Mychal L.

  • Scan and Fax at the Library with ScanEZ!

    While new technology can sometimes feel intimidating, the self-assuredly named ScanEZ kiosk, freely available for use at almost all library locations, exceeds expectations and lives up to its name! It’s a straight-forward process that’s (almost) impossible to mess up. You select the scanner that you want to use, either a flatbed for large or one-at-a-time… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2023: Debut Essays or Short Stories

    I’ll be honest, I’m quite distractible. And I’m a book piler. I go back and forth between novels, poetry, comics, and so on. So, what could be better than reading deeply personal or timely topical essays, or short fiction that affords the fulfilling seeds of an unfulfilled story plot or character formation? How about an… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2022: Hobby or skill

    It’s summertime in Seattle! Whether you plan to take your Subaru and hit the trail, set up a hammock by the ship canal, or you’d rather crank your window unit and relax inside with your fur babies, there’s an unending variety of new hobbies or skills you can try out or just read about, from… Continue reading

  • #BookBingoNW2022: Non-binary/genderqueer/two-spirit author or character

    Happy Pride and Summer Book Bingo, y’all! Gender can be messy and wonderful and specific and fluid; a source of anxiety for some and self-contentment for others. These authors and their characters, stories, and poems explore the infinite spectrum of human identities and experiences. Maia Kobabe’s cathartic graphic memoir Gender Queer follows eir exploration of… Continue reading

  • Comic Book Cool Cats

    Comic Book Cool Cats

    It’s kitten season (April-October) and cats are absolutely everywhere right meow, including in just about every type of comic book or manga story you could imagine. In Cat Massage Therapy by Haru Hisakawa, world weary workers find relief from the most unexpected of feline massage professionals. Catboy by Benji Nate sees Olive’s wish to hang… Continue reading

  • Staying Healthy with Your Library: Search the Catalog for Health Topics

    In this Shelf Talk consumer health series, we’ve covered a variety of ways of accessing health information through Library databases, but what about the Library’s bread and butter, materials in the online catalog? Don’t worry, we’ve got you. In addition to discovering much of the material in some of our databases, you’ll find hundreds of… Continue reading

  • Staying Healthy with Your Library: LGBTQ History & Culture

    With materials from hundreds of institutions and organizations, including major international activist organizations, local, grassroots groups, and governments, the database LGBTQ History & Culture (also known as the Archives of Sexuality and Gender) collects an incredible set of primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender. Use this resource to investigate how sexual… Continue reading

  • If You Enjoy Fantasy Roleplaying Games…

    I know many of you out there are spending a lot of time these days playing Dungeons & Dragons or other tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) on Roll20, Discord, or even Zoom. You might be playing The Witcher 3 on your Nintendo Switch, or revisiting the tundra of Skyrim on your Xbox One. Maybe you’re even… Continue reading

  • Staying Healthy with Your Library: Consumers’ Checkbook – Healthcare Providers

    Consumers’ Checkbook is the local Consumer Reports, but for services instead of products. It’s a consumer-driven non-profit with clear methods for ratings and reviews. In the Puget Sound region, you’ll find they have reviews for thousands of doctors, dentists, massage therapists, psychologists, nursing homes, and more. To access this database from your own device, sign… Continue reading

  • Recommendations from My Precarious Piles of Printed Pictures and Prose

    I moved in the middle of this pandemic, and have nearly twenty open boxes and unsorted piles of comics and graphic novels sitting around. Revisiting the books I already own (whether I’ve gotten around to reading them all, or not) while unpacking has been incredibly fun, and is the basis of the following comics recommendations.… Continue reading

  • Staying Healthy with Your Library: Consumer Reports – Health Products

    Consumer Reports, publishing their well-known magazine since 1936, is an “independent, nonprofit member organization that works side by side with consumers for truth, transparency, and fairness in the marketplace.” Consumer Reports online includes buying guides with ratings for hundreds of health-related products in dozens of categories including hearing aids, bike helmets, sunscreens, and fitness trackers.… Continue reading

  • Staying Healthy with Your Library: ConsumerLab.com

    Research and select the best quality health, wellness, and nutritional products, based on test results published by an independent laboratory with ConsumerLab.com. Since 1999, ConsumerLab.com has tested more than 5,600 products, representing nearly every type of popular supplement for adults and children (and yes Seattle, pets too). To access this database from your own device,… Continue reading

  • Staying Healthy with Your Library: ProQuest Consumer Health Database

    This post is part of our Staying Healthy with Your Library series featuring online consumer health resources available from The Seattle Public Library. Databases require a library card number and PIN for remote access. For general health questions or in-depth research, ProQuest Consumer Health is an easy-to-use database of more than 500 trustworthy medical journals… Continue reading

  • Start Your Job Search at the Library

    The Seattle Public Library’s Job Resources web page is a great place to start your job search, with resources on discovering a new career path, getting new job skills, creating a cover letter and resume, and finding job opportunities. Our community partner, WorkSource Seattle-King County, offers many great job seeking resources, and is currently posting… Continue reading

  • How to Claim Unemployment Benefits in Washington State

    ***This post is adapted from the Washington State Employment Security Department web page. Be sure to check there for additional detail and any future changes to the unemployment claims process in Washington State.   Many in our community are being laid off from work due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. You may be… Continue reading

  • Queer Comics for LGBT History Month

    October is LGBT History Month! Let us celebrate and read some recently published comics and graphic novels by queer creators and about queer characters and stories! Continue reading

  • DIY Different

    While gardening, cooking, and home improvement are what most people think of as do-it-yourself, or DIY, in a more general sense anything that you can pay someone else to do or buy ready-made, but do yourself, is do-it-yourself. Let’s DIY Different! Whether you’re an incessant reader, enjoy binge-watching television shows, or love a long videogame… Continue reading

  • Graphic Medicine

    Ever read a comic story with a character that has arthritis? How about someone who lives with anxiety and depression? PTSD? Food poisoning? If so, then you’re already familiar with Graphic Medicine! Graphic Medicine is a genre of comics (with a website!) that examines the intersection of the comics medium with the discourses of healthcare,… Continue reading