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My Library Is... Blog

RIPL bookmobile

Enhancing Connections with Our Schools

Posted on March 18, 2021

Deepening community connections in a pandemic is no easy task, so it was a win-win when Rock Island Public Library found an opportunity to help digitally under-served Rock Island-Milan School District #41 students connect to remote and blended learning, and also increase their access to digital books.

Account Services staff member Audrey checks out last Wednesday’s Fox Tracks for an update on what’s going at the libraries this week.

Preach to the Choir

Posted on March 15, 2021

When we have a message we want to share with the public, we turn to our list of what I like to think of as tools, and decide which will best help us get the word out. Depending on the message, we use a combination (or all!) of these tools: social media posts, print and electronic newsletter blurbs, flyers, bookmarks, press releases, blogs, etc.

My Library Is... Conversation with Nancy Ashbrook.

Conversation with Nancy Ashbrook

Posted on March 12, 2021

Reading with Patrick. Read Between the Ravines. Image credit: Lake Forest Public Library.

Talking About Important Topics Through Reading

Posted on March 11, 2021

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. 

Library shelving. Photo courtesy of Ron Barshinger (2021).

Every Trick in (and out of) the Book

Posted on March 8, 2021

Textbook affordability and accessibility issues are not new. We have seen alarming articles on how the rising costs of required course materials is overburdening college students and thwarting their efforts to achieve their educational and professional goals.

Story walk sign.

Story Walk Encourages Family Time, Reading, & Exercise

Posted on March 5, 2021

My Library Is part of a group of small libraries in rural west central Illinois that has been focusing on Early Childhood Literacy with the support of the Tracy Family Foundation.

Image credit: Janine Asmus.

The Virtual (and Physical) Heart of the School

Posted on March 2, 2021

As March marches in, I can't help but think where I was a year ago--give or take a week.  As I reflect upon the bustling school library I left, and the one I am currently in, I have to work hard to conjure up what was.  Pandemically speaking, I (and dare I say many of my school librarian colleagues) have had to reinvent themselves and their methods very quickly.

Hudson Area Library Interlibrary Loan totes

The World Expands While It Contracts

Posted on February 25, 2021

At the end of 2020, Hudson Area Public Library District found a hopeful and fun fact while reviewing patron statistics. Out of 977 active patron cards, 955 of those cards had been used in the prior six months. While their world was closing in, patrons – almost all of them – were using their cards to explore the universe. That’s smart pandemic behavior.

Twirly colorful mobile sculpture.

Encouraging the Creative Spirit

Posted on February 22, 2021

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?”  

Champagne glasses

Princeton Public Library's New Year’s Eve Non-Event

Posted on February 19, 2021

The staff at the Princeton Public Library held a New Year’s Eve Non-event fundraiser this past December. We thought it would be an apropos way to bring a laugh to the community and say goodbye to 2020.