Welcome to Library of the Great Lakes
Contained within the immensity, complexity, and beauty of the Great Lakes are stories of shifting tectonic plates, volcanoes, and glaciers; of mammoths, and hunters; of First Nations, explorers, fur-traders, miners, and loggers; of great ships and bustling cities and industries that changed the world; of countless lives altered, enriched, and lost. The Great Lakes region is the home to innovation, research, technology, science, industry, architecture, poetry, theater, freshwater studies, lake effect snow, sustainable agriculture, fisheries, wilderness and wildness.
One fifth of Earth’s fresh surface water is contained in the Great Lakes. Lakes Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior are so big they create their own weather.
It is time they had their own Library.
What's the Latest?
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The Fresh Coast Bookshelf 2026
Starting in January, applications will be accepted from public libraries for a chance to be awarded a Fresh Coast Bookshelf at no cost, which will also include a ready-made full-color display kit with poster, bookmarks, stickers and more to help highlight and feature these fantastic Great Lakes books!
Program open to all public libraries within the 8 U.S. States and 2 Canadian Provinces in the Great Lakes region (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Ontario and Quebec)
Awardees will get 12 curated titles to build their very own Fresh Coast Bookshelf!
Check back on Nov. 17th, when we’ll reveal the first four titles on the shelf…
Post Image: October Saugatuck by John Shultz
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Coming Soon!
The Fresh Coast Bookshelf 2026, brought to you by Library of the Great Lakes
October Saugatuck by John Schultz The Fresh Coast Bookshelf is a brand new application program bringing libraries in the region a curated selection of 12 books across age range and genre that celebrate the Great Lakes. It will include a ready-made “display in a box” to help highlight and feature these fantastic Great Lakes books.
Applications will be accepted starting in January for a chance to be awarded a program kit at no cost to the selected libraries.
Check back next month to find out more!
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Get Caught Up In The Gales of November!
The Library of the Great Lakes is excited to recommend The Gales of November, John U. Bacon’s new book about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, coming out October 7th, 2025.
For three decades following World War II, the Great Lakes overtook Europe as the epicenter of global economic strength. The region was the beating heart of the world economy, possessing all the power and prestige Silicon Valley does today. And no ship represented the apex of the American Century better than the 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald―the biggest, best, and most profitable ship on the Lakes […] When she sank, she took all 29 men onboard down with her, leaving the tragedy shrouded in mystery for a half century.
Author John U. Bacon is going on tour!
This Fall, Bacon will be touring the country, including several stops in the Great Lakes. For information on tour dates and preordering The Gales of November, visit his website.
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September is National Library Card Signup Month!
Celebrate Library Card Signup Month!
This September, we invite you to celebrate Library Card Sign-Up Month and discover how a single card can open the door to endless opportunities.
While Library of the Great Lakes doesn’t offer cards or membership, we encourage you to stop in to your local library to check out their resources and events this month! Find your local library here: United States | Canada
With a library card, you can do more than check out books. From free classes and job resources to homework help, streaming media, and cultural events, today’s libraries connect communities to information, inspiration, and each other.
This year’s theme, “One Card, Endless Possibilities,” is a reminder that libraries are for everyone—no matter your age, background, or goals. Whether you’re diving into a new hobby, searching for your next great read, brushing up on tech skills, or helping your child succeed in school, it all starts with a library card.
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Dive into The Accidental Reef by Lynne Heasley!
The Library of the Great Lakes wants to highlight this engaging, educational, and beautifully-illustrated book The Accidental Reef by Lynne Heasley. Spend some time learning about the nature that surrounds us and what we stand to lose if it is not protected.
2022 NAUTILUS SILVER WINNER FOR LYRIC PROSE
Lynne Heasley illuminates an underwater world that, despite a ferocious industrial history, remains wondrous and worthy of care […] this powerful book takes readers on journeys through the Great Lakes, alongside fish and fishers, scuba divers and scientists, toxic pollutants and threatened communities, oil pipelines and invasive species, Indigenous peoples and federal agencies. […] Suffused with curiosity, empathy, and wit, The Accidental Reef will not fail to astonish and inspire.
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New Edition of Living Here
New Edition of Living Here
Check out the newest edition of Living Here, where Keith Taylor gives us directions to a way of seeing among the jack pines.
johnshultzart.com
Collage Photos:
Top Row, left to right: “Sandhill Crane Flying on and Autumn Morning,” photograph by Silke-Maria Weineck; Photo courtesy of Amanda Rockafellow; The City of Buffalo Steam Side Wheeler, Library of Congress collection; Portion of Detroit Public Library in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, 1921, Library of Congress collection; Two Indian guides(?) standing, and two women seated, in canoe, in the Sault Sainte Marie region of Michigan, Library of Congress collection; Montreal Winter Carnival 1887, Library of Congress collection.
Bottom row, left to right: Neighboring Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, St Joseph, MI, Library of Congress collection; Inspection Lincoln Motor Co. Detroit 1914 1915, Library of Congress collection; Sleeping Bear Dune_credit: johnshultzart.com; Great Lakes from space_credit: EPA; Photo courtesy of Amanda Rockafellow; McGregor Memorial Conference Cent., Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, Library of Congress collection.