The LA County Public Library system has closed its doors to patrons during the pandemic but still provide so many services to support the community. People can still borrow books, physical and digital. It’s just that the process has changed. Patrons must pick up their reserved books outside the library, masks are worn by the staff and public, the books are even quarantined between release to the next borrower. Through it all the library continues to provide online book groups, classes for adults and children, from cooking to Storytime to literacy for new immigrants. Nita Lelyveld from the LA Times took a virtual tour of the county’s libraries and shared what she found in her article, ‘Libraries remain vital despite pandemic—and because of it.’

We Are The World Blogfest, #WATWB, is a monthly blog group created to share positive stories in dark times. To learn more about it and how to join in click here.  This month’s hosts are Eric Lahti, Roshan Radhakrishnan , Shilpa Garg, Peter Nena and Sylvia Stein.

Jahmal Cole started his organization ‘My Block My Hood My City’ to uplift some of the neighborhoods and youth in Chicago. The organization volunteers have worked on various community improvement projects like clearing trash, mowing overgrown lots, trimming trees, and shoveling snow on a block where elderly people live. Cole wants to expose disadvantaged young people to the world outside their neighborhoods as well. He started an ‘explorations’ program of  “twice-a-week trips that take teenagers to different parts of the city, sometimes to learn about a business or profession, sometimes to visit an ethnic neighborhood and sample the food” (Christian Science Montior). The kids know they can rely on Jahmal Cole to care about them.

You can read the full article ‘Block by block, a community activist builds a better Chicago’by Richard Mertens, here.  And here is ‘My Block My Hood My City’ website.

We Are The World Blogfest, #WATWB, is a monthly blogfest that “seeks to promote positive news. There are many an oasis of love and light out there, stories that show compassion and the resilience of the human spirit. Sharing these stories increases our awareness of hope in our increasingly dark world. ” To learn more about #WATWB and sign up to participate.

Featured image of ‘South Side of Chicago’  photo of 1973 from US National Archives on Flickr.com