Library
Newsletter
Our September/August
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: SWAN Takes Flight: Oak Park Public Library Soars
with New System
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. 9/1/2010
Explore
Brazil from the Comfort of the Library on September 9 Have you read the book 1,000 Places
to See Before You Die? Now, there's a Travel Channel series
of films based on the book to take you through the beauty and
cultures of well-known locales as well as destinations off the
beaten path.
On Thursday, September 9 join us at 2 pm at the Main
Library as we explore Brazil, as captured in the film 1,000
Places to See Before You Die.
Travel Channel's Albin and Melanie Ulle soak up all the best
sights this country has to offer on a dream honeymoon.
Fly from Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro to
paradise-like beaches along the pristine coastlines. Experience
Brazil's pulsating nightlife and visit the amazing sights along
the Amazon River.
We invite you to share your experiences and ask questions.
If you've been to Brazil, bring your own stories and photos
and mementos to share.
Come enjoy some airchair traveling with us.
This free event is part of the Active Agers series. 8/31/2010
Judy Steed Displays Glass Mosaic Mirrors and Botanical Plaques
Mosaic artist Judy Steed will have glass mosaic hand-cut mirrors
and botanical plaques as well as other representational work
in an exhibit titled "Natural Reflections" through
September in the Library's Art
Gallery. A reception for the artist will be Thursday, September
2, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm in the Art
Gallery. The reception is free and open to the public.
Judy Steed, a River Forest resident, learned the art of glass
cutting and mosaic creation on her own and at a Two Fish Art
Glass class. She is a member of the Society of American Mosaic
Artists (SAMA) and American Society of Artists (ASA). Steed
has been creating mosaics for five years.
A portion of any proceeds from sales during the Library's exhibit
will be donated to the Alzheimer's Association. For more information
on Judy Steed and her art contact judysteed51@hotmail.com.
8/25/2010
Join the Discussion of So Long, See You Tomorrow
by William Maxwell
Readers of autobiographies and Illinois history buffs will be
particularly interested in our discussion of William Keepers
Maxwell's award-winning So Long, See You Tomorrow. All
are welcome to join us for this free discussion on Wednesday,
September 15 at 1 pm at the Main Library.
Light refreshments will be served.
The narrator of Maxwell's autobiographical novel is an aging
man reflecting on his past - the 1920s in Lincoln, Illinois.
He thinks about his then 13-year-old friend Cletus with whom
he used to spend time playing. "When the look of the sky
informed us that it was getting along toward suppertime, we
climbed down and said 'So long' and 'See you tomorrow,' and
went our separate ways in the dusk. And one evening this casual
parting turned out to be for the last time." Unfortunately
Cletus happens to be the son of a murderer. The narrator feels
guilty for his past behavior, in that he felt compassion but
failed to express it to his boyhood friend. "The one possibility
of my making some connection with him seems to lie not in the
present but in the past."
So Long, See You Tomorrow won the National Book Award
in 1982. Copies are available at the Second Floor Service Desk
at the Main Library or call 708-452-3440
to reserve a copy. 8/24/2010
Videos Illustrate How the Library Benefits the Community
The Oak Park Public Library is more than a place to study
and borrow books. It is a bustling hub of the community,
offering a multitude of resources and services that are
transforming lives. This summer, the Oak Park Public Library
launched 'The Library Helped
Us Get Here,' a campaign aimed at illustrating how
the Library helps people achieve success.
The campaign launched in early May and featured six
short videos. Over the summer, teen volunteers worked
to extend the campaign. The "Street Team," an
outgoing group of teens interested in marketing and journalism,
interviewed local residents at the Main
Library and compiled additional stories. The resulting
videos highlight
the services and resources the Library offers and demonstrate
how the Library truly transforms lives.
With services that include free computer use, career networking
opportunities, children's storytimes, and home delivery, the
Oak Park Public Library has had a strong impact on the lives
of many patrons. "The Library continues to be a place for
people to connect on many levels," Jim Madigan, Assistant
Director of the Library, said. "The Library offers something
for everyone. It meets the distinctive needs of each individual
patron; each with a unique reason for using the Library's services.
The fact that we can help so many people in so many ways highlights
the importance of the Library's place in the community."
Free computer and Internet access is a prime example of how
the Library supports the local community. A recent survey of
computer users at the Main Library conducted by a Dominican
University student found that for nearly half of the respondents
(41 percent), the Library is the only place they have access
to a computer. For another 27%, the computers at the Library
are faster and/or better than the other computers they could
use. Computers serve as a vital tool that assist patrons with
many aspects of their lives, including job searches, research,
and homework help as well as entertainment.
"I have been using the Library's computers four to five
days a week for the past three years," said library patron,
Eugene Berger. "It's amazing to have access to information
from all over the world, almost instantaneously. I come to the
Library to check my email, listen to the news, and update my
book blog. I am also teaching myself Russian through the Library's
language software."
This is just one of many ways the Oak Park Public Library is
impacting lives. To learn more about the Library's success stories,
watch the videos, including those produced by the "Street
Team," or to share your own story, visit www.oppl.org/success/.
8/9/2010
40th Annual Book Fair August 6 and 7 at 260 Madison Street
The Friends of the Oak Park Public
Library's 40th Annual
Book Fair will take place as usual during the first full
weekend in August — Friday, August 6 and Saturday, August
7, 2010. This year the sale will be held at a NEW
LOCATION: 260 Madison Street, Oak Park.
The sale runs 6 pm to 10 pm on Friday, August 6. Admission
on Friday is $5. Admission is free on Saturday, when the sale
runs 9 am to 5 pm.
Volunteers
have been busy sorting donations since early July. The Book
Fairs offers shoppers 100,000 books in every conceivable category,
from children's books to cooking, history, romance novels, travel,
and many more.
The Annual Book Fair
is an important fundraiser for the Friends
of the Library and supports the acquisition of materials
and programming for the Oak Park Public Library.8/4/2010
Haki Madhubuti in Conversation with Kevin Coval August 26
Poet Haki Madhubuti will hold a conversation on writing and
poetry with Kevin Coval on Thursday, August 26 at 7:30 pm at
Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street, Oak Park. The conversation will
focus on Madhubuti's recent work Liberation Narratives: Collected
and New Poems (1966-2009) and Madhubuti's memoir, Yellowblack:
The First Twenty-one Years of a Poet's Life.
Tickets are $5. Tickets can be reserved in advance at www.booktable.net
or at The Book Table, 1045 Lake Street, Oak Park. Your ticket
not only gains you admission, but also gets you $5 off on the
purchase of any of Haki Madhubuti's or Kevin Coval's books on
the night of the event.
Haki Madhubuti, born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1942, has
become a, poet, critic, essayist, teacher, editor, publisher,
and businessperson. Given the name Don L. Lee, Haki R. Madhubuti
changed his name in 1973 as a result of the ideological influences
of the Black Arts movement, of which he was a highly visible
member. In 1943 he and his parents migrated to Detroit, Michigan,
where his father deserted the family before the birth of Madhubuti's
sister. In order to cope with poverty and feed her two children,
his mother worked as a janitor and a barmaid, eventually becoming
an alcoholic and a drug addict. When Madhubuti was sixteen,
his mother died from a drug overdose.
His mother, Maxine Lee, was the prime mover behind the creative
force that Haki R. Madhubuti has become. When Madhubuti was
13 years old, his mother asked him to check out for her Richard
Wright's Black Boy from the Detroit Public Library. He
became a reader with his discovery of Wright, who led him to
other writers, such as Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks.
After his mother's death, Madhubuti came to Chicago, where
he attended Dunbar High School. Because he could not get a job
after graduating, he traveled selling magazines, ending up penniless
and sick in East St. Louis, Missouri, where he pawned everything
he owned and joined the U.S. Army. When Madhubuti was 18, a
white drill sergeant tore the pages of his copy of Paul Robeson's
Here I Stand, stimulating in him a commitment to his
Blackness, steepening his drive to study Black cultural and
intellectual history, and instilling in him the desire to become
a writer.
Kevin Coval is author of Slingshots (A Hip-Hop Poetica),
named Book of the Year-finalist by The American Library Association,
and his latest work, Everyday People. Coval has performed
at universities, high schools, and theaters on four continents
in seven countries including The Parliament of the World's Religions
in Capetown, South Africa, The African Hip-Hop Festival: Battle
Cry, Yale, Steppenwolf Theater, Museum of Contemporary Art in
Chicago, St. Xavier's College in Bombay, India, and four seasons
of Russell Simmons' HBO Def Poetry Jam, for which he also serves
as artistic consultant.
Founder of Louder Than A Bomb: The Chicago Teen Poetry Festival,
the largest youth poetry festival in the world, Coval is faculty
at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago and Minister of
Hip-Hop Poetics at The University of Wisconsin-Madison. For
over 10 years, Coval has been teaching hip-hop poetics in high
schools and colleges around the country.
This August 26 event is sponsored by The Book Table, the Unity
Temple Restoration Foundation, the Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library, and Midwest Media. 7/27/2010
Third Annual Chess Tournament August 7
The Third Annual Oak Park Public Library Chess Tournament for
students in Kindergarten through 12th grade will be held Saturday,
August 7, from 1 pm to 4 pm at the Main
Library. Registration begins July 24 and is required for
all participants. Trophies will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and
3rd place winners in both K-6 and 7-12 grade-level brackets.
A side tournament will be held for parents, coaches, and adults.
No registration is required for the side tournament. The winner
will receive a trophy.
Both tournaments are free and open to the public. To register
call the Library at 708-452-3440.
Weekly chess nights continue every Monday evening that the
Main Library is open. Drop in
for free Chess Open Play between 5:30 pm and 9 pm. All ages
and all skill levels are welcome. For more information, call
Librarian Alan Jacobson at 708-452-3451. 7/22/2010
Library Successfully Transitions to SWAN: Frequently Asked
Questions The Oak Park Public Library's final transition to the SWAN
consortium on Wednesday, July 14 went extremely well. "With
a change of this magnitude, we were expecting and prepared for
some errors in the migration of all our collection and patron
data, but in fact, we experienced a very low error rate,"
states Deirdre Brennan, Executive Director of the Oak Park Public
Library. "Library staff are working quickly to resolve
problems with patron accounts and we appreciate how patient
everyone has been as we fix glitches."
To help address concerns, the Library has prepared responses
to frequently asked questions:
I'm having trouble logging in to my account. With
our transition to the SWAN consortium, your PIN was reset
to the last four digits of your telephone number. To login
to your account try the last four digits of the telephone
number associated with your library account. Once you are
logged in to your account you can modify your PIN by clicking
the "Modify Your PIN" button. You will need to enter
your current PIN and enter your new PIN twice. In the barcode
field, use the full 14 digits of your library card barcode.
For Oak Park residents this number starts with 21132. Spaces
are not necessary.
Can I still pick up a hold at either the Dole Branch or
Maze Branch? Yes. You can request any item, from either
the Oak Park Public Library or another SWAN library, by simply
clicking on the "request" button. Requests will
be sent to your "home library," either the Main
Library, Dole Branch Library, or Maze Branch Library. You
no longer have the option to choose between these three pick
up locations for each requested item. Call or visit the Library
if you are not sure which is your "home library"
or if you wish to change your "home library."
Where am I on the list for an item I requested? You
will no longer be able to see your status on the holds request
list. Ranking is irrelevant because of how items are shared
between SWAN libraries and because Oak Park patrons get first
crack at Oak Park items. For example, you could make the 30th
request on an item but you will get the next Oak Park copy
that is returned. Using your online account you can still
see items you have on hold and can now cancel holds directly
using your online account.
Why can't I request an item I see in the catalog?
Each library in SWAN decides on the loan rules for their own
items. While all items appear in the library catalog, some
items (ex., reference or rare items) cannot be checked out
and some items cannot be placed on hold. If the item you want
is the only copy in SWAN and cannot be placed on hold, you
have the option of interlibrary loan from libraries outside
of the SWAN consortium. Use our online form at www.oppl.org/catalog/request.htm
or call 708-452-3440 to place your interlibrary loan request.
What's this I hear about loan periods varying? Each
library in SWAN is able to set loan periods for items in their
collection. These loan periods vary. For example, Oak Park
Public Library's DVD loan period is 7 days. The loan period
for a DVD from another library may be shorter or longer. When
you check out items, be aware of each item's loan period,
as it may vary from what you are accustomed to.
"As people become more familiar with the new system, we
believe they will really appreciate the instant, direct access
to over one million titles. And the 'Reading History' feature
will be very popular," predicts Brennan.
"After 18 months of working with the Oak Park Public Library,
we are pleased with the successful execution of the final transition
phase," said Aaron Skog, Director of SWAN Services. "Oak
Park Public Library can now offer their community the full benefits
of the SWAN consortium, which range from economic savings to
improved efficiency."
For assistance with your account or for help with other difficulties,
visit or call the Library at 708-383-8200. For more about the
benefits of SWAN and the recent changes, visit www.oppl.org/swan/.
7/16/2010
Online Accounts Inaccessible July 12 & 13 The Oak Park Public Library will be in the final phase of
transition to SWAN on July 12
&13. During this time our system will be down:
Online accounts will be inaccessible. Have your library
card with you when you visit the Library.
Self Checkouts will be unavailable. Bring your library card
with you to check out items at the Circulation Desk.
Holds cannot be placed.
New library cards cannot be made.
Due dates extended. The Library will not be able to check
in items while the system is down. Loan periods will be extended
so that no items will be due the week of July 12. Please enjoy
the extended loan period and keep your borrowed items the
week of July 12. This will help us more quickly restore systems
after the transition to SWAN is complete.
Also, please note that "My Lists" will disappear
on July 12. The new library catalog system will offer an
improved personal lists feature as well as an optional reading
history feature. If you currently have a "My List"
saved on your library account and wish to keep this information
beyond July 12, we recommend you email the list to yourself.
To do this, login to your account, click on "My List"
at the top right of the screen, scroll to the bottom of your
list, and click "Email this List." Choose the format
that works best for you, type in a subject and your email address,
and click "Send."
Dole Branch Library Reopens Thursday, July 1 Full electrical power to the Dole
Branch Library will soon be restored. After a neighborhood
power outage, a new transformer was ordered and installed at
the Dole Learning Center, a building owned by the Village of
Oak Park.
The Dole Branch Library will
reopen at 10 am on Thursday, July 1 and resume regular hours.
Items on hold will be available at the Dole
Branch Library. 6/30/2010
SWAN BRINGS CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS
"To Do" List for the Public Informs of Transition
Process The
community can expect several changes at the Oak Park Public
Library on and around July 14.
Library
Newsletter
Our July/August
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.
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. 6/29/2010
Sinatra! On the Silver Screen Film Series at the Main Library Frank
Sinatra sang, danced, and acted in some of the most enjoyable
movies ever made. Celebrate one of Hollywood's most famous legends.
Film historian Doug Deuchler presents some of Sinatra's greatest
films:
On the Town on Tuesday, June 22, at 2 pm
Three sailors on a day of shore leave in New York City look
for fun and romance. Directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donley,
1949, 98 minutes.
From Here to Eternity on Tuesday, June 29, at 2 pm
Based on a bestseller, this story focuses on the troubles of
soldiers stationed in Hawaii at the time of the 1941 attack
on Pearl Harbor. Directed by Fred Zinnemann, 1953, 118 minutes.
Suddenly on Tuesday, July 6, at 2 pm
Gangsters trap a family in their home with the intention of
killing the U. S. President passing through the community. Directed
by Lewis Allen, 1954, 75 minutes.
The Man with the Golden Arm on Tuesday, July 13, at
2 pm
A strung-out junkie and card dealer in Chicago struggles with
his addiction. Directed by Otto Preminger, 1956, 119 minutes.
Pal Joey on Tuesday, July 20, at 2 pm
A musical about a charming, talented guy who is also a first-class,
number-one heel. Directed by George Sidney, 1957, 111 minutes.
Some Came Running on Tuesday, July 27, at 2 pm
A writer and army veteran returns to his Indiana hometown after
World War II. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, 1959, 137 minutes.
The Manchurian Candidate on Tuesday, August 3, at 2
pm
A former Korean War POW is brainwashed by Communists into becoming
a political assassin. Directed by John Frankenheimer, 1962,
126 minutes.
Deuchler will offer introductory comments and lead an informative
discussion after each film. These film screenings, offered by
the Friends of The Oak Park Public
Library, are free. Films will be shown in the Veterans Room
of the Main Library. 6/25/2010
Glenn Taylor with The Marrowbone Marble Company June
24 Author
Glenn Taylor will discuss his new novel, The Marrowbone Marble
Company, on Thursday, June 24, at 7 pm at the Main
Library.
Glenn Taylor was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia.
His first novel, The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart, was
a 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. An instructor
at a large community college in the Chicago suburbs, Taylor
was inspired in part by essays from his students that told of
tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many former soldiers
reported in their writing that they came back changed from their
younger selves. Taylor had been reading about World War II about
that time.
His second novel, The Marrowbone Marble Company, returns
to West Virginia and creates Loyal Ledford, a poor-as-dirt orphan,
who works the furnaces of the local glass factory. Ledford plots
his escape by joining the Marines. He soon finds himself in
Guadalcanal in the last years of World War II. With a wounded
body and mind, Ledford returns home, determined to start a family
and live on his own terms.
On old family land, Ledford builds a marble factory from the
ground up with the help of two part-Indian cousins, an idealistic
white preacher, and an African-American family. Told in clean
and powerful prose, The Marrowbone Marble Company takes
a harrowing look at the issues of race and class throughout
the tumultuous 1950s and '60s. It is a story of struggle and
loss, righteousness and redemption, and it can only be found
in the hills of Marrowbone.
The Book Table of Oak Park will sell books at the program,
which is free and open to the public. 6/14/2010
Library Resilient Despite Tough Economic Times While
many public libraries are feeling the sting of the recent economic
downturn, the Oak Park Public Library has been able to keep
its doors open and continue to offer the community the outstanding
services and programs for which the Library is known. By maintaining
a balanced budget, taking advantage of local community support,
and operating as efficiently as possible, the Oak Park Public
Library has been able to not only stay in operation, but also
offer new and much needed programs and services.
"We know that economic downturns mean increases in library
usage," states Deirdre Brennan, Executive Director of the
Oak Park Public Library. "This has certainly been true
for the Oak Park Public Library. We've seen the number of items
borrowed increase 51% in the past five years." This translates
to more than 1,409,674 items being borrowed in 2009 alone. Storytimes
for kids and the summer
reading programs for kids, teens, and adults had record-breaking
numbers of participants in 2009. So far the numbers for 2010
show a similar trend of increased library usage.
"People reach out to their public libraries for vital
services like computers and newspapers and often as a fun, free
place to take their young children," states Matthew Fruth,
Finance Officer on the Library's Board
of Trustees. "In many ways, the neighborhood library
is a lifeline for the community." A vital piece of a healthy
and happy community, the Oak Park Public Library provides residents
with a gathering place where they can learn, socialize, and
utilize important resources and services. It also provides the
community with a platform to share information, which is evident
by the formation of the Library's Job Club and the new Job Searching
Online class.
"Often times a troubled economy is a double-edged sword
for public libraries because, while meeting the demands of increased
usage, their budgets are adversely affected by a decrease in
property tax and other revenues," Matthew Fruth explains.
"The Oak Park Public Library has made some smart choices
to stay in the black."
The Library has capitalized on its relationship with other
Oak Park organizations to improve and streamline many Oak Park
community services. The Library works with District 97 and the
Collaboration for Early Childhood Education to improve services
to young children and to daycare providers. The Village of Oak
Park provided assistance in locating an appropriate space for
the Friends of the LibraryAnnual Book Fair and
made a village-owned property available rent-free. The Library
collaborates with the Park District, OPRF High School, the Village
Police Department, and Oak Park Township Youth Services to address
security issues in Scoville Park and the Main Library. This
June, the Library coordinated with the OPRF High School to support
students studying for final exams by scheduling tutors at the
Library.
In addition, the Library's new membership in the SWAN
consortium makes good economic sense. Through SWAN, Oak
Park Public Library cardholders will have free and direct access
to the collections of 80 area libraries. The consortium enables
libraries to share the costs of technology, services, and resources.
It reduces cataloging costs and greatly simplifies and expedites
interlibrary loan. "We expect the Oak Park community will
appreciate the fact that the Oak Park Public Library can offer
even more materials," states Matthew Fruth.
By expanding its volunteer program in 2008, the Oak Park Public
Library laid the ground work for achieving much of its success
with the help of volunteers. In the last two years, volunteers
of all ages gave more than 42,000 hours of their time to put
books in order, assist computer users, make home deliveries,
and much more.
"We have a very caring and hard-working staff who strive
to make the Oak Park Public Library the best it can be,"
said Deirdre Brennan. "But, we also rely on our amazing
volunteers, as well as the financial support from local residents.
We are fortunate to have such active Friends
of the Library who continue to coordinate the highly successful
Annual Book Fair.
And this year they've added Trivia
Night Fundraisers to their efforts."
"We are pleased to report that the Oak Park Public Library
is in a stable financial position," concludes Matthew Fruth.
"Oak Park clearly loves and supports their Library and
we are proud to serve."
Paws, Claws, Scales, and Tales: Summer Reading for Kids School's
out! There are three great ways to cool off this summer: the
pool, ice cream, and the Oak Park Public Library.
All three library locations
offer free, drop-in fun all summer long, June 3 through August
6. Children ages 2 through 11 will have a doggone great time
with our pet-themed program - Paws,
Claws, Scales, and Tales - which will feature
lots of great reading prizes and activities.
Visit your nearest library location
and pick up a reading log — all you need is an Oak Park
Public Library card.
Summer Reading = Better Grades! Kids who read over the summer
maintain or improve their reading comprehension skills. This
summer, the Library offers reading incentives, fun programs
for all ages, and recommended reading lists to match your child's
interests. More information about Paws,
Claws, Scales, and Tales at www.oppl.org/kids/summerreading.htm.
Be a positive example to your children, foster individual lifelong
learning, and earn a chance to win great prizes! The Adult
Summer Reading Program at the Oak Park Public Library is
for all adults, ages 18 and over. It begins Thursday, June 3
and continues to Friday, August 6 - concurrent with the kid's
program and the teen summer reading program, Creature
Feature. 6/4/2010
NEW LIBRARY CATALOG SYSTEM SET TO TAKE FLIGHT THIS SUMMER:
SWAN to Offer Users a Bigger, Better and More Efficient Library
Experience Oak
Park residents will soon be able to enjoy access to a vastly
expanded collection of library resources with the implementation
of a new library catalog system.
The new catalog, which is set to become available to library
users in mid July, will provide patrons with direct access to
more than one million titles available at 80 area libraries.
This access is the key benefit to Oak Park Public Library's
new membership in the SWAN consortium.
SWAN is a consortium of 80 area libraries that have joined together
to provide their communities with free and direct access to
resources in quantities difficult for any single local library
to purchase. In addition to supplying library users with more
titles, the SWAN consortium will provide the Oak Park community
additional, and improved, online tools.
"We are getting very excited about completing the transition
to SWAN," said Bleue Benton, Collection Development
Manager. "We have been working hard this spring to incorporate
our collection and patron data into the SWAN system. We're pleased
to offer access to a larger collection and a much more efficient
system of sharing materials."
What Library Users Should Know:
Aside from the availability of more titles and online tools,
the benefits of SWAN
include:
Easier and faster title 'requests.' To request an item
of interest, either owned by the Oak Park Public Library
or another SWAN library, simply click on the "request"
button in the new library catalog. Item requests get filled
very quickly because any copy in the consortium can be used
to fill the request.
New and improved account management features, including
online payment of overdue fines.
The new library catalog will be interactive, allowing
"community tagging" alongside tagging done by
library staff.
In addition, SWAN will save the Oak Park Public Library money
as it will share the costs of its services and resources with
other SWAN libraries.
The implementation of the new catalog in mid July will also
be accompanied by a few changes
to the Oak Park Public Library's current policies. These changes
include an increase in overdue fines to $.25 per day overdue
for non-video items, as well as sole use of e-mail communications
for courtesy, first overdue, and holds notices. The Oak Park
Public Library encourages cardholders to be sure their library
account lists their current email address. Additional changes
can be found at www.oppl.org/swan/.
"We believe Oak Park Public Library users will quickly
become accustomed to the new system and find it exceedingly
beneficial," said Deirdre Brennan, Executive Director.
"We will do our best to make the transition
to SWAN as easy as possible and will quickly resolve any
post-launch difficulties. And, as always, Library staff will
be available to answer questions and address concerns."
To assist with the transition to
SWAN, the Oak Park Public Library will offer free
classes on how to use the catalog. These classes will be
offered at the Main Library at 834 Lake Street Library on Monday,
June 21 and Monday, June 28. The classes will help patrons prepare
to search the new catalog and learn to login to their account
using the new catalog system.
Teens Encouraged to Study for Finals at the Library June
5 - June 8 Teachers
from Oak Park and River Forest High School will be at the Main
Library during finals week, June 5 through June 8, to help
teens study for exams in tough subjects. Teens can drop in for
free help. No registration is required; the sessions are first
come, first served.
Teachers in these subject areas will be available at these
times:
Saturday, June 5 at Main
Library
9:15—11:15 Spanish
11:30—1:30 Biology & Chinese
2—4 Japanese
Sunday, June 6 at Main Library
1:30—3:30 Biology & French
3:45—5:45 Math
Monday, June 7 at Main Library
2—4 Math
4:30—6:30 Science
Tuesday, June 8 at Main
Library
2—4 Chinese, Math, & Spanish
4:30—6:30 Japanese & Science
7—9 Math
Additional summer programming for teens will be listed at www.oppl.org/teensite/.
5/28/2010
Free Ravinia Lawn Tickets Giveaway June 5
Twenty-five sets of lawn tickets for selected classical concerts
during the 2010 Ravinia Festival
season will be available to Oak Park Public Library cardholders
beginning at 9:30 am on Saturday, June 5, in the Lobby of the
Main Library.
Interested patrons should line-up at the Circulation Desk by
the windows in the Lobby for tickets. One set of tickets (two
tickets to a single concert) will be allowed per library card.
Selection will be on a first come-first serve basis. Available
tickets are for selected concerts June 24 through September
1.
These free lawn tickets are valued at $10 each and are not
for resale. For more information, including the Ravinia schedule,
go to www.ravinia.org.
5/26/2010
Little Miss Ann Performs Folk-Rock Music for Kids and Parents
June 3 Come
hear a rocking mom who plays folk-rock music that both kids
and parents will enjoy on Thursday, June 3, at 2:30 pm at the
Main Library.
Ann Torralba, a teacher at the Oak Town School of Folk Music,
helps kick off the Paws,
Claws, Scales, and Tales kids summer reading
program with her lively music which has been influenced by Rickie
Lee Jones, the Beatles, and Pink Floyd. Torralba's most recent
recording was voted one of the top 10 CDs of 2008 by About.com.
40th Annual Book Fair Scheduled for August 6 and 7 The
Friends of the Oak Park Public
Library's 40th Annual
Book Fair will take place as usual during the first full
weekend in August — Friday, August 6 and Saturday, August
7, 2010. The sale will be held at 260 Madison Street, Oak Park
(the location is the former Volvo dealership - a property currently
owned by the Village of Oak Park).
Donations will be
collected at the Library through June — only items in good
condition please. The Friends
discourage donations of textbooks and condensed texts (such
as Reader's Digest) as they will not be re-sold. Between July
5 and August 6 you can drop off your books at the book fair
location - 260 Madison Street, Oak Park.
Volunteers will
be needed to help sort the donations beginning in July.
The Annual Book Fair
is an important fundraiser for the Friends
of the Library and supports the acquisition of materials
and programming for the Oak Park Public Library. 5/20/2010
Smartypants
Trivia Night June 19!
We're sorry to announce that our June 19 Trivia Night has been
postponed.
Promote the Love of Reading with the Adult Summer Reading
Program Be
a positive example to your children and family members, foster
individual lifelong learning, and earn a chance to win great
prizes! The Adult Summer Reading Program at the Oak Park Public
Library is for all adults, ages 18 and over. It begins Thursday,
June 3 and continues to Friday, August 6 - concurrent with
the children's program, Paws,
Claws, Scales, and Tales, and the teen program, Creature
Feature.
Participation is easy for busy adults: For each book you read
or listen to, you can fill out and turn in a reading log to
any Oak Park Public Library location.
This enters you into a weekly prize drawing to be held at each
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.
More information about the Adult Summer Reading Program can
be found at www.oppl.org/summerreading,
or by calling the Library at 708-383-8200. 5/11/2010
FAASt Event Celebrates Asian American Heritage Month on
May 15 May
is Asian American Heritage Month. To celebrate, Families and
Friends of Asian American Students (FAASt) will present a fun
and unique children's storytime entitled "My Mother's Sari"
on May 15. Two Oak Park parents of South Asian American heritage
will read the fun and lively picture books - My Mother's
Sari by Sandhya Rao and Silly Chicken by Rukhsana
Khan. Kids will learn about South Asian American traditions,
try on saris, make Diwali (Festival of Lights) chalk drawings,
and interact with a community map.
Kids ages 4 and up are invited to this special storytime on
Saturday, May 15 from 10 am to 11 am at the Main
Library. Featured readers are Supriya Velegar and Bharathi
Jayaram. The event is free. Register at the Main
Library.
"My Mother's Sari" is part of FAASt's on-going reading
series Talk Story: Asian American Children's Stories for Everyone
which launched at the Oak Park Public Library in 2009. The series
promotes children's love of reading and celebrates Asian American
cultures and contributions. "My Mother's Sari" is
cosponsored by the Oak Park Public Library and School District
97's Multicultural Education Center. 5/6/2010
Best
of 2000's Film Festival Begins May 26
Librarian Alan Jacobson has tapped into his film resources to
create a 24-film festival and
it's all free! Beginning Wednesday, May 26, at 1:30 pm at the
Maze Branch Library and continuing
at both the Maze Branch and the
Main Library through June 2011,
the festival showcases the best films of the 2000's. These films
have been recommended by critics and viewers' polls from dozens
of sources such as Film Comment and the Internet Movie Database.
From Spain and Germany to Japan and back to the United States,
Alan cast a wide net to select the films that writers and viewers
enjoyed the most over the last decade. All screenings are free
and open to the public. Popcorn will be served.
See the complete schedule.
The first films to be screened and discussed as part of this
Oak Park Viewers film festival are:
Wednesday, May 26, 1:30 pm, Maze
Branch Talk to Her (Hable con Ella)
Pedro Almodóvar, 2002 (112 minutes)
Oscar winner in which two men share an odd friendship while
they care for their girlfriends who are both in deep comas.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
Wednesday, June 30, 1:30 pm, Maze
Branch The White Ribbon
Michael Haneke, 2009 (144 minutes)
Strange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany
during the years just before World War I, which seem to be ritual
punishment. The abused and suppressed children of the villagers
seem to be at the heart of this mystery. In German, Italian,
Polish and Latin with English Subtitles.
Wednesday, July 14, 6:30 pm, Main
Library Almost Famous
Cameron Crowe, 2000 (122 minutes)
Oscar winner in which a high-school boy is given the chance
to write a story for Rolling Stone Magazine about an up-and-coming
rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.
Wednesday, July 28, 1:30 pm, Maze
Branch Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazaki, 2001 (125 minutes)
Animated Oscar winner in which a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders
into a mystical world where her parents are transformed to pigs.
She must find a way to save them in a magical bathhouse filled
with the spirits of the dead. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Wednesday, August 11, 6:30 pm, Main
Library In the Mood for Love
Kar Wai Wong, 2000 (90 minutes)
A man and a woman move in to neighboring Hong Kong apartments
and form a bond when they both suspect their spouses of extra-marital
activities. In Cantonese, Shanghainese, and French with English
subtitles.
Wednesday, August 25, 1:30 pm, Maze
Branch No Country for Old Men
Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007 (122 minutes)
Best Picture Oscar winner featuring Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin
where violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon
some dead bodies, a stash of heroin, and more than $2 million
in cash near the Rio Grande.
Library
Newsletter
Our May/June 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.
Late Breaking News: Annual
Book Fair to be held at 260 Madison Street, Oak Park
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. 5/3/2010
Stories Across the World: Read a Story May 3-7 To
celebrate Older Americans Month, the Oak Park Public Library
is inviting grandparents, aunts, uncles, and others to "Stories
Across the World" - a unique opportunity for you to read
or tell your favorite story for a special relative across the
world. We're setting up a temporary recording studio in the
Children's Room on the First Floor of the Main
Library between 9 am and 1 pm from Monday, May 3 through
Friday, May 7.
Once you read or tell your story, the Library will then put
that video on our website. Your relative across the country
or world will then be able to see it, bridging the gap and broadening
our community.
"Stories Across the World" will give the older members
of our community a chance to connect with distant relatives.
According to the U.S. Census, 38.9 million Americans (13 percent)
are 65 or over, qualifying as "older Americans." Of
those seniors, 68 percent live with relatives, 27 percent live
alone and 4 percent live in nursing homes.
Reading to young children can help develop their literacy skills.
Get more information about how
to Raise a Reader. 4/28/2010
Dole Branch Library Reopens with New Focus on Early Literacy
The
Dole Branch Library reopened on
April 13 with a new layout which includes a larger children's
area with an early literacy corner. The branch library features
a much brighter, open look than in years past. Book shelves
have been moved against interior walls, leaving the tall vintage
windows in full view.
Along with this permanent collection of children's books, CDs
and DVDs, a new selection of toys and games will be rotated
in each month. Literacy materials were purchased with $4,928
raised by customers at the Oak Park Borders in partnership
with the Illinois Literacy Foundation.
In May, Branch Services Manager, Lori Pulliam, will highlight
materials from the new collection in three Raise a Reader storytimes
emphasizing the six early
literacy skills preschoolers need to be ready to read. Dole
staff will also showcase the literacy games and toys at a parent/child
open house on Saturday, May 8, from 10:30 to 11:30 am.
The new floor plan for the Dole Branch Library, created by
staff who currently work at the branch, places seating areas
in front of the high east-facing windows. "Now, we're better
able to enjoy the architecturally-pleasing, arching windows
of this historic building," explains Lori Pulliam.
These changes have been accomplished almost completely with
current furnishings and with existing wiring. New chairs have
been added and soon new laptops will be added, which the public
will be able to sign out to use within the Dole Branch. Funding
for the laptops comes from a grant from the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation. The number of collection items at the Dole
Branch Library remain the same.
Constructed as North Congregational Church by Tallmadge and
Watson in 1906, the building began a series of reincarnations.
In fall of 1933, the old church became the Oak Park Junior College
which operated until 1938. Now, 70 years later, the building
is still serving the educational, cultural and recreational
needs of today's Oak Park residents with a special focus on
our very young readers. Read more history
of the Dole Learning Center. 4/27/2010
Chicago Tribune's Jeff Coen Discusses Family Secrets
on Mob Trial April 22 Chicago
Tribune reporter Jeff Coen will discuss his book, Family
Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob on Thursday,
April 22, at 7 pm at the Main Library,
834 Lake Street. The program is free and open to the public.
Books will be for sale and signing following the event.
Coen's book paints a vivid picture of the scenes both inside
and outside the courtroom and recreates events from court transcripts,
police records, interviews, and notes taken day after day as
the Mob trial and story unfolded in court in 2007. This narrative
accurately portrays cold-blooded-and sometimes incompetent-killers
and their crimes.
In 1998, Frank Calabrese Jr. offered to wear a wire to help
the FBI build a case against his father, Frank Sr., and his
uncle Nick. A top Mob boss, a reputed consigliore, and other
high-profile members of the Chicago Outfit were eventually accused
in a total of 18 gangland killings, revealing organized crime's
ruthless grip on the city throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
After a series of other defendants pled guilty, those left to
face off in court alongside Frank Sr. were James "Little
Jimmy" Marcello, the acting head of the Chicago mob; Joey
"the Clown" Lombardo, one of Chicago's most colorful
mobsters; and Paul "the Indian" Schiro. A former Chicago
police officer who worked in evidence, Anthony "Twan"
Doyle, rounded out the list. The riveting testimony and wide-angle
view provide one an account of the inner workings of the Chicago
syndicate and its control over the city's streets.
The author, Jeff Coen, is a reporter for the Chicago Tribune,
covering federal trials and investigations from the Dirksen
U.S. Courthouse in downtown Chicago. He was present in the courtroom
throughout the Mob trial, and his pieces on the case were featured
in a popular series in the Chicago Tribune. Coen is a
resident of Oak Park, Illinois. 4/21/2010
Chicago Tribune's Julia Keller Interviews Elizabeth
Berg April 20 Join
New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Berg for
the book launch of The Last Time I Saw You on Tuesday,
April 20, at 7:30 pm at Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street in Oak
Park. This book launch is co-sponsored by the Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library, Unity Temple Restoration
Foundation, and Midwest Media. The Book Table of Oak Park will
sell copies of The Last Time I Saw You.
Julia Keller, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and cultural critic
at the Chicago Tribune, will introduce Elilzabeth Berg
and, after a short reading by Elizabeth, the two writer friends
will interview each other.
This new novel by Elizabeth Berg examines a 40th high school
reunion, written from five different points of view. Two men
and three women attend the reunion for different reasons; and
all experience a significant change in their lives afterward.
author Elizabeth Berg
Berg chose a 40th high school reunion as the centerpiece of
her novel, explaining "Every time an ad for Find Your Classmates!
comes on my computer, it makes me tempted to do just that. I
often wonder about certain people I went to school with, and
I still have a lot of memories from those years: some positive,
some not. Some REALLY not." Berg continues: "I wanted
to explore what it is that inspires people to visit their past
in this way. I wanted to look at why so many people's memories
of high school are so compelling, still so freshly felt. I wanted
to "go" to a reunion not my own, with characters I
made up. I wanted to have FUN writing something, and I did have
a really good time writing this book. One character in particular,
Dorothy, was especially fun to write. She's pretty clueless,
at least at the beginning, but I couldn't help but like her."
Born
and raised in Huntington, West Virginia, Julia Keller earned
a doctoral degree in English Literature at the Ohio State University.
She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and served as
McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton University. She has
also taught at the University of Notre Dame. Julia twice served
as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes.
Her book Mr. Gatling's Terrible Marvel: The Gun That Changed
Everything and the Misunderstood Genius Who Invented It,
a biography of the man who created the world's first working
machine gun because he thought it would help end war, was published
by Viking in 2009. Her novel Back Home, narrated by a
young girl whose father suffers a traumatic brain injury while
serving with the National Guard in Iraq, was published in September.
It was named by Booklist as one of the top 10 debut novels for
young adults of the year. 4/20/2010
cultural critic and author Julia Keller
Learn to Avoid the Credit Card Trap on April 19 Martha
Rohlfing, Financial Education Coordinator for the State Treasurer's
Office, will present "Avoiding the Credit Card Trap"
on Monday, April 19, at 7 pm at the Main
Library. Later, residents can take the opportunity to "find"
money the state is holding through "Cash Dash." This
program is part of Chicago area Money
Smart Week.
Martha has a professional background in secondary and college
education, non-profit communications, and public affairs, including
11 years at the Illinois Bankers Association. A member of the
Treasurer's Office staff since 2005, she is particularly interested
in empowering women to manage their finances wisely as the foundation
for achieving their personal and professional goals.
Books on managing credit cards, paying down debt, repairing
credit, and other financial topics are available at the Oak
Park Public Library. Get a free library card at the Oak Park
Public Library and borrow these books for free. Plus, get free
access to online financial
tools using your library card and PIN. 4/13/2010
Folk Singer/Songwriters Ronny Cox and Jack Williams Perform
Free Concert April 11 Singer/songwriters
Ronny Cox and Jack Williams will present the third concert in
the Folk Music Concert Series hosted by the Friends
of the Oak Park Public Library on Sunday, April 11, at 7
pm at Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street, in Oak Park. The concert,
co-sponsored by the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, is
free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 pm.
If you remember the famous Dueling Banjo scene in the movie,
Deliverance, you'll remember Ronny Cox, the guitar player.
In addition to starring in movies and TV shows, Ronny Cox is
a very accomplished singer/songwriter, musician, and story teller
who has produced numerous CDs. The Boston Globe had this
to say about Ronny, "In Hollywood, they say it takes smart
actors to play stupid characters, and nice guys to play nasty
villains. Cox is the poster-boy for the latter point. He played
slithery corporate snakes in RoboCop and Total Recall;
but as a singer-songwriter, he is a study in easygoing amiability
and unforced charisma. He charms crowds with self-teasing humor,
tart progressive insight, and a lulling Southwestern folk sound.
His repertoire is a smart mix of witty ditties, bluesy swing
tunes, heart-on-sleeve romances, and real-life anthems."
- Scott Alarik, The Boston Globe
Jack
Williams can be classified as one of the quintessential singer/songwriter/artists
in the folk and americana genre of music today. Originally from
South Carolina, Jack is no stranger to the the folk/Americana
genre and has produced seven CDs of all original music along
with one full length DVD. Jack's passion for the music and the
people that he is performing for is evident in his performances
and career. Having avoided the compromises of the commercial
music industry during his professional career of over 50 years,
he prefers touring "under the radar", playing concerts,
large and small, week in and week out, from the sheer love of
music and performing.
As a guitarist, he accompanied Tom Paxton, Peter Yarrow, Mickey
Newbury, and Harry Nilsson. Invited onstage by Arlo Guthrie
to sing a song, he then joined the group for the concert encores.
He has produced all of his own recordings plus CDs by Mickey
Newbury, Eric Schwartz, Carla Ulbrich, The Malvinas, and Ronny
Cox. 4/6/2010
Tune
Out TV: Tune In to Your Community April 11-18
“TV - If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the
fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination.
Open a book.” ~Author Unknown
During TV
Tune Out Week, April 11-18, you’ll have lots of opportunities
to engage in community activities which are mentally, physically,
socially, and emotionally fulfilling.
Take a stroll in a nearby park, gather friends for a game
night, take in a free concert, visit your local library, start
a good book – the possibilities are endless! For more ideas
and for a complete list of TV
Tune Out Week's events in Oak Park, Forest Park, and River
Forest, visit our blog at www.tvtuneoutweek.wordpress.com.
Highlights of what's happening during the week at the Main
Library:
Sunday, April 11 at 3 pm Rockstar: A New Definition of Service for Our Earth Dancer/author
Miss Taj and musician Chris Edwards present a Motown multimedia
experience with music, dancing
Thurdsay, April 15 at 7 pm (Re)-Discovering Your Creativity: Making a Journal/Sketchbook
with artist Sallie Wolf Learn to bind a simple 16-page journal/sketchbook.
This workshop is ideal for adults, teenagers, and for school-aged
children accompanied by an adult.
Friday, April 16 from 7 pm to 9 pm Fire on the Mic Teen Poetry Night Recite poetry, sing,
dance, and express yourself.
Saturday, April 17 from 1 pm to 3 pm "Living Legends" Author Reception and Book Fair
Meet local authors from Oak Park, River Forest, and Forest Park!
Saturday, April 17 from 1 pm to 3 pm Kid's Book Swap Kids of all ages (and their parents)
can bring books in good condition and then choose from a wide
assortment to take back home.
TV Tune Out
Week is co-sponsored by the Collaboration for Early Childhood
Care & Education and the River Forest, Forest Park, and
Oak Park Public Libraries. 4/2/2010
"Ubumama: Mobilizing Community Partnerships to Save
Mothers' Lives" April 10
The Oak Park Council on International Affairs is bringing Bliss
Browne, President of Imagine Chicago, to the Main
Library to speak about Ubumama, an arts-based partnership
founded in 2004 by Imagine Chicago. The program will be on Saturday,
April 10, at 2 pm and is free and open to the public.
The Ubumama project gathers mothers in high risk areas to share
their
stories of giving birth and pays them to embellish a native
garment with their stories and to compose a message to the world
about their situation as mothers. While creating the garments,
they are provided education on safe motherhood practices. Support
has come from voluntary community partnerships with churches,
universities, and individuals.
Ubumama garments have been produced in South Africa, Malawi,
Tanzania, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso and
Senegal. They were exhibited at the United Nations in 2008 as
part of the MDG convening in September 2008 and are featured
as a low cost high health impact project in a PBS documentary
film to be released later this year. A collection of the garments
will be used to create a traveling exhibition to raise awareness
and mobilize support for preventing maternal death in childbirth.
Some of these garments will be on display at the Library for
the program.
The Oak Park Council on International Affairs promotes international
understanding through education. The OPCIA funds Peace Corps
Volunteer education and other projects through the U. S. Peace
Corps and promotes Volunteer communication with educators and
students.
Other partners with Imagine Chicago for the Ubumama project
are the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood and Create
Africa South in Durban inconversation with the World Health
Organization.
Bliss Browne is a mother of three, an Episcopal priest and
a former Division Head of the First National Bank of Chicago
where she was a corporate banker from 1975 to 1991. A graduate
of Yale, Harvard and the Kellogg School of Management, her work
has inspired a global movement of social innovation on six continents.
4/1/2010
Tuesday
Tech Nights begin April 6
The Oak Park Public Library's 4664 Boomer Group is sponsoring
a series of Tuesday Tech Nights focused on the on the value
and process of getting on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In.
On Tuesday, April 6 learn the why's and how's of Facebook,
a social networking tool that can help you connect with friends
and family.
On Tuesday, April 13 learn about Twitter and
how this social networking and microblogging tool could be useful
in your life.
On Tuesday, April 20 learn about LinkedIn, a
business-oriented social networking site.
A follow-up question and answer night will take place Tuesday,
April 27.
Tuesday Tech Nights will start at 7:30 pm at the Main
Library. Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) and
others are welcome to attend one or more nights in this April
series. 3/31/2010
Oak Park Artist/Author Sallie Wolf Displays Art and Leads
Workshop in April Art
from Sallie Wolf's newly published book, The Robin Makes
a Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal, will be on display
in the Art Gallery from April
1 to April 29. A reception for this Oak Park author/artist will
be held Sunday, April 11, from 2 pm to 4 pm. The reception is
free and open to the public.
At an April 15 workshop at the Library, Sallie Wolf will share
her working process, especially how her new book, The Robin
Makes a Laughing Sound, took shape from sketches and notations
in her journals. According to Wolf, all of her art and writing
grows out of her journal/sketchbooks.
This free workshop, titled, "(Re)-Discovering Your Creativity:
Keeping a Journal/Sketchbook" will be presented by Wolf
at 7 pm on Thursday, April 15 at the Main
Library. Participants will learn to bind a simple 16-page
journal/sketchbook and explore different ways to work in it.
This workshop is ideal for adults, teenagers, and for school-aged-children
accompanied by an adult. The workshop is part of Tune
Out TV: Tune In to Your Community. 3/30/2010
Celebrate with Author Tim O'Brien on April 8 Tim
O'Brien will celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Things
They Carried, his landmark novel about soldiers fighting
the Vietnam War, on Thursday, April 8, at 7:30 pm at Unity Temple
(875 Lake Street, Oak Park). This free author event is co-sponsored
by the Friends of the Oak Park
Public Library, Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, and
Midwest Media. The program is free and open to the public. Seating
is on a first-come, first serve basis. The Book Table will have
books available for purchase and signing by the author.
Published in 1990, The Things they Carried contains
a gripping series of Vietnam stories gathered in a format of
O'Brien's devising. It is not a collection of short stories,
but is one story with a beginning and an ending. It is perhaps
closest to listening to a soldier storyteller over a long period
time. While you listen to O'Brien's stories, you hear a bit
of his personal life; he uses repetition of events and certain
phrases to reinforce familiarity with the tales.
Closing the book, the readers believe they know the narrator
very well. Attempting to further confuse fiction with non-fiction,
Tim O'Brien gave his storyteller the name "Tim O'Brien."
The Things They Carried won France's Prix du Meilleur
Livre Etranger and became a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize
and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Tim O'Brien received the 1979 National Book Award in fiction
for Going After Cacciato. In the Lake of the Woods
by Tim O'Brien received the James Fenimore Cooper Prize from
the Society of American Historians and was named the best novel
of 1994 by Time. O'Brien lives in Austin, Texas. 3/26/2010
Discussion of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer April
21 Join
us on Wednesday, April 21 to discuss Into the Wild written
by the New York Times bestselling author Jon Krakauer.
Librarian Rashmi Swain will lead the discussion. "I don't
envision walking into the wilderness after giving up all of
my possessions," states Swain. "But unlike me, Chris
McCandless was mesmerized by Leo Tolstoy's writings and by how
he had given up his wealth and privilege to wander among the
impoverished citizens." Author Jon Krakauer explores McCandless
life and interweaves the stories of others who took similar
paths into the wilderness. "Was Chris McCandless brave
with righteous principles? Or, was he an idiot? The author leaves
it up to the readers to form their own opinions about McCandless."
The discussion begins at 1 pm at the Main
Library. Light refreshments will be served. Copies of Into
the Wild are available for check out at the Second Floor
Service Desk in the Main Library.
Call 708-452-3440 to reserve a copy. 3/23/2010
Oak Park Librarian Monica Harris Named "Mover and Shaker"
by Library Journal Oak
Park librarian Monica Harris has been named a "Mover and
Shaker" by Library Journal. "We're pleased
to have Monica receive this national recognition for the innovations
and energy she brings to the Oak Park Public Library,"
states Deirdre Brennan, Executive Director. "We certainly
feel she shakes us up and we're gratified Library Journal
agrees that Monica is a leader among librarians."
Monica came to the Oak Park Public Library in March 2007 as
a Young Adult Librarian. She quickly introduced new options
for teens including regular gaming tournaments, teen summer
volunteer opportunities, and virtual author visits. She has
since been promoted to Assistant Manager of the Adult and Teen
Services Department. She has certainly been a librarian to emulate.
With her arrival Monica lost no time in revamping the young
adult collection, including a reorganization of graphic novels.
She advocated for a 2008 budget increase and raised circulation
of young adult items to 180% of what it was only one year previously.
Her redesigned teen summer reading program found resounding
success and has opened the door to increased participation at
all three Oak Park library locations. The physical young adult
area at the Main Library also took on a new look in fall 2009
with expanded shelving to accommodate the growing young adult
fiction and graphic novel collections.
In 2008 Monica created a teen summer volunteer program with
a totally new concept: a focus on providing relevant volunteering
experience. She matched staff members from several departments
with teams of teens focused on specific summer projects. These
included a teen video marketing group that created short promotional
spots, a reading group that spoke at the American Library Association's
annual conference, and a group of teens who created fine art
pieces that are featured at the Main Library. The summer volunteer
program began with 34 middle school and high school teens in
2008 and expanded to 70 teens in 2009. "This volunteer
program has been a resounding success for our local teens looking
for a rewarding volunteer experience as well as for staff who
previously may have worked less frequently with teens,"
notes Deirdre Brennan. "The relationships that were created
are valuable to our Library's service to this age group."
In addition, Monica helped to develop and promote genre X,
a discussion group for adults in their 20s and 30s. Launched
primarily through the genre-x.com
blog, genre X hosts monthly book discussions at a local bar
and occasional social nights appealing to this hard-to-reach
age group. New readers are now drawn to the Library and to library
events.
Monica led the staff in creating new library procedures for
addressing noise concerns and security violations, establishing
Noise Zones and teen-designated computer areas. Noise Zones
have received nationwide attention for the Oak Park Public Library
and have been featured in the "Tame the Web" blog
and Library Journal. Additional information about this
project can be found at www.oppl.org/about/innovations.htm.
Since 2007, Monica has presented to 13 different national,
state, and regional audiences. Among her programs was "Millennials
Rising: Collections and Services for the Next Generation of
Library Users" presented at the American Library Association
annual conference in 2009. "I'm Coming Out: The Ins and
Outs of Serving GLBTQ Teens" was presented at the Illinois
Library Association conference in 2008.
Library Journal
receives nominations and annually spotlights librarians who
are "making libraries better and taking them into the future."
In each of the past nine years, Library Journal has named
50 "Movers and Shakers" who are shaping the future
of libraries. 3/22/2010
Dole Branch Library To Close for Renovations March 28 -
April 12 The
Dole Branch Library will be closed
Sunday, March 28 through Monday, April 12, 2010 for renovations.
The interior library space will be rearranged to take advantage
of natural lighting and allow for more comfortable seating.
"The main work of this renovation is to move the shelving
units away from the windows," states Deirdre Brennan, Executive
Director of the Oak Park Public Library. "The Dole Branch
will be closed during this time because moving the shelving
will require moving the collections as well." The Dole
Branch will reopen for regular hours
on Tuesday, April 13 at 10 am.
The renovations will create space for an early literacy corner
featuring books, toys, and games appropriate for babies and
children just learning to read. Funding for this early literacy
effort came from customers at the Oak Park Borders store who
donated $4,928 between October 5 and November
1, 2009. The Dole Branch early literacy corner will launch along
with special programming in mid-April of 2010.
The new floor plan
for the Dole Branch Library, created by staff who currently
work at the branch, places seating areas in front of the high
east-facing windows. "By moving the shelving to the south
end of the space, we'll allow for more light to come in through
the windows," notes Lori Pulliam, Branch Services Manager.
"Plus, we'll all be better able to enjoy the architecturally-pleasing,
arching windows of this historic building."
These changes will be accomplished almost completely with current
furnishings and with existing wiring. New chairs are part of
the plan, as are new laptops which the public will be able to
sign out to use within the Library. The costs for this renovation
are limited to the new seating. Funding for the laptops comes
from a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The
number of collection items at the Dole Branch Library will remain
the same. 3/19/2010
Oak Park Librarian Anne Slaughter Selected for Illinois
Library Leadership Initiative Oak
Park Librarian Anne Slaughter is one of 30 Illinois librarians
selected to participate in Synergy: The Illinois Library Leadership
Initiative, a unique year-long program designed to develop future
leaders in the library professions and in the Illinois community.
The group of 30 librarians in the Synergy program will attend
three sessions and work in a unique environment with other developing
leaders, experienced Illinois library leaders and nationally
recognized speakers. The goal of the program is for each individual
to develop leadership skills that can be applied in local, state
and global arenas. Studies indicate that nearly half of all
current librarians nationwide will move toward retirement during
the next ten years. The Illinois State Library and the Illinois
Library Association sponsor the seminars.
"I am thrilled that Anne has been selected to participate
in this unique endeavor," said Illinois State Library Director
Anne Craig. "Synergy participants will be exposed to new
strategies and new ways of thinking about the future of the
library profession. We must be proactive and seek out new library
leaders and keep our libraries growing and vibrant in the coming
years. I am confident that Anne and our other Synergy participants
will help us chart a course for the future that encourages citizens
to enter the library profession and become library leaders,
while maintaining our libraries as cornerstones of our communities."
Anne Slaughter earned her BA in English degree from Concordia
University in 2001 and her MLIS degree from Dominican University
in 2006. She has been employed by Oak Park Public Library full
time since November 2007. Slaughter will attend Synergy seminars
and work with other library community members April 20-22 in
Utica; August 3-5 in Grafton; and October 26-28, 2010 in Lisle.
3/19/2010
Oak Park Librarian Jennifer Norborg Attends "Picturing
America" Conference Jennifer
Norborg, Children's Librarian at the Oak Park Public Library,
was selected to attend Picturing America in Our Nation's Libraries,
a conference for public and school librarians who have received
the Picturing America collection. The conference in March premiered
a series of short public television programs produced by THIRTEEN/WNET
that feature the works of art in the Picturing America collection
along with ideas for using them in innovative library programming.
"We're pleased to have Jennifer represent the Oak Park
Public Library at this national conference," states Heather
McCammond-Watts, Children's Services Manager. "Our library
supports our local artists (and future artists!) and as a cultural
center, Picturing America helps build those local arts connections.
Jennifer has been instrumental in forming innovative library
arts programming for families. Her selection for this conference
denotes national recognition for our efforts."
In applying for the travel grant, Jennifer Norborg wrote that
the "Picturing America" materials have been a priceless
resource for the Oak Park Public Library's young patrons since
the art collection arrived in spring 2009. "The grant dovetailed
seamlessly with our art-themed Summer Reading Program 'Be Creative
@ Your Library.' 'Picturing America' works were an integral
part of a challenge in which children completed various art-related
creative activities such as choreographing a dance, writing
a poem, or singing an original song. They studied the works,
drew their favorite and wrote down what they enjoyed about it."
The Oak Park librarians used the Children's Art Gallery to display
the pictures as well as the children's responses to the art.
"Children loved interacting with the art, and came up with
some fantastic responses to it," Jennifer continued. One
child wrote that her favorite painting was "Ladder for
Booker T. Washington" by Martin Puryear - "I like
this piece of art because I think the ladder stands for a ladder
of your hopes and dreams. It never ends. It keeps going on and
on."
Norborg was one of 70 librarians chosen for this unique opportunity.
She received a $500 honorarium from The American Library Association,
the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the National
Endowment for the Humanities and THIRTEEN/WNET for travel and
accommodations for four nights in New York City. In addition,
Norborg was also invited to attend at no charge THIRTEEN's fifth
annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning, immediately following
Picturing America in Our Nation's Libraries. This national preK-12
professional development event brings over 8,000 teachers, librarians,
media experts, informal educators, and policy makers to New
York City for a two-day conference devoted to best practices,
education philosophy, and trends in media literacy.
Jennifer Norborg graduated from Dominican University with her
MLIS degree in 2008 and has been working at Oak Park Public
Library since March 2005. She has a BA in art history from Northwestern
University and a BFA in sculpture from the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago. 3/18/2010
Discussion of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
March 17 Celebrate
the 20th anniversary of the landmark Vietnam War novel, The
Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien when Susan Ruffolo leads
a book discussion on Wednesday, March 17, at 1 pm at the Main
Library. Copies of the novel are available for checkout
at Second Floor Service Desk of the Main
Library.
Elizabeth Taylor, Literary Editor of the Chicago Tribune,
wrote "Twenty years ago, Tim O'Brien's The Things They
Carried commanded attention, seizing readers by the throat.
While the interrelated stories of the men of Alpha Company are
set in the Vietnam War, the book resonates with the wars, conflicts,
and conflagrations since it was published." Taylor continues,
"These men carry such things as malaria pills, love letters,
matches, and mine detectors. But they also carry one another,
in a way that one imagines happening in Afghanistan, Iraq, and
every other embattled place in the world."
The March 17 discussion is free and open to anyone interested
in discussing this work. In celebration of the 20th anniversary
of The Things They Carried, author Tim O'Brien will speak
on Thursday evening, April 8 at Unity Temple (875 Lake Street,
Oak Park). 3/16/2010
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 40th 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
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
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top
Library
Newsletter
Explore
Brazil from the Comfort of the Library on September 9
Mosaic artist Judy Steed will have glass mosaic hand-cut mirrors
and botanical plaques as well as other representational work
in an exhibit titled "Natural Reflections" through
September in the Library's 
Readers of autobiographies and Illinois history buffs will be
particularly interested in our discussion of William Keepers
Maxwell's award-winning So Long, See You Tomorrow. All
are welcome to join us for this free discussion on Wednesday,
September 15 at 1 pm at the 
The 
Poet Haki Madhubuti will hold a conversation on writing and
poetry with Kevin Coval on Thursday, August 26 at 7:30 pm at
Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street, Oak Park. The conversation will
focus on Madhubuti's recent work Liberation Narratives: Collected
and New Poems (1966-2009) and Madhubuti's memoir, Yellowblack:
The First Twenty-one Years of a Poet's Life. 
The Third Annual Oak Park Public Library Chess Tournament for
students in Kindergarten through 12th grade will be held Saturday,
August 7, from 1 pm to 4 pm at the 
The
community can expect several changes at the Oak Park Public
Library on and around July 14. 
Library
Newsletter
Frank
Sinatra sang, danced, and acted in some of the most enjoyable
movies ever made. Celebrate one of Hollywood's most famous legends.
Film historian Doug Deuchler presents some of Sinatra's greatest
films: 
Author
Glenn Taylor will discuss his new novel, The Marrowbone Marble
Company, on Thursday, June 24, at 7 pm at the 
While
many public libraries are feeling the sting of the recent economic
downturn, the Oak Park Public Library has been able to keep
its doors open and continue to offer the community the outstanding
services and programs for which the Library is known. By maintaining
a balanced budget, taking advantage of local community support,
and operating as efficiently as possible, the Oak Park Public
Library has been able to not only stay in operation, but also
offer new and much needed programs and services.
School's
out! There are three great ways to cool off this summer: the
pool, ice cream, and the Oak Park Public Library.
Teachers
from Oak Park and River Forest High School will be at the 
Come
hear a rocking mom who plays folk-rock music that both kids
and parents will enjoy on Thursday, June 3, at 2:30 pm at the
The
Smartypants
Trivia Night June 19! 
Be
a positive example to your children and family members, foster
individual lifelong learning, and earn a chance to win great
prizes! The Adult Summer Reading Program at the Oak Park Public
Library is for all adults, ages 18 and over. It begins Thursday,
June 3 and continues to Friday, August 6 - concurrent with
the children's program, 
May
is Asian American Heritage Month. To celebrate, Families and
Friends of Asian American Students (FAASt) will present a fun
and unique children's storytime entitled "My Mother's Sari"
on May 15. Two Oak Park parents of South Asian American heritage
will read the fun and lively picture books - My Mother's
Sari by Sandhya Rao and Silly Chicken by Rukhsana
Khan. Kids will learn about South Asian American traditions,
try on saris, make Diwali (Festival of Lights) chalk drawings,
and interact with a community map. 
Best
of 2000's Film Festival Begins May 26
Library
Newsletter
To
celebrate Older Americans Month, the Oak Park Public Library
The
Chicago
Tribune reporter Jeff Coen will discuss his book, Family
Secrets: The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob on Thursday,
April 22, at 7 pm at the 
Join
New York Times best-selling author Elizabeth Berg for
the book launch of The Last Time I Saw You on Tuesday,
April 20, at 7:30 pm at Unity Temple, 875 Lake Street in Oak
Park. This book launch is co-sponsored by the 
Born
and raised in Huntington, West Virginia, Julia Keller earned
a doctoral degree in English Literature at the Ohio State University.
She was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and served as
McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton University. She has
also taught at the University of Notre Dame. Julia twice served
as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes.
Martha
Rohlfing, Financial Education Coordinator for the State Treasurer's
Office, will present "Avoiding the Credit Card Trap"
on Monday, April 19, at 7 pm at the 
Singer/songwriters
Ronny Cox and Jack Williams will present the third concert in
the Folk Music Concert Series hosted by the 
Jack
Williams can be classified as one of the quintessential singer/songwriter/artists
in the folk and americana genre of music today. Originally from
South Carolina, Jack is no stranger to the the folk/Americana
genre and has produced seven CDs of all original music along
with one full length DVD. Jack's passion for the music and the
people that he is performing for is evident in his performances
and career. Having avoided the compromises of the commercial
music industry during his professional career of over 50 years,
he prefers touring "under the radar", playing concerts,
large and small, week in and week out, from the sheer love of
music and performing. 
Tune
Out TV: Tune In to Your Community April 11-18
Tuesday
Tech Nights begin April 6
Art
from Sallie Wolf's newly published book, The Robin Makes
a Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal, will be on display
in the 
Tim
O'Brien will celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Things
They Carried, his landmark novel about soldiers fighting
the Vietnam War, on Thursday, April 8, at 7:30 pm at Unity Temple
(875 Lake Street, Oak Park). This free author event is co-sponsored
by the 
Join
us on Wednesday, April 21 to discuss Into the Wild written
by the New York Times bestselling author Jon Krakauer.
Oak
Park librarian Monica Harris has been named a "Mover and
Shaker" by Library Journal. "We're pleased
to have Monica receive this national recognition for the innovations
and energy she brings to the Oak Park Public Library,"
states Deirdre Brennan, Executive Director. "We certainly
feel she shakes us up and we're gratified Library Journal
agrees that Monica is a leader among librarians." 
The
Oak
Park Librarian Anne Slaughter is one of 30 Illinois librarians
selected to participate in Synergy: The Illinois Library Leadership
Initiative, a unique year-long program designed to develop future
leaders in the library professions and in the Illinois community.
Jennifer
Norborg, Children's Librarian at the Oak Park Public Library,
was selected to attend Picturing America in Our Nation's Libraries,
a conference for public and school librarians who have received
the Picturing America collection. The conference in March premiered
a series of short public television programs produced by THIRTEEN/WNET
that feature the works of art in the Picturing America collection
along with ideas for using them in innovative library programming.
Celebrate
the 20th anniversary of the landmark Vietnam War novel, The
Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien when Susan Ruffolo leads
a book discussion on Wednesday, March 17, at 1 pm at the 
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 
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.
