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Member's Corner: April 2007

Member's Corner articles publish in the nsls.info weekly e-newsletter on the first Friday of each month. It is a place for libraries to share the successes of their library as well as the accomplishments of staff. Contact Christina Johnson to share your news.

Please note that many of the links provided are to sites outside the NSLS site and may only be available for a limited time.

Author Visits

• Rick Kogan, Host of WGN Radio’s Sunday Papers with Rick Kogan and Chicago Tribune columnist, appeared at Lake Villa Public Library District on April 5 to talk about his latest books, A Chicago Tavern: A Goat, a Curse, and the American Dream and Sidewalks: Portraits of Chicago. Book sale and signing followed the program.
• Jeff Biggers, award-winning journalist and featured NPR speaker, will visit Wauconda Area Library on Saturday, April 14 at 2 p.m. He will recount his fascinating journey in his book, In the Sierra Madre. Learn about the cultures and treasures that existed in this mountainous terrain throughout the centuries. Meet legendary characters, Geronimo, Poncho Villa, and General George S. Patton. Books will be available for purchase and signing.
• Janis F. Kearney will speak and sign her new book, Conversations, William Jefferson Clinton, From Hope to Harlem, at Lake Bluff Public Library on Sunday, April 15, 2 p.m.
• Catherine O’Connell will present From Page to Publisher on Monday, June 11, 7 p.m. She just published her book, Well Bred and Dead.
• Warren-Newport Public Library had 40 people visit on March 27 to meet author Tawni O’Dell who is touring with her third novel, Sister Mine. Tawni has kept a close relationship with WNPL librarian Debbie Hoffman (pictured with the author below) since she was a library district resident entering the creative writing contest and bringing her small children to the library.

Grant

Cook Memorial Public Library District is one of 72 communities nationwide selected to receive a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read grant. The NEA presents the Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. During National Library Week and the Big Read Celebration, the Cook Memorial Public Library District will host a variety of events, including a Roaring Twenties bash, a Literary Lovers Readers Theater, an evening with Gatsby’s Girl author Caroline Preston, an appearance by the Chicago Mob Jazz Band, a 1920s local history exhibit, a Chicago Jazz Age architecture talk, a silent movie festival, discussions throughout the community, and keynote addresses by Dave at Night author Gail Carson Levine and Fitzgerald scholar Chris Messenger. Staff members throughout NSLS are more than welcome to attend the programs.

Dedicated

The Mount Prospect Public Library dedicated the soaring "Peace" sculpture at the corner of Central Rd. and Emerson Street. The sculpture, which anchors the Peace Garden, is the Library's first outdoor art acquisition and was commissioned by the Library Board in honor of longtime reader and Library supporter Elizabeth J. Clough. The base of the sculpture is composed of cast-bronze books whose open pages feature the word "Peace" in 30 languages, including Braille. Seven lide-size bronze doves circle the stainless steel cage globe atop the books. Sculptor Eric Blome attended the dedication and a public reception was held immediately following the ceremony.

New Staff

Warren-Newport Public Library has appointed Kevin Medows as head of technical services. He will be responsible for all acquisitions and cataloging functions, leading a department that handles over 2000 new titles each month in a collection of over 240,000 items. Medows was technical services librarian at the Northwestern University Music Library for three years, and before that visiting assistant music librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana. He earned a master of library and information science from the University of Illinois and is a member of both the American Library Association and the Society of American Archivists.

Letters About Literature Contest Winner

The "Letters About Literature" contest is a national reading and writing program for children and teenagers. Participants write a personal letter to an author, explaining how his or her work changed their views of the world or themselves. Readers may select authors, living or deceased, from any genre--fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic. A winner from an NSLS member is:

• Level II, for grades 7 and 8, Alejandra Ruiz of Schaumburg. Alejandra wrote her letter to Pam Munoz Ryan, author of Esperanza Rising. Alejandara is a student at Keller Jr. High School in Schaumburg.

Deceased

Marian Ruth Schroether, age 87, passed away on March 14, 2007. "She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA in 1942 and received a graduate degree in Children's Librarianship from West Reserve University, Cleveland, OH in 1942. She was the Children's Librarian for the Winona, MN Free Public Library from 1942-1944; Children's Librarian for the Waukegan Public Library from 1944-1984. Marian served five times on the Newberry and Caldecott Medal Award committees and on the Book Evaluation committee of the American Library Association Children's Services Division. She was a former chairman of the Children's Librarian's Section of the Illinois Library Association; a member of the Board of Consultants of the H.W. Wilson Children's Catalog; and a former secretary of the American Association of University Women." - Published in the News Sun from 3/28/2007 - 3/29/2007