News & Announcements from RAILS

Explore More Illinois, RAILS' online cultural and recreational pass program for Illinois libraries, spotlights attraction, Pritzker Military Museum & Library in Chicago! The mission of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library is to increase the public's understanding of military history, military...

After a nationwide search, the RAILS Board appointed Monica Harris as RAILS Executive Director effective immediately. Monica has been serving as Interim Executive Director since November 2022. Monica first joined RAILS as Associate Executive Director in January 2020. In this role, she provided...

RAILS Member Engagement Manager Dan Bostrom talks with Dawn Scuderi from Summit Hill Junior High School in Frankfort, Illinois. Summit Hill was the recipient of a 2022 My Library Is... Grant for School Libraries. Applications are now open for the 2023 version of the My Library Is... Grant for School...

Please join RAILS in welcoming our newest member, General George S. Patton School District 133! This school district is located in Riverdale, Illinois. There is one school in the district, serving K-8 students. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, the district has an enrollment of 210...

Makerspaces in libraries are great. While makerspaces allow people to get creative and discover new ideas for projects, using the new equipment can be daunting for those who are unfamiliar with it. That’s why The Workshop Lab at Palatine Library District created an easy and accessible way to...

When Illinois State University conducted a Textbook Affordability survey in the spring of 2019, it was clear there was a problem—one felt by institutions across the United States. The survey found that 73% of students did not acquire a textbook due to cost, 89% delayed purchasing a textbook or other...

3D printing was launched at Illinois State University’s Milner Library as part of our Make It Space initiative in the fall of 2018. Initial interest was strong, but our staff was flooded with requests after we moved the printer to a highly visible, publicly accessible space. Since then, we’ve had...

Once upon a time, there was a library nestled amid farm fields in Central Illinois. Now, this library was not big, but its patrons loved the library, and the library loved all the people that came to visit. The kind people who ran the library wanted to do everything they could to provide materials...

In May of 2022, a patron came up to the Reference Desk at the Northbrook Public Library asking for help with her new cell phone. She said that she had previously used a flip phone, but was told by her phone provider that they no longer supported it and that she needed to get a smartphone. She said...

Northern Illinois University Libraries are home to a vital, growing Southeast Asia (SEA) Collection, probably the largest in Illinois. The university is home to a Center for Southeast Asian Studies ( https://www.niu.edu/clas/cseas/index.shtml) and several Southeast Asian languages are taught on...

"In Chicago Ridge, everyone is here for one another and is always ready to help whenever they see someone in need." Aseel Alhamidi Aseel Alhamidi graduated high school in 2021 through the library partnership with Smart Horizon’s Career Online High School Program. Eleven Chicago Ridge residents have...

Stan Pawlowski is a long-time Chicago Ridge resident, avid library user, and a member of our Board of Trustees. We asked Stan to share his library story. “I began utilizing the library about four years ago on a consistent basis. I had just lost my job and was eager to get another position as soon as...

It’s not unusual for college students to struggle with college life during the course of an academic year, but the stress experienced at the end of the semester is in a category of its own. The extra pressure associated with wrapping up a semester makes it a particularly high-stress time for many...

Business Librarian at the Crystal Lake Public Library here. I had a patron come in for a one-on-one reference appointment shortly before the COVID-19 lockdown went into effect. She and her partner were looking to open a bookstore and needed help gathering information. I showed her our collection of...

In July, one of the large cottonwood trees that had stood proudly in front of the Dundee Library was struck by lightning during a summer storm. While it was not completely split, it was significantly weakened. Because the tree is so close to the building, we knew it had to come down. We were...