News from Libraries

Latest News

  • Facilitating a Home Delivery Program: Challenges and Rewards

    Due to an out of state move, The Lisle Library District is saying good-bye to our amazing Home Delivery Coordinator, Winona Patterson, who has run the program since 2015. LLD’s Home Delivery program began in 1993 with two patrons and one volunteer and has grown over the years to approximately 70...

  • My Library Is… Finally Connected!

    Waynesville is a very small, very rural community. We have an American Legion and a post office. Our younger kids go to school eight miles away. For middle school and high school it’s 17 miles away. But we do have… A LIBRARY! And now? Our library is the first non-automated library to join Find More...

  • Subscribe to the My Library Is... Marketing Newsletter

    RAILS has a new tool for libraries to stay connected to the My Library Is... campaign. As part of the campaign, you can subscribe to receive a regular newsletter with links to blog posts, templates, and resources. Anyone who is interested in telling the story of the library and proving the library's...

  • Bringing the Community Together with Peanut Butter & Jelly

    For the fifth consecutive summer, my library will serve as a summer meal location to provide free, healthy, boxed meals for children over the summer. We provide this service from the Dundee Library, our main location in East Dundee. The meals are distributed to all kids 18 and under and are paid for...

  • Discovering Books

    Most people coming into my library have no idea what they are looking for. Many students coming in with their class are required to pick a book for an assignment. Most don't consider themselves readers and struggle to name a book they would recommend to a friend. How do I help these kids find books...

  • In Search of a Plan

    Marketing Plans and More The Chicago State University library is named after Gwendolyn Brooks, a form faculty member, poet laureate and the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize. The mission of GBL is to “provide exemplary information and instructional services to guide learning, teaching...

  • Sparks Podcast Episode 32: Gerber/Hart Library & Archives

    RAILS Executive Director Deirdre Brennan talks with representatives from Gerber/Hart Library & Archives about their journey to create an eight-episode podcast on the personal stories of LGBTQ life and history in Chicago. Watch the interview on RAILS Sparks episode 32.

  • What Does It Mean to Be a Library Marketer?

    If you hear the term “marketing,” does your mind jump to Madison Avenue types like Don Draper? Or do you start thinking about what’s on your grocery list? Maybe something in between? Here in Libraryland, the species known as "Ipsum bibliothecarii" (marketing librarian) has only recently evolved. We...

  • Multi-Library Collaboration: A Recent Example

    Each February our specialized library helps plan the annual Engineering Day event at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. Knowing there are many public libraries in our area that offer STEM resources, we sent out an invite for them to participate along with us. Due to COVID, this year’s event was online...

  • Panel Presentation Event on April 21

    Four members of the My Library Is… Advisory Team will share their library stories in this panel presentation. Representing school and public libraries, the panelists will discuss how their libraries have engaged their patrons, educated their stakeholders, and expanded the reach and value of the...

  • You Are Not Alone

    This is my first year at a school library. I worked at a public library for 13 years. There were always times that were more stressful and busier than others but moving to a school I have encountered a strange phenomenon that starts in March, and I am told lasts until the end of the school year when...

  • StoryWalk© at Oregon Park West- How to Get Patrons on the Move!

    What is a Storywalk©? It is a book that has been disassembled, laminated and presented page by page to promote reading and exercise on a trail, bike path, or in store windows. The StoryWalk© Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg...