February Newsletter: Black History Month, Library Love, and More

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

Celebrate Black History Month at ELPL!

We are honored to work with community partners to bring you three incredible exhibits to celebrate Black History Month this year!

Black Threads: Quilt Arts, Activism & Resistance - Art. Protest. Memory-keeping. Story-telling. Economic security. Wayfinding. Celebration. A gift to keep your loved ones warm.

The Black Threads exhibit is on display in the library meeting room through the month of February! Come see for yourself this stunning collection highlighting the work of Black quilters, on loan from the MSU Museum’s Quilt Index. The Quilt Index is a digital repository that preserves images and stories of nearly 100,000 quilts and the artists who created them, highlighting quilt-making as a powerful form of expression, activism, and resistance.

Special thanks to Dr. Liv Furman for an informative and engaging talk during our opening reception on February 1, and thanks to the MSU Museum for lending us this exhibit!

Please be advised that some of the pieces on display explore themes of violence, slavery, displacement, racism, and racial stereotypes, and may be distressing for viewers.

Brick Wall Gallery - Visitors can also view stunning quilt squares inspired by Gee’s Bend quilts on display in the Brick Wall Gallery above the holds shelf. These pieces were created by Lezlee Worthington, a local fiber artist whose work honors the spirit of the Gee’s Bend tradition. Gee’s Bend quilts, created by generations of Black women in a small Alabama community, are known for their bold patterns, improvisational style, and deep cultural history. These quilts tell stories of resilience, creativity, and community, and continue to inspire artists around the world.

Rosa Parks Tribute Bus - Marking the 70th anniversary year of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, CATA honored Rosa Parks’ legacy with a tribute bus. It debuted at the Capitol on Transit Equity Day, observed annually on Parks birthday, Feb. 4. The day is dedicated to promoting fair, affordable and accessible public transportation for all.

To continue honoring Rosa Parks and engaging the community, CATA will make the tribute bus available at additional events throughout the year. The CATA bus, wrapped to resemble the original bus preserved at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, will be available for free public tours while parked at the East Lansing Public Library on February 28, from 10am-2pm.

Inside the tribute bus, visitors can view a historical timeline of the civil rights movement displayed along the interior panels. Rosa Parks’ silhouette appears in the window, and her seat is marked with an honorary cover, creating a powerful visual reminder of her role in history.

“Rosa Parks’ courage changed the course of history and forever linked public transportation to the pursuit of equity,” said CATA Chief Executive Officer Bradley T. Funkhouser. “Sharing this tribute bus with the public is a way to honor that legacy while reinforcing the role transit continues to play in expanding access and opportunity in our communities.”

The tribute bus commemorates Parks’ pivotal act on Dec. 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, when she refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. That moment sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which began Dec. 5, 1955, and lasted 381 days, ending on Dec. 20, 1956, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional went into effect.

“This tribute bus was designed to bring an important chapter of our history to life,” said CATA Board Chair Nathan Triplett. “As a museum-on-wheels, it invites people to learn, reflect and rededicate ourselves to the work of building a more inclusive future.”

Learn more at www.cata.org/RosaParksTribute.

Other Ways to Celebrate - In addition to these amazing opportunities, the library continues to bring you books, movies, and music by Black authors and artists. Check out our recommended reading lists to find your next great title!

Featured: Love Letters to Your Library

Share your love for ELPL! We’ve got a “Love Letters to the Library” station set up on our new books shelf. We’ll make a collage on our wall with all the hearts to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

Featured: February Reading Recommendations

Looking for your next great read? Check out some of our recommended reading lists for January:

AARP Tax Help

AARP is back to help community members file their income taxes for 2025!

To schedule a free appointment, call the library at (517) 351-2420. Appointments are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, starting on February 3rd and ending on April 14th.

This year, people having their taxes completed will stay with the preparer the entire time, so please allow up to 1.5 hours per appointment. We also ask for you to come to the library before your appointment day to pick up a packet that includes information on what to bring with you the day of your appointment and a form to complete.

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.

Black Threads Exhibit (all ages): on display through the month of February!
- Stop by the meeting room to see the exhibit on loan from the MSU Museum!
Clothing Repair-A-Thon (all ages): Saturday, February 14, 1-3pm
- Come learn how to mend your own clothes with the help of library staff and volunteers! Mending supplies will be provided. Tea and cocoa will also be available. Drop-in anytime during the event.
- Here are the guidelines:
  - 1 clean garment in need of repair, per person
  - For all ages. Children under 10 must be accompanied by a grown-up.
  - Come ready to learn!
Lansing Symphony Orchestra Family Series (Children and Families): Sunday, February 22, 2-3pm
- Enjoy free musical fun for the whole family with cellist Dooeun Lee! This event is part of the LSO’s Family series designed to provide young children and their families with high-quality, accessible, and engaging artistic experiences.
Teen Movie Matinee (teens): Monday, February 23, 3-4pm
- Watch a movie after school with popcorn and some craft supplies!
Once Upon A Genre Book Club (adults): Monday, February 23, 7-8pm
- Join us on the last Monday of the month to talk about a book from a different genre. This month we will be discussing the historical fiction book James by Percival Everett.
Michigan Avian Experience (all ages): Tuesday, February 24, 7-8pm
- Meet live birds of prey and learn about how to protect them and their habitat! This event is generously sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, East Lansing. Space is limited, please sign up online.
Rosa Parks Tribute Bus (all ages): Saturday, February 28, 10am-2pm
- The CATA bus, wrapped to resemble the original bus preserved at The Henry Ford Museum, will be available for free public tours to commemorate the 70th anniversary year of the Montgomery Bus Boycott! Inside the tribute bus, visitors can view a historical timeline of the civil rights movement displayed along the interior panels. Rosa Parks’ silhouette appears in the window, and her seat is marked with an honorary cover, creating a powerful visual reminder of her role in history.
Teen Escape Room: Sherlock Holmes (teens): Saturday, February 28
- Help Sherlock Holmes find his most prized possession before it ends up in the wrong hands. Register for one session.
- Session 1: 2-3pm
- Session 2: 3-4pm
Teen Cooking Lab - Candy Sushi (teens): Monday, March 2, 3:30-4:30pm
- Sign up online!
Medicare 101 (adults): Tuesday, March 3, 1:30-2:30pm
- Join us for a free beginner-friendly Medicare workshop covering Parts A-D, enrollment windows, dental benefits, and how to avoid common mistakes. Learn what Medicare covers, key deadlines, and tips for choosing a plan that fits your needs. Bring your questions—this is educational only, with no sales pressure. Perfect for adults 65+ and caregivers helping loved ones navigate Medicare.
Fraud Prevention with AARP (adults): Thursday, March 5, 1:30-2:30pm
- This free session will arm you with the latest on fraud trends, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and crypto currency, and provide tips and resources to protect yourself and your family. Program provided in partnership with the AARP Speakers' Bureau.
Robotics Day (all ages): Saturday, March 7, 11am-1pm
- Engage your curiosity at science stations exploring robots and their operation, express your creativity with robot-themed arts and crafts (while supplies last), and meet and operate some real-life robots! We'll be joined by local experts from MSU Extension, the MSU Office of Future Spartan Engineers, the ELHS Robotics Team, and more!
Community Plant & Seed Swap (all ages): Sunday, March 8, 1:30-3:30pm
- Share garden seeds, seedlings, houseplants and outdoor plants with one another. Participants can also find free seeds in ELPL’s seed library!
Homeownership Education with MSU Extension (adults): March 10 & 11, 6-8pm
- Learn about the advantages of homeownership, the steps in the home buying process, the costs of homeownership, the importance of good credit, how to determine how much house you can afford, mortgage loan basics, and how to maintain your investment! You’ll receive a certificate of completion good for one year, which satisfies the homebuyer education requirement for MSHDA loans and down payment assistance, USDA Rural Development loans and many other lenders. Sign up for this free class online.

Save the Date: National Library Week

Save the date for National Library Week, recognized this year from April 19-25. The 2026 theme is “Find Your Joy,” and we’re so excited to celebrate all the ways that libraries spark delight, wonder, and happiness in your life.

Our celebration will look a little different this year. For fourteen years, we ended the week with our annual fundraiser, Books, Bites, and Bids, which was created and organized by our talented and beloved former Community Development Coordinator, Phyllis. However, we're taking a creative pause this year! We're excited to experiment with new ideas and formats, exploring different ways to bring our community together in celebration and support. Stay tuned for what's next!

Spotlight: Explora for Educators

Are you an educator trying to pull articles from an academic journal to show to class, find multimedia assets to show for Black History Month, or looking for biographical information about important historical figures? Use Explora for Educators to cross-search professional resources from the following eResources:

Academic Search Complete
Biography Reference Center
ERIC
Professional Development Collection

In addition to searching across multiple databases, Explora for Educators also includes research tools such as curriculum standards to make sure you’re hitting state guidelines, a research guide to help guide students with their research projects, and a citation guide that covers the most common citation styles used.

ELPL in the News:

Upcoming Dates:

The library will be closed Monday, February 16, for Presidents’ Day.

Catch ELPL Next Month:

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

Robotics Day
Teen AI Literacy Workshop
Plant and Seed Swap
And more!

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