Monday, September 28, 2020

YCLD is FINE FREE!!!!


 In case you did not know, the Yuma County Library District is a fine-free district as of Monday, September 21st, 2020.

So what exactly does this mean? It means that if you had any overdue fines on your account prior to that date, we have gone ahead and forgiven them for you. It also means that from the 21st onward, you will not be charged any fines for turning in books a little bit after their due date. 

No, don't get us wrong - we still want you to return your books on time, so other people can check them out, but this just means that you now have a little bit of wiggle room when getting them back to us. Of course, if you lose an item, damage an item, or keep it WAY past the due date, we will eventually be billing you for the cost of the book, so your account CAN still be blocked if you owe us money, it's just that now, it's a lot harder to make that happen!

So, if you think your card was blocked due to late fees and are not sure if this change means you can now use your card, please feel free to call your nearest branch and they will be happy to give you the status of your account!

Monday, September 21, 2020

New Manga at the Library!

 We just got in a bunch of new manga releases that are ready for you to check out through curbside pickup at your nearest branch! He's what's new on our shelves right now:


Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun by Aidalro: (Rated "Teen" for fantasy violence, some blood, and supernatural spookiness.

At Kamome Academy, rumors abound about the school’s Seven Mysteries. One of these is Hanako-san. It is said that she lives in the third stall in the upstairs girl’s bathroom in the old school building. When Hanako-san is called upon, she will supposedly grant any wish! High School girl Nene Yashiro is an occult-lover who dreams of romance decides to venture into this haunted bathroom…but when she calls Hanako-san she isn’t what Nene imagined! Hanako-san is actually a boy spirit! Follow Nene and Hanako-kun on their adventure as they try to solve the school’s Seven Mysteries! And find out if Hanako-kun make Nene’s wish come true.


Blue Flag by KAITO. (Rated "Older Teen" for mild language, LGBTQ+ discussions and teen romance drama).

Taichi Ichinose can’t stand his classmate Futaba Kuze for some reason. In his third-year of high school, Taichi ends up in the same class as Futaba and his best friend, Toma. As Taichi gets to know Futaba he finds out her secret: she has a crush on Toma and wants Taichi’s help to get Toma to notice her as a love interest and get over her shyness. But Toma already has a secret crush on someone else. In this drama-filled series, join these high school friends as they navigate understanding each other, keeping secrets and falling in love for the first time!


Living-room Matsunaga by Keiko Iwashita. (Rated "Teen" for mild language and mild fan service).

High schooler Miko “Meeko” Sonoda moves into her uncle’s boarding house after her parents leave to take care of her ailing grandmother. There, she meets the fun-filled and unusual housemates, including the oldest of the bunch who acts like a grumpy mother hen, Matsunaga-san. With Matsunaga-san's help, she begins to learn and adjust to living on her own, and being independent, which can be hard, especially the first time living away from parents. But Meeko is still a teenage girl at heart and eventually she starts falling for Matsunaga-san as she begins to see his softer side. Will Meeko learn to live on her own and confess her feelings to Matsunaga-san? Find out in this cute, romantic comedy that has become a teen staff favorite read!


Given by Natsuki Kizu. (Rated "Older Teen" for language, discussions of sexual content, LGBTQ+ content, discussions of consent and suicide).

Ritsuka Uenoyama is bored with everything in his life: school, his basketball club, and even his one true passion, playing guitar. One day, he finds his favorite hidden napping spot already occupied by a strange boy, Mafuyu Sato, who is cradling a broken-stringed guitar. Uenoyama is puzzled as to why Mafuyu is sitting in his spot and his odd behavior but on a whim askes if  Mafuyu can sing. Mayu can, and the song changes Uenoyama ’s life as it pierces him to the core. In this endearing manga about friendship, music and healing from loss, Ritsuka starts to see life as much more than just boring, while Mafuyu tries to heal from personal loss and learn to express feelings he represses deep inside himself. This is manga is based on the popular anime of the same name.


Toradora Story by Yuyuko Takemiya and art by Zekkyo. (Rated "Teen" for mild language and teenage romance drama).

Takasu Ryuuji has learned the hard way that appearances can be deceiving. He has an unintentionally sharp gaze and aggressive facial features, so people think he is scary at first glance. It makes it hard for him to make friends, and especially to get a girlfriend. Despite this, he has sweet personality and on his first day of junior high school, things are starting on to look up. He gets to sit next to his only friend, Yusaku and the girl he is secretly crushing on, Minori Kushieda. But, the feeling that he is in seventh (grade) heaven, comes to screeching halt when he runs into the most feared (and tiniest) girl in school, Taiga Aisaku, who has decided to make Takasu her arch enemy. On top that, Taiga lives right next door him and happens to be Minori’s best friend! Will Takasu be able to turn Taiga into a friend and confess his feelings to Minori?

Monday, September 14, 2020

Fall Reading Program!

 Have you signed up for the Fall Reading Program yet?

That's right, for the first time ever, the Yuma County Library District is sponsoring a fall reading program! All you have to do to participate is download the ReadSquared app. That's the same app we used for this year's Virtual Summer Reading Program and it's available for free from the app stores for any Apple or Android device. You can then create a profile for yourself or for your whole family and use the app to log the amount of time you spend reading from now through the end of November. Anyone who finishes the program, by reading 1,400 minutes (that's a little over 23 hours) will be entered into a drawing for some really cute prizes. 

Logging your minutes will also let you unlock badges and mini-games you can play through the ReadSquared app. It's fun and it's easy and the best part is, you can even count the time you spend reading for school, reading to your little brothers or sisters, or listening to audio books! Sign up today by searching for Yuma County Library District on Read Squared!



Thursday, September 10, 2020

Paper Child Challenge!

Calling all teen artists! Nikki here taking over today’s blog post (I totally let her, I swear! ~ Elia) and I have a challenge for you! Especially if you are bored at home! I challenge you to create a Chibi Paperchild and share your creations with us!

What is it a Chibi Paperchild you ask? A Paperchild is when paper-cut out characters from popular fandoms, especially anime, are drawn and cut out from strong paper. They are then staged in such a way to create the illusion they are interacting with real-life objects. This popular trend started in different online art communities around the year 2006 and is still popular today. In fact, Arby's restaurant even used this concept with a recent ad campaign.

So, how do you make your very own Paperchild and what is the challenge? Well, read on to find out! 

Step 1: Gather materials:



* Paper. This can be any paper, but we recommend drawing paper, or card stock since it is thicker and can help make your Paperchild stand up securely

*  Drawing materials such as a pencil to sketch out your Paperchild and an eraser for any mistakes

* Coloring  tools such as markers, crayons, or color pencils. Tip: Make sure to outline your character with a thick black outline since this will make cutting out the Paperchild much easier.

* You also need scissors, tape and a DIY paper stand (made out cardstock or cardboard preferably) to make your Paperchild stand up.

* If you prefer digital art, you can draw your Chibi Paperchild in whatever drawing program you use and then print it and cut it out. 

Step 2: Draw Your Chibi Paperchild:

You can draw any character you like, whether it is from a favorite fandom, anime, video game, graphic novel or create your own original character. 

Something to think about when drawing your character: make sure to think about what kind of scenario you want the character to be doing, along with its facial expression (very important) and how you want it to be interacting with its environment!

For example, say you want to draw Alice from Alice in Wonderland interacting with a teacup you own. Thinking about how you want Alice to interact with the teacup is important- is she trying to climb into the tea cup or maybe she is falling into it? Is she just sitting on the handle chillin'? Or maybe she just shrank tiny and is trying to climb out of the teacup. 

Facial expressions also help set the scenario too. If Alice is falling into the cup then she may have a worried or scared facial expression. If she just shrank, and is standing in the teacup then she may have a shocked expression. Drawing and thinking about how the character is interacting with the object is the most challenging aspect of this art form! But don’t worry it just takes lots of practice, so keep drawing until you are satisfied.

Don’t know how to draw? No problem! Check out the library’s physical AND digital books on drawing! You can place any of the following drawing books on hold through the library’s catalog or give us a call to have a staff member place them on hold for you. Don't forget to have your  library card handy when you call! (Please note: digital library cards do not work to place holds on physical library materials for check out).


We also have digital drawing books available on Hoopla! If you don't already know, Hoopla is a free library resources that has many eBooks, comics, audio books, TV shows, and movies all free with any physical or digital library card! If you do not have library card you can sign up for digital library card here. Here is a list of some cool chibi drawing e-books that you can check out on any tablet, phone or computer:



Step 3: Cut out your chibi paperchild and make paper stand:

Using scissors carefully cut out your chibi by following the black outline you made. Make sure to cut out any unnecessary blank paper, for this will make the character look more realistic for the illusion. Then cut a strip of card stock paper or cardboard about an inch wide to create a paper stand. 

You may need to trim the paper depending on where you are placing the stand. For my All Might I placed the stand on his right foot since I wanted the illusion of him standing on that foot. Think about where you are placing the paper stand. Make sure the stand is placed where it will not be visible when taking your photos. This may take some trial and error, which is okay. Just keep playing around until you like where it is.




Step 4: Set up the scene and take the photo:

Place your paperchild where you it want to interact with your prop. Before taking the picture, make sure the lighting is good. If you take the picture and the lighting is dark, try to open up your blinds or place a light by you. Also, adjust the settings on you camera or phone and play with different angles and lighting. Make sure also to take the photo straight on if possible. If you take it at an angle or from too high above or below, the paper stand will show and that is not what you want.




Step 5: Share your paperchild photo!

Once you are finished taking photos it is time to choose your favorite! You can share them with your friends, family and we really hope you share them with us on social media (that's the challenge part!) Send us your creations through our teen library email teen@yumalibrary.org and we will post them on this blog and on our social media pages! Or tag us on Instagram @yumalibrary so we can check out your creations! We want to see them and would love to hear from you.

Enjoy the challenge and have fun creating your paperchildren! Drop us an email anytime if you have any questions or need help getting library materials for school! Also, don’t forget to check out our YouTube page for many more activities you can do from home (like and subscribe here: YCLD YouTube) Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates and keep checking out this blog for our book and graphic novel recommendations!

Monday, September 7, 2020

RB Digital Has Moved!

 If you were used to checking out items like comics, e-books or audio books from RB Digital through our library's homepage, we want to let you know that as of this week, RB Digital has merged with Overdrive and Libby. You can still check out the same great titles from RB Digital (including the comics and graphic novels!) except that now, they will show up in your Overdrive or Libby checkouts. If you don't already have Overdrive or Libby, they are easy and free to download from the app stores for all Apple and Android devices.