Category Archive

Thanks to your local library, monitoring your heart health is much easier.  Telehealth is an efficient and practical solution for many people. Online doctor appointments are a great time saver – especially if you have mobility or transportation issues, or live in a rural area. Unfortunately, not everyone has the tools to share blood pressure numbers or their temperature with

When planning a summer reading event for blind children, you think outside the box. Or in this case, the planet.  The Utah State Library’s Blind & Disabled Program staff worked hard to make this year’s summer reading event memorable and educational for 25 blind students. The theme was outer space. “The intention was to provide a multi-sensory experience,” explains Program

The LSTA 2025 competitive grant round, provided with IMLS funds, is open! This annual grant round is intended for project-based grants that respond to community needs. Please note that applications are due May 31, 2024. $250,000 is available in the grant round and projects typically range from $5,000 to $30,000. Projects outside of that range are still welcome to apply. The application is

How do you bring a graphic novel to life for blind and visually impaired library patrons? It’s easy when you have great partners, talented staff members, and a state-of-the-art recording studio. “Thunderous,” a graphic novel for grades 3-6, is about Aiyana, who is more interested in her social media presence than her Lakota heritage. Pursued by the trickster Raven in

Did you know the Utah State Library Division has its own awards event? Every year, we host a three-day event for library directors to network, learn, and collaborate. One of the highlights of the Directors Summit is presenting the Quality Library awards. There’s no red carpet or paparazzi, but receiving the Quality Library Award speaks volumes for the recipients. The Quality

In rural Utah, where the distances between towns can be vast and the population sparse, the bookmobile is not just a vehicle; it’s a symbol of access to knowledge. The Utah State Library Bookmobile Program offers rural Utahns access to books, computers, and a plethora of online learning resources. Not only do the bookmobiles serve rural citizens, they also visit

by Faye D. Fischer “One who believes that he has mastered the art of horsemanship has not yet begun to understand the horse.” Author Unknown Horses. A strange but accurate place to start a history of the Utah State Library. The library’s beginnings can be traced back to a renovated livery/coach house behind the Kearns Mansion. Early histories of the

by Faye D. Fischer You may have heard that the Utah State Library for the Blind offers a variety of specialized services to blind and print disabled patrons in several states. We provide braille material and talking book library services to patrons from the east to west coast at no charge. But do you know that we also record our

by Katie Larsen The Utah State library has accepted an invitation to join the Utah Health Literacy Coalition (UHLC). UHLC is an interagency coalition that includes representatives from the University of Utah, Network of the National Library of Medicine, Salt Lake County Library, local public health centers, and others. This group of individuals are teaming up to work toward one BIG goal, to improve the health

This year has been amazing for the Utah State Library. We want to share with you some of the notable things we have done in 2022. Utah State Library for the Blind Lisa Nelson and her team at The Utah State Library for the Blind participated in a pilot program with the National Library Service for the Deaf and Blind

by Faye D. Fischer Earlier this year Marie Erickson Hyatt and the Resources Team worked to make some updates to our collection policy.  A well-developed collection plan helps a library use their resources in ways that support and maintain their mission and avoid ending up with a collection that reflects bias or passing trends. It is more important than ever

Earlier this year the Utah State Library Board elected Rebekah Cummings as the new board chair. Rebekah Cummings is the Interim Director of Digital Matters at the University of Utah Marriott Library where she coordinates digital humanities research, teaching, and support. Prior to her current position, Rebekah was the Assistant Director of the Mountain West Digital Library and the Data