The Evanston Public Library (both the Main Library and Robert Crown Branch) will be closed this Thursday, April 25, for a Staff Development Day.
January 15, 2016
Today’s story is a sad one that also hints at the bizarre. Many bizarre stories do have a bit of sadness to them, of course. Would that all the weirdness in the world was wacky. Our tale today concerns one of the very first librarians to work at Evanston Public Library. When the library was […]
January 14, 2016
You. You there. The cute one. The one who writes all that poetry in your spare time. You are aware that Evanston has a poetry contest coming up, yes? You are aware as well that anyone who is a resident can enter, right? Child, teen, adult, there are categories for everyone and the judge is the […]
January 13, 2016
When you are a venerable public institution you have a tendency to forget things. Staff members come and go. Buildings are raised and razed. A library is a house of information but that doesn’t mean we necessarily know the story behind everything that’s here (particularly when there is more than one location). Case in point, […]
January 12, 2016
Not every library hosts bloodthirsty killers every spring. Not every library is Evanston Public Library. When I started my job as Evanston’s new Collection Development Manager I was given a lovely little desk with a window that looked west down Church Street. My desk came with a computer, a phone, and a pair of binoculars. […]
January 11, 2016
Saying that you were the first to do anything is always a risky proposition. Have you ever looked into the history of earmuffs? The different claims as to who was the first to invent them have cropped up all over the place over the years (even inspiring the great picture book Earmuffs for Everyone by […]
January 8, 2016
Today’s feature is a piece of art sitting serenely on the third floor of the main library that is not all that it appears to be. When you come up the steps on the third floor, turn to your immediate left. There, on the wall, rests a lovely painting by French academic painter William Adolph […]
January 7, 2016
The year was 1960. Things were changing in Evanston. Money was good. The downtown area was undergoing all kinds of renovation. And Evanston Public Library was doing something it had needed to do for years: Get more space. Mind you, the new space was being made at the expense of the old. The beautiful 1908 […]
January 6, 2016
Imagine you’ve stepped foot into the main location of Evanston Public Library for the very first time (it’s easy if you try). You have no guide. No one telling you where things are or where to find anything. There’s a remarkably friendly concierge greeting you as you walk in, but beyond that you’re on your […]
January 5, 2016
Let’s be honest. At this point in time there is nothing new or particularly innovative about blogging. 15 years ago it was viewed as an odd, somewhat self-indulgent activity. Amusingly there was a bit of fear surrounding it as well. I dont know if you happen to remember the heady Reviewers-That-Blog-Will-Kill-Print-Reviews scare of the early […]
