December 14, 2021
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
August 2, 2021
Recently I was curious to see how Evanston looked a mere 50 years ago, back to August of 1971. After digging through copies of The Evanston Review, what I found was both incredibly familiar and uncommonly strange, all at the same time. Stuff like . . . “A regular review of topical news and issues […]
February 28, 2019
It’s no secret that podcasts are now the radio of the 21st century. Even if you don’t know someone who actually runs one, then you may subscribe to a couple on the sly. My phone’s podcast app is regularly filled with episodes I should check out, even as others fade from my mind. If you […]
October 26, 2018
A library is a depository for books. That is common knowledge. Any child could tell you as much. But as it happens, libraries also receive an untold number of items that have nothing at all to do with literature. Case in point out latest donation. It’s big. It’s red. It features an outdated form of […]
September 13, 2018
About ten years ago I was working as a New York City librarian, doing my due diligence in a massive system. My first job was in the Jefferson Market branch, a gorgeous structure that began its days as a women’s courthouse (Mae West was tried there, amongst many others). When it was turned into a […]
March 16, 2018
Roughly ten years ago I worked for New York Public Library. 2008 was, as you might recall, a year of great economic strife thanks in large part to the housing market crash. The ways in which libraries responded to this emergency varied from state to state, but in the case of NYPL there was one […]
March 8, 2017
We’ve all had those books that we forgot to return to the library at one time or another. Some of you may know all too well the plummeting sensation of clearing out your bookshelves, only to discover a library book sitting there, glaring at you from its dusty hidey hole. But what do you do […]
January 11, 2017
When I walk in the door Monday morning I am greeted by a flood of donations that have appeared, mysteriously, in my absence. They are in piles in the bins, overflowing the sides. Two good-natured volunteers are also usually there, panning for gold, as it were. They’ll fill up a nice little cart and I’ll […]
April 20, 2016
I don’t usually do this. As the Collection Development Manager I end up reading a lot of reviews in professional journals in a given week. After a while they all just sort of blur together. But once in a great while I’ll read one that’s so interesting I feel like I just have to share. […]
March 14, 2016
Last week a patron sent us the following postcard last week. Note the 1933 date stamp: According to Assistant Library Director Paul Gottschalk, “In the 1900’s, EPL had several branches in public schools throughout Evanston.” The more you know!
