On May 11, the annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon, funded by the Friends of the Library, was held to honor our dedicated group of library volunteers. We celebrated their combined contribution of 25,382 hours of service to the Library. What a difference our 248 volunteers make each day to help expand our services and add value to the lives of our residents! They work throughout the Library, on the bookmobile and at the Arlington Heights Senior Center. Volunteers assist staff with a mulitude of tasks, including helping out at library programs, staffing the Reading Room and teaching computer classes at the

For one night, it was like the Masters at the Library, or at least the masters of mini golf. The Library was turned into a very unique mini golf course featuring our extensive collection. The Caddy Stacks mini golf event was a fundraiser for a new aquarium for Kids' World and a chance to see the Library in a whole new way. From the big blue monster that welcomed all to Kids' World to the stunning floral display from Sylvia's Flowers, the entire building was transformed.   We'd like to thank our participants and sponsors for their support of this event. Local businesses and individuals who made contributions include: Arlington Heights

On February 10, libraries across the state took photos of the happenings - big and small - at their libraries. It was part of an intiative by the Illinois Library Association to show how valuable libraries are to their communities. Putting on a puppet show is just one of the things that you can do at the Library.  Click here for a quick look at some other ways the Library is used every day.

The members of the Current Events Group at the Arlington Heights Senior Center strive to stay well-informed and have been doing so each week for more than 20 years. On Thursday, January 28, the group celebrated its 1,000th session. It is the Library's longest-running group and started as an offshoot of a Great Books Discussion Group with Tom Bernett as the original leader. He created the model for discussion that they use today and led the group for 18 years. The current discussion leaders are George Galvan, Amy Burke, Robert Gilden, and until recently, Taft Lowell.   The group has a very loyal following. Original

We want to thank our community for helping us earn a second consecutive "5-Star" rating from Library Journal magazine's annual Public Library Service ratings. Only 1% of the nation's public libraries receive a 5-star rating. To celebrate, we invite Arlington Heights residents to come into the Library during the week of January 11–17 to sign up for a prize. Courtesy of the Friends of the Library, four $25 gift cards to Barnes & Noble and a Wii game console will be awarded. Register at the Welcome Desk, Monday–Sunday, during open hours. Winners need not be present to win. One entry per

Arlington Heights is truly a community of good neighbors. Thanks to your generosity, the Library's first food drive collected more than 1,100 pounds of food for the CEDA and Wheeling Township food pantries. In addition, we collected more than 400 pounds of pet food and items for the Buddy Foundation. This was our 12th year of collecting new children's books for Wheeling Township's Adopt-a-Family holiday basket program. And once again our community of readers responded generously, donating 600 books and bringing our total to 10,293. We would like to thank everyone who participated - the many individuals and families who visited the Library; local book groups; staff at Toshiba Business Solutions, Rosseland Construction

For the second year in a row, Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service gave Arlington Heights Memorial Library a Five-Star rating – making it one of America’s top-rated libraries. Only 1% of public libraries across the nation are awarded this distinction.

Three watercolor paintings of Chicago scenes, donated to the Library in memory of former volunteer and Friends of the Library president George Krueger, were dedicated at a recent event. The paintings by artist Sally Perfect Wallman were selected by the Friends of the Library Art Committee and are hanging above the foreign film DVDs on the first floor. Pictured are Krueger’s daughter, Christine; his wife, Irene and Friends’ president Allison Anderson. More event photos.

The Library's new bookmobile made a grand entrance in the July 4 parade. It It rolled down the parade route accompanied by Library trustees, staff members and Junior Library Volunteers who spread the word, "Get the scoop at the Library," and passed out bottles of bubbles shaped like ice cream cones. The giveaways, which were a big hit with young parade goers, were generously funded by the Friends of the Library.

Junior Library Volunteer Andrew Napora wears the first-place medal he won at the 2009 Suburban Cook Regional Spelling Bee. Andrew will be in Washington D.C. for the Scripps National Spelling Bee beginning May 26. He is pictured with his dad, Mike, who works at the Library's Answer Center. Andrew is one of 293 spellers from all over the country who will be competing in the preliminary rounds which will be broadcast on ESPN360.com on Wednesday, May 27. The top 50 go into the semifinals on Thursday, May 28. You can find out more about Andrew by viewing his profile