South Carolina had 13 libraries and more than 160 teens participate in the 2015 National Teen Lock-In. Themed "Masquerade Madness," the national events libraries could participate in author visits, minecraft, minute to win it, a cosplay contest, a photo scavenger hunt, and online connections.

The Cosplay Contest encouraged creativity, and consideration was given to costumes with handmade, found, and repurposed elements. Categories included:

Are you looking for a good book to read? The Beaufort County Library is pleased to introduce the Well-Read podcast, a bi-weekly conversation about books between two of our experienced librarians and avid readers: Ann Cox and Halle Eisenman. In each episode, Ann and Halle discuss reading recommendations, what they’re currently reading, and other book-related fun!

The duo has an assortment of episodes for listeners to download while they await the next episodes. Recorded episodes include:

Check out the latest book titles we have at the SC State Library! Call or email to reserve a copy today - reference@statelibrary.sc.gov or 803-734-8666.

On June 17, just a few days before the Main Library Book Sale was originally set to be held, a tragedy occurred just a block down the road from the library at Mother Emmanuel AME Church that took nine lives and left the Charleston community reeling. One of those killed was the Charleston County Public Library System’s very own Cynthia Hurd—a librarian who served for 31 years, and who was dearly loved by all who knew her.

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) selected Meadow Glen Middle Sixth-Grade Social Studies Teacher and House Leader Albert Robertson to serve on the 2015–2016 Education Advisory Committee.

DPLA received more than 300 applicants for the committee. The 10 educators selected will work on accomplishing the goals of the “Putting Digital Collections to Work in Education Through Community Curation” grant funded by The Whiting Foundation.

This new service began with a grant over $11k from Google to the Friends of the Berkeley County Library. The grant helps support ongoing efforts to put Google’s technical know-how and resources to work for the communities where they live and work.

Google’s grant provided the funds for 20 Mifi jetpacks and service for the first year. The Berkeley County Library provided twenty Chromebooks, each with a case and mouse, for the program.

The Board of Directors of The Humanities Council^SC announces that the ^SCBook Festival, a literary fixture in Columbia since 1997, will change its format for 2016. Funded and organized by The Humanities Council^SC, the festival will evolve into an exciting new set of literary initiatives that will be available year-round and reach a wide and diverse audience in every corner of South Carolina.

The South Carolina ILEAD USA second live session (held June 22-25, 2015) was more focused and slightly less intense than the March session. The teams have shown tremendous growth. MaKit Work! has secured a partnership with the South Carolina State Library to circulate their maker tech kit after they have completed building it.

Charleston's heart is broken, and area residents are struggling with feelings of grief, fear, anger and helplessness as they try to understand the senseless murders at Emanuel AME Church. Although grief doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all solution, residents in communities with other traumatic events such as Sandy Hook and Boston tapped into their creative process to find help with their feelings and emotions.

The annual Book and Author Fair sponsored by the Birchwood Center for Arts and Folklife in Pickens County has been scheduled for Sunday afternoon, August 9, from 2:00 to 5:00, in All Saints Hall at the Pickens Presbyterian Church, 311 West Main Street in downtown Pickens.