Librarycardcan help youkeepstick to goals
BY JANE LEGROS
Contributing writer
The new year is atime of change —starting new habits, setting goals, and embarking on new adventures. Trying something new can be daunting, but the New Orleans PublicLibrary is here to help.
Hereare fivewaystouse your library card to help you dive into resolutions and make the mostof 2025:
1. Achieve professional goals with LinkedIn Learning or Udemy,two massive online training libraries offering self-paced and ondemand content in fields ranging fromart and design, business and marketing,technology and science, and everything in between.
2. Be more environmentally friendly by borrowing materials instead of buying them. In addition to books, the library lendsout CDs
andDVDs, professional-grade cake pans,and more. Library locations are also regularly stocked withcurrent issues of avariety of newspapers, magazines, and journals, making it easy to cut down on your consumption of products you might only use once.
3. Get into cooking with any number of the library’svast collection of cookbooks or find new recipes in popular food publicationslike Bon Appetit, Good Housekeeping, Food &Wine,and more on Flipster,adigital newsstand featuring fullissuesofdozens of magazines, newspapers, and journals.
4. Spend more time in nature by starting agarden with thehelp of our seed libraries. Located at seven library branches —Alvar,913 Alvar St.; HubbellLibrary,725 Pelican Ave.;East NewOrleans Regional, 5641 Read Blvd.; MidCity,4140 Canal St.; Latter,5120 St. Charles Ave.; Nora Navra, 1902
St. Bernard Ave.; and Rosa Keller, 4300 S. Broad St. —seed libraries offerhundredsofvarietiesfor free. All can be grown in Louisiana. Plus, you can browse our collection of gardening books and magazines for inspiration on how to take your yard to the next level.
5. Save money by using your library card to its full potential. Hereare some suggestions.
n Ditchyourstreamingservices and watch movies and shows with your library card on Kanopyor Hoopla and stream or download music for free on Freegal.
n Cancel that Audible subscription and download audiobooks for free with Libby
n Use the library’sCulture Pass Program to get into museums and attractions around New Orleans with no entry fee. This is only asmall sampling of the extensive products, services and resources you can access for
Kiwanis expands TerrificKids program
PROVIDEDPHOTO
From left are Ronald Bateman, School Board COO; Seth Shapard,School Board supervisor of assessmentsand accountability; Gerald ‘Robbie’Robinson, Chevron corporate affairs representative;Susan Rodriguez,Kiwanis Club TerrificKidschair;and NikoTestvich, Kiwanian and SchoolBoard member
The Kiwanis Club of St. Bernard is expanding its Terrific Kids program to Plaquemines Parish schools. With sponsorships fromChevron and Stolthaven, the programwill begin there in January.Terrific Kids, which has been in St. Bernard Parish for
more than 30 years, currentlyreaches more than 2,500 studentsannually in schools there. Representatives from the Plaquemines Parish School Board and representatives from Chevron and Stolthaven attended theKiwanis meeting in December
BOOK EVENTS
WRITER’SCLINIC: The Jan. 11clinicwill feature Maurice Carlos Ruffin and TadBartlett, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the East Bank Regional Library,4747 W. Napoleon Ave. in Metairie.
Ruffinwilllead“Starting andFinishing Your Stories” at 9:30 a.m., for writers of all kinds of prose stories. Bartlett’ssession, at 11 a.m., is “Beginning and Endings.” Thesessions,for beginners or experiencedwriters, arefree. www.jefferson.lib.la.us.
The town of Grand Islehas opened anew 960-foot public fishing pier.Along with the 990-foot Grand Isle Fishing Pier next to BridgeSide Marina, which opened in summer 2023, the piers are free and open to the public. Located just before entering the island on Cheniere Caminada,
free when youuse your library card. Not amember? Visit nolalibrary.org or stop by your neighborhood library to sign up today.
Plus, the library hasavariety of free programs designed to help start the year off on the right foot by getting organized.
Kick things off by attending the New Year,New Plans DIY Journaling Workshop at Mid-City Library,4140 Canal St., at 11 a.m. Jan. 3oratNix Library, 1401
S. Carrollton Ave., on Jan. 7at 5:30 p.m. Attendeescan customize their planners or journalsfor the new year using stamps, stickers,stencils, andother colorful supplies. Lined journals will be provided, or you can bring your own.
Jane LeGros is the director of marketing and communications for theNew Orleans Public Library
PROVIDED PHOTO ShelbyGoddard, adult programming librarian, shows off some of the giveaways attendees to the ‘NewYear,New Plans’ journaling workshop at the New Orleans Public Librarywillreceive
THE CRUSH TOUR: The event, celebrating the release of twoeditions inthe romancelandia genre, willfeatureAlexandraVasti & ZoeBrennan, authors of “Earl Crush,”and LauraPiper Lee, author of “First Crush.” The program, set for Jan 18, 6p.m., at Blue Cypress Books, 8123 Oak St. in New Orleans, will includereadingsand discussion. www bluecypressbooks.com.
“THEMEETING OF AIR AND WATER”: Author Sharon LaCour will sign copies of her debut novelatBlue Cypress Books, 8123 Oak St. in New Orleans, on Jan. 23, 6:30-8 p.m. There will be adiscussion and book signing.www bluecypressbooks.com.
CLASSES
PEOPLE PROGRAM NOLA: Registration is open for classes for seniors. Thespring semester runs Jan.21toMay 15 on twocampuses, 2240 LakeshoreDriveinNew Orleansand 6201 StratfordPlace in Algiers. Theclass feeis$200 for unlimited in-personcourse enrollment;the online-onlyclass fee is $150. peopleprogram org. LEARNING BEFORE LUNCH: TheJan.9 meeting will discuss “The Science and Research Behind Therapeutic Music.” Cathy Anderson aharpist working with the Music for Healing and Transition Programthrough thestate Health Department, will discuss how live music can heal the mind, bodyand spirit,
presentinghistorical references and current research. The program will be held at UNO’s Homer L. Hitt Alumni Center,2000 Lakeshore DriveinNew Orleans beginning at 10 a.m. Annual membership is $25, $30 per couple, or a $5 donation. www.learningbeforelunch.com. WALKING TOUR GUIDE CLASS: Applications arebeing accepted for the 2025 Friends of the Cabildo Walking Tour Guide Class. Classes start March 10, 2025. Almost 100 hoursofclass time across one month provide an overview of New Orleans history,architectureand culture. The walking tour guide class is offered one time per year at the Cabildo, 701 Chartres St. in NewOrleans. friendsofthecabildo.org
