News & Announcements from Libraries

Bridie Murphy faithfully attends story time with Ms. B at the Palos Park Public Library. She listens to the welcome song, looks at all the pictures, and knows when to say goodbye. With the implementation of social distancing regulations, story time looks a little different now. Rather than joining...

Like many people going through their daily routine, I left work on March 12th not realizing what was coming next. I just finished another successful monthly book club meeting and I was looking forward to a weekend road trip with the girls. It was planned six months previous and we were all excited...

When a librarian at one of the state universities called to survey this academic library about our plans for re-opening from the pandemic, our response that “we never closed” was met with shock. Well, actually we did close for a few days between trimesters. But other than that, the library at the...

What would you say if someone (a library user, potential user, administrator, funder, colleague, friend, relative, neighbor, elected official, etc.) asked you any of the following questions and you had less than 30 seconds to answer before losing the interest of your audience? Why should I use the...

We are excited to share a recently completed anthology created by the Brookfield Writers Group (BWG) and the La Grange Writers Group (LGWG) titled "Covid Chronicles: 19-word Stories." While this anthology is a record of individual experiences and perspectives during this pandemic, it is also a...

Anyone seeing the shortages of yeast, flour, and eggs could tell there was a whole lot of stress baking going on during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. To document this historically significant time, the Rock Island Public Library cooked up The Quad City Quarantine Cookbook project. After seeing a...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us in one way or another. Businesses have closed their doors. Many of us know someone who has been sick or may have gotten sick ourselves. The worst was having to tell our patrons, “No, we don’t want you coming to the library.” What are we if we cannot offer...

Libraries are the gems of their communities. In no other place are people from all walks of life and socioeconomic backgrounds welcomed and serve as a space for us to encounter the “other,” no questions asked. We respect your privacy; encourage you to participate in our programs, use the computers...

At its December 2019 meeting, the CARLI Board of Directors discussed the issue that some members’ organizations are not filling the library director position when the incumbent leaves, for example, retires or resigns. The college or university simply “assigns” the library to a campus administrator...

How to provide library service to seniors, the most vulnerable population affected during COVID-19, has been the question raised by outreach librarians across the United States. While we might not be able to visit our seniors or facilities in-person for the foreseeable future, libraries can reach...

You agree with the concept: libraries need more resources to help them tell the story. You like the resources: a whole website full of those resources. But now you're wondering, how can you help with the My Library Is... campaign? Great question! You can start by becoming a My Library Is... Champion...

So you’ve been tasked with writing a marketing plan, and I’m guessing walking on hot coals sounds more enjoyable right about now. There is just something so terrifying about having to put all of the ideas and plans floating around in your head on paper that causes the words “marketing plan” to make...