MORE EBOOKS! MORE DIGITAL AUDIOBOOKS! LIBRARY OF THINGS!

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Thank you to the THOUSANDS of Davenport residents who completed our recent community survey! We are excited to implement ideas you shared to ensure that the Davenport Public Library continues to connect a diverse community to resources that educate, enrich, and entertain.

You overwhelmingly asked for more ebooks and digital audiobooks, and we heard you loud and clear! In order to meet this need, Davenport Public Library is excited to announce that we have QUADRUPLED our collection of digital materials by joining the BRIDGES Consortium! Through collaboration with Iowa libraries via the BRIDGES Consortium, library patrons have access to over 72,000 ebooks, 24,000 digital audiobooks, and 5,400 digital magazines. You will be able to access these titles seamlessly through the Libby app. Access to BRIDGES titles started on July 1, 2025!

Additionally, many of you requested an expansion to our current TechKnow Library collection of devices and other nontraditional items you can check out to try at home instead of making expensive purchases. Thanks to a successful fundraising campaign from the FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library, we are expanding this collection to create a brand-new Library of Things! You’ll be able to check out cake pans, outdoor games, crafting supplies, tools, and much more when the Library of Things officially launches on October 1st!

In order to allocate funding and space for these new materials, and in alignment with our Collection Development Policy, starting on June 30th Davenport Public Library will no longer purchase physical audiobooks for our collection. This was a difficult decision to make and was arrived at due to the following factors:

  • Usage of our physical audiobooks has steadily decreased in recent years – in the last five years alone, the number of checkouts has plummeted by 56%. This is in stark contrast to our digital audiobook usage, where circulation trends upward every year with increases as high as 36%.
  • Availability of physical audiobooks has also decreased over the years, as most BOCD publishers are no longer even in business and others do not make titles available for libraries to purchase.
  • Cost of physical audiobooks has increased over time and provides less access than digital titles; for instance, the $25,113.76 fee for participation in BRIDGES would allow access to over 102,000 titles, significantly more than we could purchase in physical format. That is a very good return on investment for taxpayers!

We understand that the removal of physical audiobooks may pose challenges, especially for those without access to personal devices. Many alternative options remain available, including digital audiobooks through the Libby app, Tumble Book Library featuring interactive storybooks, and our newest collection of digibooks including Vox and Wonder Books—physical print books with a built-in audiobook similar to Playaways. If you have a low vision, a vision disability, a physical disability, or a reading disability, you may be eligible to receive books and other materials from the Iowa Department for the Blind. They offer a variety of ways to listen to books. Contact the Iowa Department for the Blind at 1-800-362-2587, option 2 to learn more about their services.

Thank you for your patience as we navigate changes to our spaces to accommodate these exciting changes!

Online Reading Challenge – August Wrap-Up

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Hello Fellow Challenge Readers!

How did your reading go this month? Did you read a classic? Share in the comments!

I read our main title: Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. Published in 1956, Giovanni’s Room is the story of David, a young man living in Paris in the 1950s. Waiting for his fiancée Hella to return from a trip to Spain, David starts an affair with an Italian bartender named Giovanni. Said affair spans several months. Giovanni is passionate and clever, but something seems off. Soon the two find themselves living together in Giovanni’s small room. David begins to feel stifled, while Giovanni repeatedly says that he won’t survive if David leaves him. During this time, David reflects on a homosexual affair he had in his adolescence and the impulses he has been struggling to repress for years. David is caught in a conflict between heterosexual and homosexual love, between desire and conventional morality. When Hella returns, David again struggles with the life he envisions for himself (and Hella) and with his homosexuality. The three impacted parties (Giovanni, David, and Hella) are humans with flaws whose decisions end up altering their lives forever.

I chose to listen to the audiobook narrated by Matt Bomer with an introduction by Kevin Young, but I highly recommend you read this book in any format that you can get your hands on. The writing style and imagery are gorgeous. The prose was laden with love, highlighting a depth of emotion portrayed beautifully throughout the book. Although I enjoyed the book, the main character was decidedly not my favorite and was hard to love. David was incredibly selfish, only worried about himself, and unlikable. The relationships he was in were toxic, but I had hopes throughout that David would grow by the end. Sadly, he did not. I had a rough time getting through this book, but I’m glad I did as it hooked me in completely with about 45 minutes left in the story. If this is on your to-read list, give it a go and let me know what you think.

Next month, we will be reading young adult literature!

In addition to following the Online Reading Challenge here on our Info Cafe blog, you can join our Online Reading Challenge group on Goodreads and discuss your reads!

Oprah’s Latest Book Club Pick: The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

- Stephanie Leave a comment

Join Bestsellers Club to have certain celebrity book club picks automatically put on hold for you: Reese Witherspoon, Jenna Bush Hager, and Oprah Winfrey. While Reese and Jenna generally announce a new title each month, Oprah’s selections are more sporadic. Reminder that if you join Bestsellers Club, you can choose to have these titles automatically put on hold for you.

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Oprah Winfrey’s latest selection is The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong.

Curious what The Emperor of Gladness is about? Check out the following description provided by the publisher.

The hardest thing in the world is to live only once…

One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to transform Hai’s relationship to himself, his family, and a community on the brink.

Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Ocean Vuong’s writing—formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness—are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance. – Penguin Press

This title is also available in large print.

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Join Bestsellers Club to have Oprah, Jenna, and Reese’s adult selections automatically put on hold for you!

What Happened to Connie Chung?

- Bill Leave a comment

But first, her trajectory to the top.  The glass ceiling Connie obliterated was thick and two-paned.  She so embodied the American dream that thousands of Generation Y Asian girls bear her name. Not only was she a driven woman in the very real Ron Burgundy era of broadcast news, but also the daughter of Chinese immigrants.  Connie implies the secret of her success was simply not giving a damn about anyone’s taunts.  Walter Cronkite was a supportive influence.  Also, shocking to no one, Bryant Gumbel is a diva.

And how did she end up with a more sophisticated Jerry Springer?  Connie promises he’s actually quite an intellectual.  Well as it turns out, when he wasn’t determining America’s paternity for our amusement, Maury was a suave (and married) anchor in DC in 1969.  She was the copy girl. When they met again in California in 1977, she was a single newswoman running in Hollywood circles….with Ryan O’Neal, and one of the Eagles…you get the idea.

Time had passed and the tables had turned.  Maury started getting called Mr. Chung.  He loved her so much at the age of 56 he decided to start his second family.  For those keeping score, Connie was 49.  Dan Rather’s final temper tantrum got her the axe in 2005.  Serendipitously, she exchanged said red-faced fit for the analogous wails of an adopted newborn a mere two weeks later.  When one door closes, another opens.  She’s been there ever since.  With nothing more to prove, she has persevered in our hearts.

Tea and Treachery : a Tea by the Sea Mystery by Vicki Delany

- Michelle Leave a comment

Tea & Treachery is the first book in the Tea by the Sea Mystery Series by Vicki Delany.  Delany is a powerhouse in the genre of cozy mystery writing with many unique and interesting reads.  She has about a half dozen series under her belt, and you can always count on her for a fun, yet complex cozy mystery!  I was looking to start a new series and came upon Delany’s latest, and I am glad that I did.

Lily Roberts is the proprietor of the quaint tea shop, Tea by the Sea, in picturesque Cape Cod.  In this vacation mecca, Roberts stays busy with the shop thanks in part to her grandmother’s Victorian B&B next door where her tea is a hit with guests.  Her grandmother, Rose, has inspired much in Lily’s life, especially the tea shop whose British theme pays homage to Rose’s homeland.  Rose is feisty, sassy and holds no opinion back.  One of Lily’s main jobs is reining in her grandmother and keeping her out of trouble!

Both the tea shop and the B&B rely on summer tourism to keep the doors open.  A real estate developer named Jack Ford arrives in town and hints that he will be purchasing the adjacent land to the shop and B&B.  His purchase of the adjacent land would turn it into a large complex with a golf course.  With this news, Rose goes on the offense and prepares to battle against the development.  Developer Jack Ford will hear none of the objections from Lily, Rose and the other residents who fear the new development will change the charm of the cape.  Tempers flare and words are exchanged between Rose and Jack with both drawing a line in the sand.

Everything soon changes when Jack is found dead at the bottom of the beach access stairs on Rose’s property!  Law enforcement knows that she had a motive to want Jack Ford dead.  Lily steps in and plays intermediary with the police when Rose is questioned as a suspect.  After the police release Rose after questioning, Lily knows that things aren’t looking good for her grandmother and time is of the essence for her to find the real killer!

This series has a bit of everything – a beautiful setting, a fun cast of characters (especially entertaining is the banter between Lily and Rose), an interesting “who done it” and scrumptious descriptions of food and tea!  If you are looking for a new cozy series, think about Tea by the Sea!

Why We Love Football

- Bill Leave a comment

Why We Love Football is so much more than a compilation of great plays in no particular order.   Hard to accept, but in some ways, this product is superior to mere screen viewing.  In fact, you probably saw half of these historic moments live without knowing what lie behind those X’s and O’s.  There’s “The Catch”, the “Helmet Catch”, and the “Immaculate Reception”.  As this work makes clear, you only viewed the tip of the iceberg.

Posnanski frames each of these iconic football moments within their proper historical context, teaching us about all the principal characters involved and their formative influences.  Where did these scrappy upstarts come from?  What propelled them to that moment?  What formidable odds were they up against?   More than once I had to log into Youtube to see them again with fresh eyes.  Give it a shot, what else are you doing between now and the draft?

The Slow Road North

- Lynn Leave a comment

I picked up The Slow Road North: How I Found Peace in an Improbable Country by Rosie Schaap largely because it was about an American living in Ireland – and it is about that. But it’s also about growing up in New York, living in Brooklyn as an adult, becoming a widow at a young age, working as a freelance writer,  becoming a birdwatcher during the pandemic, and making peace with a mother who inspired anger, bitterness and love.

Schaap reimagines her life again and again. Enrolling in Queens College in Belfast well into middle age, she moves to a near idyllic town in Northern Ireland. There she becomes part of the community – going to the pub, yoga and school meetings.  In the spring of her first year at Queens, the pandemic hits and she finds new ways heal  – to deal with the deaths of her husband and mother.  She finds that she’s able to talk about death and loss in Ireland in ways that she wasn’t able to in New York.

An elegant writer, Schaap weaves in the history of Glenarm, its castle and surrounding forest and coastline  – as well as the complicated sectarian background of the largely Protestant town. She clearly loves embedding in new places, making lifelong friends and doing research into the political, social and historical places she finds herself.

What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena

- Michelle Leave a comment

Shari Lapena does it again with her latest release, What Have You Done? a suspenseful, roller coaster ride of a story where the innocent veneer of a small town hides countless secrets that multiply after a violent crime.  Residents of the small town of Fairhill, Vermont love the rural feel of their community, where everyone knows each other and you can count on your neighbor if you need anything.  One fall morning, word spreads quickly that a young girl has been found murdered in a farmer’s field on the outskirts of town.  When her identity is confirmed to be that of high schooler Diana Brewer, a popular student and star athlete, no one can believe that someone would want her dead.  Authorities quickly come to the conclusion that she was murdered and the evidence at the scene point to someone she knew well.

Someone evidently did want Diana Brewer dead.  There are a handful of Fairhill residents who are hiding secrets of their own that involve the murdered student.  As the authorities begin their investigation, secrets start to trickle out with a number of suspects having a clear motive. It soon becomes apparent that the residents of Fairhill have not only their own secrets to hide but are complicit in covering up for the guilty parties as well.  Could the culprit be her boyfriend who was pressuring her to attend the same college, was it an older teacher who was suspected to have crossed the line with his students, was a schoolmate upset with Diana unbeknownst to anyone else or was it someone that no one expected?  When the pressure mounts, trusted family members, friends and colleagues begin to turn on one another and expose secrets and lies.  With the circle of suspects getting smaller and smaller the pressure on the community gets heavier and heavier.  What Have You Done? also has a slight paranormal element strung throughout that adds depth to the story.

Told in alternating narrators (who have questionable motives and reliability), Shari Lapena has an uncanny knack to cast doubt on nearly every narrator’s version of events and that leaves the reader questioning every account.  As someone who reads primarily mysteries and psychological thrillers, Shari Lapena is one of my go to authors that I can count on to tell a intricate story with an ending that catches the reader off guard.  What Have You Done? kept me guessing right until the end with its twists and turns.  A highly recommended read if you are a fan of this genre.

New Music on QCBeats

- Bill Leave a comment

Six new albums are now available on QC Beats!

Bontempi by Centaur Noir,
Music for the Next Scene by Chrash,
REVELATIONS by Connor Lyle,
Fish Out Water by Lewy Canoe,
Light of the Dark by Molly Conrad, and
and Shapes and Colors by The Textures.

 

QCBeats is an online streaming audio collection of original music featuring Quad Cities musicians and artists. QC Beats is a collaboration between Davenport Public Library, Bettendorf Public Library, and St. Ambrose University.

February 2025 Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast Wrap!

- Brittany Leave a comment

In this blog post, I will give you helpful links to area resources, Library resources, and links to the books discussed in our February 2025 episode! If you have not listened to this episode yet, you can listen to Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast online or wherever you get your podcasts!

Romance Tropes!

It’s February and love is in the air! Our hosts shared some of their favorite romance tropes as well as least favorite and gave examples of some of their favorite reads! The books and tropes discussed in this segment are below!

One Bed Trope
– The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
– Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot
– The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
Fake Relationship Trope
– A Proposal They Can’t Refuse by Natalie Caña
– Funny Story by Emily Henry
– The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
– The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas
– The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
– The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Enemies to Lovers Trope
– Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello
– The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
– Bad Publicity by Bianca Gillam (publishes in May – check back!)
Grumpy x Sunshine Trope
– Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
– The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
– It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
– My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
Forbidden Romance Trope
– The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore
Arranged Marriages/Honorable Marriages/Political Marriages Trope
– Dark Olympus Series by Katee Robert
Forced Proximity Trope
– The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

 

 

The FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library

The FRIENDS of The Davenport Public Library! The mission of the FRIENDS of the Davenport Public Library is to raise funds and manage an endowment portfolio that will provide resources to support the literary and educational purposes of the Davenport Public Library. In addition to all of this, they also operate our bookstores! To learn more about the FRIENDS and how to get involved, visit friendsofdavenportlibrary.org.  

 

 

The Librarians Celebrate Spunky Old Broads Day

Spunky Old Broads Day is a day to celebrate older women for their wisdom, courage, and vivacity, and is celebrated on February 1, but you can celebrate all month long! Below are the titles showcased in this segment!

– My Name is Barbara by Barbara Streisand
– Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
– The Final Revival of Opal and Nev by Dawnie Walton
– The Marlow Murder Club Series by Robert Thorogood
– The Thursday Murder Club Series by Richard Osman
– Mrs. Plansky Series by Spencer Quinn
– Agnes Sharp Murder Mysteries by Leonie Swann
– Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino
– The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich
– Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello

DavenportU Citizens Academy with Allie McWilliams

DavenportU Citizens Academy is a ten-session program aimed at connecting citizens to their local government. If you have ever been curious about how the City prioritizes projects or how heavy a firefighters turnout gear is – this academy could be for you!

“I look forward to meeting Davenport’s most engaged citizens in each year’s cohort,” said Davenport Mayor Mike Matson. “Even long-time residents of Davenport can learn something new at DavenportU.”

Each session of DavenportU takes citizens behind the scenes of City government with interactive experiences, tours, and presentations. From community and economic development to public safety and parks, DavenportU participants move around the City to learn about the inner workings of each department. DavenportU concludes with a graduation ceremony at the City Council Meeting on May 28, 2025.

Be sure to apply by February 21st here! 

Show Your Love for Our Library

Davenport Public Library is proud to be supported by our vibrant and diverse community! The resources on this page are intended to make it easy for you to share information about the value of The Library with your friends and family and to advocate with your elected officials and other community stakeholders.
Advocacy is critical for public libraries! By telling others about The Library, you are:
  • Showing how The Library positively impacts Davenport by connecting a diverse community to resources that educate, enrich, and entertain.
  • Spreading awareness of free services that many in our community may not otherwise know about or have access to.
  • Advocating for funding to meet our community’s needs through The Library’s resources.

To get more involved or to learn more about how to share your love, visit our Advocacy Page! 

Black History Month Reading Suggestions

February is Black History Month! Below are some titles that the hosts have enjoyed and hope that you will too!

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Deacon King Kong by James McBride
James by Percival Everett
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Becoming by Michelle Obama
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

What Our Hosts Read In January

Beth’s Reads:
The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg
Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder: The Woman Behind the Legend by John E. Miller

Brittany’s Reads:
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Being Henry: The Fonz… and Beyond by Henry Winkler, narrated by Henry and Stacey Winkler
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, narrated by Megan Hilty
The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood, narrated by Sofia Oxenham
A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña
The Last Love Note by Emma Grey, narrated by Leeanna Walsman
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Stephanie’s Reads:
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai, narrated by Michael Crouch
Girl Forgotten by April Henry
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, narrated by Ocean Vuong
Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry
The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont, narrated by Lucy Scott
Honey Mead Murder by Dahlia Donovan (Not Available in Rivershare)
Guilt and Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala, narrated by Danice Cabanela
The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, narrated by Jeanette Illidge & Tapiwa Mugweni
On Spine of Death by Tamara Berry

If you would like to listen to our episode, it can be found wherever you get your podcasts. If you prefer listening on the web, it can be found here!

We love hearing from our listeners, please feel free to comment on this blog post, on our socials, or email us at checked.in@davenportlibrary.com.

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