July is National Anti-Boredom Month, and we know that finding fun activities to keep you engaged at home this summer is more important than ever! Check out these title suggestions from your librarians to help you fight boredom and give you an excuse—as if you needed one—to celebrate National Ice Cream Day (July 19) and … Read more
Oak Park’s all-virtual summer reading program for adults and teens, Many Voices, Many Stories, features six unique titles connected through one common theme: immigration. This week we’re exploring the title Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. “I think if you’re a Black woman, I want you to learn that you’re less lonely. And if you’re not, I … Read more
By Collection Management Librarian Dontaná McPherson-Joseph With HBO’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark premiering this Sunday, we’ve got true crime on the brain. A wide genre of nonfiction, true crime encompasses everything from the gangsters of the 20s to the rise and fall of Bernie Madoff to serial killers. The selections on this list include … Read more
Oak Park’s all-virtual summer reading program for adults and teens, Many Voices, Many Stories, features six unique titles connected through one common theme: immigration. This week we’re exploring the title Dear America by Jose Antonio Vargas. “Actions are illegal, never people, and something is terribly wrong when we refer to people as illegal.” —Jose Antonio … Read more
Need some book recommendations? Your librarians are here to help! Don’t miss this episode of Books in Brief, a video series featuring four great digital title recommendations in about two minutes. Collection Management Librarian Kathy Sexton recommends four titles to help educate yourself. Black Lives Matter digital titles Watch the episode above and then find … Read more
By Collection Management Librarian Dontaná McPherson-Joseph Designated in 1979 by President Carter as Black Music Month and renamed in 2009 by President Obama, African-American Music Appreciation Month is a celebration of Black music, Black joy, and Black excellence. Black artists have been originators and redesigners of sound across all musical genres. Check out these albums and … Read more
By Collection Management Librarian Dontaná McPherson-Joseph There’s nothing quite like the satisfying feeling of knowing that a mystery, with all its twists and turns, will be solved. Theories are put forth, deductions are made, answers are found. Cozy mysteries are great comfort reads. It makes sense that mysteries with cats are even cozier! You can find … Read more
By Collection Management Librarian Dontaná McPherson-Joseph Culture is created, manifested, and maintained. It cannot not exist without people actively perpetuating it, and it does not exist in a vacuum. These books explore Black culture in America, how it shapes and is shaped by music, and the ways racial and socioeconomic inequalities influence it. You can find … Read more
June is Pride Month, a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community and the progress made toward equity and inclusion. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Pride March in New York City, held on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Learn more about the Stonewall Uprising with … Read more
Dear Oak Park Community, We are sickened and horrified by the needless killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. We are frightened for the black and brown members of our staff and our community who daily must endure the racism of our society. We are furious at the inequities that cause … Read more
