Meet Our Team - Kirklyn Harris (Pearl Public Library)

 

Kirklyn Harris | Circulation Clerk

Pearl Public Library 

Kirklyn is new to our CMRLS team, and we are so happy to have her at our Pearl branch!  

Here's more from Kirklyn:

1. What is your favorite part of working in the library?

The books and the people. I get to see folks from all walks of life and read new stories all the time!

2. Was there a book or experience that made you love reading?

The first book that made me like reading was Dr. Seuss's Big Blue Book of Beginner Books. I was five years old, and from that point forward I was reading enough books to fill a library (or at least the one at home)!

3. Tell us one e-resource you wish more people knew about.

I wish more people knew about the Freegal app. I've found new artists and saved albums from my favorite singers. All you need is your library card! You can check it out at https://cmrls.freegalmusic.com/home. 

4. What do you like to do when you're not at the library?

More reading and some writing, too. Maybe one day I'll publish a book that'll go on the shelves here.

5. What is your idea of the perfect vacation?

A trip to Rio de Janeiro would be perfect for me. I want to see Carnival in person, and meet more people.

6. What is your favorite holiday?

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving! My family makes the best food, and it's not often I get to see them all in one place.

2026 Magnolia Book Awards

 

A CHILDREN'S AND TEEN'S CHOICE AWARD FOR THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

Each year, children and teens of Mississippi are invited to vote for their favorite books in four age categories during the Magnolia Book Award event. The purpose of the Magnolia Book Awards is to introduce Mississippi children and teens to current literature and to instill a love of reading.

VOTING

Mississippi children, Pre-K-12th grade, are eligible to participate in the voting and nominating of books. Voting is held annually in February, with winners announced each April at the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Voting is overseen by a designated individual (teacher, librarian, bookstore manager, etc.) at each participating voting location throughout the state of Mississippi.

2026 Magnolia Book Award Nominees!

Pre-K - 2ND Grade

One Day This Tree Will Fall, written by Leslie Barnard Booth, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman

How to Make a Peanut Butter Sandwich in 17 Easy Steps, written and illustrated by Bambi Edlund

Squirrel-ish, written and illustrated by Bambi Edlund

Greetings, Floof!, written by C.J. Hong and illustrated by A. J. Smith

Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A true Story about the Things We (Don't) Throw Away, written by Andrew Larsen, illustrated by Oriol Vidal

Welcome to Scare School, written and illustrated by Jarrett Learner

Avocado Magic, written and illustrated by Taltal Levi

100 Chapatis written by Derek Mascarenhas and illustrated by Shantala Robinson

Daughter of the Light-Footed People: The Story of Indigenous Marathon Champion Lorena Ramirez, written by Belen Medina, illustrated by Natalie Rojas Castro

Brave Baby Hummingbird, written by Sy Montgomery, illustrated by Tiffany Bozic

Jose Feeds the World: How a Famous Chef Feeds Millions of People in Need Around the World, written by David Unger, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens

Little Ghost Makes a Friend, written and illustrated by Maggie Edkins Willis

3RD - 5TH Grade

The Sherlock Society, written by James Ponti

Finding Normal, written by Stephanie Faris

Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman written and illustrated by Jona Lapati

The One and Only Family, written by Katherine Applegate, illustrated by Patricia Castelao

The Girl Who Figured It Out, written by Minda Dentier, illustrated by Stephanie Dehennin

A Meerkat Diary: My Journey into the Wild World of a Meerkat Mob, written by Suzi Eszterhas

Not Nothing, written by Gayle Forman

Storm Dragons: Lightning Born, written by Julie Kagawa

Genius Ears: A Curious Animal Compendium, written by Lena Anlauf, illustrated by Vitali Konstantinov, translated by Marshal Yarbrough

Search for a Giant Squid, written by Amy Seto Forrester, illustrated by Andy Chou Musser

6TH - 8TH Grade

All the Ways to Go, written by Jessie Janowitz

Breaking into Sunligh,t written by Pablo Cartaya, illustrated by Miguel Diaz Rivas

It Watches in the Dark, written by Jeff Strand

Juniper Mae: Knight of Tyotech City, written by Sarah Soh

Moko Magic: Carnival Chaos, written by Tracey Baptiste

The Mystery of Locked Rooms, written by Lindsay Currie

Who Go Game? Basketball: Amazing, but True Stories!, written by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Jez Tuya

9TH - 12TH Grade

The Revenant Games, written by Margie Fuston

The Dark Becomes Her, written by Judy I. Lin

Conditions of a Heart, written by Bethany Mangle

Where the Dark Stands Still, written by A.B. Poranek

Rise, written by Freya Finch

The Beasts in Your Brain: Understanding and Living with Anxiety and Depression,

       written by Katherine Speller

Reading these nominated books not only provides entertainment but also offers insights into diverse perspectives and experiences. When you participate in the Magnolia Book Awards, young readers can engage with literature in a meaningful way and have a voice in recognizing outstanding works.

Voting takes place annually in February, with winners announced each April at the Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi. Mississippi children from Pre-K through 12th grade are eligible to participate. To cast your vote, visit your local library, where we have the voting materials available for you!

We encourage all young readers to explore these exceptional books and make their voices heard by voting for their favorites. Your participation not only supports your favorite authors and illustrators but also fosters a lifelong love of reading.

Happy reading, and don't forget to vote at your local library!

To locate a copy of one of these books, you can check our CMRLS Online Catalog or try one of our online reading options, Cloud Library or Hoopla. When you access one of these services, you will need to enter your library card number and your PIN. 

Resume Builder - Your Easy Button

Maybe you're thinking about a career change, or you just want to update your skills so you're ready when your dream job opens up. But where do you start? Sure, there are tons of templates and websites out there—but after you type in all your information and go to print, suddenly it wants you to pay or sign up for a subscription. Ugh! Now what?

It’s time to grab your library card and head to the website printed right on the front. From there, you can access the tools you need to build a great new resume—completely free.

Next, just click the blue “Build My Resume Now” button to get started. You’ll be prompted to create an account using your email and a password. This comes in handy if you get interrupted—simply sign back in later and pick up right where you left off.

If you already have a resume that you'd like some help with, just click here to import it. 

Click here to rearrange or change the sections on your resume. 

Click the plus sign on a section to add information to it.  Click again to add more. 

Here is where you go to decide how you want your resume to look and how you wish to save or share it. 

Finally, once you’ve entered all your information, you’ll have a polished resume you can be proud of.

All that’s left is to choose your file format and decide whether you want to download it or start sending it out. It’s that simple!

There are also extra features you can explore along the way to adjust the look and wording of your resume. There’s even an A.I. option that can help refine your writing if you’re not sure it sounds professional enough. Best of all, your résumé is always right there—ready for you to update, revise, or share whenever you need it.

This is just one more free service your local library is proud to provide. 

Meet Our Team - Corey Davis (Brandon Public Library)

 

Corey Davis | Circulation Clerk

Brandon Public Library 

Corey is new to our CMRLS team, and we are so happy to have her at our Brandon branch!  

Here's more from Corey:

1. What is your favorite part of working in the library?

I love interacting with patrons, helping to solve their problems, and, of course, working with and around books!

2. Was there a book or experience that made you love reading?

I've always had a love for reading since I can remember, but I think that when I started reading YA dystopians like The Hunger Games and Divergent, as well as classics like 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, in middle school, I developed a newfound love for reading that has lasted into the present.

3. Tell us one e-resource you wish more people knew about.

One e-resource I would recommend is Freegal Music. All you need is your library card! You can check it out at https://cmrls.freegalmusic.com/home. 

4. What do you like to do when you're not at the library?

I like to write fiction and poetry, read (of course!), watch movies, listen to music, go on walks, play piano, and spend time with my family and dog.

5. What is your idea of the perfect vacation?

My idea of a perfect vacation involves somewhere warm, sunny, and preferably coastal---either Walt Disney World or Prince Edward Island in Canada.

6. What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween

Meet Our Team - Fiorella Sosa (Forest Public Library)

 Fiorella Sosa | Circulation Clerk

Forest Public Library 

Fiorella is new to our CMRLS team, and we are so happy to have her at our Forest branch!  

Here's more from Fiorella:

1. What is your favorite part of working in the library?

I thrive on collaborating with people of all ages and backgrounds. At the library, I feel helpful to my community. 

2. Was there a book or experience that made you love reading?

My love for reading came from growing up with wonderful English teachers. They introduced me to inspiring writers.

3. Tell us one e-resource you wish more people knew about.

Hoopla is wonderful. With it, you can access anything from books to music on any of your digital devices. You can check it out at https://www.hoopladigital.com/. 

4. What do you like to do when you're not at the library?

Photography is my all-time favorite hobby.

5. What is your idea of the perfect vacation?

The perfect staycation for me is hanging out with my cousins and catching up on how they are doing. I rarely get to vibe with them.

6. What is your favorite holiday?

Valentine's Day is the perfect holiday because I am such a romantic.

Freegal Create the Ultimate Music Collection

Music is everywhere. We can hear it. We can feel it. We may not be able to see it, but we know it’s there. Music is very important to me. It’s important to all of us. Music is part of the human experience.

Not only can you listen to music, but you can also feel music as it affects your mood. And, with the right song, you can sing or dance like there is no tomorrow whether you know how to or not.

Over the years, I have accumulated an impressive collection of 70s and 80s music, which some would call Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll. I also have a small collection of Classical Music. For me, there is nothing else like it. It is my personal collection. Every song has some special meaning for me.

I began collecting music in the 70s in the form of vinyl records (45 and 33 1/3 rpm), cassettes and one 8-track tape. Not a fan of 8-track tapes. I hope they don’t make a comeback as vinyl records seem to have done.

I worked for a newspaper delivering The Washington Star, a prominent newspaper in the Washington, D.C. area. The pay was $30 a month if I was lucky. Maybe I should have worked for The Washington Post.

Not much money to invest in a music collection, so I improvised. I used an AM/FM radio with a tape recorder and a blank cassette to record off of. Then I would wait for a good song to play on the radio. If I called the radio station, the DJ or Disc Jockey could play my request depending on where I was in the request line. Sometimes it was a long wait.

As I got older, I took a more serious interest in building my music collection. No more vinyl records. I wanted cassettes. Then I wanted Compact Discs. I listened to music in my car more than in any other place. Road rage was never a problem for me because I had the right music.

For the record, you can get a good 100 miles out of one Meatloaf album.

Then somebody decided to take the cassette players and then the compact disc players out of the cars, leaving me with only AM/FM radio to listen to and a port for a flash drive for my own music in the glove compartment. This was terrible. This was cruel. I had to figure out how to burn my CDs onto a flash drive if I ever wanted to listen to my music collection again.

My tribe, the people often referred to as Generation X, stands on the bridge of old and new technology. If anything, we know how to adapt. I taught myself how to burn my CD collection onto a flash drive. My connection to my music collection was restored.

The Central Mississippi Regional Library System offers a simple solution to the problem of collecting music through a service called Freegal. It’s a new and more innovative way to download music onto a smartphone or other personal device and create the ultimate music collection…for free. And, free is something I’m sure we can all afford. 

ABBA

The Central Mississippi Regional Library System offers a way to create the ultimate music collection with the minimum of effort. You can download music onto a smartphone or personal device and not have to wait all afternoon for Casey Kasem’s America’s Top 40 to play your favorite song.

Simply go to the Central Mississippi Regional Library System website https://cmrls.lib.ms.us/ and click on Our Virtual Reference Collection page. Find Freegal on our Full Virtual Reference Collection List. Left-click on Freegal and prepare yourself to be amazed.

Or even better, just click on this link: https://cmrls.freegalmusic.com/home.

Freegal offers a free downloadable collection of music from a variety of genres. I prefer Classic Rock from the '70s and '80s. Visit the Freegal website, download the app, and see if something is there for you.

Downloading the Freegal App is an easy thing to do. Go to the App Store and type in Freegal. Tap on the Freegal App, type in your zip code, and click Continue. Tap on the Central Mississippi Regional Library System, type in your card number, and then your PIN number, and then you will be ready for the full music experience. Tap the Search button and find the artist or song you are looking for.

Contact your local library if there is a problem.

We’re here for you, the patrons! 

Thinking about hanging up a disco ball and

getting out my disco song collection.

Don’t tell anybody.

Every once in a while, I have the urge to:

“Do the Hustle!”

Preparing for your Driver's Test with MS Driver's Education Program Tests

Getting your Driver's license is an exciting milestone, but it can also feel a little intimidating when it comes down to the written part of the exam. Central Mississippi Regional Library System (CMRLS) offers an online resource to help prepare you: the Mississippi Drivers Education Program Practice Tests. With your library card, it is completely free!

CMRLS provides access to an online learning platform designed to help new drivers, or someone who is eager to learn how to gain their motorcycle or commercial license. This resource includes practice tests, driver's handbooks, road sign and traffic law quizzes, and study guides.  The convenience of being online allows you to access it anytime and anywhere. 

How to Access the Practice Test

• Visit the CMRLS website.

•  Go to the Digital Library drop-down and select Virtual Reference Collection.

• Select Driver's Education Program Practice Test.

• Log in using your library card number.

• Choose your test (car, motorcycle, or CDL) and begin practicing.

Who Can Benefit?

• Teens preparing for a permit.

• Adults who need a CDL.

• Anyone wanting a motorcycle license.

• Parents or educators helping someone to learn safe driving. 

With the Mississippi Driver's Education Program Practice Tests, you can prepare for your driver's test the smart way, at your own pace, and on your own schedule. Whether you're studying for your learner's permit or want to feel the wind in your hair and get that motorcycle license, this free library source is your ticket to success. 

Discover Your Roots with Heritage Quest at CMRLS

 

Discover Your Roots with Heritage Quest at CMRLS

Have you ever wondered where you came from—who your ancestors were, where they lived, what struggles and triumphs shaped them? The Central Mississippi Regional Library System (CMRLS) offers a powerful tool for free to genealogists, family historians, or anyone curious about their heritage: Heritage Quest is accessible to all CMRLS cardholders. 

What is Heritage Quest?

Heritage Quest is an online database bursting with genealogical resources. It includes:

• U.S. Census records (key snapshots of American life over time) dating back to 1790,
• Revolutionary War records,
• Freedman’s Bank records—an invaluable resource for African American genealogy.
• The U.S. Serial Set, PERSI (the Periodical Source Index),
• Over 20,000 family and local histories, and more.

These resources make Heritage Quest a fount of knowledge for anyone tracing family trees, exploring local history, or even working on school or scholarly projects.

How to Use Heritage Quest via CMRLS

One of the great things about CMRLS is that cardholders can access Heritage Quest from home—no need to physically visit a branch. If you have your library card number, you can log in remotely. 

Here are simple steps to get started:

1. Make sure you have a CMRLS library card. If you have not gotten yours yet, you can apply at any branch.
2. Head to the Digital Library section on the CMRLS website, then to the Virtual Reference Collection.
3. Click on Heritage Quest and enter your card number when prompted. Then you can begin searching records, histories, or various indexes.

Why Heritage Quest Is Valuable

• Depth & Variety of Sources
  From census data to military records to bank registers for freed people—Heritage Quest offers documents that many people can’t find elsewhere.
• Accessibility
  Home access means you can explore your genealogy from anywhere—not just in the library.
• Historical & Personal Context
  The local histories, family narratives, and documented events provide the broader picture that’s often missing from raw data alone.

                                    

Whether you’re trying to piece together your family history, exploring local history in Rankin, Scott, Simpson, or Smith counties, or simply interested in the people and times that led to where we are now, Heritage Quest through the Central Mississippi Regional Library System is a powerful tool.