For the eleventh time, Arlington Heights Memorial Library (AHML) has received a five-star rating in Library Journal's national rating of public libraries. Five stars is the highest rating that a library can receive.

 “We are honored to once again receive a five-star rating in this national ranking of public libraries," said Executive Director Mike Driskell. "This award acknowledges the work of our exceptional staff and the community of Arlington Heights that so strongly supports and uses the library."  

Library Journal comprises its scores for America's Star Libraries using statistics from eight service criteria: circulation of physical items, circulation of e-materials, library visits, program attendance, public

Thank you to all of our wonderful customers, staff and community groups who helped contribute to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library's Holiday Book Drive for 2022.

This year more than 1,000 books were generously donated for infants, children and teens for Wheeling Township's Adopt-a-Family program. Special thanks go to the library staff and volunteers, the Rolling Green Country Club Women’s Golf Association, the Lakeshore Circle Book Club and Patton Elementary School for their very generous donations.

The library book drive has provided more than 23,000 books to children and teens in need since 1998. Thank you again for helping provide

Get ready to show us your creative side! Creator Spotlight features aspiring creators and the work they are making in the library’s Makerplace and in the Studio or with items from our Library of Things collection. Whether it's a piece of music, an Arduino-powered arcade cabinet, a photo of a painting you just completed or even a finished puzzle, we want to shine the spotlight on what you created and show others too - on our website and on the library’s social media channels! Do you want to be highlighted in our Creator Spotlight? Go to ahml.info/creator_spotlight to fill

Jennifer Borrell has been selected by the Arlington Heights Memorial Library Board of Trustees to replace longtime board member Debbie Smart, who stepped down in September.  

A senior taxonomist at Etsy, Borrell has served on the board of the Friends of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library since 2018. Her volunteer experience also includes work with St. John United Church of Christ, Windsor Elementary School PTA, RefugeeOne, the Arlington Heights youth commission and the League of Women Voters. Her master's degree in library science is from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She moved to Arlington Heights in 2009.  

After

November 11 is Veterans Day, a time to honor veterans and thank them for their service. In this same spirit on every day throughout the year, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library is pleased to offer a special library card for current and former members of the United States Armed Forces. In addition to offering the same benefits as standard resident library cards, this card also allows the cardholder to print up to the cost equivalent of 100 black and white letter pages per week at no charge. The card is distinct in its patriotic design and any active-duty military or veteran resident of Arlington Heights is eligible. Learn more

November is Native American Heritage Month! At the Board of Library Trustees meeting on October 25, 2022, the Board approved a resolution recognizing National Native American Heritage Month in November 2022. This month celebrates and recognizes the cultures, traditions, histories and contributions of Native and Indigenous people.

In celebration, we've put together a curated list of books that highlights Native and Indigenous voices. There There by Tommy Orange, Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot, The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman and more - check out the full list of fiction and nonfiction titles

For the first time since 2019, the signature event for the library’s annual One Book, One Village (OBOV) community read, an evening of conversation with the featured book’s author, took place in person and the highly anticipated return did not disappoint!!
More than 270 filled Forest View Auditorium on Thursday, October 27 to hear author Naomi Hirahara delve into this year’s OBOV title, Clark and Division, a gripping mystery of one Japanese American family’s search for truth in 1940s Chicago. More than 110 people also tuned into the library’s YouTube channel and watched as the event unfolded live beginning

More than 115 people joined us at the Makerplace on Thursday, September 29 to celebrate, create and learn more about everything the Makerplace has to offer.

Those who stopped by were able to laser engrave their names into a bamboo phone stand, enjoy a cooking demo in the Makerplace Kitchen, go on a guided tour of the Makerplace, learn more about quilting and 3D printing, use the Makerplace's paper crafting tools to create holiday cards and hanging banners, and more.

Click here to view more photos from our Makerplace First Anniversary celebration on our Facebook page. If you want to learn more about

All summer, library staff and volunteers have rolled up their sleeves and volunteered their time tending a garden plot at the Viatorian Giving Garden, located at 1212 Euclid Avenue. Maintaining one of 25 raised beds in the community garden, the library and other participating gardeners and organizations donate half of what they grow to local charitable organizations such as the Wheeling Township Food Pantry. Since its founding in 2012, the Viatorian Giving Garden has donated more than 10,000 pounds of vegetables to help those in need and by early August had already surpassed 1,000 pounds of produce donated for 2022

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom compiles lists of banned and challenged books in order to inform the public about censorship efforts that affect libraries and schools. To celebrate Banned Books Week (September 18-24) and the freedom to read, our library staff have put together a list of titles that the American Library Association has identified as being frequently challenged or banned over the last decade. 

Banned Books Week is both a reminder of the unifying power of stories and the divisiveness of censorship. From Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, click here to take a