Movie Review: The Lighthouse (2019)

In the late 1800s in New England, Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson, The Lost City of Z) arrives at a remote island for a month-long stint working with a crotchety but far more experienced lighthouse keeper Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe, Platoon). The two have . . . personality conflicts, to put it mildly, but once a massive storm traps them on the island, Winslow and Wake go a little stir-crazy. Complications ensue.

Book Buzz: The Overland Trail, Royal Rebels, and Mr. Rogers

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For February, we’re looking at a 19th century tale of adventure on the road out West, a fictional look at one of the more infamous members of the British Royal Family, and a biography of a beloved TV star.

Drew Smith’s Organize Your Genealogy (2016)

We have a pretty good collection of local history and local genealogy material for those interested in researching their Carroll County roots. However, it’s not always easy to navigate, and we’re hoping to add more current resources on genealogy in general. One of the library goals for 2020 (because it’s one of my goals as a staff member 🙂 ) is to work on updating this collection and ensuring the resources we do have are more accessible and easier to use. To that end, I thought I’d review one of the items we already have in this collection.

Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World: Oceania

Our library theme for 2020 is Your Library Card, Your Ticket to the World–because with the library, you truly can travel around the world without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Every month in 2020, we’ll be landing at a new place on the globe. We’re in Oceania for February.

Oceania is a vast region that encompasses many countries and cultures and the waterway that is the Pacific Ocean. But I wanted to focus specifically on one place that is very significant to many of our local residents—the Marshall Islands, or Aelõñ Kein Ad (our atolls) as many Marshallese actually call their country. Berryville and Carroll County (and Northwest Arkansas in general) have a growing number of Marshallese residents. In fact, nearby Springdale has the largest population of Marshallese in the continental United States.