Anyone with a Walled Lake Library card can now enjoy thousands of free videos from Kanopy, a streaming collection of high-quality films that inspire, educate and entertain. Kanopy’s unique selection offers something for everyone, from award winning indie films to important and timely documentaries, to foreign films, popular cinema, children’s shows and more with the ease of watching on TV and a wide range of other types of devices. 

“We are thrilled to add Kanopy to our digital collection in response to growing interest in high-quality digital movie content — this is just another way that the Walled Lake Library can benefit our patrons,” said Carrie Ralston, Library Director. “We are committed to delivering an easily accessible and rich online experience to our patrons.” 

Many films on Kanopy, including those from iconic film companies such as A24, Criterion Collection, Paramount, PBS and Kino Lorber, are unavailable elsewhere. The experience is easy-to-use and completely advertisement free. To sign up, visit walledlake.kanopy.com. 

Family-Friendly and Convenient Features 

• Kanopy Kids features a collection of films and TV series that inspire and inform, helping children develop social emotional skills and reinforcing valuable learning topics, such as history, science and new languages. Kanopy Kids has a diverse selection of educational and entertaining content that range across movies, TV series, animated storybooks, live action and animated favorites. Kanopy Kids is appropriate for children ages 2 and up, with a focus on kids ages 2-8. Walled Lake patrons can enjoy unlimited plays in Kanopy Kids. 
• Parental Controls can be implemented to enable young viewers to stay within the dedicated Kanopy Kids area for age-appropriate content. 
• The Kanopy app is available on iOS and Android along with all major streaming devices, including Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Samsung Smart TV.  

Getting started with Kanopy is free and easy for all regular Walled Lake Library card holders at walledlake.kanopy.com. Library staff are also available to assist by phone at 248.624.3772.

The Walled Lake City Library wants to hear from you!

We are looking to the future of what the Library can be and we need to hear from you. Help us with a vision by attending one of our listening sessions and tell us what you would like from us. This plan will help us outline the library’s goals and vision for the future and our community. In order to best align this plan with the needs of the Walled Lake community, we want to hear from as many community members as possible, whether you use the library every day, not at all, or somewhere in between!

Here's how you can help:

Attend an In-Person Listening Session

These sessions will be hosted in-person. It’s your chance to meet with the Library Director and Library Board Members to give them your thoughts on the Library. We want to know what you are looking for from the Library.

Fill out our Survey

This anonymous survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and will ask how you feel about current library services, hours, programs, and more, as well as what you would like to see in the future.

Paper copies are also available at the library or download and print one HERE. Drop it off in the survey box in our lobby.

Join us for the Neighborhood Library Association's Fall Community Read event. We will be joined by Screenwise author Dr. Devorah Heitner as she discusses her book and teaches parents how to support their children's use of technology, how to embpower kids to make positive choices online, and how to create a smart tech culture within a family. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

Screenwise helps parents recognize that the social wisdom they have gained throughout their lives is a relevant and urgently needed supplement to their kid’s digital savvy. The core message of the book is that kids need mentoring, not (just) monitoring, and that kids deserve more empathy from adults about growing up in the digital age. The book offers advice on helping kids navigate friendship and identity issues that are common among new texters, gamers, and social media users. 

The event will take place on Tuesday, October, 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Novi Middle School Auditorium. Free childcare services are available during the event for children ages 5+. The first 25 attendees to arrive at the event will receive a complimentary copy of Screenwise. This program is sponsored by the Neighborhood Library Association (NLA), Novi Educational Foundation (NEF), and Novi Community School District (NCSD)

Register for the event through the Novi Public Library event calendar.

Copies of the book are available for check out.

Walled Lake City Library Partners with Michigan Humanities for This Year’s Great Michigan Read

Mary Doria Russell’s ‘The Women of the Copper Country’ is 2021-22 Pick

Walled Lake, Mich. — Residents in the Walled Lake area are invited to join in reading and discussing “The Women of the Copper Country,” Mary Doria Russell’s riveting account of 25-year-old Annie Clements as she stood up for the miners and their families during the 1913 copper strikes. The book is Michigan Humanities’ choice for the 2021-2022 Great Michigan Read and the Walled Lake City Library is partnering with Michigan Humanities to distribute free books as well as supporting educational materials in the Walled Lake area.

The Great Michigan Read aims to connect Michiganians by deepening readers’ understanding of our state, our society, and our humanity. A statewide panel of teachers, librarians, community leaders and book lovers selects the Great Michigan Read every two years. The 2019-2020 book was “What the Eyes Don’t See,” Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha’s account of her discovery that Flint’s children were being poisoned by lead leaching into the city’s drinking water. The 2017-18 book was “X: A Novel,” a fictionalized account of the early life and Michigan roots of civil rights leader Malcolm X.

Shelly Hendrick Kasprzycki, Michigan Humanities president and CEO, says she hopes Michigan citizens statewide can read, discuss and learn from Annie’s inspiring example as “America’s Joan of Arc” during an engaging Great Michigan Read program that addresses labor history, women’s history and a critical period in Michigan history when jobs dependent on the state’s ample natural resources – copper, iron, lumber – were switching to new jobs on production lines at Henry Ford’s auto factories.

Widely praised for meticulous research, fine prose, and the compelling narrative drive of her stories, Russell is the award-winning author of seven bestselling novels, including the science fiction classics “The Sparrow” and “Children of God”; the World War II thriller, “A Thread of Grace”; and a political romance set in 1921 Cairo called “Dreamers of the Day.” With her novels “Doc” and “Epitaph,” Russell has redefined two towering figures of the American West: the lawman Wyatt Earp and the dental surgeon Doc Holliday. She holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Michigan and taught anatomy at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

“I’m so honored Michigan Humanities chose ‛The Women of the Copper Country’ for the 2021-2022 Great Michigan Read,” said Russell, who spent time in Michigan’s Keewenaw Peninsula walking through the streets of Calumet, touring the mines and visiting local museums as she prepared to write her fictionalized account of the real-life Big Annie. “The copper strike itself has been studied and written about by historians and legal experts, but those accounts are not meant to engage the reader’s emotions. That was my job – to combine imagination and empathy with research.

“Here was a 25-year-old woman who is central to a strike against the most powerful company in the most dangerous industry of her time. A child of despised immigrants. A housewife with a simple education in a time when women couldn’t vote and weren’t supposed to take part in public life. Somehow, she mobilized 10,000 miners and kept everyone going, day after day, month after month. So my task was to tell readers: What makes a woman like Annie Clements?” Russell added.

The Walled Lake City Library will receive free reader’s guides, teacher’s guides, bookmarks, and other supplemental materials when the next Great Michigan Read kicks off in September 2021. Russell will participate in an author’s tour through fall 2022, with times, locations and decisions on in-person or virtual sessions to be made at a later date. More information on how to get a free copy of “The Women of the Copper Country” and participate in Great Michigan Read programming is available at the Walled Lake City Library and on its website at walledlakelibrary.org.

The 2021-22 Great Michigan Read is presented by Michigan Humanities and supported by national, statewide and local partners, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Meijer Foundation, and Martin Waymire.

Dear Patrons,

The staff and I sincerely miss the “old normal” when we were open to the public and patrons could simply walk into our building to borrow items; use our public computers or WiFi signal; sit and read magazines and newspapers; and attend the programs and meetings we’ve traditionally hosted.

While the Library has been closed to the public, our staff has cleaned up and reorganized our collections, and learned some new skills which will enable us to serve you better. We’ve increased our digital offerings and even tried our hands at  virtual programming. Patrons have been making heavy use of our OverDrive and Hoopla accounts to borrow digital and streaming media like eBooks, eAudiobooks, movies, television shows, and magazines.

I hope you all remain safe and well. We look forward to being able to fully restore library services. Thank you for your patience and understanding and please know that we miss seeing you as much as you miss seeing us.

Carrie Ralston
Library Director

Libraries close for in-person services following surge in COVID cases

By Spinal Column Staff | on December 02, 2020

BY ALI ZIMNIE
EDITOR
alizimnie@scnmail.com

WALLED LAKE, MI (June 15, 2020) – The Walled Lake City Library has announced the public availability of thousands of movies, television shows, music albums, eBooks, audiobooks and comics, all available for mobile and online access through a new partnership with hoopla digital.

Walled Lake Library card holders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or iOS device or visit hoopladigital.com to begin enjoying thousands of titles — from major Hollywood studios, record companies and publishers — available to borrow 24/7, for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their smartphones, tablets, and computers.

“We strive to be a valuable resource for our community,” Library director Carrie Ralston said, “and hoopla offers several advantages over similar services in that it includes thousands of music CDs, including many on the day of their release, as well as downloadable e-books, audiobooks, comic books, movies, and television programs.

“Perhaps best of all, hoopla allows instant access to all content without waiting lists or holds. Another advantage is that the hoopla app allows you to download these albums, movies, or books to your smartphone or tablet computer wherever you have Wifi access so that you can watch. Listen, or read them later without Internet access. Users can borrow and download up to 4 items per month on their account.”

For more information, please contact the Walled Lake City Library at 248-624-3772.

About hoopla digital

hoopla digital is a category-creating service that partners with public libraries across North America to provide online and mobile access to thousands of Movies, TV Shows, Music, eBooks, Audiobooks, and Comics. With hoopla digital, patrons can borrow, instantly stream and download free dynamic content with a valid library card. All content is accessible via hoopla digital’s mobile app and online at www.hoopladigital.com. hoopla digital is a service of Midwest Tape – a trusted partner to public libraries for over 25 years.

WALLED LAKE, MI (April 15, 2020) – Walled Lake City Library is pleased to offer its users access to Creativebug, an online portal from Joann Fabrics for hobbyists and crafters to learn new skills.

 “Walled Lake has a great community of crafters. With the Library currently closed we want to offer a creative outlet for our patrons,” says Carrie Ralston, Library Director. “We hope to incorporate Creativebug in some craft programs in the future, but in the meantime patrons will be able to access a wide variety of craft classes they can do in their own time and at their own pace. All it takes is a Walled Lake Library card. The videos will inspire you to spark imagination and try something new,”

Creativebug offers over a thousand video courses on topics such as knitting, crochet, cake decorating, screen printing, jewelry making, quilting, sewing, and more.

Classes are accessible to any person with a Walled Lake City Library card. Each class varies in length from just several minutes to several hours including classes for beginners as well as those with more experience who wish to learn more advanced techniques. In addition to classes, Creativebug has a large curated pattern Library where users can download and print patterns to knit or crochet.

Cardholders can enroll and participate in classes from home or use the Library’s public computers. For more information about Creativebug or to view the classes available, residents should visit the Library website: www.walledlakelibrary.org.

WALLED LAKE, MI (April 20, 2020) – Dr. Seuss once said, “You have brains in your head, and feet in your shoes; you can steer yourself any direction you choose. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way! Oh, the places you’ll go.”

Darlene Williams, youth services specialist at the Walled Lake City Library, has retired after 35 years of service. During that time she has worked tirelessly to expand services and collections for the children.

Reflecting on her time with the library, Darlene has said that there’s no question about what she will miss the most: the people. “I will really miss the kids especially.”

And the kids will miss her. Over the years, some Mrs. William’s Story Time kids have returned as adults with their own children and in some cases with their grandchildren. She has touched the lives of many thousands of children, families and caregivers during her long career.

“Darlene has given an extraordinary amount of time, energy and talent to the library and to the children and families of Walled Lake,” says Carrie Ralston, Library Director. “She has passed on her love of reading to generations of families.”

In retirement, Darlene is going to miss watching the kids grow up as she has with those who are now bringing their own kids to the library. She’ll have more time to do some things she hasn’t had time to do: work on house projects, travel, and spend as much time as she likes reading her favorite authors.

Walled Lake City Library hires Ralston as library director

By Spinal Column Staff | on February 05, 2020

Carrie Ralston

The board of the Walled Lake City Library has hired Carrie Ralston as library director.

She officially begins her new role on February 17.

Ralston brings with her over ten years of experience in public libraries. She has worked at the Walled Lake City Library for seven years, serving in various roles, most recently as the library’s assistant director.

In addition, she has worked at the Southfield Public Library and the White Lake Township Library.

She holds a B.A. in fine art from Olivet College and an M.L.I.S. from Wayne State University. Ralston is taking over for Alyson Lobert, who leaves the Walled Lake City Library after six years to become the library director at the Commerce Township Community Library.

The Walled Lake City Library provides library services to residents of the City of Walled Lake, as well as to non-residents around southeast Michigan. In addition to a robust collection of books, audiobooks, ebooks and DVDs, the Walled Lake City Library offers special programs for families and individuals of all ages, including an annual Summer Reading Program, book discussion groups, music programs, and much more.

Surprise donation funds various improvements at Walled Lake City Library

Thank you, Walled Lake!

The Library Board and the staff of the Walled Lake City Library appreciate the support of the community, as shown by the overwhelming approval of the Library's operating millage in the recent election.

Thank you for recognizing the important role that the Walled Lake City Library plays in out community. We look forward to serving Walled Lake residents in the years to come.

Joining the Little Free Library movement, a nationwide literacy outreach program which has grown to more than 9,000 since it began in 2010, the Walled Lake City Library placed a wooden Free Little Library box at Mercer Beach in downtown Walled Lake.

The mission of the Free Little Library is to encourage residents to spread their love of books by sharing books at their neighborhood Free Little Library. 

Filled with items donated by the Friends of the Walled Lake City Library, the Free Little Library features a mixture of children’s and adult items. The Free Little Library is designed to entice residents who don't regularly visit the library to take a book to enjoy and, when they are finished, they can either return the book to the Free Little Library or pass it along to a friend. Readers are also encouraged to leave copies of books that they have enjoyed in the box for others to discover.