Oak Park Public Library
834 Lake Street
Oak Park, Illinois, 60301 USA
708-383-8200
Comments to
Copyright 2010

For more information call Adult and Teen Services at 708-452-3440. Attendance at Library programs and events constitutes consent to be photographed for Oak Park Public Library publicity purposes. It should be noted, however, that names of individuals will not be used in photo captions.

 

continuing August 14
doors open at 10 am Main Library Veterans Room
Join us for a whole season of competitive Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Brothers Brawl featuring 32 players in a simultaneous single elimination tournament. Players entering grades 6 through 12 will compete monthly for a chance to win $40, $30, $20, and $10 gift certificates to Best Buy, and the chance to compete in the tournament finals.

Saturday, August 14 - Smash Bros.
Saturday, September 11 - Mario Kart
Saturday, October 9 -Smash Bros.
Saturday, November 13 - Finals

Pre-registration is recommended for this program. Please call 708-452-3440 or visit the Main Library to sign up for our first tournament beginning Saturday, June 26.

 

Open Boardgame Play
First and third Wednesdays: August 18, September 1 & 15
6:30 pm to 9 pm Main Library Book Discussion Room
Love board games? The Oak Park Public Library has partnered with the Chicago Boardgames Meetup Group to offer regular evenings of open boardgame play for adults and teens. You bring it, we play it! Or just bring yourself, there will be quite a few games available. Join us on the first and third Wednesdays of every month.

 

Everyone's favorite crafty program is back in style this summer. Teens in grades 6 to 12 can join the crafty revolution with their own handmade goods. All supplies are provided. No registration is required for this program.

Paint Some Pottery
Friday, August 20
2 pm to 3:30 pm Main Library Small Meeting Room
Paint a plate or mug with your very own unique design!

 

 

Every third Friday: August 20
7 to 9 pm Scoville Park, outside the Main Library
(in case of bad weather, Main Library Veterans Room)
Teen Coffeehouse brings together area teens to showcase their skills on our stage every third Friday. Bring poetry, dance, hip-hop, music, comedy-whatever you do! Food and drinks are always provided. No registration is required.

 

Chess Open Play
Every Monday
5:30 pm to 9 pm Main Library Book Discussion Room
Open play for all ages and all skill levels. We have a supply of boards, or you can bring your own.

Stupid Agents at the Library
This is the "behind the scenes" video created by the AV Club, as part of the Library's 2010 Teen Summer Volunteer program.

Thanks to everyone who participated in Creature Feature, our Teen Summer Reading Program which ended August 6.

Successful 2009 Summer Volunteer Program

The Library's Teen Summer Volunteer program ran for 9 weeks this summer. Again the teams did great things - filming a promotional video (coming soon), selecting music, and doing general library tasks at the Main Library and the Maze Branch. A new team, Art Attack, was added this year, see their artwork on display at the Main Library. Plus the Booktalkers attended the American Library Association's annual conference to share their thoughts on the 95 books nominated for the 2009 Best Books for Young Adults list. Over 70 teens helped out this year! We look forward to running this program again in 2010.

Successful 2008 Summer Volunteer Program

The Library's Teen Summer Volunteer program ran for 8 weeks in 2008. Volunteer teams worked on a variety of projects, from selecting music CDs, writing book reviews, and organizing books, to creating promotional videos for the Library (watch one below). The 34 teens contributed just over 430 hours, helping to serve hundreds of patrons, save Library money, and enable staff to focus on other projects.

Teens reported that they enjoyed being in the Library and being in the company of other like-minded, book-loving teens. Staff reported they have a deeper appreciation of teens and learned more about teen interests, passions, and tastes. They also noted that Library staff as a whole benefited from the energy and commitment these young volunteers brought to the Library.

We truly appreciate their service to the Library! We look forward to having them back in 2009 and to welcoming the new faces who join the effort.

Library Ninja at Oak Park Public Library
This is one of three promotional videos created for the Library by the AV Club, as part of the Library's 2008 Teen Summer Volunteer program.

In this footage of the September competition, Young Adult Librarian Monica Harris talks about how this tournament benefits the community.