Lisle Home Delivery Cart. Image credit: Lisle Library District.

Facilitating a Home Delivery Program: Challenges and Rewards

14 June 2021
Gail Graziani
Comments: 0

Due to an out of state move, The Lisle Library District is saying good-bye to our amazing Home Delivery Coordinator, Winona Patterson, who has run the program since 2015. LLD’s Home Delivery program began in 1993 with two patrons and one volunteer and has grown over the years to approximately 70 participants and 3 community volunteers. This post shares some of Winona’s insights into the challenges and rewards of facilitating a successful Home Delivery program.

How would you describe LLD’s Home Delivery program?

The Lisle Library District’s Home Delivery...

Find More Illinois.

My Library Is…Finally Connected!

10 June 2021
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 1

Waynesville is a very small, very rural community. We have an American Legion and a post office. Our younger kids go to school eight miles away. For middle school and high school it’s 17 miles away. But we do have… A LIBRARY! And now? Our library is the first non-automated library to join Find More Illinois! And we couldn’t be happier.

With Find More Illinois, the patrons in our small township have access to much larger libraries. They now have access to more than three millions items! They can search for any book and have it shipped right to our local library. Find More Illinois...

My Library Is... Marketing Newsletter.

Subscribe to the My Library Is... Marketing Newsletter

8 June 2021
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 0

RAILS has a new tool for libraries to stay connected to the My Library Is... campaign. As part of the campaign, you can subscribe to receive a regular newsletter with links to blog posts, templates, and resources. Anyone who is interested in telling the story of the library and proving the library's value to stakeholders is encouraged to subscribe. This email arrives the first Monday of every month. 

The...

Dundee Library Summer Meals Curbside Pickup

Bringing the Community Together with Peanut Butter & Jelly

7 June 2021
Kirstin Finneran
Comments: 0

For the fifth consecutive summer, my library will serve as a summer meal location to provide free, healthy, boxed meals for children over the summer. We provide this service from the Dundee Library, our main location in East Dundee. The meals are distributed to all kids 18 and under and are paid for by the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), a federally funded program managed by the USDA and operated by the Illinois State Board of Education in conjunction with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, who prepares and delivers the meals. 

For the first three years, the rules of the program...

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Discovering Books

1 June 2021
Jessica Parker
Comments: 0

Most people coming into my library have no idea what they are looking for. Many students coming in with their class are required to pick a book for an assignment. Most don't consider themselves readers and struggle to name a book they would recommend to a friend. How do I help these kids find books? Genres! (And lots of questions). 

I did book talks at the start of the year and it quickly became clear that students needed some way to browse books. Thinking about the way many websites are set up, it makes sense. We are being trained to browse in a certain way. When I book talked I...

Gwendolyn Brooks Library

In Search of a Plan

26 May 2021
Charlene Snelling
Comments: 0

Marketing Plans and More

The Chicago State University library is named after Gwendolyn Brooks, a form faculty member, poet laureate and the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize.  The mission of GBL is to “provide exemplary information and instructional services to guide learning, teaching, research and discovery for the Chicago State University community.” The library recently completed revising its strategic plan and the next step is to complete a marketing plan. Like many libraries ours is underfunded, under budgeted and, frequently unappreciated. The...

Zoom photo of Gerber Hart Sparks episode

Sparks Podcast Episode 32: Gerber/Hart Library & Archives

20 May 2021
Stacy Palmisano
Comments: 0

RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with representatives from Gerber/Hart Library & Archives about their journey to create an eight-episode podcast on the personal stories of LGBTQ life and history in Chicago. Watch the interview on RAILS Sparks episode 32.

What Does It Mean to Be a Library Marketer?

18 May 2021
Donna Forbis
Comments: 0

If you hear the term “marketing,” does your mind jump to Madison Avenue types like Don Draper? Or do you start thinking about what’s on your grocery list? Maybe something in between? Here in Libraryland, the species known as "Ipsum bibliothecarii" (marketing librarian) has only recently evolved. We still don’t know a lot about them, and just when we think we have them figured out, they surprise us.

My official title is “Marketing and Events Coordinator.” A decade ago, that phrase might have been written off as a word salad, but more and more we see libraries devoting anywhere...

Multi-Library Collaboration: A Recent Example

26 April 2021
Laura Turner
Comments: 0

Each February our specialized library helps plan the annual Engineering Day event at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. Knowing there are many public libraries in our area that offer STEM resources, we sent out an invite for them to participate along with us.

Due to COVID, this year’s event was online. The Museum created a Virtual Engineering Day website with links to activities from local community groups. The website was promoted to teachers, parents, and the public.

For our part, we created a Peoria-Area Library STEM Resources Guide - a Google Doc showcasing library STEM books...

Panel presentation. Image credit: Unsplash.com.

Panel Presentation Event on April 21

15 April 2021
Dan Bostrom
Comments: 1

Four members of the My Library Is… Advisory Team will share their library stories in this panel presentation. Representing school and public libraries, the panelists will discuss how their libraries have engaged their patrons, educated their stakeholders, and expanded the reach and value of the library to their communities. A short Q&A will follow.

Panelists:

  • Janine Asmus, Librarian at West Leyden High School in Northlake
  • Donna Forbis, Marketing & Events...

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