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Do you know who said, "You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time"?

Illinois’ very own Abraham Lincoln gets credit for this bit of wisdom. This year is the 150th anniversary of his funeral, so many people are interested in learning more about his life and times.

Continue Reading "Looking for Lincoln" →

The weather is getting gorgeous, and it’s time to open the windows and start clearing out.  This is the perfect time to purge, clean, organize, and resell – what else can motivate you more than a garage sale?  Whether it’s thrifting for a valuable find, or selling items for a profit, garage sales can fill a weekend with fun.

Continue Reading "Declutter with a Garage Sale" →

Free Comic Book Day is an annual tradition.  Local comic book stores let patrons choose from several special books for anyone looking to explore the world of comics.  There are selections from both Marvel and DC, as well as many independent publishers.  This year, we’ll also be celebrating at Des Plaines Public Library!

Continue Reading "Free Comic Books on May 2nd!" →

Image: “Spotted Joe Pye Weed” by Peter Gorman used under CC BY / Cropped from original

Spring has sprung – well, at least it did for a few days -- and my thoughts have turned to my back yard, where we will spend a majority of our free time this spring and summer.  On this 45th anniversary of Earth Day, I am thinking about how to make our yard the beautiful green place we’ll enjoy while also making it “green” in the environmental sense.

Last spring we were new to our house, so it seemed like every day there was a new bloom or flowering tree making its debut – I was thrilled to find that we had hyacinths and tulips early in spring, and then the lilacs (my favorite!) showed up, and then the gorgeous peonies!  The previous owner had a real green thumb and put in a variety of plants and flowers that bloomed across the seasons and we were able to enjoy a beautiful flowering yard all the way through fall.

Continue Reading "Make your greenspace greener" →

We love our teen volunteers - they're amazing! Each summer roughly 70 teens staff our Summer Reading sign up table. Think your teen would like to be a Summer Reading Club volunteer? Have them come to the library and pick up an application in either the YA area on the 2nd floor or the Teen Lounge on the 3rd.

I've been working with teen volunteers for several years now and I'd like to talk about how you, as a parent, can prep your teen to make the most of their volunteer experience.

Continue Reading "Be a Teen Volunteer at DPPL this Summer" →