Library of the Great Lakes

10/26/2026

“Surprise, surprise,” he said. “We have mussels.”

“Shocking,” she muttered. She started to wonder if they should call it a day. The waters were getting choppy, and their guests were starting to feel seasick.

Then, over the headset, Melnick swore. “Oh my God,” he said. “It’s a shipwreck.”

–

🌊 The Great Lakes are known for their autumn shipwrecks: the cold air rushing from Canada stirs up the lakes' notorious gales. Hundreds of vessels remain undiscovered, as was the case with The Africa– until a pair of high school sweethearts stumbled on its mussel-covered hull 127 years after it went down in an October storm.

Zach Melnick and Yvonne Drebert (Inspired Planet Productions) were searching for quagga mussels, an invasive species closely related to the zebra mussel, as part of a documentary. Using a robotic camera unit, they captured stunning images of the ship. Read more about journey in this article by Christina Frangou for Biinaagami (link in comments).

–

Thank you to Biinaagami for this excellent article, and for all of the work they do in our region!

For those who don't know, Biinaagami (BEE-nah-ga-meh) is a multimedia, change-provoking initiative rooted in Indigenous knowledges. Through ceremony, mapping, inclusive storytelling, augmented reality, experiential learning, community water hubs and ecosystem restoration, Biinaagami aims to rebuild just and healthy relations between wildlife, people and place in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed. We highly recommend exploring their website and following their social media!

And speaking of shipwrecks...

📚 This year's adult book selection for "Great Lakes, Great Read, " a watershed-wide bookclub, is "The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald."
Join us WEDNESDAY NIGHT for a special webinar and Q&A with author John U. Bacon! Don't forget to register!

10/26/2026

Please join the Great Lakes, Great Read 2026 community for a conversation with John U. Bacon, author of "The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald" on Wednesday, October 28th at 6 pm CT/7pm ET. The program will be hosted by Anne Moser, manager and librarian of the Wisconsin Water Library.

This year’s adult selection, The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald is the definitive account of America’s most haunting maritime disaster. Bacon also provides a fascinating look at the history of Great Lakes shipping, the sailors and their families who dedicated their lives to the lakes– based on more than 100 interviews with the families, friends, and former crew mates of those lost.

A New York Times best seller, this book is just one of Bacon's many publications. We are tremendously excited for this webinar, and we hope you will join us! Registration link in comments.

10/23/2026

10/23/2026

Get ready for our Lakes, Great Read webinar next week by exploring more books about ships and shipwrecks on the Great Lakes!

Did you know that there are an estimated 4,000-10,000 shipwrecks on the Great Lakes? Many of them have never been discovered.

"The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald," our adult selection for "Great Lakes, Great Read" 2026, documents not only that ship's famous sinking, but the lifestyle and history of those onboard.

You can register for our webinar with the author John U. Bacon on the "Great Lakes, Great Read " website– Wednesday, October 28th, 7PM Eastern time, 6 pm Central! In the meantime, enjoy these all-ages titles on our Digital Bookshelf!

10/20/2026

The J. W. Westcott II is the United States' only floating zip code! Established in 1874, the Westcott company works with USPS to deliver mail to sailors across the Great Lakes using their time-tested method: a bucket and a rope. 🪣

In the days before the internet and cell phones, "Mail by the Pail" 📧 provided a crucial lifeline between sailors and their families, friends, and sweethearts on shore.

For younger readers, "Mail By the Pail" by Colin Bergel, illustrated by Mark Koenig, follows a birthday card as it travels from Mary, a young girl in Manistee, to her father, a sailor working on a Great Lakes freighter. You can find it in our digital bookshelf!

We have also put together a collection of interesting links where you can learn more about the "mail by the pail" system, including two New York Time's profiles: one modern, and one from over 70 years ago! You can also read a quick history of the ship from the Great Lakes Seaway Review, or see photos of the exhibit at 's Dossin Great Lakes Museum.

John U. Bacon wrote about the importance of J.W. Westcott II to the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald in his book "The Gales of November," our GLGR 2026 adult book selection.🚢 We are having a webinar with him on Wednesday, October 28th– registration link in comments!

10/15/2026

Did you know Great Lakes shipping is a multi-billion dollar industry?

Check out these stats from the Lake Carriers' Association:

"Economic Impact:
Annually about 160 million tons of cargo, valued at $15 billion, moves on the Great Lakes in commercial ships. The U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet moves between 80 and 90 million tons of those cargoes carrying up to 70,000 tons each trip. 2023 Economic Impact Study.

147,464 U.S. jobs with $17.8 billion in salaries
$6.3 billion local, state and federal taxes
$28 billion regional business revenue
$36 billion Great Lakes economic impact"

More information can be found in link below.

10/13/2026

Sturgeon have been around for over 200 million years, and they have changed very little in that time. In the early-to-mid 1800s, as colonialism raged in the Great Lakes region in the, sturgeon were viewed as pests, ripped from their habitats, and even set on fire in piles on the shore.

First Nations communities, including the Mississauga and Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, have maintained relationships with sturgeon for generations. Today, their knowledge, perspectives, and conservation efforts are invaluable in the fight to protect these ancient fish. Read about their experiences, efforts, and collaboration with scientists in this article by Susan Nerberg, with stunning photography by Christian Fleury (link in comments).

Thank you to Biinaagami for this excellent article, and for all of the work they do in our region!

For those who don't know, Biinaagami (BEE-nah-ga-meh) is a multimedia, change-provoking initiative rooted in Indigenous knowledges. Through ceremony, mapping, inclusive storytelling, augmented reality, experiential learning, community water hubs and ecosystem restoration, Biinaagami aims to rebuild just and healthy relations between wildlife, people and place in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence watershed. We highly recommend exploring their website and following their social media!

And speaking of protecting sturgeon...

This year's middle-grade book selection for "Great Lakes, Great Read, " a watershed-wide bookclub, is "Saving Our Sturgeon: Protecting Wisconsin's Ancient Fish."

Join us TOMORROW NIGHT for a special webinar with author Rebecca Hogue Wojahn! Don't forget to register!

10/09/2026

For our Great Lakes, Great Read program, we want to bring you all of the fun resources we've found that relate to our book selections! Check out this 2025 podcast episode revisiting the legacy of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the famous song it inspired, along with a timeline of the disaster.

Listen to the episode, then don't forget to sign up for our webinar with John U. Bacon, author of The Gales of November, Wednesday October 28th!

10/06/2026

This week, get ready for our next “Great Lakes, Great Read” webinar by exploring more books about Sturgeon!

Did you know that the largest sturgeon ever caught in lake Winnebago, WI was 125 years old, 240 lbs, and over 7 feet long? These bottom-dwelling fish are an ancient part of our lakes that have been here since the age of the dinosaurs.

Next week (10/14), we are hosting a webinar/Q&A with Rebecca Hogue Wojahn, the author of "Saving Our Sturgeon: Protecting Wisconsin's Ancient Fish," which you can register for on the GLGR website. This middle-grade book introduces these mighty fish to a young audience, but there is plenty for adults to learn, as well!

We want to recommend the following titles in our digital bookshelf:

The Accidental Reef: and Other Ecological Odysseys in the Great Lakes by Lynne Heasley 🌊 🐟 takes readers on a lyrical journey through the Great Lakes: from sturgeon spawning grounds to oil pipelines and the underwater environments in between. Scientific yet beautiful, you don't want to miss this read, nor Glenn Wolff's dazzling illustrations!

The Great Lakes Sturgeon, edited by Nancy Auer and Dave Dempsey 🌊 🐟 tells the story of the lake sturgeon, "blending history, biology, folklore, environmental science" (WorldCat). It paints a diverse picture of this fish's journey from being seen as useless, to being overfished nearly to extinction, to making a slow yet successful comeback. Dave Dempsey is one of our Fresh Coast Bookshelf 2026 authors.

People of the Sturgeon By Kathleen Kline, Fred Binkowski, and Ron Bruch 🌊 🐟 tells the story of the Sturgeon through interviews, stories, and images. With photography by Bob Rashid, readers can dive deep into the cultural impact of the sturgeon and begin to understand its significance to those who share its environment.