Blog: Nonfiction

O Canada Week: Lacrosse!

Love lacrosse? Canadians do too! It's their national summer sport, because their national winter sport has to be hockey, right?!

Trailblazers: Women Who Changed The Game

The Toledo Library is celebrating Women's History Month with a spotlight on women athletes. Visit your local library to vote for your favorite in our exciting March Madness bracket!

We Are the Troopers

View our digital collection of images from the Toledo Troopers, the winningest team in professional football.

Happy 100th Birthday to Black History Month

Founded exactly 100 years ago, Black History Month was never designed to constrain attention within a limited 28-day span, but rather to drill down on a fundamental history that should otherwise be studied all year long.

Black History Picture Books

Experience Black History through illustrated picture books. Here are 15 titles highlighting historical events as well as people and their accomplishments.

Cozy Winter Hobbies

Add some variety to your indoor activities this winter by embracing a new hobby, and soon you’ll be enjoying it year-round!

It Happened in December

Though they occurred during a span of almost 200 years, the month of December marks the anniversary of many important moments in history.

Rest in power, Alice Wong

"Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time." Those were the last words of author and disability activist Alice Wong to her community. But what she accomplished in the time she had is astounding.

Cunning Capers: True Stories of Infamous Heists

Here are the almost unbelievable stories of greed and obsession, driving people to attempt outrageous thefts. These are also the stories of the clever men and women charged with catching them.

Name That Sport!

If you’re looking for a new sport to watch or try, take a look at these books exploring lesser known sports.

Find Fantastic Short Reads in the Best American…. series

These "best-of" anthologies are wonderful way to find new authors, read about new ideas, and have a range of some of the best writing to come out each year in a variety of topics. There's literally something for everyone - take a look!

Youth Books to Celebrate Pride

This is the essential “Celebrate Pride” book list geared towards young audiences! A little bit of history, some uplifting narratives, and a handful of fictional stories with captivating LGBTQIA+ characters will fill your Pride month with education and celebration!

Human Trafficking: Steinem Sisters Collection Talking Circle

The Steinem Sisters Collection will host a Talking Circle at Oregon Library on (Tu) Aug. 12 at 6:30 p.m. on human trafficking. Anna Schramm of the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute will start our discussion of how human trafficking affects our country, state and community.

Celebrating National Sisters Day!

National Sisters Day, celebrated Aug. 3, is a perfect time to read about sisters! Dive into these stories of sisters to celebrate the unique relationship and bond between them!

Invented in the USA

If you've had an idea to solve a common problem, you’ll appreciate the lengths these American inventors took to make their ideas into reality.

Best Books on Crafts You Didn’t Know Existed

Bored with traditional crafting possibilities? Have we got the books for you! Check out these great books on unusual (yet still delightful!) ways to be creative and find your next favorite hobby.

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day is April 22! Roll up your sleeves and do the work to keep our planet healthy!

Fun Books to Identify Your Treasured Collectibles

Older collectibles books are great places to find pictures of unusual items that can be difficult to find online where image searching can be hit-or-miss. We try to keep a selection on a variety of collectible themes, and they can also be fun ways to see and remember old toys or things you had as a child. Take a look!

Blog! From New York! It’s Saturday Night!

"Saturday Night Live" is fifty years old this year, and if you've been paying attention to the media at all you know nobody's more excited about that fact than "Saturday Night Live." Celebrate by brushing off your catchphrases and reading a few cue cards.

100 Years of Sleeping Car Porters

For nearly 100 years, sleeping car porters prevailed in service and style when it came to providing railroad luxuries to working class individuals

Chillax with the Best Books on Pop Culture Life in the 1990s

It's always fun to look back at pop culture from the decades and wonder what the heck we were thinking at the time. Here's a great list of titles on the 1990s sure to make you nostalgic if you were there, or puzzled and amused if you weren't. As if!!

Totally Tubular Books about Pop Culture Life in the 1980s

Living in the 1980s was truly the end of an innocent era when we could take the phone off the hook or just go outside and be completely unreachable by anyone. Seriously: people would dial our number (which they either had to already know or get from something called a phone book), get no answer or a "busy signal" (look it up) and they'd think, "Gosh, I'll just have to call back later." It was AWESOME. Here are some great books on other bizarro aspects of life during that amazing era.

Best Travel Guides for Great Road Trips

Fall is a wonderful time to hit the road and see what's around us. Here are some great guides to plan anything from an afternoon drive to a long vacation on wheels.

5 Titles to Start Your Environmental Feminist Journey

Local environmental activist, Angie Fitzpatrick, kicks off our discussion of Feminism and the Environment that will continue at the Sylvania Branch on (Tu) August 20 at 6 p.m. Local sustainability advocates will lead a discussion on their journeys to sustainability and what women in Lucas County can do to help.

Be Transported by the Top 20 Titles for World UFO Day

June 24th AND July 2nd are both referred to as World UFO Day (it's complicated). Whichever one you celebrate, shine up your tin foil hat and Mork up your Nanoo, we have a lot of great books and documentaries on extraterrestrials and unidentified objects to share the wonder.

Commemorating Juneteenth

Juneteenth celebrates the official date, June 19th 1865, when all slaves in Confederate states were officially freed. It has become America's second Independence Day holdiay, and we've gathered some great books to learn about this important day.

D-Day for Young Readers

The 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings is June 6th. Here are 10 books for curious minds to learn more about it and the war in general.

100 Years of Summer: 1945-1964

It's the 100th year of Summer Read! Here are books popular from 1945-1964. You're sure to recognize some of these classics!

15 Books for New Dog Owners

To all the dog parents out there, here are some recommendations for you and your kiddos on raising your newest addition to the family!

10 Incredible Real Life Mysteries

May is National Mystery Month! Learn about incredible heists, mysterious places, disappearances, and unexpected discoveries with these books.

Who Ya Gonna Call? TLCPL!

In case you're in for spooks, specters, or ghosts-- TLCPL has you covered! Check out our inventory of all things Ghostbusters!

10 Vocabulary Building Books for Rising Readers

One of the many ways we can improve reading comprehension is to strengthen children’s vocabulary and background knowledge. Try these tips from the Library's Ready to Read team to raise a confident reader.

9 Television Stars Who Left Us in 2023

Television personalities face the threat of cancellation but also enjoy the possibility of immortality through reruns and binge-watching. In that sense, these nine figures will always be with us.

Brewing Knowledge: 10 Must-Read Books About Kombucha

Dive into the world of kombucha with books that offer a blend of beginner-friendly insights and expert techniques. Uncover the secrets to mastering the art of fermentation and crafting your perfect batch of probiotic goodness.

20 Hockey Books for Kids

It's Hockey Night in Toledo as we welcome the Walleye back to the ice. Before enjoying a little family fun at the Huntington Center, be sure to share a few great hockey books with the young skaters and readers in your life.

5 Books to Help You Knit Socks – The Possibly (Im)perfect Last Minute Holiday Gift

Early Christmas morning / Sneaky as can be / I creep across the carpet / And I peek under the tree / Pick out a gift from Mom to me / And bring it to my ear / Give it a little shimmy shake and what do I hear? / Socks / This is the worst gift I ever got / It doesn't beep or buzz or bop or rattle in the box / Hey, why'd you waste the paper on a lousy pair of socks? - J.D. McPherson, 'Socks'

The First: Remembering Sandra Day O’Connor with 5 Books

"Sandra Day O'Connor blazed an historic trail as our nation's first female justice," Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement. "She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability, and engaging candor."

15 Titles to Combat Violence Against Women

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women was November 25. These titles lean on personal experience, statistics, and work being done by women worldwide to end this crisis.

World Nursery Rhyme Week

Help children learn to read by celebrating World Nursery Rhyme week singing or rhyming your favorite rhymes!

LGBTQIA+ Nonfiction for Beginners

Talking about feelings is hard. Talking about feelings when you don't have the right vocabulary to describe them is even harder. And it's hardest when you don't know if those feelings are okay to have. (Hint: They are).

Sinéad O’Connor (1966-2023)

The Irish musician Sinéad O'Connor had one massive hit and a lifetime of influence. Regrettably for those of us who were fans, July 26 was the last day of our acquaintance.

15 Tony Award Winners

This Sunday night is the 76th Tony Awards, the biggest night in American theater. Or at least the biggest night in a certain fourteen-square-block section of American theater.

Leaving Funky Town: So Long, Winkerbean

The newspaper comic strip Funky Winkerbean has been telling stories about its Ohio-based characters day by day for fifty years. But at the end of this month, that all changes.

8 Books to Help You Make Comics

Your one-stop-shop to get you started making your first comic or graphic novel. Writing, storyboarding, drawing, and publishing!

9 Books to Read If You Like Better Call Saul

The Breaking Bad saga is wrapping up with the final season of Better Call Saul. If you're looking to recapture the edge of your seat twists and turns that show provides, these are the books for you.

5 Books with Terrible Hotels

Have you ever listened to friends complaining about a disappointing hotel or a vacation spot? Well, the people in these books have entered the chat.