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 […]


They’re In Evanston?!?

February 14, 2018

I get very attached to my adopted homes. Evanston is probably the smallest of the cities I’ve lived in for long periods of time and, for that reason, I find it the most fascinating. Sitting like a little hat on the top of Chicago, it seems to have this odd ability to pull in talent […]


The Library is the Community’s Center for Developing Many Forms of Literacy

February 6, 2018

By Karen Danczak-Lyons The public library has always been the communal center of literacy in the American experience. Throughout 2018, we at the Evanston Public Library will strive to make it an important third location in the lives of Evanstonians after home and work or school. That means we are focused on stretching our mission, […]


The Public Library: A Good Home for Mental Health Literacy

January 31, 2018

This is one in a series of occasional perspective pieces the Evanston Public Library will be publishing on the ever evolving role of the library in our community. The Public Library is an Appropriate Home for Mental Health Literacy By Jill Skwerski, EPL Community Engagment Librarian First and foremost, the public library is a community […]


Holiday Gift Giving Suggestions from the Staff of EPL

December 6, 2017

If the people that work at Evanston Public Library know one thing, it’s how to recommend a book. Now I’m sure you’ve all already seen EPL’s magnificent 101 Great Books for Children list, produced just the other day. The list has been a great success (pick up a physical copy in the library today!), so […]


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