Our library’s Executive Director David J. Seleb has joined the board of directors of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation. He began serving on the 11-member board in June 2020, as he continues to lead the library using the Harwood Institute’s “turning outward” approach. “The Harwood Institute has profoundly influenced my professional and personal life … Read more
Oak Park’s all-virtual summer reading program for adults and teens, Many Voices, Many Stories, features six unique titles connected through one common theme: immigration. This week we’re exploring the title Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. “I think if you’re a Black woman, I want you to learn that you’re less lonely. And if you’re not, I … Read more
By Collection Management Librarian Dontaná McPherson-Joseph With HBO’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark premiering this Sunday, we’ve got true crime on the brain. A wide genre of nonfiction, true crime encompasses everything from the gangsters of the 20s to the rise and fall of Bernie Madoff to serial killers. The selections on this list include … Read more
Looking for something new to explore this summer? Three new digital resources offer whole new worlds to discover for kids of all ages! And don’t forget, all reading is good reading and counts toward your summer reading goal! So be sure to log minutes spent reading magazine articles in Beanstack. 1. Read every issue ever … Read more
Oak Park’s all-virtual summer reading program for adults and teens, Many Voices, Many Stories, features six unique titles connected through one common theme: immigration. This week we’re exploring the title Dear America by Jose Antonio Vargas. “Actions are illegal, never people, and something is terribly wrong when we refer to people as illegal.” —Jose Antonio … Read more
Need some book recommendations? Your librarians are here to help! Don’t miss this episode of Books in Brief, a video series featuring four great digital title recommendations in about two minutes. Collection Management Librarian Kathy Sexton recommends four titles to help educate yourself. Black Lives Matter digital titles Watch the episode above and then find … Read more
By Collection Management Librarian Dontaná McPherson-Joseph There’s nothing quite like the satisfying feeling of knowing that a mystery, with all its twists and turns, will be solved. Theories are put forth, deductions are made, answers are found. Cozy mysteries are great comfort reads. It makes sense that mysteries with cats are even cozier! You can find … Read more
By Collection Management Librarian Dontaná McPherson-Joseph Culture is created, manifested, and maintained. It cannot not exist without people actively perpetuating it, and it does not exist in a vacuum. These books explore Black culture in America, how it shapes and is shaped by music, and the ways racial and socioeconomic inequalities influence it. You can find … Read more
June is Pride Month, a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community and the progress made toward equity and inclusion. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Pride March in New York City, held on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Learn more about the Stonewall Uprising with … Read more
Pictured above: 1,000 Books graduate Selassie and his parents celebrate completing the program last year.Get reading tips from the parents of recent graduates » Now you can sign up and track your reading with Beanstack—from anywhere, at anytime—for 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, the library’s long-term, ongoing reading program for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. What is … Read more
