community engagement

Keeping students engaged with the library during the pandemic has been challenging. Over the past year as the building was closed or offered reduced hours, we haven’t been able to serve as the traditional third place where students can visit after school, gather to study, or meet for programs. However, our digital presence has remained constant and we have been able to meet many students where they are – at home.

In 2020, the Illinois Community of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) faced a new challenge: how to make members feel engaged and connected to their association and fellow members when in-person events were no longer an option. As president-elect, I was responsible for the bulk of our programming. Our most-loved events were all cancelled, including an in-person symposium, regional dine-arounds, and library tours.

Lake Forest Library and Lake Bluff Public Library are proud to present their joint nonfiction reading program called Read Between the Ravines. This Two Communities, One Nonfiction Book program brings together Lake Forest and Lake Bluff with the purpose of enhancing nonfiction literacy and inspiring discussion around real-world issues. 

We are all born with an innate creative spirit. As humans, we have the instinctive drive to create, and as someone who works in early literacy and with young children, my job is to nurture that creative spirit in our youngest library patrons. When I plan programs, my primary goal always revolves around the question, “How can I encourage children to think freely and creatively?”  

Representatives from Quincy Public Library (QPL) recently sat down and Zoomed in for a RAILS Sparks podcast to discuss their successful marketing campaign to stave off library budget cuts.

At first, I thought our knitting and crochet group, Pins & Needles, was just group of good friends who liked to get together, knit and chat.  It turns out that that's not all the ladies come for and it's not even their only goal. 

When I arrived at Warrenville Public Library back in 2018, I wanted to explore the benefits of active engagement and library outreach via creative programming and art.  We already had a very popular and highly anticipated arts programs series for kids. Time and time again I would hear from parents who wished we also offered craft programs geared towards adults, they wanted in on the fun. In 2019, I set out to fill this need and pitched a casual pop-up program for adults. We made aromatic envelop sachets, paper roses and painted rocks.

The following talking points can be used by library staff when faced with the question: Why do I need the library when I have the internet? They can easily be adapted to fit any situation that might arise in an academic, public, school, or specialized library. 

In 2014, the Lisle Library District became one of the first public libraries in Illinois to offer a Seed Library to its patrons. The Village of Lisle is home to The Morton Arboretum and PrairieWalk Pond, among other outdoor attractions, and it was in keeping with the Village’s love of outdoor spaces that this project was created.