Illustration of a winding path through a park with people participating in a variety of outdoor activities.

Beyond Reading Off the Beaten Path

9 March 2022
Donna Forbis
Comments: 0

A long time ago, in a library far, far away, someone suggested the first "summer reading" program, and for a LONG time, that is exactly what most library summer programs consisted of - reading.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Different programs count pages or days or minutes, but reading has been at the heart of these programs for decades.

Recently, there has been a shift in how libraries approach summer.  Summer programs are no longer just about reading.  Some libraries offer meals, especially for those students who rely on school food options during the school year.  Some libraries...

Celebrating Library Lovers month with an Expedition!

7 March 2022
Stacy Palmisano
Comments: 0

In February, McHenry County Youth Librarians encouraged residents to get out and discover the wealth of resources available in county libraries. To celebrate Library Lovers Month, the McHenry County Library Lover’s Expedition began February 1 and was open to all residents of the county and surrounding areas. A library card was not required to participate.  Despite cold temperatures and occasional snow, 700 participants from 20 libraries in McHenry County and beyond joined the fun with 235 completing the Expedition by visiting all 11 participating libraries.      

Every library in...

Dragon created via 3-D printing. Image credit: Jason McCoy.

3-D Printing Builds School Library Bridges

3 March 2022
Anonymous
Comments: 0

The library at Deer Creek-Mackinaw High School has made a positive impact in the lives of students in that it has become a place where students can meet, become friends, and have positive interactions with one other. It is a place where all students are welcome, and a place where all students interact and become friends. We play games - both board games and computer games. They discuss and debate issues, and really expand viewpoints and perspectives, as cliques and social standing really do not matter. 

Most importantly, when starting a new project, such as 3-D printing or a puzzle...

Chicago Collections Consortium logo

The Chicago Collections Consortium

1 March 2022
Stacy Palmisano
Comments: 0

The Chicago Collections Consortium is a nonprofit organization of over 60 libraries, museums, and cultural organizations all working together for the promotion and preservation of Chicago's history and culture. CCC's cornerstone initiative EXPLORE CHICAGO COLLECTIONS portal provides free and open access to members' archival collections. CCC also offers free virtual public programs on a variety of Chicago-related topics. CCC...

Specialized Library Spotlight: MacArthur Foundation

28 February 2022
Stacy Palmisano
Comments: 0
Debbie Baaske, acting Member Engagement Manager talks with Elizabeth Quinlan, Foundation Librarian at the MacArthur Foundation. Liz shares how she supports the more than 170 staff of one of the largest grant making organizations in the United States. Liz, who considers herself an “Information Shepherd”, shares the importance of being adaptable and agile as a librarian to meet the changing needs of your organization.   

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Reading Matters. Image credit: Warrenville PLD.

Do You Want Fries with Your Bestseller?

24 February 2022
Anonymous
Comments: 0

That wasn’t quite the tagline for our Welcome Back to the Library campaign last fall, but we did offer a chance to win McDonald’s and Target gift cards!

As the summer of 2021 approached, Warrenville Library was starting to plan for a fall return to pre-pandemic hours and services. We were hopeful about resuming in-person programming, returning seating and tables to our public spaces, opening study rooms and offering our usual amenities.

To remind everyone what a valuable resource our library is to the community, we knew we needed a special incentive to welcome back our...

Axis 360 at Anne Sullivan School.

Putting More Digital Books in the Hands of Students

21 February 2022
Anonymous
Comments: 0

After years of hearing other librarians talk about Axis 360, our District librarians were anxious to give it try. It seemed even more ideal after having limited access to books during the Pandemic. With our students now having 1:1 devices, this was the perfect time to really push ebooks and having a subscription to Axis 360 would increase our inventory greatly. The My Library Is... grant seemed like the perfect way to test the subscription, and our district was willing to maintain the subscription after the initial year provided by the grant....

Specialized Library Spotlight: Old Town School of Folk Music–Resource Center

14 February 2022
Stacy Palmisano
Comments: 0
Debbie Baaske, acting Member Engagement Manager talks with Colby Maddox, Manager of the Resource Center at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. The collection houses over 25,000 commercial and archival recordings, videos, books, photos, documents and periodicals.  The main users of the Resource Center are the teachers, administrators, and students of the school.  The resource center is normally open to the public for browsing.  
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Image from the collection of Nickels and Dimes. Black and white sketch of woman in 1879 clothing

My Library Is...Coloring Our Collections at NIU!

8 February 2022
Stacy Palmisano
Comments: 0

Northern Illinois University has just released its 2022 entry for #ColorOurCollections, an annual social media festival hosted by the New York Academy of Medicine Library between February 7-11, during which libraries, museums, archives, and other cultural institutions around the world share free coloring content featuring images from their collections. This year's coloring book features items recently digitized from NIU's distinctive collections of dime novels as part of the Street & Smith Project,...

Specialized Library Spotlight: Illinois Service Resource Center

31 January 2022
Stacy Palmisano
Comments: 0
Debbie Baaske, acting Member Engagement Manager talks with Meredith Payne, librarian at the Illinois Service Resource Center. The ISRC provides behavior support for students who are deaf, hard of hearing, or visually impaired in Illinois.  Meredith describes the library that consists of an expanding collection of over 1200 items, including books, videos, audio materials, test kits and games related to deafness, deaf culture, sign language, audiology, mental health, behavior management, parenting, and administration.
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