Libraries Do That? Introducing the Dementia Resource Center

August 28, 2019

When I lived in New York City I would, on occasion, find myself dining with folks not usually in my social circle. These people would ask what I did for a living and they could be a bit surprised when I said I was a librarian. “A librarian? Are there still libraries anymore?” they’d joke. […]


Libraries on the Front Lines: What You Need to Know About Changes to Your Ebooks

August 14, 2019

In the beginning, when libraries around the world started buying and circulating ebooks for the very first time, publishers were concerned. Very concerned. Suddenly the old lending models didn’t seem to apply anymore. Why should libraries be allowed to circulate digital titles, books that will never show wear and tear after multiple uses, without needing […]


Need Amazing Children’s Books in Spanish? Hilda’s Got Your Back

June 5, 2019

I’m continually fascinated by those people that specialize in specific forms of literature. Let us say, for example, that you wanted the latest, greatest list of children’s books being released. Easy enough, but what if you wanted those books in Spanish? This is a question our public schools and libraries have been trying to tackle. […]


Books to Women in Prison: The Chicago Area Stands Up

May 8, 2019

How is a library unlike a bookstore? Well, for one thing, we’re free. Sort of an unfair advantage there. For another thing, unlike in a bookstore, our stock keeps coming back. No sooner have I gotten one book off of a shelf than another one’s arrived for reshelving. It can be exhausting, not to mention […]


A Sudden Burst in Popularity: Unexpected Requests for Old Titles

April 24, 2019

When news breaks, the library is sometimes the first place people go. Take, for example, the recent fire at the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The day it occurred the library created a display of all its books about or set at the Cathedral. Some of these were architectural in nature (and, admittedly, are probably now […]



The Art of the Display

December 6, 2018

What criteria should a librarian use to determine how successful a library display truly is? Should you consider how often the books are removed? The quality of the literature displayed? The timeliness of the topic? The inventiveness? Or should we do it the way our forefathers and foremothers intended? That’s right. Twitter hits. Recently one […]


Introducing the Read-Ability Book Group

December 5, 2018

The public library is a place for everyone in the community; it’s a third space where, in addition to home and school or work, you are known and welcome. Read-Ability for Adults with Cognitive Disabilities The Evanston Public Library hosts the Read-Ability book group, a group for adults with cognitive disabilities, once a week. Meetings […]


What It Takes – Building the 101 Great Kids Books List for 2018

August 16, 2018

Each year the Evanston Public Library produces a killer list of the 101 children’s books that really struck us as the best of the best of the best. Now the number “101” may sound large to you. Allow me to assure you that it is not. It is a miniscule number. A teeny tiny digit. […]


An Interview with Evanston artist Collin R. McCanna

July 17, 2018

Collin R. McCanna is an Evanston artist who is the latest to be featured in our ongoing exhibition series Local Art @ EPL. His exhibit [TERRA SERENA] is currently on display on the 2nd floor of EPL’s Main Library where you can catch it through August 1st. Featuring a dozen large-scale acrylic paintings that “simplify landscapes to their purest […]


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