future as additional libraries join the consortium.

Trial access instructions were distributed via a March 24, 2025 message to the Trial mailing list. Nebraska librarians who didn’t receive this information or would like to have it sent to them again may contact Susan Knisely.

Reminder: Not all database trials are posted to the NCompass Blog. If you are a Nebraska librarian and you’d like to receive future database trial announcements directly in your email inbox, please make sure you are signed up for the Nebraska Library Commission’s TRIAL mailing list.

Posted in Information Resources, Technology | Leave a comment

Friday Reads: A Lost Lady, by Willa Cather

While I was enjoying some Barbara Stanwyck films on Turner Classic Movies (star of the month for March 2025), I saw something that surprised me—a mention of Willa Cather in the opening credits for A Lost Lady (Warner Bros., 1934). I’d heard of the 1923 book that Willa Cather wrote with that title, but I’d assumed this was a coincidence. I don’t know as much about Willa Cather as many other Nebraskans might (who might also be reading this right now—hello everyone, in the state and elsewhere, who has a Google alert for Willa Cather! You are a devoted bunch!), but I didn’t remember seeing Cather’s name associated with a relatively contemporaneous movie before.

(This 1934 movie was the second attempt to bring the hit novel to the screen. The first try was in 1924, directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Irene Rich—but don’t go looking for that version, because according to IMDb and others, there are no existing prints of that 1924 movie—it’s considered as “lost” as its title character.)

According to film critics in 1934, this second attempt to bring the book to the screen was a disappointment, despite the popular cast. The review in the New York Times suggested changing the title and removing Cather’s name from the credits, and that the film lacked “the haunting beauty of the book.” The 1934 movie was such a disappointment to Cather that it is said to be the reason there were no more movies made of her works in her lifetime.

After looking into the adaptation history, I had to pick up the book. Since A Lost Lady is old enough (1923) to be in the public domain, there are many versions online for reading or listening, as well as many reprints and editions in physical form. The Willa Cather Archive at UNL, for one, has it (and many related materials worth looking at) online.

To be fair, it would have been difficult to make A Lost Lady into a successful movie that stayed faithful to the text. The book opens with setting the physical and social scene in a way that would have been a challenge with the film technology at the time. That is soon followed, in the book, by a scene of animal cruelty and body horror that could not have made it onto the screen at the time either, for other reasons. These limitations might explain why the filmmakers re-ordered the narrative events of the text, but that re-ordering takes away an important “reveal” of some character development. Also, Nebraska, as a place, is missing from the movie entirely.

Another challenge for the film is the casting. If someone read a synopsis of the book but didn’t actually read the book, it would sound great to cast Hayes-Code-inspiring, 1930s-era Barbara Stanwyck, who excelled in playing flawed, charismatic women who would do what it takes to survive. This is what her studio and her fans would want from her performance, and they’d be rooting for her through stumbles and successes—and this is not quite what the book is about.

A Lost Lady (the book) is about a young man, Niel Herbert, who is enthralled with, and eventually disillusioned by, the charming Marian Forrester, who indeed does what it takes to survive, and Niel does not like the choices Marian makes. The book succeeds where the movie flounders, because we see Marian’s do-what-it-takes choices through the gaze of Niel—and Niel is the person with whom Cather intends the reader to identify—not Marian. Also, in the movie, Niel is the same age as Marian, which completely changes their dynamic.

This difference gives nuance to the book, while the movie becomes an ineffective morality play (with a very different ending). One could argue the first half of the movie is more fair to Marian than the book ever is (and then falls apart in a frustrating fashion that I had to re-wind twice so make sure I wasn’t missing something), but, to be fair, the book is never really trying to make excuses for Marian. It’s up to the reader to complete any circuit of sympathy and understanding for the choices she feels she must make. I think the reader can handle this responsibility better than Niel does.

Reviews of the book see symbolism that don’t follow through to the film adaptation. In the book, the reader can see how Niel might represent the American westerner of the era, who’s been promised a promise—a future that’s as bright as one wants it to be. And the Marian of the book might represent the American West—charming, wild, just out of reach, something the protagonist could fall in love with the idea of—but which can’t live up to unreasonable expectations projected upon it, at least not for a member of the current generation, born too late to enjoy what the previous generation seems to have handed to them (of course, it wasn’t handed to them either, and not in any lasting way).

In that sense, A Lost Lady, published in 1923, is an emblematic story for the 1920s, even though much of the action happens earlier. (Correspondence between Cather and F. Scott Fitzgerald noted the similarities of Marian Forrester and Daisy Buchanan, another Roaring Twenties woman-as-embodiment of male desire-turned-to-disillusionment.) Having said that, it’s still a timeless story. Part of growing up is realizing that some things you thought you wanted just won’t make you happy, partly because you didn’t really understand them in the first place.

A Lost Lady is a quick read, or listen—and well worth your time, whether you’re new to Cather or not. (Just remember you don’t actually have to agree with Niel about everything, even if you do agree with him about some things.) Even as such a slim volume, it is lush with the landscape-as-place and dynamic domesticity for which Cather is known and celebrated.

The un-lost 1934 movie might be only for the Barbara Stanwyck completist—if you’re willing to put up with the inconsistencies of her character, and the unfortunate stereotyping of one of the house staff characters, which is more extreme than in the book. I have to note that the Orry-Kelly wardrobe is amazing—it might be the best part of the movie.

Cather, W. (1923). A lost lady. Alfred A. Knopf.

Some additional notes:

Of interest to Barbara Stanwyck and classic film fans: look at this Warner Brothers pressbook for the 1934 movie, courtesy of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research and The Internet Archive

Also: did you know Barbara Stanwyck married a Nebraska-born fellow Hollywood star a few years after this movie? That would be Robert Taylor.

Of interest to Willa Cather fans who are also Ethel Cain fans (there’s a definite crossover here, if you know, you know): Ethel Cain is going back out on tour in 2025! No stops in Nebraska this time.

Posted in Books & Reading, Friday Reads, General | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Discovering State Docs: “There Once Was a Man from Nebraska…”

An offset stack of books, all by the poet and author Ted Kooser

Happy National Poetry Month! When you hear “state government documents” do you immediately think of poetry? Me neither! The Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse receives documents every month from all Nebraska state agencies, including the University of Nebraska Press, which recently sent us Ted Kooser’s “The Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry.” It is a reprint of his original 1980 book, and one of many of his titles we have in this collection.

Cover of Ted Kooser's book The Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry

“The Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry is an anthology of poems originally selected by Ted Kooser in 1980 and published by his Windflower Press, a small, independent publisher that specialized in poetry from the Great Plains. The collection contains almost two hundred poems from dozens of poets and was designed to resemble a commonplace farmer’s almanac.

The Windflower Press was the sole operation of Kooser, who was later named the first U.S. poet laureate from the Great Plains. His press gained national recognition for highlighting the work of the region’s young poets, and its Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry earned notice from the Library Journal as one of its era’s best small press books.”

– – Book synopsis from University of Nebraska Press

In the Editor’s Note, Kooser talks about the process of typesetting and pasting the poems together with illustrations he’d collected from old almanacs, long before the advent of software to ease these tasks.

One of the most prestigious academic presses in the country, the University of Nebraska Press sends us around 75 select titles per year, which are added to the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse, also known as the Nebraska State Documents Collection. This collection is comprised of publications issued by Nebraska state agencies, ensuring that state government information is available to a wide audience and that those valuable publications are preserved for future generations. University of Nebraska Press books, as well as all state documents, are available for checkout by libraries and librarians for their patrons.

Kooser, Ted (Ed.). The Windflower Home Almanac of Poetry. University of Nebraska Press, 2024.

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Information Resources, What's Up Doc / Govdocs | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Union Pacific Foundation: 2025 Community Ties Giving Program

For more grants like this one, check out the NLC’s Grant Opportunities for Nebraska Libraries at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/grants/index.aspx

The Union Pacific Foundation’s 2025 Community Ties Giving Program provides Local Grants from $5,000 to $30,000 to local nonprofit organizations spread widely across Union Pacific’s footprint, primarily in the western and midwestern United States.
A map and list of eligible communities is available on the Union Pacific website.

The application deadline is May 14, 2025.

Funding is provided for direct services and efforts that build the capacity of organizations focused on the following causes: Safety, Workforce Development, Community Vitality, and Environmental Sustainability.

Libraries fall under the Community Vitality funding priority – to “Provide recreational opportunities that foster wellbeing, enrichment and/or an appreciation for our natural environment”.

Visit the Union Pacific website for the Application and grant guidelines.

Posted in Grants, Programming | Leave a comment

Infobase Artificial Intelligence (AI) Streaming Video Collection Trial (through 4/30/25)

Infobase Logo

The Nebraska Library Commission is pleased to announce that Infobase is offering Nebraska academic and K12 libraries a trial of their new Artificial Intelligence Streaming Video Collection, which provides comprehensive guidance on how to use, teach, and discuss AI! This trial began on April 1, 2025 and is scheduled to end on April 30, 2025.

This curated collection of videos on AI—what it is and how to use it—offers a structured, engaging way to teach and learn about this evolving technology. This collection is available as a standalone package, or easily integrated with any Films On Demand, Classroom Video On Demand, or Learn360 collection.

Trial access instructions were distributed via an April 2, 2025 message to the Trial mailing list. Nebraska librarians who didn’t receive this information or who would like it sent to them again may contact Susan Knisely.

Reminder: Not all database trials are posted to the NCompass Blog. If you are a Nebraska librarian and you’d like to receive future database trial announcements directly in your email inbox, please make sure you are signed up for the Nebraska Library Commission’s TRIAL mailing list.

Posted in Information Resources, Technology | Leave a comment

Throwback Thursday: C.P. Coy & Co. Seed House

It’s a corny #ThrowbackThursday!

In this 5-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ black and white photograph, “C.P. Coy Son & Co. Wholesale Seeds – Sweet, Flint & Dent Corn” is painted on the front of a three-story wood frame building next to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. A St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad freight car sits at the side of the building. Printed on the photograph is: “No. 11, C.P. Coy & Co seed house, Valley, Nebr.”

The Coy Seed House was an important industry for Valley, Nebraska. The building built in 1903 was one of the largest seed houses in the country. Many kinds of seeds were packaged and sold around the country, including beans, corn and pumpkin. The seed packets were sold in hardware stores, grocery stores and nurseries. In later years, the building became the Midwest Popcorn Company. In 1947, it was destroyed by fire.

This image is published and owned by the Valley Public Library. The Friends of the Valley Public Library, Valley, Nebraska, have digitized and described a collection of photographs depicting businesses and members of the local population between the late 1800s and 1900s in Valley.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

Posted in General, Nebraska Memories, Preservation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New Book Available on BARD!

Panther!” by Roger A. Caras is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service. BARD is a service offered by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.

A panther of the Florida Everglades survives Hurricane Dora only to confront the deadly fangs of a diamondback rattlesnake, the jaws of an alligator, the hug of a hungry bear, the trap of an obsessed human hunter, and the bullets of boys on a lark. 

TBBS borrowers can request “Panther!” DBC02201 or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS) | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

NCompass Live: One Book For Nebraska Kids & Teens 2025

Wouldn’t it be great if kids all over Nebraska were talking about books? Hear about the Nebraska Library Commission & the Regional Library Systems’ program where kids can all read and discuss the same book on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, April 2 at 10am CT.

Join Sally Snyder, the NLC’s Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services; Aimee Owen, Information Services Librarian; and Bailee Juroshek, Office Specialist, to learn all about the One Book for Nebraska Kids and Teens program.

Our 2025 titles are: One Book For Nebraska Kids – Lions & Liars by Kate Beasley, and One Book For Nebraska Teens – Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

  • April 30 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Computers in Libraries 2025 Highlights & Trends

To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.

The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Posted in Books & Reading, Education & Training, Youth Services | Tagged | Leave a comment

Friday Reads & BookFace Friday: “Frankie” by Graham Norton

You’ll want to get to know this #BookFace!

I am always interested in anything Graham Norton writes and when his fifth audio book of fiction was released with Norton’s narration, I saved it for a long weekend of listening. Graham often sets his books in Ireland but this book expands to London and New York City following the very full life of the title character from age 10 to her 80s. The story begins with Irish born Frankie recovering from an injury with the assistance of a home health care worker named Damian in her London flat. Damian is also Irish and the two enjoy an easy rapport. Frankie’s home is filled to the brim with souvenirs and boxes of memorabilia that provide easy conversation starters. As Frankie tells the stories of her past, both listeners benefit therapeutically. In one poignant moment, Frankie asks Damian if his heart has ever been broken. His answer is naive and honest, even more so given Frankie’s history. Frankie regains her mobility and Damian departs for other assignments but not until they celebrated their newfound friendship.   

I found myself talking about this book to my reader friends but never did I say, this could be something they might like to read. The Irish authors I’ve read have a definite tone to their work. It’s pragmatic and practical. The characters know that if life is going smoothly, they ought to appreciate it because it will all come to an end sooner rather than later. There are moments of great passion and love in Frankie’s life, but also tragedy and heartbreak. It’s the unequal ratio toward more sadness that makes it Irish fiction in my opinion and that can be a tough sell. Even so, I will continue to read Norton’s works because he is a brilliant storyteller and narrator. This was my favorite of Graham’s novels and I missed Frankie for days after I finished the book.

Norton, Graham. Frankie. ‎ HarperVia, 2025.

Love this #BookFace or #FridayReads? Check out our past posts on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

Posted in Books & Reading, Friday Reads, General | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Discovering State Docs: “Take Up the Apple”

Title page of the 1894 Annual Report of the Nebraska State Horticultural Society

“At the annual meeting of the Society, held in January, 1893, the Secretary recommended that the plan of issuing the reports of the Society as monographs be adopted. This contemplated issuing a series of four or five volumes, each of which should be devoted, largely, to one topic. The Society accepted the suggestion, and instructed the officers to prepare a program for the next annual meeting which should take up the apple and treat it as fully as available material would allow. This volume is the result.
At the meeting of which this is a record a resolution was adopted taking the grape, and such other of the small fruits as can be treated
in the same volume, as the topic for the next winter’s meeting.
With no precedent for guidance it was no easy matter to get together just what would make the best sort of a report on a single fruit, and the result is by no means perfect. No one realizes this more than those who have had the work in hand.”
(Excerpt from the preface of the Annual Report of the Nebraska State Horticultural Society for the year 1894.)

This document is just one of the thousands of historical annual reports (1870s through 1956) from Nebraska state government agencies that are available in the Nebraska Public Documents database. This free and publicly-accessible collection is result of a collaborative digitization effort between the Nebraska Library Commission, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and the Nebraska State Historical Society. (Read more about the project here!)

Historical government documents provide a glimpse into how our Nebraska forebears lived, worked, and governed. Primary sources such as the ones found in the Nebraska Public Documents database help researchers, students, and the general public understand the important issues and events of the day, and what motivated our elected officials to make decisions and the impacts those choices made. Take a look – what will you discover?

Posted in General, Information Resources, Preservation, What's Up Doc / Govdocs | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Throwback Thursday: Bandstand in Hanscom Park

Enjoy the sunshine this #ThrowbackThursday!

Dated around 1907, this black and white photograph pictures a portable bandstand that has been assembled on the grass at Hanscom Park, located at 3201 Woolworth Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska. The bandstand has wheels underneath, so that it can be transported easily. There are chairs and lamps on the surface of the bandstand. Many trees can be seen in the background

This image is published and owned by the Omaha Public Library. They have a large collection of 1,100+ postcards and photographs of the Omaha area.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

Posted in General, Nebraska Memories, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Club Spotlight – Mad Honey

cover for Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. An orange cover decorated with purple flowers.

Written by bestselling authors Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, today’s Book Club Spotlight, Mad Honey, was made possible by the power of the internet and a (literal) dream. Known for their thoughtful and provoking works, Picoult, a writer on complex and controversial issues, and Boylan, the President of PEN America, combine their talents into a riveting story of love, identity, and tragedy. As Women’s History Month ends with the celebration of International Transgender Day of Visibility on the 31st, both topics are at the heart of today’s Spotlight.

“Mad Honey”- a sweet comfort turned poison by the pollinators we thought we could trust. In a small New Hampshire town, beekeeper Olivia McAfee has worked hard to keep her teenage son away from the world’s poison, including her abusive ex-husband. But now Asher’s girlfriend, Lily, is dead, and all fingers point towards him. All the while, Lily’s own story falls back through time, from the day she died to her first meeting with Asher. It was true love. Sure, he could get angry, but it was love- wasn’t it? In the present, Olivia must work through the pain of seeing her child accused of murder, not knowing if she can trust the boy she raised, while mourning for the tender girl they lost.  

Told in dual timelines, Mad Honey shines in one cohesive text, drawn together by the dangerous reality of womanhood. The reader, like Olivia, goes back and forth throughout the novel, unsure of Asher’s innocence, scared that he’s not. But will the truth change the reality of Lily’s fate? A suspenseful novel for mature young adults and adult Book Club Groups, Mad Honey asks how much our identities and the past shape us. And how far would we go to defend a loved one. For fans of Picoult, her recurring character Jacob McAfee from The Pact, Nineteen Minutes, and Salem Falls makes an appearance as the family’s whip-smart lawyer. 

If you’re interested in requesting Mad Honey for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 5 copies. (A librarian must request items)

Picoult, Jodi and Jennifer Finney Boylan. Mad Honey. Ballantine Books, 2022.

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Friday Reads: “The Berry Pickers: A Novel” by Amanda Peters

This historical fiction novel set in 1960s New England follows two families whose paths cross alongside a dirt road and are then forever entwined. Joe and his family are Mi’kmaq, they travel down from Nova Scotia every year to work the berry fields of Maine. His day begins as any other but when he fails to keep an eye on his four year old sister Ruthie, he will spend the rest of his life trying to atone for her disappearance.
Norma has grown up in a sheltered and isolated suburban home with a mother that always seems afraid to let her out of her sight. She doesn’t remember much of her early childhood, but her parent’s distress when she asks about it or mentions her imaginary friend Ruthie has taught her to keep questions to herself. As she grows up her assumption that she’s adopted, and her parents never wanted to tell her will be shaken by a more awful truth. The Berry Pickers follows the aftermath of one family’s tragedy and another’s sins as both try to move forward after the loss of a child. Peter’s weaves these two dramatically different family stories together, exploring themes of family, guilt, and identity. It was the winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and the 2024 selection for One Book One Lincoln by Lincoln City Libraries.

Peters, Amanda. The Berry Pickers: A Novel. Catapult. 2023.

Posted in Books & Reading, Friday Reads, General | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

#BookFaceFriday “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman” by Robert K. Massie

It’s the reign of #BookFaceFriday!

Happy Woman’s History Month! “Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman” by Robert K. Massie (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2012) is a narrative biography that delves into the story and history of Catherine the Great.

It’s available as an eBook and Audiobook through Nebraska OverDrive Libraries and is currently featured in the “Woman’s History” curated collection, along with many other novels highlighting woman throughout history.

“[A] meticulously detailed work about Catherine and her world. . . . Massie makes Catherine’s story as gripping as that of any novel. His book does full justice to a complex and fascinating woman and to the age in which she lived.”

Historical Novels Review

Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 194 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 26,898 audiobooks, 36,794 ebooks, and 5,133 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

Posted in Books & Reading, General | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Throwback Thursday: Immanuel Nursing School Basketball Players

March Madness is upon us #ThrowbackThursday!

In this black and white photograph, three team members of the Immanuel Deaconess Institute’s School of Nursing Basketball Team perform a jump shot on the basketball court in Bloom Hall. They are wearing basketball uniforms, knee pads, and sneakers. The letters “ISN” can be seen on the players’ shirts. This picture was taken in Bloom Hall, which was constructed in 1937 for the School of Nursing Athletics.

This image is published and owned by the Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center, located in Bellevue, Nebraska. They have a mission to preserve, collect, display, and document objects and records related to the history of Sarpy County.

See this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

Posted in General, Nebraska Memories, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nebraska Historical Fiction Available on BARD!

Son of the Gamblin’ Man: The Youth of an Artist” by Nebraska author Mari Sandoz is now available on cartridge and for download on BARD, the Braille and Audio Reading Download service. BARD is a service offered by the Nebraska Library Commission Talking Book and Braille Service and the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress.

A work of historical fiction, the story tells of a gambler who founded Cozad, Nebraska. It also focuses on his family, especially his younger son, who became the world-famous artist and teacher known as “Robert Henri.”

TBBS borrowers can request “Son of the Gamblin’ Man: The Youth of an Artist” DBC02039 or download it from the National Library Service BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) website. If you have high-speed internet access, you can download books to your smartphone or tablet, or onto a flash drive for use with your player. You may also contact your reader’s advisor to have the book mailed to you on cartridge.

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Talking Book & Braille Service (TBBS) | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

LibChalk Web Hosting for Libraries

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about web hosting options for libraries recently. Many of you use Nebraska Libraries on the Web, the free WordPress hosting offered by the Nebraska Library Commission. That’s delightful, and I’m all for it! I may be slightly biased there. You know why.

But hosting through us does have a few limitations for customization and feature options. So I like to keep options open for libraries who want a little more customization or control over their website feature choices.

This particular post is about LibChalk, a web hosting service designed by and for librarians and academic institutions that’s been around for about 30 years. The pricing is pretty reasonable with a basic site at $25/month. There are other pricing plans available. They can get you set up with a WordPress installation and access to some premium templates to make setup fast and easy.

They also help with site migration if you’ve already got a website up and running somewhere else and want to switch over smoothly. Since they do work with all flavors of education, they can also help you set up a learning platform on your site. If you’re so inclined.

So far they’re the only hosting service I’ve come across that is built by librarians for librarians, so that was cool too. Check out Libchalk’s website, or email Brian Pichman bpichman@evolveproject.org for more info, or to get set up.

If Brian’s name sounds familiar I’m not surprised. He’s been on a library circuit at conferences, webinars, Bywater Solutions, and elsewhere for a while now. I’ve known him for a while too, which is how I found out about LibChalk. I was surprised I hadn’t heard of it sooner, so I’m sharing it with you all now as well.

Posted in Information Resources, Pretty Sweet Tech, Technology | Leave a comment

Big Talk From Small Libraries 2025 Recordings Now Available

Recordings of all Big Talk From Small Libraries 2025 sessions are now available!

You will find the recordings and presentations on the 2025 Recordings & Presentations page.

Don’t forget to complete the conference Evaluation! We’re looking for input from people who attended the live conference and watched the archived recordings.

And mark your calendars now – Big Talk From Small Libraries will be back in 2026! Next year’s conference will be on Friday, February 27, 2026!

Posted in Books & Reading, Education & Training, General, Information Resources, Library Management, Programming, Public Relations, Technology, Youth Services | Tagged | Leave a comment

NCompass Live: Civic Engagement for Nebraska Public Libraries

Do you want to improve civic engagement outreach at your library? Join us to learn about the new Nebraska Public Libraries and Civic Engagement Outreach Guide on next week’s NCompass Live webinar on Wednesday, March 19 at 10am CT.

This guide was created as part of a Girl Scout Gold Award service project with Civic Nebraska, the League of Women Voters of Nebraska, and the Omaha Public Library, to encourage voter information and other civic opportunities at more Nebraska public libraries. The goal is to make public libraries’ civic outreach easier to achieve and more collaborative with community organizations, with information specific to Nebraska libraries and the state’s political processes.

Presenters: Fiona Bryant; Bethany Barelman, Branch Manager, A.V. Sorensen Branch, Omaha Public Library; Mike Forsythe, Civic Nebraska.

Upcoming NCompass Live shows:

  • March 26 – Creating Connection in Library Events
  • April 2 – One Book for Nebraska Kids & Teens 2025
  • April 30 – Pretty Sweet Tech: Computers in Libraries 2025 Highlights & Trends

To register for an NCompass Live show, or to listen to recordings of past shows, go to the NCompass Live webpage.

NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website.

The show is presented online using the GoTo Webinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoTo Webinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.

Posted in Education & Training | Tagged | Leave a comment

#BookFaceFriday “Very Bad at Math” by Hope Larson

You can always count on #BookFaceFriday!

Everything is adding up! This week’s #BookFace, “Very Bad at Math” by New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award–winning author Hope Larson (HarperAlley, 2025) is a colorful middle grade graphic novel. Verity “Very” Nelson can do it all, except math! All seems lost until a teacher helps her discover the truth: Verity has dyscalculia, a learning disability that causes her to mix up numbers.

“Graphic novelist Larson has aimed her latest story at middle-grade readers who…will make a lot of readers feel seen. A solid addition.”

—Booklist

The Nebraska Library Commission receives a large number of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems. You can see some of her favorites of the past year in the recent NCompass Live webinar episodes: Best Teen Reads of 2024 and Best Children’s Books of 2024.

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

Posted in Books & Reading, General, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment