October 2024 Newsletter: Welcome New Staff!

October Newsletter: Welcome New Staff!

Check out what’s going on at the library in this month’s newsletter.

Featured: Welcome New Staff!

Please join us in welcoming two new staff members, Storm (right) and Liz (left)!

Storm is our new Teen Services & Schools Liaison Librarian! In this position, she’ll focus on providing great services and interesting programs for teens, while also strengthening our relationships with East Lansing schools and the community. She’s been working in libraries for 12 years, and most recently, she comes to us from the Fowlerville District Library, where she was TikTok famous for creating the “One-Star Review, Guess Who?” series, along with other silly library life videos. 

Outside of work, she’s heavily involved in the Lansing theatre scene, and if she’s not in a library, you can usually find her onstage. She also enjoys longboarding, rock climbing, crocheting, quoting obscure Bob's Burgers references, and pretending she has it all together. 

Liz is our new Experience Team Leader. In this position, she’ll lead our front-desk staff in providing excellent customer service to library visitors, connecting people to the books and resources they need, and making sure the library is a welcoming space for everyone. She’s been working in libraries since high school, and in her previous job, worked her way up from an entry level position to administration, where she supervised multiple branches. 

Outside of work, Liz is proud to be the secretary of the Historic Neighborhood Board for Carriage Town, Flint’s first neighborhood, where she lives with her husband, two kids, and an old grumpy pug named Otis. She also loves watching TV, music, helping with environmental clean-up, thrifting and going to estate sales, decorating/upkeeping her old house, and starting (and sometimes finishing) a lot of various craft projects.

Both Liz and Storm come to us with tons of expertise, and we’re so excited to have such experienced librarians joining the team. Be sure to stop by the library and say hello!


Featured: Friends of Libraries Week

National Friends of Libraries Week is October 20-26! The Friends of East Lansing Public Library are a dedicated and hard-working group of volunteers who support our library in so many ways. We love our Friends! Please join us this week (and every week) to celebrate and thank them for their many continued efforts.

The Friends run the used bookstore, Marsha’s Friendshop, inside the library! They sell used books, movies, and more, in addition to running other fundraisers and merch sales throughout the year. All the money raised by the Friends gets donated to ELPL, which is how our programs are funded! If you’ve loved a special StoryTime, or Shark Day, or a teen crafting program, or an author visit, or any other amazing event we offer, you can thank a Friend for making it possible. We are so lucky to have such supportive Friends, and we couldn’t do what we do without them.

The work of the Friends is made possible by people generously donating their time, money, or used books. If you want to get involved, there are a variety of ways to do so, and new faces are always welcomed. You can learn more about the Friends and the work they do on their website.

Thanks, Friends! We appreciate you!


Featured: Upcoming Programs

Library programs are free and open to the public; you don’t even need a library card! Unless otherwise noted, no registration is required.

      • Meet scientists from MSU who will be sharing their passion and expertise with the community. See real fossil collections, learn what Michigan looked like millions of years ago, and enjoy a variety of fossil-themed demonstrations, activities, arts, and crafts.  
      • Join fellow bird enthusiasts to share stories, photos, and learn!
      • We’ll be discussing The Eight Master Lessons of Nature: What Nature Teaches Us About Living Well in the World, by Gary Ferguson.
      • Monday, October 21, 4-6pm: We'll gather at the library for a brief safety/informational talk from City of East Lansing Principal Planner Landon Bartley. Then we'll ride our bikes together up Abbot to the Northern Tier Trail and back. 
      • Monday, October 28, 4:30-6:30pm: We'll start at the Library for a brief safety/informational talk. Then we'll ride down to the MSU Bikes Service Center where we’ll be joined by Tim Potter, Sustainable Transportation Manager at the MSU Bikes Service Center. Tim will lead us on a biking tour of campus through points of interest, including the new Hagadorn road configuration. 
      • This free two-part seminar will teach you how to navigate the homebuying process. Completion of the class satisfies the homeowner education requirement for many down payment assistance programs and loans. Registration is required.
      • Paint pumpkins and enjoy some tasty treats! While supplies last.
      • Read and discuss “A Very Williamston Christmas” before it opens live at the Williamston Theatre!
      • Join us at Reno’s North for a collaborative LEGO challenge! Registration required.
      • No assigned reading or watching, come ready to talk about each month’s genre or topic! This month’s theme is “Nightmare on Abbot;” you’re in for a ghoulishly good time!
    • Meet us at Reno’s North for drinks and conversation! This month we’ll be discussing Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver.

Spotlight: Printing at the Library

We just switched to a new printing service at the library, making it easier than ever for you to print your documents! There are now three simple ways to print wirelessly, or you can print directly using one of our public computers! Documents are $0.10 per page for black and white documents, and $0.50 per page for color.


Up and Coming Dates:

  • The library will be closed Monday, October 14, for Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
  • On Friday, October 18, the library will close early at 2pm for the MSU Homecoming Parade. The parade starts at 6pm, come out and see us there!
  • The library will be closed Monday, November 4, for an all-staff training day.
  • The library will be closed Monday, November 11, for Veterans’ Day.

Catch ELPL Next Month:

Be on the lookout for more excitement in November! ELPL will be sharing featured reading lists, book displays, and programs throughout the month. Some of the library programs will include:

  • Dinovember!
  • Maawn Doobiigeng, Indigenous library classification system
  • And more!

For more information, visit the library’s website or follow ELPL on social media!