2012, we have been waiting for you! Are you going to keep your promises? Will the stars realign and change life as we know it? Does this mean we don’t have to make New Year’s resolutions?     >> Read more

News services have reported the death of deposed Libyan dictator, Muammar Qaddafi. For information on Qaddafi and the country he ruled for 42 years, check out these titles at the Richland County Public Library.

Did you know the Periodicals Department carries foreign language newspapers?  Whether you want to practice your language skills or read the news from back home, we've got the hookup!     >> Read more

At RCPL, we celebrate banned books week to honor your freedom to choose what to read. The right to choose what to read, even if someone else finds it offensive, is a right your library should protect. This is America, after all.    >> Read more

I doubt I was the only one who found myself parked in front of the TV on the 11th, transfixed by story after somber story.    One segment featured a photo montage set to Beyonce’s powerful song, “I Was Here.”  The firefighters in the towers, the passengers who fought the hijackers on the plane, and the thousands of others who give of themselves in service all leave a preciou    >> Read more

Today we mark the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  In addition to the memorials, news specials, and events, many magazines have published special issues and cover articles which explore the event, the aftermath, and its significance.    >> Read more

1.  Style Me Vintage: Easy Step-by-Step Techniques for Creating Classic Hairstyles by Belinda Hay    >> Read more

Yesterday I attended a workshop on the 2010 Census.  You may have noticed articles in the press about the redistricting of General Assembly seats.  This exercise is based on statistics issued     >> Read more

A couple of years ago, my best friend and I met up in Los Angeles for a “girlfriend getaway”… a weekend devoted to having fun and reconnecting without our husbands in tow.  One of the things we wanted to do was attend a studio taping, and I managed to land two seats on the front row for TV’s top-rated sitcom, “Two and a Half Men”.    >> Read more

Legendary Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor has died at the age of 79.

Celebrate the life of this Oscar-winning actress by remembering some of her landmark films, available for checkout from the Richland County Public Library.

Click on the images below and get these movies today!

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Prince William of Wales will marry his longtime girlfriend Catherine Middleton on April 29 at Westminster Cathedral.  Devoted royalty-watchers await the day of ceremony and pomp---which the British do so well---with hopes for a joyful beginning to a happy marriage as this young couple enter a life of service to their country together.  In the last century, the public aspect of royal weddings evolved from marital unions designed to cement     >> Read more

VITA provides  free tax assistance to working people and families earning less than $49,000 per year. This is a collaborative program between the IRS, Cooperative Ministry and United Way. Help will be offered on a first come, first-served basis during 2011 at the locations and times listed below.    >> Read more

Looking for 2011 tax forms? Federal Tax returns are due April 17, 2012.     >> Read more

Today, beer fans will be converging on the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center for the World Beer Festival.  Attendees at either of the two sessions will have the chance to taste over 200 different beers from all over the world.  There will be live music, workshops on pairing beer with foods, and seminars on tasting beers.  The festival is celebrating its third year in Columbia and is a production of All About Beer magazine.     >> Read more

Library eBooks can be downloaded (for free!) directly onto the iPhone or Android with the OverDrive Media Console Application, V 2.0.

Get Set Up:    >> Read more

It is now possible to get library eBooks on an iPad or an iPhone. 

Most of us have probably heard by now about the Carnival Splendor's cruise mishap where an engine fire knocked out power on the ship, leaving 4500 people stranded in the ocean during what was supposed to be a week of fun in the sun.  No toilets.  No food.  No lights.  No elevators.  Massive vacation fail!    >> Read more

One of my very favorite books is banned in some places.  As I look at the list, I see that lots of books that I consider "great" are on the list as being either banned or at least challenged.      >> Read more

Do you read about the Masters, dreaming of what it would be like to receive an invitation to the tournament?  Or are you more like me, playing putt putt courses abysmally?  I know people that are going to the Masters in Augusta, which goes from April 5-11 this year.   I, however, will not be att    >> Read more

Do you have your ballot ready?  Well, after my recent win for most correct predictions at a friends Golden Globe party, I am starting to study the nominations that were released this month (Feb 2nd) for the Academy Awards (March 7th).  I am torn between my love of Disney Pixar's "Up" and the raw emotional prowess of "Precious: based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire."      >> Read more

Back in January of 2009, I had the opportunity to trek to Washington, DC for the Presidential Inauguration.  It's hard to believe an entire year has now passed. One of the most memorable moments of my experience came when the "We Are One" concert was re-played on all of the jumbo trons before the ceremony.  When the song "This Land is Your Land" was led by Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger, everyone joined in singing.  Singing that great American folk song with about two million of my fellow citizens was an overwhelming experience.  I wonder if Woody Guthrie would have ever imagined such a scene when he originally came up with the song in the 1940s.    >> Read more

On Sunday, February 7, millions of viewers will tune in to CBS to watch the Super Bowl. Some will watch it for the commercials, and others will watch it to see the top two professional football teams of the 2009-2010 season battle it out to be Superbowl XLIV Champions. 

Here in Periodicals, we get newspapers and magazines from all over the world.  We get newspapers in Chinese, German, Spanish, and even Norwegian!  However, we also get quite a few interesting periodicals that are a little less exotic.  Canada, our friendly neighbor to the north, puts out some truly outstanding magazines.  Let me show you a few of them!

Maclean's is a weekly news magazine along the lines of Newsweek or Time.  While of course the United States looms large in Canadian news, the articles feature a strong Canadian viewpoint.  The magazine is very smart and well-written, and I recommend it to anybody who wants to know more about Canada's government, politics, and economy. 

The current issue features "The Year in Pictures", a retrospective of some of Maclean's best photographs of 2009.  Some of them are similar to photo retrospectives in major American magazines (the Obama inauguration, Miley Cyrus) while others are unique in our collection to a magazine like Maclean's (Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Times Square, Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan). 

Canadian Home Workshop is most similar to Family Handyman.  It offers advice for home repairs and building projects.  Of course, the prices are in Canadian dollars, but most products seem to be available on both sides of the border.  Each issue has projects for several skill levels, and the product reviews are lengthy and complete. 

The current issue includes instructions on building a staircase railing, a mirror frame, a tool cabinet, and a false beam ceiling.  Additionally, there's a great article on the differences between cheap and expensive drills. 

Chatelaine is a women's magazine similar to Redbook.  The audience is a little older than the Glamour crowd, I'd say.  This is one magazine where product availability may vary - some of the cosmetics look unfamiliar to me, and of course the pricing is Canadian.  However, all the recipes have measurements in metric and imperial units, so you'll be able to make all the food.  In my opinion, Chatelaine is the best women's magazine we get.  It's much less cheesy than a lot of the American women's titles.  The articles are substantial and interesting, it isn't as product-focused, and the beauty articles don't take over the magazine.  

This month there's an interview with Dolly Parton (my hero!), a gorgeous chocolate cake on the cover, and a big guide full of concrete tips for saving money.  (Did you know that October is the best time to buy a bicycle?  And I've really got to get around to taking all the junk out of my car - evidently it's wasting gas money!)  Do you enjoy reading magazines like Marie Claire but every so often find yourself reading the same one twice?  And you don't realize it until you see a familiar ad?  Try Chatelaine instead!    >> Read more

It's that time again - no, not Christmas.  It's time for summing up the year!  I can't help but read everybody's "ten best movies of 2009" or "the year's ten stupidest PR mistakes by celebrities" or "twenty five most awesome police chases" lists, even though I know they just put them out there to stir up discussion, knowing that nobody's going to agree with anybody else's list.  This year you get to sum up the whole decade, too (I did vote in Vogue's "Best Dressed of the Decade" poll, even as I complained bitterly about their choices.  I told you, I can't help it!)  Probably the biggest "year in review" story, though, is the announcement of Time's Person of the Year.

A lot of people think of "Person of the Year" as an award, although Time strenuously claims that it goes to the most notable and influential person and points to its choices of Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin (twice!) and the Ayatollah Khomeini as evidence.  However, the choices have tended to shy away from such controversial figures in recent years, and the 2001 Person of the Year was Rudy Guiliani, not Osama bin Ladin.

The "award" began as "Man of the Year" in 1927.  It was a slow news week, and there had been some controversy over Time's decision not to put Charles Lindbergh on the cover on the occaision of his trans-Atlantic flight.  The editors killed two birds with one stone by announcing Lindbergh as Man of the Year and have continued to publish the special issue during the traditionally slow news week at the end of the year.  

Since 1999, the title has been "Person of the Year".  Interestingly, no woman has won except as a part of a group ("The Whistleblowers" in 2002 and Melinda Gates with her husband and Bono as "The Good Samaritans" in 2005) since the award has been renamed.  When it was still "Man of the Year", several individual woman were named: Wallis Simpson, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, Queen Elizabeth and Corazon Aquino.  (Their covers were titled "Woman of the Year", so it seems a little silly to rename the title, but I guess nobody asked me.)

Since 1927, every sitting President of the United States has been chosen except for Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Gerald Ford.  Franklin Roosevelt was the only person to be named three times.

Because groups are frequently named, somebody you know may have been Person of the Year more than once!  A non-famous person may have been named as many as seven times if they are an American female middle class Baby Boomer scientist who has been a whistleblower and served in the armed forces.  (That would be 1960, 1966, 1969, 1975, 2002, 2003, and 2006 if you're playing along at home.)  She would have had to be a very young scientist, though.  I myself have only been Person of the Year in 2006, when we all won - I'm just a little too young to also have been the American Woman in 1975. 

So, who was named this year?  Our hometown boy, Ben Bernanke!  The Federal Reserve Chairman was born in Augusta, true, but he grew up in Dillon, South Carolina.  He went to public South Carolina schools and waited tables at South of the Border (weather forecast: chili today, hot tamale) during his summer breaks from Harvard.  He taught economics at Stanford, NYU, and Princeton before moving into a government career through the Federal Reserve.  He has written extensively on the political and economic causes of the Great Depression.  If you ask me, it's too early to tell, but many including Time are praising Bernanke's use of theories about the Great Depression to alleviate the current recession through the Federal Reserve.  Whether you agree with his fiscal policy or not, there's no doubting that Bernanke is a seriously smart guy and a credit to the state.  

Want to read more about the Person of the Year?  You can go to Time's website and read all the cover stories back to 1927.  You can also come here to the Periodicals Department, where we of course have the current issue but can also offer you microfilm back to 1923 and many bound issues.  I prefer to see the magazines on microfilm or in bound copies rather than read a transcription online, because the magazines themselves are much more than the words in the story - advertisements, typography, and other features of the print copy put the story in context.  Come take a look!    >> Read more

Are you excited about Vancouver 2010?

Have you seen the "Countdown to Vancouver" commercials?  You know, the ones featuring the inspirational anthem "One Day?"  This song is from the newest album, Light, by artist Matisyahu and has been chosen as the theme song for the "Countdown to Vancouver" campaign.

Matisyahu's music is an interesting blend of Hasidic Judaism, reggae beats, hip hop and rock.
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Can you believe that it has been 40 years since hundreds of thousands flocked to Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in Bethel, NY for three days of peace and music? 

It is amazing to realize that on August 15th of 2009, 4 decades will have passed since that legendary, generation defining, most famous of all rock concerts. 

Everyone is familiar with the Grammys, the Emmys and the Tonys.  But do you know the Audies?     >> Read more