News & Announcements from Libraries

As costs rise across the entire economic playing field, libraries are feeling the squeeze on their budgets. One way to help mitigate a tight programming budget is to foster and maintain community partnerships. Working with the businesses in your community is a winning solution for everyone involved...

The Lisle Library District is in the midst of a comprehensive renovation project scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2023. The Library is operating in the building during the renovation, with collections and services being offered on the east end while construction occurs on the west end...

In a new Specialized Library Spotlight, RAILS Member Engagement Manager Dan Bostrom speaks with Rita Hassert, Library Collections Manager at the Sterling Morton Library at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. Rita discusses ACORN (Arboretum COllections & Resources Nexus), an online platform that...

Well not necessarily…That’s the lesson we learned at Palatine Library. We went through a full renovation on both floors of our Main Library during Covid shutdowns – the only silver lining to that challenging time. Like many libraries, door counts and program attendance went down drastically, but...

Libraries are magical places. In fact, the Vespasian Warner Public Library District in Clinton, Illinois is truly enchanted. In 2018, former maintenance supervisor, David Ward, noticed that a fairy door had appeared on the children’s floor. Two more doors were discovered shortly after on the library...

The Founders’ Memorial Library at Northern Illinois University has been exceedingly fortunate to employ a highly competent and skilled support staff dedicated to serving its students and faculty. They play a major role in everyone’s success by supporting their studies, teaching, and research with...

2022 marks the first year that Juneteenth will be recognized as a federal holiday. As an academic health science library, I wondered how we could provide an appropriate context for our diverse university community. The inspiration came from an unexpected as well as controversial source: J. Marion...

My Library Is... Advisory Team member Gwen Gregory interviews her colleague Kimberly Shotick about a new book that she co-authored, Practical Marketing for the Academic Library. Gwen and Kimberly discuss the challenges and opportunities for reaching new audiences in an academic library setting. For...

A story of how our library went from a list of resources and literature on our website, to host a 2-week humanitarian drive, a cultural program with 140 attendees, a display, and more. All for Ukraine. Libraries are about community and when it comes to helping others, they stand out even more...

Collection development is a craft, a skill that requires expertise, hard work, and insight about your collections and community. We seek out data about our community through information collected through the census, local government, schools, and community organizations. We build connections with...

Voices of Belonging is an interactive exhibit, created as a collaboration between several entities at Northern Illinois University: Northern Public Radio, the Divisions of Outreach, Engagement and Regional Development and Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as various campus and...

The My Library Is… campaign is all about helping libraries do marketing and advocacy in new ways. And libraries aren't shy about discovering these new ways! Libraries are curious, creative places. Even though they might not have huge budgets to hire expensive graphic designers, videographers, etc...