When Children’s Librarian Shelley Harris was gearing up for Disability Pride Month celebrations at the library earlier this year, she kept thinking to herself: “I really want to go big. I want to go so big.” Harris spoke recently with WBEZ Chicago’s Reset about the library’s third year celebrating Disability Pride Month, which marks the … Read more
By Joslyn Bowling Dixon, Executive Director More than halfway through my first year as Oak Park Public Library’s executive director, I’m pleased to report back on what we’ve accomplished so far. As I said I would do in my initial job interview, I took ample time and great care to watch, review, observe, and listen … Read more
Above left: June 2022 Main Library Idea Box exhibit. Above right: Local artist Tia Etu with her Juneteenth-inspired artwork. Read more about The Call. On Monday, June 19, all library locations will be closed for Juneteenth. This national, state, and Oak Park holiday celebrates African Americans’ freedom from enslavement in the United States. Juneteenth titles … Read more
All across the United States, there is an unprecedented campaign to censor books in school and public libraries. In March, the American Library Association (ALA) reported that 2022 saw the highest number of attempted book bans in 20 years, nearly double the number in 2021. “Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing these challenges come from organized censorship groups … Read more
Christine Poreba is the library’s new Environmental Programming Specialist. In this position, she helps connect people to resources, information, programs, and community groups focused on sustainability. A poet and former teacher, Poreba has been working for the library since last May. As she shifts into this new role, she’s taking on an area of strategic … Read more
In March 2021, the Board of Library Trustees voted to approve the Oak Park Public Library’s first stand-alone Anti-Racism Strategic Plan. This multi-year plan was created to address internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and structural racism in both internal and external practices at the library. To stay accountable to the work outlined in that stand-alone plan—as well … Read more
By Kristen Romanowski, Staff Writer & Editor Juanta Griffin was in third grade at Longfellow Elementary School when her teacher, Mrs. Simmons, turned her onto Eyes on the Prize. Griffin says it was this PBS series, which chronicled the civil rights movement from the perspective of ordinary people, that first opened her eyes and drove … Read more
Our library’s vision is to empower every voice in our community, and our Middle & High School Services Team is doing just that for students this year. We’re excited to offer three new ways for youth in grades 6-12 to build relationships, learn with their peers and mentors, and grow in their schoolwork, job readiness, … Read more
After a pandemic hiatus, the Oak Park Community Kwanzaa Celebration was back in person at the Main Library in December, with a full house. “This year’s Kwanzaa celebration was the best one yet!” said Multicultural Learning Coordinator Juanta Griffin. Griffin organizes the annual intergenerational event, last held in person at the library in 2019. Among … Read more
By Eileen Saam, Children’s Services Librarian Thanks to grant funding from TechGirlz—a nonprofit program of Creating IT Futures that provides free, fun, interactive workshops—the library now offers new ways to support engaging, hands-on learning for middle school girls. Recent additions in the library’s new Creative Studio include 3D printers, toolkits to dismantle and assemble computers, … Read more
