Blog

Last week, while Chicago excavated itself from the blizzard or 2015, I sat down coffee in hand with snow drifting outside and children still asleep in their beds, and viewed the live webcast of the American Library Association's Youth Media Awards.

Continue Reading "The Other Awards" →

"Read 'em and weep." That phrase usually means you just won a hand of poker. In this case it describes what might happen to you when you read the letters of a young World War II soldier serving in the Pacific to a girl back home in Des Plaines.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Des Plaines History Center and Des Plaines Memory are presenting compelling stories of the people of Des Plaines who made selfless contributions to the war effort by serving abroad and on the homefront.

Continue Reading "Dear Gloria: WWII love letters to Des Plaines" →

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela

You’ve most likely heard all the reasons.

By learning another language you will:

• Improve your job prospects in a global market
• Learn about another culture
• Sharpen your mind
• Have more fun on a trip
• Make new friends
• Impress your old friends – maybe even your kids

Whatever your reason, we have resources that can help and even make it fun!

Continue Reading "Why learn another language?" →

January 19th is an exciting day for readers of Mystery and Suspense Fiction. What happens every January 19th?  I'll give you a hint.  Each year, this event falls on the birthday of the undisputed "Father of the Detective Story" (think beating hearts and ravens). 

Yes, it's the annual announcement of the Edgar Award Nominees, named after Edgar Allen Poe, and honoring the previous year's best Mystery and Suspense.

Continue Reading "What Happens Every January 19th?  It’s a Mystery!" →

Over the past few years you may have noticed many changes on the 2nd floor of the library. The Youth Services department is in the middle of an enormous, multi-year project bringing you some new and some improved spaces. Beginning in March of this year we burst apart our old Storytime Room to create a much larger and more flexible space we now call the Program Room. Remember how packed that small Storytime Room would get?

Continue Reading "Re-imagining Spaces" →