News from RAILS & Libraries

The Fox River Valley Public Library District is celebrating a major milestone, and everyone is invited! Join us for a Community Celebration on November 13, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Dundee Library, 555 Barrington Ave., East Dundee, as we celebrate 150 years of bridging diverse communities through the...

Expand Our Spanish-Language Collection   Cristo Rey’s dual-language program, which offers college-prep instruction in both Spanish and English, requires all students to perform at or above grade level in both languages. Results on AP tests for both Spanish Language and Spanish Literature ...

Our JJC applications for Spring, Summer, and Fall 2027 are now open! Spring 2027 general registration is now open! Over the past year we have been working to update course offerings in the LTA program. Look for electives to be added next Fall, 2027. In the meantime, this Spring one of our newly...

Emily Wittke is the new interim director at the Sandwich Public Library District.

Library of Congress Begins Implementation of Official RDA The Library of Congress (LC) began its phased implementation of Official RDA (Resource Description and Access) on October 5, 2026. Official RDA is the updated standard libraries use to describe and organize resources in their catalogs. As the...

Listen to this! The Bakwin Library is an important part of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Primary stakeholders include more than 500 AAP staff and 67,000 members of the AAP. True for many organizations, the AAP faced a “pandemic turnover” with approximately 40% of the staff being newly...

LACONI Recharge Section Accepting Applications for Our 2027 Advisory Board. Interested in joining a team committed to supporting library workers? Through professional development and networking opportunities, the LACONI Recharge Section focuses on the well-being of staff at every level and role. We...

RAILS is awarding $6,350 in CE Event Grants this round to help libraries, networking groups, and library consortia offer valuable training opportunities for library staff. All funded events will be open for registration to RAILS member staff in advance on L2. Oak Lawn Public Library – Library...

At the October 2026 RAILS Board of Directors meeting, the board approved the following statement regarding school libraries and school librarians: The Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS) Board of Directors affirms that strong, sustainable school library programs, led by licensed school...

On Thursday, November 12, 3-4 p.m., we will host a RAILS Member Update. This event will feature three short presentations. A full agenda is attached. Presentations include: Illinois Library Legislative Update – Paul Mills, Fountaindale Public Library District Executive Director Grants for Small...

The Paul V. Galvin Library at the Illinois Institute of Technology was the happy recipient of the RAILS My Library Is... Grant, which allowed us to purchase items to better support our students. The library is a two-story building with an open floor plan and no individual study rooms. Most of the...

Dan and Monica break down the latest at RAILS: 📋 help paint a clear picture of Illinois school libraries 📣 explore a new step-by-step toolkit for school library advocacy 💰 discover savings with 20+ RAILS vendor partners 💻 influence the future of digital equity in Cook County ✍️ share anonymous...

Kids know what they like. When you work with kids every day, it becomes really evident that they are discerning and selective and very vocal about what they don’t want. (Every children’s librarian has heard the word or scream “NO” in their department a million times!) So when you find a “bookish”...

RAILS is excited to announce that we will begin accepting applications for the 2027 RAILS Libraries Connect Grant, formerly known as the My Library Is... Grant, on November 1. Despite the name change, the grant details, spirit, and requirements have not changed. These grants are designed to help...

As part of our strategic planning process, RAILS is looking for your feedback. Below, you will find a draft of our new strategic plan objectives. As a reminder, this is a strategic plan refresh. We are keeping the same strategic goals as the existing strategic plan, but we would like to update the...