New! Watch the promotional video » Join us for the three-day Restorative Community Practices: Building Stronger Families, Schools, and Communities conference at the Main Library this October 4-6. Expanding on last fall’s restorative justice conference, this year’s conference takes a wider look at how restorative practices can be applied within families, schools, and communities. Also … Read more
The following post was originally published in the Wednesday Journal as “Sharing space, making room for all voices,” a One View column by Juanita Harrell, on Tuesday, July 30. Juanita Harrell is Oak Park Public Library’s One Book coordinator and Health & Wellness Librarian. ‘Who owns the public space?” asks Linda Francis in a recent Wednesday Journal column … Read more
Inspired by this summer’s One Book, One Oak Park selection Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg, we are asking about and sharing community members’ perspectives on social infrastructure. This is what Klinenberg calls “the missing piece of the puzzle; and building places where all kinds of people can gather is the best way to … Read more
In this summer’s One Book, One Oak Park series, we’re connecting over Eric Klinenberg’s Palaces for the People, which looks at how open, accessible spaces can promote civic engagement and social interaction. The author uses the term “social infrastructure” to describe public libraries, parks, schools, community gardens, and other places where people assemble and engage. … Read more
Did you know there’s a barbershop inside the Oak Park Public Library? Twice a month, the Main Library Idea Box brings in local barbers to give free haircuts to anyone who comes in. All are welcome, including children and teenagers. And on Friday, May 17, from 2 to 6 pm, it’s turning into a space … Read more
As he travels across the country and the world as president of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, Rich Harwood said he finds a deep yearning for more connection. From Alabama to Israel, in Ohio and Michigan, people are wondering, “Do our lives matter? Will I be seen and heard? Does hope still matter?” “Without … Read more
Join us as we dig in for the first full season of the Maze Branch Community Sensory Garden. Launched last fall with local families who have kids with disabilities, the garden is completely accessible and offers programs through summer and fall. “We have a wide range of supports so anyone can come in and be … Read more
It started as a way to celebrate the black experience all year long, and not just during Black History Month. Now, almost 36 months later, the library’s More Than a Month series kicks off its fourth year with an expanded outlook and programs that promote conversation and year-round enrichment for all. ‘It’s both/and’ More Than … Read more
The first time Chicago police officer Tim Crawford observed a peace circle, he was skeptical. But after a while, “I started to see—hold on—this works,” he said. “Especially with people who experience trauma on a regular basis. You’ve got to have a place to vent, to speak your truth.” Crawford (pictured far right) works with … Read more
After a career working in libraries around Illinois, Susan Burke retired to Oak Park. It was a return—she grew up in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood and lived in Oak Park in the early 1970s. “Oak Park has always been committed to social justice, and that was why I came back,” she said. Burke also gives back. … Read more
