Each year, from March to May we celebrate Irish-American Heritage, Scottish-American Heritage, and Jewish-American Heritage months. During these months, we are encouraged to spend time honoring and remembering these groups of Americans who helped shape and embolden our nation. But no matter what your ancestry is, the next few months are the perfect time to take a trip to the Naples Regional Library downtown to explore your lineage with a trained staff member or volunteer from the Genealogical Society of Collier County.

In addition to the library’s collection of non-circulating genealogy books and periodicals, the library also offers access to online subscription databases such as Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest, and American Ancestry. These genealogy databases—supported by the Friends of the Library— are willing to assist you in locating birth and death certificates; baptismal and church records; marriage licenses and divorce records; census data; military service information; immigration and naturalization records; wills, testaments, and land grants; and city and farm directories. Some research tools are also available from the comfort of your own home. To access them, visit the library’s website at collierlibrary.org, click under “Find It: Research”, locate the genealogy resource from the list, and input your Collier County Public Library card number.

If you are interested in learning more about your ancestry and would like to schedule an appointment for genealogical research assistance, contact us at 239-252-5147.

For more spring craft ideas and books, visit collierlibrary.org to browse our online catalog.

National Volunteer Week - April 16-22, 2023
National Volunteer Week is celebrated throughout the United States in the month of April.  This week-long celebration is about placing the spotlight on volunteers who give back to our community and also provides the perfect opportunity to say thank you for all of their dedicated help in our libraries.  

Many of the children's library volunteers are high school students working toward Bright Future Scholarships, as well as Florida Gulf Coast University students gaining volunteer experience for their future resumes. 

If you or someone you know has an interest in volunteering at one of our Collier County Public Library branches, please fill out an application online at collierlibrary.org/support-the-library

Virtual Book Discussions
Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmas
Tuesday, April 18 @ 2:00 pm on Facebook Live

Tuesday, April 25 @ on Zoom

In-Person Book Discussions

Mystery Book Club
Monday, April 10 @ 2:00pm 
Naples Regional Library

We Spread by Ian Reid
Tuesday, April 11 @ 4:00pm
Vanderbilt Beach Library

Tween Book Club
Saturday, April 8 @ 10:30am
Headquarters Regional Library

Author Talk:  Something To Hold On To by Ann Hajdu Hultberg
Wednesday, April 26 @ 2:00pm
South Regional Library

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Wednesday, April 26 @ 6:00pm
Naples Regional Library

Visit collierlibrary.org/events to check for more events and sign up online to get back to talking about books!

COLLECTION CORNER:
Explorers and Adventurers

The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko
The thrilling true tale of the fastest boat ride ever, down the entire length of the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, during the legendary flood of 1983.

Finding Elevation: Fear and Courage on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain
by Lisa Thompson
Near the death zone on K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, Lisa Thompson searched for the strength to continue climbing. Her choices were clear: give in to her doubts and descend or push past her own limits and continue up the mountain’s steep face.

The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-mile Horseback Journey into the Old West by Will Grant
For readers of Rinker Buck, Bill Bryson, and Larry McMurtry, The Last Ride of the Pony Express boldly illuminates America's mysterious and complex connection to the iconic Pony Express. With two horses, cowboy and journalist Will Grant takes us on an epic and authentic horseback journey into the modern West on an adventure of a lifetime. 

Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver by Jill Heinerth
From one of the world’s most renowned cave divers, a firsthand account of exploring the earth’s final frontier: the hidden depths of our oceans and the sunken caves inside our planet.

Against the Ice: The Classic Arctic Survival Story by Ejnar Mikkelsen
The harrowing, amazing, and often amusing personal account of two mismatched Arctic explorers who banded together to keep themselves sane on an historic expedition gone horribly wrong.

Joy Ride: A Bike Odyssey from Alaska to Argentina by Kristen Jokinen
Explorers Kristen and Ville Jokinen met and fell in love while scuba diving in Vietnam. Ville then left his native Finland to join Kristen in Oregon and together they embarked on a life-changing two-year cycling adventure covering 18,000 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina. Despite never having cycled further than around the block, they persevered unrelenting, punishing rain and wind, altitude sickness, dog attacks, bike accidents, and countless flat tires to cycle between the ends of the earth.

The Modern Explorers: Epic Journeys to the Ends of the World by Robin Hanbury-Tenison and Robert Twigger
Stories of the thrills and hardships faced by modern expeditions that continue to enhance our understanding of the world around us, now in a compact edition.

Tough Women Adventure Stories: Stories of Grit, Courage and Determination by Jenny Tough
The badass adventurers in this collection are all fearless, intelligent, compassionate and curious about the world - and they all happen to be female. From arctic expeditions and endurance races to wingsuit flying and mountain climbing, they have set the bar high for what women are capable of. These are their inspiring stories.

Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition by Buddy Levy
Based on the author's exhaustive research, the incredible true story of the Greely Expedition, one of the most harrowing adventures in the annals of polar exploration.

Discover New Books at the Library
Next time you visit a Collier County Public Library, keep a lookout for the eye-catching displays in the fiction and nonfiction areas.  We frequently present displays keeping with the themes of the year, like our "Blind Date with Book" display for Valentine's Day, where the cover of the book is hidden behind wrapping paper and the only hint you get as what you might read is a few clues written on the front cover.  Library displays are a fun way that we can showcase different books and just maybe help you find your next favorite author!  

We also post current lists of New York Times bestsellers for fiction and nonfiction, to show you what's new and popular.  Look for these bestseller lists by the circulation desks, or ask staff for help.