Trivia
Fans Flock to Smartypants Olympics
Local trivia buffs filled the Veterans Room of the Main
Library to capacity Saturday night for the First Annual
Smartypants Olympics. The event raised approximately $4,000
for library programs and materials. Participants suggested that
the Library host the trivia night fundraiser more often than
once a year! The Library promised to have easier questions in
round 5!
The first place team, named The Oak Park Tweeps, was assembled
by Becca Martin, creator of the Live
Here Oak Park blog, from her blog followers. The second
place team consisted of actors and board members from the Oak
Park Festival Theatre. The top three teams earned "Olympic"
medals for their outstanding efforts.
Thanks to Main Library architects,
Nagle, Hartray, Danker, Kagan, McKay and Penney, for providing
funds for the bar. And thanks to children's librarian Rory Parilac
and Keith Fiels, Executive Director of the American Library
Association, for their work as MCs. 3/9/2010
Build Your Business with Help from the Library
Business growth and expansion doesn't have to cost an arm and
a leg. Whether you're digging for new sales leads, researching
industries, or identifying competition, your library card holds
the answers.
ReferenceUSA, an online
tool available through the Oak Park Public Library, provides
industry leading information on more than 14 million companies
in the U.S. This tool has been featured in publications like
the Wall Street Journal for its tremendous benefit to
small business owners. Access the online tool anytime with your
library card or visit the Library to use ReferenceUSA.
Learn more about ReferenceUSA at "Building Your Business"
on Thursday, March 18. Scott Lea, a ReferenceUSA Representative,
discusses how to research potential markets, compare market
segments, pin-point competition, research prospects for mailing
lists, and locate vendors for your business. The presentation
starts at 6 pm in the Small Meeting Room of the Main
Library and is co-sponsored by the Oak Park-River Forest
Chamber of Commerce.
Come learn why ReferenceUSA's data quality is unmatched and
how it could help you land your next client. RSVP to the Library
at 708-452-3465. 3/9/2010
Tax Forms Available at Main Library
Pick up federal and state tax forms on the Third Floor of the
Main Library. Ask at the Service
Desk for assistance finding the forms you need. Visit the Illinois
Department of Revenue at www.revenue.state.il.us
for state tax information and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
at www.irs.gov for federal
tax information. 3/4/2010
Singer/Songwriter Kat Eggleston Performs March 9 Kat
Eggleston brings original songs to the Main
Library on Tuesday, March 9, at 7 pm. Kat is one of the
most accomplished guitarists and singer/songwriters in the folk,
Celtic, and
traditional music genres. This concert is the second in "The
Friends of the Oak Park Public
Library Folk Series" planned for 2010. The concert
is free; seating is on a first-come, first serve basis. Doors
will open at 6:30 p.m. You can meet Kat Eggleston and buy her
CDs following the concert.
Kat's incomparable music has dazzled audiences around the world,
from intimate clubs to concert halls and festivals. Her original
songs have won worldwide acclaim for their lyrical and emotional
truth, while her powerful yet gently beautiful voice showcases
material ranging from contemporary songs to the traditions of
Great Britain and America with equal grace.
Kat is a startlingly strong fingerstyle guitarist, often intertwining
her songs with Celtic dance tunes arranged for the guitar. Her
approach to the hammered dulcimer is renowned for its use of
space and harmonic texture, as well as its seemingly effortless
fluidity and power.
In a clear alto with flawless intonation, Kat Eggleston goes
straight to the lyrical and emotional truth of every word and
every note. Her musings on home, childhood, and her father's
garden are gems of direct, unassuming plainspokenness.
After nearly 20 years in Chicago as a performing singer-songwriter
and musical theater artist, she returned to her home community
of Vashon Island in 2008 to be close to her beloved father,
an inspiration for many of her best songs. For more information
on Kat Eggleston, see www.kateggleston.com.
The third free concert in the "The Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library Folk Series" brings
Ronny Cox and Jack Williams to Unity Temple (875 Lake Street,
Oak Park) on Sunday, April 11, at 7 pm.
Founded in 1948, the Friends of
the Oak Park Public Library have worked to support the Library,
building bridges between the Library and community, and raising
funds to sponsor the programs and services that the Library
could not otherwise afford. Since 1970, the Friends have sponsored
one of the largest book
fairs in the Midwest. 3/2/2010
Magazine Giveaway March 5 through 7
Stop in to the Main Library to
pick up back issues of magazines. Boxes of 2007 and 2008 magazines
will be in the Lobby beginning at 12 noon on Friday, March 5
and will be available through the weekend while supplies last.
This Magazine Giveaway is first-come, first-served - no titles
will be saved for anyone. Bring a bag! 3/1/2010
"American Masters: Martin Scorsese" Film Series
through June 16 Celebrate
37 years of cinema magic with Martin Scorsese. The "American
Masters: Martin Scorsese" Film Series takes viewers to
New York to witness violent loners struggling with inner demons
to a fine rock-meets-opera soundtrack...the magic that is the
iconic visionary, Martin Scorsese. Punch and popcorn will be
served. Librarian Alan Jacobson will lead a discussion after
each film.
If you are a Martin Scorsese fan, mark your calendar for every
second Wednesday through June.
Wednesday, March 10: Taxi Driver A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as nighttime
taxi driver in a city whose perceived decadence and sleaze feeds
his urge to violently lash out, attempting to save a teenage
prostitute in the process. This 1975 film stars Robert DeNiro
Wednesday, April 14: Raging Bull
An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life,
as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the
ring, destroys his life outside it. This 1980 film stars Robert
DeNiro
Wednesday, May 12: King of Comedy and BAD
(music video)
Aspiring comic Rupert Pupkin wants to achieve success in showbiz,
by resorting to stalking his idol, a late night talk show host
who craves his own privacy. This 1982 film stars Robert DeNiro
and Jerry Lewis.
Wednesday, June 9: After Hours and Mirror
Mirror (Amazing Stories)
An ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after
he agrees to visit a girl in Soho whom he met that evening at
a coffee shop. This 1985 film stars Griffin Dunne and Rosanna
Arquette.
Library
Newsletter
Our March/April
2010 print newsletter (PDF file) will soon be delivered
to homes in Oak Park. Watch for it as an insert to the Village's
FYI newsletter.
Top Story: Start Reading to Your Baby
Copies will be available at the Library where you can also
pick up age-specific event listings at our Service Desks.
You can also subscribe to E-News
to receive brief email updates of Library news, services, and
events twice a month. 2/23/2010
Author/WBEZ Commentator Al Gini with Even Deadlier
on February 24 Al
Gini, WBEZ radio commentator and author of multiple books as
well as a professor of business ethics at Loyola University
Chicago, will share stories from the new Even Deadlier: A
Sequel to The Seven Deadly Sins Sampler published by the
Great Books Foundation. The program will be Wednesday, February
24, at the Main Library. Gini
served as editor and wrote the foreword to both books in the
popular Great Books series. The program on February 24 is free
and open to the public.
Even Deadlier contains 14 stories by renowned writers,
some famous and some not, two for each of the sins pronounced
deadly by Pope Gregory the Great. "Babylon Revisited"
by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "The Custard Heart" by
Dorothy Parker are the selections to kick-start the discussion
on Sloth. For Lust, "Nuns at Luncheon" by Aldous Huxley
and "Cowboys Are My Weakness" by Pam Houston are the
selections.
In
the foreword, Al Gini writes: "It seems that our first
volume on the nature of sin, The Seven Deadly Sins Sampler,
struck a chord. Whether understood in John Portmann's words
as a misuse of "the powers God gave us to do good, "
or as the Jewish historian Aviad Kleinberg puts it, a reflection
of our "imperfect, fragile being, sin has always proved
fascinating."
In addition to being a professor at Loyola University Chicago,
Al Gini is a frequent commentator on WBEZ National Public Radio
and WTTW Public Television. He is also the author of My Job,
My Self: Work and the Creation of the Modern Individual,
The Importance of Being Lazy: In Praise of Play, Leisure
and Vacations, and Why It's Hard To Be Good. 2/17/2010
"Global Influences: Women in the Arts and Crafts Movement"
Series through March 11 The important women in the Arts and Crafts movement in Chicago
and around the world, including architecture, decorative arts,
interior design, and social influences will be the focus of
a free lecture series hosted by Pleasant Home Foundation with
the Oak Park Public Library.
"Global Influences: Women in the Arts & Crafts Movement"
will be held on Thursday evenings, beginning February 18, at
the Main Library. The lectures,
which begin at 7 pm, will continue on February 26, March 4,
and March 11.
Thursday, February 18 at 7 pm
"Tiffany's Girls made Tiffany Famous" by Rolf Achilles,
adjunct associate professor of art history, theory, and criticism
at the School of the Art Institute and curator of the Smith
Museum of Stained Glass. The lecture title was taken from
a recent book about the creative work of Clara Driscoll and
the women of the Tiffany Studios. Achilles will highlight
how the design and finishing of Tiffany's incredible lamps
were done primarily by long unrecognized women.
Thursday, February 25 at 7 pm
"Ceramics Their Fad: Chicago Women in the Art and Crafts
Movement" by Sharon S. Darling, decorative arts historian
and heritage management professional. The lecture title was
taken from an early 20th century article about women working
in the arts and crafts. Ms. Darling will showcase wonderful
works of hand-painted china and art pottery completed by women
at the ceramics studios.
Thursday, March 4 at 7 pm
"Movers and Shapers: Women of the Chicago Arts and Crafts
Movement," by Alice Ireland, a local historian whose
extensive research explores the role of Chicago women in shaping
the Arts and Crafts movement here. Ms. Ireland will present
how the domestic movement in the early 1900s emancipated women
socially by giving them work in many areas, including arts
and crafts, often through institutions such as the Art Institute
and Hull House.
Thursday, March 11 at 7 pm
"Chicago's Women Metalsmiths" by Monica Obniski,
research assistant and exhibition coordinator, American Art,
Art Institute of Chicago.
Ms. Obniski will reveal the amazing work of female metalsmiths
working in Chicago during the Arts and Crafts Movement, including
Oak Park native Jessie Preston, whose creative designs can
now be found in the Art Institute collections.
Pleasant Home Foundation, established as a non-profit organization
in 1990, is dedicated to preserving and restoring historic Pleasant
Home by architect George Maher in 1897. For more information,
see www.pleasanthome.org.
Arts programming at Pleasant Home is partially supported by
grants from the Oak Park Area Arts Council and the Illinois
Arts Council, a state agency. 2/15/2010
Lawyer Flint Taylor Discusses "The Assassination of
Fred Hampton" February 14 On
December 4, 1969, Fred Hampton, the 21-year-old chairman of
the Illinois Black Panther Party, was shot dead in his bed during
a police raid. Forty years later, in 2009, Jeffrey Haas, one
of the attorneys who represented Hampton's family in a lawsuit
and won, has written The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How
the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther.
Jeffrey Haas and his law partner, Flint Taylor of the People's
Law Office, spent the next decade fighting a well-financed opposition
team and a hostile judge. Haas and Taylor wanted to prove that
Hampton had been shot not in self-defense, as the police advocates
claimed, but as the result of an FBI assassination.
Attorney Flint Taylor and Bill Hampton, the brother of Fred
Hampton, will be at the Main Library
on Sunday, February 14, at 2 pm to discuss the trial and new
book.
Flint Taylor is a graduate of Brown University and Northwestern
University School of Law and a founding partner of the People's
Law Office in Chicago. In addition to litigating the Fred Hampton
Black Panther case, Taylor litigated the landmark Greensboro,
North Carolina, case against the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis. He
was also an attorney for the Ford Heights Four case in which
four innocent men received a record $36 million settlement for
their wrongful conviction and imprisonment. Flint Taylor is
a founding editor of the Police Misconduct and Civil Rights
Law Reporter and was named by Chicago Magazine on
one of "Chicago's 30 Toughest Lawyers."
"People should not forget that State's Attorney Hanrahan,
the Chicago Police, and the FBI murdered my son," says
Iberia Hampton, mother of Fred Hampton, who lives in nearby
Maywood. "This book tells the story, not only of Fred's
death, but also of his life. At 21, Fred was already a great
leader. Who knows what he may have become, if they hadn't killed
him?" 2/12/2010
Trivia Night Fundraiser March 6 For
the first time ever, the Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library will host a Trivia Night
Fundraiser for the Library on Saturday, March 6. Our "Smartypants
Olympics" has Keith Fiels, Executive Director of the American
Library Association, as the evening's MC and Auction host. We
are looking for teams of 4 to 6 people to compete. Admission
is $25 per person; wine and beer and "brainfood" snacks
will be served. Participants will be able to bid on auction
items in between rounds of the trivia contest.
Come for a great evening and some laughs - and support your
Library at the same time! See the official
rules and registration
form (PDF file).
As you may know, Americans are relying on their public libraries
more than ever in this tough economy. In 2009, circulation at
the Oak Park Public Library reached 1.4 million for the first
time - an increase of 12 percent in just one year. The Library's
circulation over the past five years has increased a whopping
51% percent!
Meeting this amazing demand has not been easy. The Library
has greatly increased the number of volunteers
who do important work like supporting the Home
Delivery Service, keeping books in order, and boxing donations
for the Annual Book Fair.
And thanks to the generosity of Oak Park book lovers and more
than 100 volunteers, the proceeds from the 39th Annual
Oak Park Book Fair, hosted last August by the Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library, were the best ever.
Library resources are stretched as Oak Park Public Library
continues to expand services in response to community needs.
Some additional funds for programs and services would help.
We hope you register a team
(PDF file) and join in the Trivia Night fun on March 6! 2/9/2010
Oak Park Public Library Wins Award for Commitment to Intellectual
Freedom Oak
Park Public Library is pleased to announce that it has won this
year's Gordon
M. Conable Award for the Transgender
Resource Collection and related work. The Public
Library Association (PLA) issues the Conable Award to a
library staff member, library trustee, or public library that
has demonstrated a commitment to intellectual freedom and the
Library Bill of Rights.
Collection Development Manager Bleue Benton
and
Librarian Rashmi Swain pose with some items in the collection.
"We are thrilled to have this work recognized as an important
aspect to intellectual freedom. It recognizes that our public
library truly is a place for everyone" states Bleue Benton,
Collection Development Manager.
According to the PLA website, "The recipient of the Gordon
M. Conable Award must have demonstrated a commitment to intellectual
freedom and the Library Bill of Rights in various ways, including,
but not limited, to the following: developed and promoted collections
that include diverse points of view; provided programs that
promote community dialog on controversial issues; created and
nurtured an organizational climate that fosters an understanding
of the Library Bill of Rights amongst the library staff, library
board, and elected and appointed officials; initiated activities
at the local, state, or national level that promote, support,
or defend intellectual freedom, the Library Bill of Rights,
or the First Amendment; guaranteed open access to library materials
and services for children and young adults; guaranteed open
access to electronic information; defended library materials,
programs, or services when confronted with a censorship challenge.
The award consists of a $1,500 check and a commemorative plaque."
The award is sponsored by LSSI.
In 2007 Oak Park Public Library received
a prestigious $3,000 LSTA grant provided by the Illinois
State Library to create the first focused Transgender Resource
Collection in a U.S. public library. This unique public library
collection consists mainly of nonfiction materials and includes
medical information, legal concerns, and social issues. With
its own resources, the Oak Park Public Library has added popular
and lesser known fiction titles as well as films. The collection
serves transgender people and anyone seeking information, including
employers, medical providers, allies, friends, and family.
In
addition to purchasing materials, Oak Park Public Library provided
awareness workshops for staff. "Our goals was to make certain
that all library staff are prepared to provide excellent customer
service to people who are transgender," says Executive
Director Deirdre Brennan. The Library also conducted a self-study
to identify any barriers to serving and employing transgender
people and consider other aspects to welcoming, reflecting,
serving, and employing transgender people. Oak Park Public Library
has also put together a Library
Toolkit for other libraries interested in knowing more about
our Transgender Resource Collection.
To demonstrate Oak Park Public Library's leadership in this
area of service, Bleue Benton and Sharon Grimm, Communications
Coordinator, presented at the 2009 Massachusetts Library Association
annual conference and the 2008 Illinois Library Association
annual conference. Their presentation titled "When Collection
Development Leads to Staff Development" will be published
as a chapter by the same name in a forthcoming book Serving
LGBTIQ Communities: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and
More in Libraries and Archives.
Oak Park Public Library is pleased to receive the prestigious
Conable award and hopefully inspire other libraries with our
holistic model for collection development. Oak Park Public Library
plans to use the award money to purchase additional collection
materials and continue to raise awareness of the collection.
Would-be Rock Stars Compete in Guitar Hero World Tour Competition
February 6 Would
you like to be a rock star? Or at least feel like one for a
day? Oak Park Public Library's genre
X will be hosting Smell The Glove: Guitar Hero World Tour
Competition on Saturday, February 6, from 7 pm to 11 pm at the
Main Library. This free event
is for those 18 years and older.
Teams of four will pre-register to compete for first, second,
and third place prizes in this rock band blowout. Judging will
be based on score and accuracy, showmanship, and audience response.
Costumes and personas are highly encouraged. For more information,
visit the genre X blog, www.genre-x.com,
or contact Adult and Teen Services at 708-452-3440.
genre X is a twenties
and thirties book discussion group facilitated by the Oak Park
Public Library. The group meets every fourth Tuesday at 8 pm
at Molly Malone's,
7652 Madison Street, Forest Park. genre
X has hosted two after-hours events at the Oak Park Public
Library - Hi-Lo Tech Night in 2008 and Hop on Pop in 2009. 2/2/2010
Rick Kogan with Sidewalks II: Reflections on Chicago
February 4 Rick
Kogan, senior writer for the Chicago Tribune and host
of "Sunday Papers" on WGN Radio (720 AM), will tell
entertaining stories from Sidewalks II: Reflections on Chicago
on Thursday, February 4, at 7 pm at the Main
Library. He will be joined by his award-winning photographer,
Charles Osgood, who will show poster-sized photographs from
the book which reprints 120 "Sidewalks" columns and
photos. As always, these stories highlight the famous and not-so-famous
Chicago places and people. The program is free and open to the
public. Books will be available for sale and signing at the
program.
You'll find a profile of The Cop Shop, one of the city's most
unusual gift stores, located in the Fraternal Order of Police
building at 1412 West Washington Boulevard. Among the items
are jackets, mugs, toys, hats, jewelry. . .and many things Irish-themed.
Through one Kogan column, you can meet Carrie Iverson who has
filled the windows of the upper three floors of Chicago Printmakers
Collaborating at 4642 N. Western Avenue, with the faces of U.S.
soldiers who have died in Iraq.
Through another column, see what it was like to welcome home
79 World War II veterans who were returning to Chicago from
their whirlwind Honor Flight trip to visit the World War II
memorial in Washington, D.C. Among the celebrated old soldiers
was Harold Possley, the 87-year-old father of former Chicago
Tribune criminal justice reporter Maurice Possley, an Oak
Park resident.
In addition, Sidewalks II includes longer articles on
Studs Terkel, Chicago's aldermen, the former Maxwell Street,
and favorite taverns including the subterranean Billy Goat.
1/29/2010
Borders' Customers Support Dole Branch Early Literacy Project Thanks
to Oak Park Borders' customers who donated
nearly $5,000 to the Oak Park Public Library's Dole Branch
early literacy initiative, Lori Pulliam, Branch Services Manager,
had money to spend. It took three trips to Borders this past
December for Lori to pick out $4,928 worth of kid-friendly materials.
"I had so much fun working with Lorrie Wilke, Borders Corporate
Education Sales Manager, to select books, CDs, DVDs, toys, games
and puppets for infants and toddlers who visit the library,"
notes Pulliam.
The Borders program was co-sponsored by the Illinois Literacy
Foundation and the Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian,
Jesse White. 1/26/2010
Foreign Exchange Film Series Begins January 27 If
you like to experience new cultures without the hassle of air
travel, then come to the Maze Branch
Library on Wednesday afternoons at 2 pm to see a variety
of foreign films.
The Foreign Exchange Film Series begins January 27 with Waltz
with Bashir. In this animated best foreign Oscar-nominated
film, an Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of
the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories
of his term of service in that conflict. Refreshments will be
served.
The series continues with Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan
on February 24. The story recounts the early life of Genghis
Khan who was a slave before going on to conquer half the world,
including Russia in 1206.
Katyn on March 31 is an examination of the Soviet slaughter
of thousands of Polish officers and citizens in the Katyn forest
in 1940.
Rudo y Cursi on April 28 shows two siblings who rival
each other inside the world of professional soccer. 1/26/2010
Love Books? Attend the Oak Park Readers Party January 28 Come
enjoy Oak Park's very own book
lover's appreciation society. This is your chance to share
your enthusiasm for what you are reading with other book lovers.
The next Oak Park Readers Party is on Thursday, January 28,
at 7 pm in the Veterans Room of the Main
Library. Book lovers are invited to eat, drink, mingle,
and share your enthusiasm for a recent read. We guarantee you
will leave with a reading list, new friends, and new perspective
on things.
The Oak Park Public Library has hosted Oak Park Readers Parties
since 2007. Find more information, see photos, and review the
lists of books that were shared at past parties on the Oak
Park Readers web page. 1/19/2010
Queen of the B's: Ida Lupino Film Series Begins January
21 Actress
and director Ida Lupino (1914-1995) appeared in 59 films and
directed nine movies and hundreds of episodes of TV programs.
The Friends of the Oak Park Public
Library will host a Thursday afternoon film series highlighting
Ida Lupino titled "Queen of the B's: Ida Lupino."
The series runs Thursday, January 21 through Thursday, February
25. Films will begin promptly at 2 pm in the Main
Library Veterans Room. Film historian Doug Deuchler will
introduce each film and conclude the afternoon with a discussion.
Born into an English show business family with roots in Renaissance
Italy, Ida excelled at playing tough, yet vulnerable women.
In the 1940s, she described herself as "the poor man's
Bette Davis" and often portrayed hard-boiled dames who
held their own against some of the biggest leading men of the
day, from Humphrey Bogart to John Garfield. When better roles
did not materialize, Ida stepped behind the camera as director,
writer, and producer. Blazing new trails, she became the only
notable and respected female director of her era in Hollywood.
Thursday, January 21: They Drive By Night (1940), directed
by Raoul Walsh, 95 minutes
Ida is a murderous "femme fatale" who will do anything
to get her man.
Thursday, January 28: High Sierra (1941), directed by
Raoul Walsh, 100 minutes
Ida is a former dance hall girl who hooks up with escaped convict
Humphrey Bogart.
Thursday, February 4: Ladies in Retirement (1941), directed
by Charles Vidor, 91 minutes
Lupino is a repressed, ready-to-explode housekeeper for an aging
actress in this Victorian noir thriller.
Thursday, February 11: The Hard Way (1944), directed
by Vincent Sherman, 109 minutes
Manipulative, pushy Ida shoves her younger sister into a showbiz
marriage.
Thursday, February 18: The Man I Love (1947), directed
by Raoul Walsh, 96 minutes
Tough, wisecracking Ida works as a singer in a mobster's nightclub.
Thursday, February 25: Deep Valley (1947), directed
by Jean Negulesco, 104 minutes
An escaped convict changes the dreary existence of Lupino, a
lonely rural woman.
Photographer Hank Erdmann presents "Art versus Technology"
on January 25 Professional
photographer Hank Erdmann will present "Art versus Technology:
Bring the Art Back into Your Photography" on Monday, January
25, at 7 pm at the Main Library.
The program, co-sponsored by the Oak Park Photography Club,
is free and open to the public.
Hank Erdmann is a professional natural history photographer
who resides in Will County, Illinois. He has photographed throughout
North America, making the Midwest his primary geographic area
of interest. A love of history, especially the maritime history
of the Great Lakes, kindles a special interest in the ports,
shorelines, islands and natural areas of Lakes Michigan and
Superior and their surrounding environs. Hank is currently working
on a book project on the state of Michigan.
Erdmann's slide-lecture will explore the creative spirit, the
creative vision and the creative thought process. "While
we can't ignore or reject the technical in the digital age,
we seem to have done just the opposite, ignoring the creative
process while being overwhelmed by new and all encompassing
digital technologies," explains Hank Erdmann. "This
discussion will refocus your energies back to the artistic side
of photography." 1/13/2010
Authors
Ashby and Hawking Tell the Story of
Worker Resistance at Staley on January 27 Oak Park authors Steven Ashby and C. J. Hawking tell the
dramatic story of worker resistance in their newly published
book, Staley: The Fight for a New American Labor Movement.
This on-the-ground labor history chronicles the bitterly contested
labor conflict in the mid 1990s at the A. E. Staley corn processing
plant in Decatur, Illinois. There, workers waged one of the
most hard-fought struggles in recent labor history.
You can hear the story and meet the authors on Wednesday, January
27, at 7:30 pm at the Main Library.
The program is free and open to the public. Books will be for
sale and signing following the presentation.
When the company A. E. Staley launched a full-scale assault
on its workers, Allied Industrial Workers Local 837 responded
by educating and mobilizing its members, organizing strong support
from the religious and African American communities, building
a nationwide solidarity movement, and engaging in nonviolent
civil disobedience at the plant gates. Through scores of interviews
and videotapes of every union meeting, the authors bring the
workers' voices to the fore and reveal their innovative tactics
that inform and strengthen today's labor movement.
Steven K. Ashby is an associate clinical professor in the Chicago
Labor Education Program in the School of Labor and Employment
Relations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. C. J.
Hawking is a United Methodist pastor and the executive director
of the faith-based workers' rights group Arise Chicago. Both
were Staley workers' solidarity organizers. 1/12/2010
New Storytime Sessions Start Monday, January 18 The Oak Park Public Library will be offering 13
weekly storytimes for various ages, from babies through
2nd graders, at all three locations.
Check our website for a full
schedule with descriptions of our programs or grab a brochure
at the Library. While some storytimes are reserved for Oak Park
Public Library cardholders, others are open to all. As always,
all storytimes are free! 1/5/2010
Folk Musicians Bill and Kate Isles Perform January 7 Warm
up your winter with a free concert from Bill and Kate Isles,
highly-respected singer/songwriters on the Minnesota acoustic
scene. The Isles perform on Thursday, January 7, at 7 pm at
the Main Library. This concert
is the first in "The Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library Folk Series" planned
for 2010. The concert is free; seating is on a first-come, first-serve
basis. Doors will open at 6:30 pm. You can meet the performers
and buy CDs following the concert.
Bill's songs are down-to-earth poetic reflections of life experiences
and often explore adventurous metaphorical worlds. These worlds
vary greatly in scope and texture such as the differences between
the clever honky-tonk ambiguity of "The Hole in Our Town"
and the enchanting feel of "Sistine Chapel", both
from his 2003 release "The Threshold." It is this
multi-layering that has drawn fans to listen over and over again,
and to describe his live performances as "mesmerizing."
Bill's love of life and command of language has strong roots
in his childhood, but his urgency to tell these stories comes
from an experience in 1993 when, with just enough warning to
drive himself to the hospital, his heart stopped beating. He
arrived with just ten minutes to spare. After being defibrillated,
and before the doctors had time to detect and open a blocked
artery in his heart, he made a commitment to himself that, if
he survived, he would begin to write again. Those paddles restarted
his heart in more ways than one…
Bill Isles was the winner of the 2001 Minnesota Folk Festival
New Folk Songwriting Contest and a semi-finalist in 2004 Budweiser
True Music Band Contest. (The only solo act in an original field
of 25 bands). You can find more information on the performers
at www.billandkateisles.com.
The
second free concert in the "The Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library Folk Series" brings
Kat Eggleston to the Oak Park Public Library on Tuesday, March
9, at 7 pm. Kat is one of the most accomplished guitarists and
singer/songwriters in the folk, Celtic, and traditional music
genres. For more information on this performer, see www.kateggleston.com.
singer/songwriter Kat Eggleston
Founded in 1948, the Friends of
the Oak Park Public Library have worked to support the Library,
building bridges between the Library and community, and raising
funds to sponsor the programs and services that the Library
could not otherwise afford. Since 1970, the Friends have sponsored
one of the largest book
fairs in the Midwest. 12/22/2009
Library
Newsletter
Our January/February
2010 print newsletter (PDF file) will soon be delivered
to homes in Oak Park. Watch for it as an insert to the Village's
FYI newsletter.
Top Story: Raise a Reader at the Library
Copies will be available at the Library where you can also
pick up age-specific event listings at our Service Desks.
You can also subscribe to E-News
to receive brief email updates of Library news, services, and
events twice a month. 12/22/2009
Borders' Customers Donate Nearly $5,000 to Dole Branch Library
Literacy Efforts Customers
at the Oak Park Borders store on Lake Street donated $4,928
for literacy programs and efforts at the Dole
Branch Library between October 5 and November 1 this year.
The funds will help purchase early literacy materials and prizes
of reading incentive programs, according to Lori Pulliam, Branch
Services Manager for the Oak Park Public Library.
"The Library is really delighted with the generosity of
Borders' Oak Park customers," says Pulliam. "The Oak
Park store is one of the top five collecting stores in the region.
Their staff was enthusiastic about soliciting donations for
the Library."
Holiday Cards for Sale While you're at the Library for your books, movies, and
music, you can also get your holiday card shopping done.
Our holiday cards come in three designs and are $5 for 10.
Share your passion for reading with the "peace, joy, read"
design or show your support for the Library with our gold or
white logo designs.
"peace, joy, read" design
gold library logo design & white embossed library logo design
Proceeds support the work of the Library. 12/9/2009
Changes to Branch Hours and Closings In an effort to reduce expenses in a very tight budget year,
the Board of Trustees approved a change in the closing schedule
for the Dole and Maze Branch Libraries. The Dole Branch Library
and the Maze Branch Library will return to a winter holiday
break schedule and be closed during the school vacation
in December/January. The Branch Libraries will be closed from
December 19, 2009 through January 3, 2010. The Dole
Branch Library is regularly closed on Sundays and Mondays.
The Maze Branch Library is regularly
closed on Sundays and Fridays.
Notice: Holds can only
be picked up at the Main Library
while the Branches are closed for winter holiday break, December
19 through January 3.
The Board also approved a change in hours for the Branch
Libraries. Effective in January 2010, the Dole
Branch Library will close at 8:00 pm instead of 9:00 pm
Tuesday through Thursday. The Maze
Branch Library will close at 8:00 pm instead of 9:00 pm
Monday through Thursday.
The schedule is unchanged for the Main
Library - open regular hours except as follows:
Staff Development Day, Friday 12/11 Closed
Christmas Holiday, Thursday 12/24 and Friday 12/25 Closed
New Year's Holiday, Thursday 12/31 closing early at 5:00 pm
and Friday 1/1 Closed
The Board of Trustees approved
these changes at their regular November 2009 meeting. In making
decisions about revenue and expenses the Library carefully considered
the impact on public service and sought actions that would minimally
affect library usage. Find information
about the Library's 2010 budget. 12/8/2009
A World of Libraries A Click Away: Oak Park Public Library
Joins SWAN Even
better than having 215,000 titles to borrow for free would be
free and direct access to the collections of 80 area libraries.
That's what the Oak Park Public Library is working to bring
you. The Library has joined SWAN (a consortium of suburban libraries)
and expects the transition to be complete by July 2010.
The collections of these 80 libraries, more than one million
titles, will be readily visible to you through a united catalog
system. Choose to browse just the Oak Park Public Library or,
with just one click, switch to searching all SWAN libraries.
Plus you will be able to request SWAN items from within the
catalog itself. "When you find an item of interest, either
owned by the Oak Park Public Library or another SWAN library,
it will be simple for you to request it, and you will get it
faster because SWAN will streamline the work of our staff,"
states Deirdre Brennan, Executive Director.
Brennan also notes that "member libraries are emphatic
in their belief that the consortium is hugely beneficial to
library users." The consortium is financially beneficial
as well since it promotes sharing of resources and of technology.
Better still, it will remain possible to request items from
libraries outside the SWAN consortium, making a world of libraries
available to you!
For more details about the transition to SWAN, see www.oppl.org/swan/.
12/2/2009
Dominican University professors
Michael Stephens, Kate Marek, and Karen Brown will present "Moving
Forward: Transforming and Connecting." "We are especially
pleased that Michael Stephens will join our Staff Development
Day," notes Deirdre Brennan, Executive Director of the
Oak Park Public Library. "Michael is a forward-thinking
librarian who regularly inspires us through his blog (http://tametheweb.com)
and who often speaks about technology and innovation at libraries
throughout the United States."
Michael Stephens photo by Cindi Trainor
As a courtesy, the Oak
Park Park District makes the Elizabeth
F. Cheney Mansion available once a year at no charge to
other tax-supported institutions in Oak Park. So this year,
the Library's Staff Development Day will take place off-site
at Cheney Mansion.
The Library's Strategic Plan
includes an organizational initiative to seek new knowledge
and skills. Staff Development Day is a very important opportunity
for the staff of the Library to be together to learn, connect,
and reflect on the important work we do for our community. The
Main Library and both the Dole
Branch and Maze Branch will
be closed so that every staff member will be able to attend
Staff Development Day.
Re-Live "The Chicago Music Scene: 1960s and 1970s"
on December 10 Re-live
the glory days with a performance and talk by author/musician
Dean Milano. Milano shares stories and pictures from his new
book The Chicago Music Scene: 1960s and 1970s at 7 pm
on Thursday, December 10 at the Main
Library.
Hear the story of these two decades - an incredibly vibrant
period in urban and suburban music scenes across the country.
Chicago was a major player throughout those decades. It was
a time when jazz, rock and roll, country and western, folk,
blues, and R&B flowed through the streets of Chicagoland.
Dean Milano has been making music in Chicago since 1966, playing
bass and singing in numerous bands and shows. He was there when
it all happened. Milano's story focuses on the city of Chicago
(along with its suburban club scene) and the homegrown performers
who made the 1960s and 1970s one of the most electrifying and
memorable periods in music history. Some of those players went
all the way to the big time, while others made their mark and
disappeared. But they all made a difference in their own way,
and for those who were there, it is a time they will never forget.
The program is free and open to the public. Copies of Milano's
newly published book will be available for sale and signing.
11/23/2009
Oak Park Artist Judith Shepelak presents "Expressions
of Nature" Oak
Park artist Judith Shepelak presents her one-woman show titled
"Expressions of Nature" through November at the Main
LibraryArt Gallery.
"Expressions of Nature" is made up of artwork that
is 100% colored pencil. The landscape and botanical works begin
with a simple graphite line drawing. The basic drawing is generally
a compilation of several of my own photographic images. Layers
of colored pencil are then added to the paper, one on top of
another much in the same way a watercolorist or oil painter
adds layers of colors to their artwork. The process is slow
but as the pencil builds up so does the intensity of the color.
It can take up to 120-150 hours to produce one of the larger
pieces.
Judith Shepelak has a BFA in Graphic Design. With her intense
love of the outdoors and devotion to gardening, creating realistic
botanical and landscape pieces was a natural beginning. As she
continues to draw, she finds herself creating non-objective
or interpretive pieces generally resulting from a deeply emotional
response to an event.
She works almost exclusively with colored pencil. She enjoys
the simplicity of the medium and the various methods by which
it can be manipulated. Colored pencils can appear very much
like a drawing, can be transparent like a watercolor, or burnished
to a painterly effect. This flexibility allows for unlimited
effects and interpretations.
Shepelak has won several awards for her artwork and in 2009
received her Signature status in the Colored Pencil Society
of America (CPSA). 11/9/2009
Oak
Park Artist Presents "Flying Pictures" on November
12 Oak Park artist Lindsay Olson will describe a unique international
visual journal exchange she participated in with seven other
women in five countries. While the program is designed for anyone
interested in art, it should be especially interesting for artists
and teachers who might like to incorporate an international
correspondence and exchange themselves.
"Flying Pictures" will be presented Thursday, November
12 at 7 pm at the Main Library.
Some of the hand-crafted visual journals will be on display
in the Second Floor display cabinet of the Main
Library and at the November 12 program.
Lindsay and her fellow female artists designed and hand built
their own visual journals and sent them around the world in
round robin fashion. In her November 12 program, Lindsay will
explain how the women got started, became better friends and
had a lot of creative fun. Some of the books that were created
will be available for viewing and Lindsay will answer any questions
about how teachers, artists, and others could start their own
visual journaling project.
Lindsay was inspired after hearing about several international
visual journal exchanges. She asked seven women in five countries
and two continents if they would join her in "a mad, traveling
art adventure." Together they designed their own visual
journals and sent them around the world.
The individual artists each chose a different topic such as
water, landscape, local color maps, and destinations. They each
contributed a painting on the subject in each book. The artists
had approximately one month to create the artwork in the traveling
books and then passed them on to the next artist. In Lindsay's
book, for instance, an artist in Italy created a painting illustrating
her trip to Venice.
The program is free and open to the public. For more information
see the related
website. 11/3/2009
Library
Newsletter
Our November/December
2009 print newsletter (PDF file) will soon be delivered
to homes in Oak Park. Watch for it as an insert to the Village's
FYI newsletter.
Top Story: A World of Libraries A Click Away
Copies will be available at the Library where you can also
pick up age-specific event listings at our Service Desks.
You can also subscribe to E-News
to receive brief email updates of Library news, services, and
events twice a month. 10/27/2009
Great Raven Raffle - Winner Chosen October 29 The
giant, hand-crafted raven which has promoted the NEA Big Read
celebration of Edgar Allan Poe and greeted patrons at the Main
Library throughout October needs a new home.
The crafters of the raven - librarian/artist Jeanne Friedell,
along with staffers Irene Balks and Debby Preiser - have decided
to host The Great Raven Drawing now through Thursday, October
29. Raffle tickets are $5 each; six tickets for $25. Proceeds
will go to the fund established by the Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library at the Community Foundation
of Oak Park & River Forest. This endowment fund supports
special projects of the Oak Park Public Library.
Tickets may be purchased beginning Monday, October 19, at Circulation
Desk of the Main Library. Tickets
will also be available for purchase at the Maze
Branch and the Dole Branch.
The drawing will be held on Thursday, October 29, at 4 pm in
the Lobby of the Main Library.
The six-foot-long raven will be delivered to the winner in
Oak Park area on Friday, October 30 - just in time for Halloween
celebrations. For more information, call Debby Preiser at 708-697-6915.
Poe events continue through October 31 at a variety of locations.
For details, see www.oppl.org/bigread. 10/16/2009
Staff and Trustees Celebrate New Landscaping at Maze Branch Library staff and members of the Board
of Trustees celebrated the new landscaping at the Maze
Branch Library with a "green" vine cutting on
Saturday, October 3. Illinois State Representative LaShawn Ford
(8th District) secured a $100,000 state grant to help complete
the renovation.
The
renovation project began in 2005 with funds obtained when the
community passed the referendum in March 2001 to build the new
Main Library and renovate the Maze
Branch Library. Additional funding came from state grants
obtained by State Senator Don Harmon (39th District) and State
Senator Kimberly Lightford (4th District), each grant in the
amount of $100,000.
Branch Services Manager Lori Pulliam, Library
Director Deirdre Brennan, Assistant Director Jim Madigan,
former Trustee Steve Fruth, Trustee Lane Hart, and Trustee
Mila Telez cut the vine in front of the Maze Branch.
Author
Elizabeth Strout Pleases Crowd at Main Library
Elizabeth Strout, the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winning author for
fiction, was greeted by a full house of fans at the Main
Library on Sunday, October 4. Strout read from her novel,
Olive Kitteridge and then answered many questions about
her novel and writing process, her mother whom Elizabeth says
is "the best storyteller she knows," and her early
admiration for Ernest Hemingway. Barbara Ballinger, former director
of the Oak Park Public Library for 25 years and long-time head
of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation Archives, later gave fiction
writers Elizabeth Berg and Elizabeth Strout a private tour of
the archives which is housed on the Third Floor of the Main
Library.
Teen Artwork on Display at Main Library Nine
local students, ages 12-15, explored a variety of artistic styles,
mediums, and artists in a newly created nine-week teen volunteer
program titled "Art Attack." Led by artistic Oak Park
Public Library staffers, Jeanne Friedell and Michele Paladines,
the young artists compiled a list of library-related themes
for inspiration. Their themes included: Books, Relaxing, Losing
Track of Time, Found Objects, Hope, Future, Friendship, Expression
and Freedom.
Guest artists from the Oak Park Arts District - Lisa Nordstrom,
Pamela Penney and Karen Schuman - challenged the student to
"think green" and use recycled materials in new ways.
Some of the art created over the summer is on display in the
Young Adult area on the Second Floor of the Main
Library.
Librarian/artist
Jeanne Friedell was impressed with the focused approach of the
students and their openness to try new ideas and materials,
and use them in new and creative ways. "Collage is such
an expressive way to work, and the students really enjoyed the
process of it. We ended up spending several weeks on it, and
they all created some really great stuff."
"Our group was amazing!" adds Michele Paladines.
"All of the teens were dedicated to making incredible art
works that reflected their interest in the Library. Jeanne and
I were proud of what our group created and hope that this type
of art programming will continue for at the Library for teens."
The
talented student artists who volunteered as part of "Art
Attack" at the Oak Park Public Library this summer were:
Uriah Brown, Gemma Cozzi, Karina Donayre, Collen Gartland, Nora
Gartland, Andrew Johnson, Allison Kozik, and Kyra-Marie Vincent.
Their work will be on display at the Main
Library until next summer when a new group of teen artists
will begin working.
Additional art from these teen volunteers will be on display
during October for The Big Read of Edgar Allan Poe's 200th birthday
celebration. 9/30/2009
Vine Cutting Celebration with Rep. LaShawn Ford on October
3 Oak
Park residents are invited to celebrate the new landscaping
at the Maze Branch Library, a
final step in the renovation
project, at 11 am on Saturday, October 3. The "green"
vine cutting ceremony will also be an opportunity to thank Illinois
State Representative LaShawn Ford (8th District) who secured
a $100,000 state grant to help complete the renovation.
The renovation project began in 2005 with funds obtained when
the community passed the referendum in March 2001 to build the
new Oak Park Public Library and renovate the Maze
Branch Library. Additional funding came from state grants
obtained by State Senator Don Harmon (39th District) and State
Senator Kimberly Lightford (4th District), each grant in the
amount of $100,000. 9/29/2009
World
War I Memorial to be Rededicated November 8 The Park District of Oak Park will rededicate the World
War I Memorial in Scoville Park in a Veterans Day ceremony on
Sunday, November 8 at 1 pm. A reception following the unveiling
will be held in the Lobby of the Main
Library.
Restoration
work now underway on this historic monument is being done
by expert conservator Andrzej Dajnowski, President of Conservation
of Sculpture and Objects Studio in Forest Park.
This bronze and granite memorial designed by Gilbert P. Riswold
was dedicated on November 11, 1925 and includes the names of
56 Oak Park and River Forest residents who gave their lives
and the 2,446 individuals who served in all three branches of
service. More history
of the monument.
As part of the celebration Ed Avis, a member of the citizens
committee planning the rededication, is compiling the stories
of as many of the individuals whose names appear on the monument
as possible. If you have information about any of these World
War I veterans please call him at 708-218-7755 or go to edavis@scoville
memorial.com. 9/17/2009
Ralph
Nader Brings New Novel to Oak Park on September 28 Ralph Nader, best known for his political activism and best-selling
books, has turned to fiction to advise his fellow citizens on
what course to take now for America. Nader will be at the Oak
Park Public Library on Monday, September 28, from 11:30 am to
1 pm to talk about his soon-to-be published novel, Only the
Super-Rich Can Save Us. Nader's presentation is free and
open to the public. The program will be held in the Veterans
Room of the Main Library. The
Book Table will be selling copies of Nader's book at the program.
The national publication date of this title is September 22,
2009.
Nader's fiction begins like this: "In the cozy den of
the large but modest house in Omaha where he has lived since
he started on his first billion, Warren Buffett watched the
horrors of Hurricane Katrina unfold on television in early September
2005. . . . On the fourth day, he beheld in disbelief the paralysis
of local, state, and federal authorities unable to commence
basic operations of rescue and sustenance, not just in New Orleans,
but in towns and villages all along the Gulf Coast. . . He knew
exactly what he had to do. . ."
So begins the vivid fictional account by author Ralph Nader
that answers the question, "What if?" What if a cadre
of super-rich individuals tried to become a driving force in
America to organize and institutionalize the interests of the
citizens of this troubled nation? What if some of America's
most powerful individuals decided it was time to fix our government
and return the power to the people? What if they focused their
power on unionizing Wal-Mart? What if a national political party
were formed with the sole purpose of advancing clean elections?
What if these 17 super-rich individuals decided to galvanize
a movement for alternative forms of energy that will effectively
clean up the environment? What if together they took on corporate
goliaths and Congress to provide the necessities of life and
advance the solutions so long left on the shelf by an avaricious
oligarchy? What could happen?
This extraordinary story, written by the author who knows the
most about citizen action, returns us to the literature of American
social movements-to Upton Sinclair, to John Steinbeck, to Stephen
Crane-reminding us in the process that changing the body politic
of America starts with imagination.
Born to Lebanese immigrant parents in Connecticut in 1934,
Ralph Nader graduated magna cum laude with a major in government
and economics from the Woodrow Wilson School of International
Affairs at Princeton University. He entered Harvard Law School
where he became editor of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduating
with honors, he set up a small legal practice and traveled widely.
Nader became distressed by the indifference of American corporations
to the consequences of their actions, and he began to speak
out against the abuse of corporate power. In 1965, he made headlines
with his book, Unsafe at Any Speed, which criticized
the auto industry for producing unsafe vehicles.
According to the Academy of Achievement in Washington, D.C.,
Nader went on to create an organization of young lawyers and
researchers who became known as "Nader's Raiders."
They produced exposes of industrial hazards, pollution, unsafe
products and governmental neglect of consumer safety laws. He
has continued to work for consumer safety and for the reform
of the political system through the group, Public Citizen, a
national non-profit public interest organization founded in
1971. The book Ralph Nader would most recommend: The Jungle
by Upton Sinclair. 9/14/2009
Ranger's
Apprentice Bus Comes to Oak Park on September 26
Young readers, ages 8 and up, can meet characters from author
John Flanagan's bestselling Ranger's Apprentice series on Saturday,
September. 26, at 3:30 pm when a theatrical bus tour titled
"Escape to Araluen" comes to the Main
Library. This special program is co-sponsored by Magic Tree
Bookstore.
Based on The Ruins of Gorlan, book 1 in the series,
"Escape to Araluen" consists of a series of interactive
skits that introduce the series' characters and plot to new
audiences and bring favorite scenes to life for fans of the
series.
Featuring actors from the children's theater company called
the Striking Viking Story Pirates, the performance will include
music, sound effects, prizes, an interactive apprentice selection
ceremony, and an 8-foot tall villain.
The show will be followed by a book-signing by the actors where
fans will receive a special "Escape from Araluen"
stamp and Ranger pin. Magic Tree Bookstore will sell books.
While the program is free, tickets are required. Tickets will
be available starting Monday, September 14, at the Children's
Services Desk at the Main Library.
John Flanagan's bestselling Ranger's Apprentice series originally
comprised 20 short stories which John wrote to encourage his
12-year-old son, Michael, to enjoy reading. At that age, Michael
was smaller than his friends. John wanted to show his son that
reading was fun and that heroes weren't necessarily big and
muscular. Now in his mid-20s, Michael is 6-foot tall and powerful,
but he still loves the Ranger's Apprentice books.
Visit the Library and Check Out a Museum Adventure Pass Oak
Park Public Library card holders can now check out a Museum
Adventure Pass for complimentary admission to 17 suburban
museums including the Brookfield Zoo, Chicago Botanic Garden,
Kohl Children's Museum, and many more. Each Museum
Adventure Pass expires within one week of the checkout date.
For more information on what each Museum
Adventure Pass affords at participating museums, visit www.museumadventure.org.
To check out the Museum Adventure
Pass, bring your Oak Park Public Library card to the Main
Library, Dole Branch, or Maze
Branch. Staff will go online to see if the pass you want
is available that day. Once the paper pass is printed, it is
good for a specific site within seven days. A cardholder cannot
check out a Museum Adventure
Pass more than once a week.
In a first of its kind partnership in the greater Chicago area,
the Museum Adventure Pass
is a partnership between 146 public libraries and 17 local arts
and cultural organizations. The program, sponsored by Macy's,
provides suburban Chicago library cardholders free passes to
local museums, zoos and historical sites. The program is designed
to enhance the learning experience for people of all ages through
books and other library materials, and to provide access to
arts and cultural organizations.
"The Museum Adventure Pass
is a truly innovative approach to education that Macy's is thrilled
to support," said Brad Poterack, District Vice President,
Macy's. "Our hope is that people who may not have access
to the wonderful local arts and cultural scene will use this
program as a learning tool for themselves and their families,
and realize that libraries are a great way to explore and learn
something new."
"Libraries and museums are a natural partnership. Both
present opportunities for people to explore culture, history
and so much more," says Dee Brennan, Executive Director
of the Oak Park Public Library. "We're grateful to Macy's
and the participating cultural organizations for
partnering with our suburban libraries to provide this priceless
opportunity for our library cardholders. Our staff is excited
about the fact that a library card is the key to unlocking these
museums and their treasures." 9/2/2009
Download
Audiobooks
Listen up, Oak Park! Library cardholders can now have anytime,
anywhere access to a dynamic collection of digital audiobooks.
Listen to books on your iPod, iPhone, MP3 player, or other
supported device. With your valid Oak Park Public Library card,
go to www.mediaondemand.org,
install free software on your PC or MAC, check out and download
audiobooks, and then transfer to your supported listening device
or burn it on a CD.
The eclectic collection includes thrillers, romance, science
fiction and more. Look for best-selling novels like Eat,
Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert or Dean Koontz's The
Darkest Evening of the Year. Nonfiction titles include self-improvement,
foreign language study, business and careers, and more. The
collection also features best-selling authors such as Nora Roberts,
Nicholas Sparks, Sue Grafton, James Patterson, John Grisham,
and David Baldacci.
"This service is great for Oak Park residents who commute
to work and those who like to listen to something in addition
to music when they exercise," says Deirdre Brennan, Executive
Library Director of the Oak Park Public Library. "With
so many best-selling titles available, driving in rush hour
traffic or sitting on the train will be more bearable."
Check out and download up to five audiobook titles at a time.
Choose from 7-day or 14-day loan period; at that point, the
audiobooks will automatically expire and return to the collection.
The digital audiobooks have no late fees or damage costs. The
service is free, easy-to-use, and available 24 hours a day anywhere
in the world.
This service is funded by the Oak Park Public Library. The
technology and content is provided by OverDrive, Inc. of Cleveland,
Ohio. To view the collection, learn more about the service,
or download the software and titles, visit www.mediaondemand.org.
8/31/2009
Library
Newsletter
Our September/October
2009 print newsletter (PDF file) will soon be delivered
to homes in Oak Park. Watch for it as an insert to the Village's
FYI newsletter.
Top Story: Edgar Allan Poe - Join the Community's Big Read
Copies will be available at the Library where you can also
pick up age-specific event listings at our Service Desks.
You can also subscribe to E-News
to receive brief email updates of Library news, services, and
events twice a month. 8/31/2009
Kids
Summer Reading Sets Another Record Again this summer a record number of kids, age 2 to 11,
participated in our summer
reading program. Of the 3,274 who recorded their reading
with us, nearly 900, or 27%, completed the program for the final
prize. This level of completion smashed the previous record
- more kids are reading and they are reading even more than
previous years! Thanks to everyone who participated! 8/12/2009
The "Oak Park Public Library Warrior Librarians"
are fighting against illiteracy and intolerance. The music the
team chose for the competition is Richard Wagner's "Die
Walküre" ("Ride of the Valkyries") performed
by the Budapest Concert Orchestra conducted by Tamás
Gál. Check out a book
or CD at the Library to learn more about or hear the complete
version of "Die Walküre." 7/21/2009
Book Cart Drill Team Brings Home Gold The
Oak Park Public Library's team took first place in the National
Book Cart Drill Team Championship. The competition took place
on Sunday, July 12, 2009 as part of the American
Library Association's annual conference in Chicago. "Oak
Park Public Library Warrior Librarians" edged out the "Cart
Wheels" from Des Plaines Public Library and was the clear
audience favorite.
Representing the Oak Park Public Library were team members
Irene Balks (music and theme), Jeanne Friedell (costumes), Linda
Bonner, Jenny Byron, Carolyn DeCoursey, Leigh Gavin, Alan Jacobson,
Lori Pulliam, and Nancy York-Erwin. Much applause to this crew
who practiced like crazy in preparation for the 2009 state and
then national competitions.
The
competition is sponsored annually by DEMCO, who provides book
carts for the event as well as prizes. As champions, the Oak
Park Public Library will receive a plaque and a gold full-sized
book cart.
Library
Newsletter
Our July/August
2009 print newsletter (PDF file) will soon be delivered
to homes in Oak Park. Watch for it as an insert to the Village's
FYI newsletter.
Copies will be available at the Library where you can also
pick up age-specific event listings at our Service Desks.
You can also subscribe to E-News
to receive brief email updates of Library news, services, and
events twice a month. 6/26/2009
Library
Appears in Wednesday Journal
The local Wednesday Journal
newspaper covered the Oak Park Public Library's Transgender
Resource Collection in an article that appeared in the June
2009 Pride insert. The article, by Nicholas Moroni, reports
on our pioneering efforts to build a collection that will serve
and reflect people who are transgender, as well as the friends,
family members, employers, and service providers of transgender
people.
Promote the Love of Reading: Enjoy Adult Summer Reading
Program The
Library has created an Adult
Summer Reading Program for Oak Park Public Library cardholders
as a companion to our very popular children's and teen programs.
Adult participation in reading programs serves as a positive
example to children and family members of the importance of
reading, and also fosters individual lifelong learning.
The Adult Summer Reading
Program is open to adults ages 18 and older, and will run
from Friday, June 5, to Friday, August 7, 2009-concurrent with
the children's program, "Be
Creative @ Your Library," and the teen program, "Express
Yourself @ Your Library." Participation is simple:
for each book you read or listen to, fill out and turn in a
reading log at the Library. This enters you into a small weekly
prize drawing to be held at each Oak Park Public Library location,
and a grand prize drawing at the end of the program.
Prizes will include gift certificates and merchandise from
local businesses. You do not have to be present to win. The
Library is also offering a Friends of the Oak Park Public Library
reusable shopping bag to the first 100 people to turn in a reading
log - so get your reading started early! There are no minimum
reading requirements. Prizes and additional funding are provided
by the Friends of the Oak Park Public Library and various local
businesses. Pick up a reading log at any
location of the Oak Park Public Library, or download it
from our website at www.oppl.org/summerreading
beginning Friday, June 5.
If you're looking for good conversation about books, plan to
attend one or more of the Library's book
discussions. In June and July, choose from four different
book discussions at the Main Library
and additional book discussions at the Dole
Branch and Maze Branch. For
folks in their 20s and 30s, the Library's book discussion meets
every fourth Tuesday at Molly Malone's. Find more information
about genre X and the book discussions at www.genre-x.com.
To share what you've been reading and hear about other great
reads, come to Oak Park
Readers, our party for book lovers, on Thursday, July 30,
at 7 p.m.
More information about the Adult Summer Reading Program can
be found at www.oppl.org/summerreading
or by calling 708-383-8200. 6/4/2009
African-American Baseball Exhibit at Main Library May 13-July
3 Meet
Larry Lester, author and co-founder of the Negro League Baseball
Museum, when he presents "Blacks in Chicago Baseball"
on Saturday, May 16, at 2 pm at the Main
Library.
Lester's program will be the public kick off for Pride
and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience,
a national traveling exhibition which chronicles the remarkable
history of baseball's Negro leagues and the challenges and successes
of African-American baseball plays.
This exhibit will be on display at the Main
Library from Wednesday, May 13, through Friday, July 3,
2009. The Pride and Passion exhibit will be open
seven days a week during regular library hours except for Memorial
Day, on Monday, May 25. Oak Park Public Library is the only
site in Illinois to host this historic exhibit in 2009-2010.
In the 1880s, more than 30 African-Americans were on teams
in baseball's major and minor leagues. But during the 1887 season,
league owners agreed to make no new contracts with African-American
players. From that time on, until Jackie Robinson broke the
color barrier in 1947, baseball was a segregated sport. By the
1920s, black baseball had its own successful professional leagues.
By the 1920s, black baseball had its own successful professional
leagues. Legendary figures such as Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston,
James "Cool Papa" Bell and Satchel Paige barnstormed
around the country for decades, thrilling audiences with a fast-running,
power-hitting style of play. Negro league baseball grew into
a multi-million dollar enterprise and a focus of great pride
in the African-American community.
The national Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the American
Library Association Public Programs Office organized the exhibit
with the help of a major grant from the National Endowment for
the Humanities (NEH): great ideas brought to life.
While
the exhibit is in Oak Park, the Oak Park Public Library will
offer a photographic baseball exhibit mounted by Stephen Green,
official photographer of the Chicago Cubs, in the Art
Gallery and a film festival of African-American baseball
movies on Sunday afternoons at 2 pm May 24 through June 28.
Scholars and authors will offer free programs and other events
for the public in connection with the exhibition. 5/4/2009
Library
Annual Report for 2008
In 2008 the Library moved towards achieving parts of our 5-year
Strategic Plan. Our accomplishments
are in the areas of Service Excellence, Access to Information,
Lifelong Learning and Enjoyment, Library as Cultural Center,
Library as Learning Organization, and Stewardship. Read
more.... 3/27/2009
Representative LaShawn K. Ford Helps Get Grant for Maze
Branch Illinois
Representative LaShawn K. Ford, (D) - 8th District, was instrumental
in obtaining a $100,000 state grant for the Oak Park Public
Library to use at the Maze Branch.
The grant is from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
This is an additional grant for improvements
to the Maze Branch. Among the projects that will be funded
with this grant are: tuckpointing of the terrace limestone which
was loosened during construction, irrigation of the property
to maintain landscaping, improvements to accessibility for people
with disabilities and for bicyclists. Representative Ford met
recently at the Maze Branch Library
with Oak Park Public Library Director Dee Brennan and Assistant
Director Jim Madigan. 10/22/2007
Oak Park Public Library Builds Transgender Resource Collection
The
Oak Park Public Library has received a prestigious $3,000 grant
to create the first focused Transgender
Resource Collection in a US public library. "Transgender"
is an umbrella term that applies to people whose gender identity
does not conform to what society has commonly associated with
their birth sex.
The Library is purchasing materials that will serve, reflect,
and welcome transgender people. The Transgender
Resource Collection will also increase public awareness
and understanding of gender identity and gender expression issues.
This unique public library collection consists mainly of nonfiction
materials and includes medical information, legal concerns,
and social issues. With its own resources, the Oak Park Public
Library has added popular and lesser known fiction titles as
well as films.
As a Village, Oak Park has long been nationally recognized
for its commitment to diversity. "We believe strongly that
the Library is the place for all residents to have access to
a full range of information sources," notes Bleue Benton,
Collection Development Librarian and creator of the Transgender
Resource Collection grant. "This collection will serve
not only transgender people, but also anyone seeking information,
including employers, medical providers, allies, friends, and
family members."
In addition to purchasing materials, Oak Park Public Library
provided awareness workshops for staff. "We want to make
certain that all library staff are prepared to provide excellent
customer service to people who are transgender," says Executive
Director Deirdre Brennan. Shannon Sullivan, Executive Director
of the Coalition for Education on Sexual Orientation (now Illinois
Safe Schools Alliance), facilitated four workshops for staff
to increase their knowledge about gender identity and heighten
awareness for working with others.
The Transgender Resource Collection
contains general works, memoirs, and personal stories, medical
and legal concerns, and historical, cultural, and global views.
Books include a wide range of titles such as Transgender
Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman;
Sex Changes and the Politics for Transgenderism; Christine
Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography; Current Issues in
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health; Voice
and Communication Therapy for the Transgender/Transsexual Client;
Transgender on Screen; In a Queer Time and Place:
Transgender Bodies, Subcultural Lives; Intersex and Identity;
and Clothes Make the Man: Female Cross Dressing in Medieval
Europe. All titles can be found through a Library
Catalog keyword search for Transgender Resource Collection.
Funding for this grant was awarded by the Illinois State Library,
a division of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds
provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, under
the federal Library Services and Technology Act. Oak Park Public
Library is committed to expanding the collection as new materials
become available. For more information, contact Bleue Benton
at
7/10/2007
Maze
Branch Library Receives "Calvacade of Pride" Award
The Maze Branch Library has been honored with a 2007 "Calvacade
of Pride" award from the Community Design Commission of
the Village of Oak Park.
Village President David Pope presented the award November 20,
2006 at the Village Board meeting. Assistant Library Director
Jim Madigan accepted the award on behalf of the Oak Park Public
Library.
The annual awards are given to home and business owners of
properties that demonstrate excellence in their maintenance
and beautification. 11/21/2006
Library Director Deirdre Brennan, Trustee
Mila Telez, and former Trustee Steve Fruth joined Assistant
Director Jim Madigan in celebrating the award.
Maze Branch Gala 70th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Maze Branch Library at
a 1930s themed fundraiser. The after-hours celebration will
be on Saturday, September 30, 2006 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
at the Maze Branch. Enjoy musical
entertainment, catering by Cucina Paradiso, dessert table, and
wine and soft drinks. Ladies, find a hat if you can, you wouldn't
have left home without one in the 1930s. Gored skirts were popular
as separates or part of the dress. Men's trousers fit loosely
and usually sported cuffs. Reservations are limited to 125 people
and admission will be by ticket only. Tickets are $45 per person.
Call 708-386-4751 for information and reservations. Proceeds
will restore a Carl Krafft painting which was donated to the
Library in the early days. Come celebrate 70 years of the neighborhood
library at 845 Gunderson with music, games, and displays of
memorabilia. Learn about the history
of the Maze Branch Library. 9/10/2006
Library Board of Trustees Names Dee Brennan New Executive
Director
The Library Board of Trustees
of the Oak Park Public Library ratified the appointment of Deirdre
"Dee" Brennan to the post of Executive Director at
a special board meeting held on Wednesday, July 5, 2006. Ms.
Brennan says that she treasures "the opportunity to work
in such a diverse, interesting and innovative community and
library."
Ms.
Brennan is relocating from Boston where she had a 6 year career
at the Boston Public Library and held a series of senior leadership
positions. According to Library Board President Janet Kelenson,
speaking on behalf of the board, "The Boston Public Library
is considered to be one of the premiere urban public libraries
systems in America with a collection in excess of seven million
volumes and 26 branches. We are quite fortunate to attract a
librarian of Ms. Brennan's stature to Oak Park. We believe it
is a testament to the growing national peer recognition of the
Oak Park Public Library and our many innovative programs. We
look forward to her leadership in moving our library to the
next level."
Prior to joining the Boston Public Library, Ms. Brennan was
Director of
the Reading Massachusetts Public Library for 9 years. At Reading,
a Boston suburb, Ms. Brennan planned and implemented library
initiatives in response to customer needs. Since mid 2003, Ms.
Brennan has been the Chief of Public Services at the Boston
Public Library. In this role, she is responsible for all aspects
of public services, including reference and research, circulation,
virtual services, 26 branch libraries, communications, publicity,
marketing, exhibits, and programming.
Prior to her current position, she served as a Regional Program
Administrator. The focus of her job was to improve the delivery
of library services to all Massachusetts libraries and residents.
Ms. Brennan is also active in state and national library activities.
From 1998 to 1999, she was the president of the Massachusetts
Library Association. She is also a frequent presenter at national
conferences. In the past four months, Ms. Brennan presented
at both the Public Library Association and the American Library
Association.
"The choice of Dee Brennan was the result of an innovative
selection process," according to board president Kelenson.
"What made this selection process different from past efforts
was our outreach to gain meaningful input from a broad variety
of constituencies. The process included input from the current
library leadership team, all levels of staff, the Friends of
the Library organization as well as emails and letters from
community residents. The executive director of the Metropolitan
Library System worked in conjunction with our own Human Resources
Department to assist us in conducting this search. Ultimately,
we garnered over 30 applicants for this position."
"The Board of Trustees believes that this process aided
in our selection of a highly qualified candidate of national
stature to lead our library for the foreseeable future,"
said board president Kelenson. 7/6/2006
Oak Park State Senators Allocate Funds to Maze Library State
Senator Kimberly Lightford (D-4) and State Senator Don Harmon
(D-39) have announced that they each have allocated funds to
be distributed to the Oak Park Public Library in the amount
of $100,000 for capital expenses related to renovation
of the Maze Branch Library. Both allocations, a total of
$200,000, will be funded through grants administered by the
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development. Both
State Senators toured the Maze Branch Library during the period
of public input, Sen. Harmon in November 2004 and Sen. Lightford
in February 2005. Library Board President Janet Kelenson and
Assistant Director Jim Madigan met with each of the senators
in April 2005 to discuss the plans for the Maze Branch Library.
"We greatly appreciate the personal interest of State Senator
Lightford and State Senator Harmon in the Maze Branch Library,"
stated Library Board President Janet Kelenson. "The Maze
Branch is a well-used, well loved library facility, and these
funds will be of great assistance in renovating the building
so it can be accessible to all members of our community."
The project, currently underway, will result in making the Maze
Branch accessible to persons with disabilities. Plans call for
renovation to remove the architectural barriers at the main
entrance on Gunderson Street and for an addition which will
house an elevator and new stairs. Patrons will be able to use
the stairs or elevator to reach the library's meeting room,
and new washrooms will be accessible to all patrons. The project
will upgrade the operating systems of the building to achieve
reliability, efficiency and safety. This will include new electrical
wiring, new heating and air conditioning, a sprinkler system
and new data cabling. The Maze Branch of the Oak Park Public
Library is located at 845 South Gunderson. It was built in 1936
as a WPA project, and has been designated as an Oak Park landmark.
More history of the Maze Branch...
3/13/2006
Oak
Park Public Library's New Van Celebrates Diversity of Services
The new Oak Park Public Library van is much more than a vehicle
used to deliver books and packages for the Library. It's a lively
billboard which helps to celebrate the diversity of library
services and library patrons in Oak Park, according to Jim Madigan,
Assistant Library Director. "The new van has provided a
way to celebrate Oak Park authors as well. One panel features
a photograph of a stack of books by contemporary
authors including Elizabeth Berg, Jane Hamilton, Harriette
Robinette, Alex Kotlowitz, Carol Shields, and Pam Todd as well
as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ernest Hemingway, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
A book by cartoonist Tom Tomorrow and a video by filmmaker Steve
James are also included in the stack," continues Madigan.
The white van has been outfitted with large color photographs
on both sides, as well as the Library logo on side doors and
Friends of the Oak Park Public
Library logo on a back door. The design and application
are made possible by a grant from the Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library. The new library van is a
way to remind patrons to visit the Library as it travels about
town. 1/4/2006
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top
Trivia
Fans Flock to Smartypants Olympics
Kat
Eggleston brings original songs to the 
Al
Gini, WBEZ radio commentator and author of multiple books as
well as a professor of business ethics at Loyola University
Chicago, will share stories from the new Even Deadlier: A
Sequel to The Seven Deadly Sins Sampler published by the
Great Books Foundation. The program will be Wednesday, February
24, at the 
In
the foreword, Al Gini writes: "It seems that our first
volume on the nature of sin, The Seven Deadly Sins Sampler,
struck a chord. Whether understood in John Portmann's words
as a misuse of "the powers God gave us to do good, "
or as the Jewish historian Aviad Kleinberg puts it, a reflection
of our "imperfect, fragile being, sin has always proved
fascinating."
On
December 4, 1969, Fred Hampton, the 21-year-old chairman of
the Illinois Black Panther Party, was shot dead in his bed during
a police raid. Forty years later, in 2009, Jeffrey Haas, one
of the attorneys who represented Hampton's family in a lawsuit
and won, has written The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How
the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther.
For
the first time ever, the 
Oak
Park Public Library is pleased to announce that it has won this
year's 
In
addition to purchasing materials, Oak Park Public Library provided
awareness workshops for staff. "Our goals was to make certain
that all library staff are prepared to provide excellent customer
service to people who are transgender," says Executive
Director Deirdre Brennan. The Library also conducted a self-study
to identify any barriers to serving and employing transgender
people and consider other aspects to welcoming, reflecting,
serving, and employing transgender people. Oak Park Public Library
has also put together a 
Would
you like to be a rock star? Or at least feel like one for a
day? Oak Park Public Library's 
Rick
Kogan, senior writer for the Chicago Tribune and host
of "Sunday Papers" on WGN Radio (720 AM), will tell
entertaining stories from Sidewalks II: Reflections on Chicago
on Thursday, February 4, at 7 pm at the 
Thanks
to Oak Park Borders' customers who 
If
you like to experience new cultures without the hassle of air
travel, then come to the 
Come
enjoy Oak Park's very own 
Actress
and director Ida Lupino (1914-1995) appeared in 59 films and
directed nine movies and hundreds of episodes of TV programs.
The 
Professional
photographer Hank Erdmann will present "Art versus Technology:
Bring the Art Back into Your Photography" on Monday, January
25, at 7 pm at the 
Authors
Ashby and Hawking Tell the Story of 
Warm
up your winter with a free concert from Bill and Kate Isles,
highly-respected singer/songwriters on the Minnesota acoustic
scene. The Isles perform on Thursday, January 7, at 7 pm at
the 
Customers
at the Oak Park Borders store on Lake Street donated $4,928
for literacy programs and efforts at the 
Even
better than having 215,000 titles to borrow for free would be
free and direct access to the collections of 80 area libraries.
That's what the Oak Park Public Library is working to bring
you. The Library has joined SWAN (a consortium of suburban libraries)
and expects the transition to be complete by July 2010.
Re-live
the glory days with a performance and talk by author/musician
Dean Milano. Milano shares stories and pictures from his new
book The Chicago Music Scene: 1960s and 1970s at 7 pm
on Thursday, December 10 at the 
Oak
Park artist Judith Shepelak presents her one-woman show titled
"Expressions of Nature" through November at the 
Oak
Park Artist Presents "Flying Pictures" on November
12
The
giant, hand-crafted raven which has promoted the NEA Big Read
celebration of Edgar Allan Poe and greeted patrons at the 
The
renovation project began in 2005 with funds obtained when the
community passed the referendum in March 2001 to build the new
Main Library and renovate the 
Author
Elizabeth Strout Pleases Crowd at Main Library
Strout
was one of several authors to make an appearance at the 
Nine
local students, ages 12-15, explored a variety of artistic styles,
mediums, and artists in a newly created nine-week teen volunteer
program titled "Art Attack." Led by artistic Oak Park
Public Library staffers, Jeanne Friedell and Michele Paladines,
the young artists compiled a list of library-related themes
for inspiration. Their themes included: Books, Relaxing, Losing
Track of Time, Found Objects, Hope, Future, Friendship, Expression
and Freedom.
Librarian/artist
Jeanne Friedell was impressed with the focused approach of the
students and their openness to try new ideas and materials,
and use them in new and creative ways. "Collage is such
an expressive way to work, and the students really enjoyed the
process of it. We ended up spending several weeks on it, and
they all created some really great stuff."
The
talented student artists who volunteered as part of "Art
Attack" at the Oak Park Public Library this summer were:
Uriah Brown, Gemma Cozzi, Karina Donayre, Collen Gartland, Nora
Gartland, Andrew Johnson, Allison Kozik, and Kyra-Marie Vincent.
Their work will be on display at the 
Oak
Park residents are invited to celebrate the new landscaping
at the 
World
War I Memorial to be Rededicated November 8
Ralph
Nader Brings New Novel to Oak Park on September 28
Ranger's
Apprentice Bus Comes to Oak Park on September 26
Oak
Park Public Library card holders can now check out a 
Download
Audiobooks
Library
Newsletter
Kids
Summer Reading Sets Another Record
Library
Newsletter
Meet
Larry Lester, author and co-founder of the Negro League Baseball
Museum, when he presents "Blacks in Chicago Baseball"
on Saturday, May 16, at 2 pm at the 
While
the exhibit is in Oak Park, the Oak Park Public Library will
offer a photographic baseball exhibit mounted by Stephen Green,
official photographer of the Chicago Cubs, in the 
Library
Annual Report for 2008
Illinois
Representative LaShawn K. Ford, (D) - 8th District, was instrumental
in obtaining a $100,000 state grant for the Oak Park Public
Library to use at the 
The
Oak Park Public Library has received a prestigious $3,000 grant
to create the first focused 
Maze
Branch Library Receives "Calvacade of Pride" Award
Maze Branch Gala 70th Anniversary Celebration
Ms.
Brennan is relocating from Boston where she had a 6 year career
at the Boston Public Library and held a series of senior leadership
positions. According to Library Board President Janet Kelenson,
speaking on behalf of the board, "The Boston Public Library
is considered to be one of the premiere urban public libraries
systems in America with a collection in excess of seven million
volumes and 26 branches. We are quite fortunate to attract a
librarian of Ms. Brennan's stature to Oak Park. We believe it
is a testament to the growing national peer recognition of the
Oak Park Public Library and our many innovative programs. We
look forward to her leadership in moving our library to the
next level." 
State
Senator Kimberly Lightford (D-4) and State Senator Don Harmon
(D-39) have announced that they each have allocated funds to
be distributed to the Oak Park Public Library in the amount
of $100,000 for capital expenses related to 
Oak
Park Public Library's New Van Celebrates Diversity of Services
