Get ready for the first big event of the year at the St. Tammany Parish Library when LibraryCon 2024 takes place Jan. 13 at the Madisonville Library from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Attendees will have the chance to show off their favorite family-friendly character costume, and all genres are welcome, from historical fiction characters to animé. There will be gaming, a DIY artist alley, trivia, a costume contest and special guests.

The Lake radio station will also be there from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., granting interviews to those interested in sharing their beloved fandom on the airways.

Check out books on cosplay and costume making or learn how to bedazzle your fan gear with the Library’s free service, Creativebug. View all of the Library’s events at the LibraryCon webpage, sttammanylibrary.org/LibraryCon.

Cooking A-to-Z

Try out a new recipe without the 1,000-word blog and pop-up advertisements by using A-to-Z Food America and A-to-Z World Food. The Library offers these online resources at no cost by either visiting a library branch or using your library card to access each database. Combined, both resources offer more than 7,000 recipes from 174 countries, 500-plus ingredient articles and more than 14,000 color photos of finished meals and ingredients.

A-to-Z gives patrons the ability to explore food culture and traditional recipes from all over America and around the world. Browse recipes by state, region, country, ethnic group and or ingredients. More than recipes, the sites also will assist with learning cultural dining etiquette, special occasion meals and national dishes. Turn on the stovetop and get cooking with A-to-Z at the Library. Get started by checking out sttammanylibrary.org/cooking.

In other matters, the Library’s Winter Reading Challenge will wrap up on Jan. 15, but readers can continue to pick up their completion prizes until Jan. 20.

A reminder that all St. Tammany Parish Library offices and branches will be closed on Jan. 15 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. They will reopen for normal business hours on Jan. 16.

Other events 

YOGA: Follow along with the instructor as she leads viewers through chair strength-building and stretches via ZOOM. Sign up today to receive an invite link to join on Jan. 11 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Register and view all other virtual yoga classes at sttammanylibrary.org/virtualyoga.

READ: Join the Chapter Chat Book Club at the South Slidell Library on Jan. 11 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. This month’s book is “And Now She’s Gone” by Rachel Howzell Hall. This event will be held in person and virtually through Zoom. Email registration is required for Zoom participants. Register at bit.ly/ChapterChatBook.