Library News
During April, we honor our 250 dedicated library volunteers. They range in age from 14 to 90 and can be found assisting staff in the Library, on the bookmobile and at the Senior Center. Last year they provided 27,009 hours of service.
Our knowledgeable and talented volunteers are staffing the Shackley Genealogy Room, teaching computer classes, leading book discussions and current events discussions, helping people improve their English, staffing the Reading Room at the Senior Center, helping with library programs, working in the Kids' World office and assisting our reference staff. And everywhere our volunteers work, they are adding
Congratulations to Javier Elias, winner of the "Young at Heart" Heart of Gold from the Village of Arlington Heights! Since 2002, Javier has volunteered at the Library - first as a translator on our bookmobile visits at Arlington Park Racecourse, then as a tutor teaching English as a Second Language to students in the Library. Javier was one of ten winners honored at the Hearts of Gold Awards Dinner on February 12. Celebrating the award with Javier are Paula Moore, AHML Executive Director; Katalin Zsupan, ESL/Literacy Specialist; and Caryl Medsker, Volunteer Coordinator.
Kids' World was the place to be on Saturday for the Kids' World Open House. Parents, grandparents and kids of all ages joined us to see all the exciting and colorful changes we've made. Our community partners were on hand to greet library users and talk about the new additions to Kids' World that were purchased by their generous donations. They include:
- Nina and Bob Mariano from Mariano's Fresh Market who donated funds for the new aquarium
- Kris Stabler representing Arlington Park which donated an Early Literacy Computer for the I Can Read area
- Steve and Barbara Diedrich and
Arlington Heights resident Paula Burzawa recently appeared at Barnes & Noble for a book talk about her newly released first novel Seasons of Sun now available at Barnes & Noble.com, Amazon.com, Borders.com and at Barnes & Noble stores.
Paula credits her writing success to her involvement in the Library's writers' group, The Writing Place. Here is an excerpt from her comments at the book talk:
"My novel would have never come together without this group. A few years ago, during one of my weekly visits to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library with my son and daughter, I noticed a poster for a
What a great community we live in! This year was our best year yet for donations to our Read and Feed Food Drive and Holiday Book Drive. Thanks to the amazing generosity of our library users, we were able to deliver:
3,438 food items to WheelingTownship. That’s 77 boxes at an estimated weight of 1,925 lbs!
293 pet items to the Buddy Foundation, including four 40-pound bags of dog food
839 books to WheelingTownship
We would like to thank everyone who contributed. You have made this holiday season much brighter for so many area families and
Kids' World manager Yvette Johnson reports that 5,000 kids registered in this summer's reading program at the Library. Another 215 middle school students served as junior library volunteers (JLVs) and contributed 2,239 hours of service assisting with the summer reading activities and with the Library's July 4 Parade float.
Summer reading programs began in the 1890s as a way to encourage school children, particularly those in urban areas and not needed for farm work, to read during their summer vacation, use the library, and develop the habit of reading.
"The benefits to young readers participating in a summer reading program are
For the third year in a row, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library has received a five-star rating in Library Journal's national rating of public libraries, the LJ Index of Public Library Service 2010. Five stars is the highest rating that a library can receive. Only 85 libraries across the country received this rating which is based on the annual number of library visits, circulation, program attendance and public Internet computer use.
More than ever in these difficult economic times, people realize the value of their libraries. Our annual circulation is at an all-time high, and free programs, like our job seekers programs, money talks and cultural programs, have filled our meeting rooms with capacity crowds
The big smiles on the faces of young and old as they walked through the doors of the Hendrickson Room for last weekend's LEGO train exhibit said it all. The exhibit, which drew 2,763 attendees, was a crowd pleaser for all ages. The attendance was 5% higher than in 2008 - the last time the train exhibit was here. The exhibit was put together by Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club members. Our next family event is Astronomy Night on Friday, October 15, at 7 p.m. in the Hendrickson Room. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs Solar System Ambassador Jim Kovac will present “Exoplanets: Worlds Beyond Our Solar System.” Then everyone
The Arlington Belle, the Library's Readerboat float, paddled its way to a first-place finish at the July 4 parade. It won First Place for Creativity. This makes four straight First Place wins for float builder (and IT Manager) Mike Driskell who creates the floats in his spare time with the help of his family and friends. And it is the seventh First Place win for the Library, the others being in the Best Theme and Best Performance categories. Joining the Readerboat were the Library's bookmobile, Junior Library Volunteers, staff members - including Executive Director Paula Moore, and Trustee Luis Ramirez-Alonso passing out
Beginning June 1, the Library and its grounds will be smoke free. While smoking is currently not allowed in the Library, customers had been allowed to smoke outside of the building. This change is part of an update to the Library's Code of Conduct which was put in place to "provide and ensure a welcoming environment, including quiet areas for study and work."
New signs indicating this change will go up on June 1 in the parking lots and near Library entrances.