Recent Articles

Some of you may have seen the news racing across social media about New York, Los Angeles, and D.C. public libraries providing their patrons streaming access to the entire Criterion Collection, foreign films, documentaries, and award winners through Kanopy. Well guess what! Fontana Regional is just as cool as those big city libraries and we’re bringing you the exact same service. Starting this Fall you will be able to access the entire Kanopy catalog through our website.

Since being awarded “NASA @ My Library” status and the grant that accompanies that status, Fontana Regional Library has had 2 events that have qualified as official NAML events.  The first was at JCPL in mid-June, where a successful children’s activity had approximately 80 participants.  Macon County Public Library had a second activity (the “Intergalactic Zone”) in mid-July where there were approximately 60 participants.  

Marcia Winchester (right) of Bryson City was the winner of the double wedding ring quilt raffled by Marianna Black Library as a fundraiser for the new library. The winning ticket was drawn at the Fourth of July Freedom Fest, in Bryson City. According to Margaret Varner (left), quilt committee chair, $1,716 was raised for the campaign.

July marks Independent Retailer Month, and Fontana Regional Library was happy to celebrate. Libraries in Macon, Jackson, and Swain Counties have many resources for small businesses, from information on how to create a successful business plan to using specialized market research tools. For National Library Week in April of this year, FRL conducted a survey of library users. Under the topic of employment and economy, help for small and independent businesses was the top request.

Libraries are known as places where you can find the information you need. From materials such as books, videos, and audio to curriculum kits, telescopes, and science kits to photocopiers, computers, and Wi-Fi access, the many patrons who visit our libraries expect excellent service and convenient access to information in its many formats.

Fontana Regional Library’s Reading Rover Bookmobile has received a $1000 grant from the Swain County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the North Carolina Community Foundation.

The Jackson County Public Library received a bequest of 450 books of poetry from the estate of the late Kathryn Stripling Byer. Byer, formerly the poet laureate of North Carolina, passed away on June 5th, 2017.

Jackson County Public Library patron Sara Freeman participated in the Recorded Books Literary Classics Online Book Club and won the Library $1,000 worth of audiobooks. Thank you Sara!

From June 23rd until July 31st, the Jackson County Public Library hosted the national exhibit Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness.

Children and teens throughout the region built a better world this summer at their local library. Over 7000 people attended summer learning events held in the community and Fontana Regional Libraries! Children and teens attended over 200 events and participated in science and engineering experiments, hands-on art and design, planetarium shows and more. All summer, children and teens filled the library to search for the special book to spark their imagination, answer their curiosity, or to read just for the fun of it.