Happy Friday, dear readers! My goodness we are almost to the end of another month. Has it been a good month for you? Have you created and shared something new with the world? I hope your month is going well and you are maintaining your inspiration for your work and your play. I hope you are also using your voice as a librarian to make people welcome in your library, your design work can help with this, too. Today, I want to share some things that have helped me in the last few weeks get inspired and get moved to action. Hopefully they help you, too.

Let’s face it, it’s been a hard year, a chaotic year in many ways already. And, sometimes you really do need to decompress in order to continue to engage. I highly recommend this article on 10 ways to escape reality and relax. I’m so thankful we are getting some sunshine here in California that I can walk outside and listen to the birds. They remind me it’s almost spring and that nature can be so inspiring.

I finally got two Chuck Wendig books from my local public library and can’t wait to dive into them, but I’ve been enjoying his blog for quite sometime. His advice for writers can go for anyone who needs some motivation for continuing to work in times of trial. Check out his post, Why Persist as a Writer (NSFW, if you have someone reading over your shoulder).

For design work, we can always use inspiration. I think of my brain as a Rolodex a lot of the time, filing a way bits of inspiration to use at some later date. And one of the things that always inspires me is great typography. So check out this set of gorgeous free fonts, courtesy of Smashing Magazine. Who knows? You might find just the one for your next project.

And, because it is still winter, check out Colorful Inspiration for Gray Days, also from Smashing Magazine. We could use all the help we can get and this is a great dose of inspiration for projects both inside and outside the library.

Finally, check out these color and culture quizzes from HOW Magazine to dip your toe into vast ocean of interesting associations we have with colors depending on our culture. Gives you something to think about the next time you are creating a design and picking out a color palette.

I hope you have a lovely weekend filled with joy and time to relax, to create, and to do something wonderful. I’ll be back soon with more news and notes. Allons-y!