News from RAILS & Libraries

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically changed how patrons and library staff utilize and learn in makerspaces or within their maker communities. Beyond topics of public health and politics, this pandemic has shown the importance of the skills and sense of community that one may gain in makerspaces. A...

After Lisle Library’s Adult and Teen Focus Librarian, Noelle Spicher, started hearing about the success of teen book box programs in other libraries, she began crafting a procedure to try out the program at LLD and it went live in January 2020. A few months after the launch of the teen program...

Yes, it’s November. Yes, many of us are still recovering from the Summer Reading Program that wasn’t (or almost wasn’t). No, we don’t want to think about Summer Reading 2021, but like it or not, planning time is here. Normally, libraries base their coming programs on participation and response rates...

As part of the My Library Is… campaign, RAILS and AISLE are teaming up to offer up to ten $1,000 grants to help school libraries promote their value. My Library Is... Grants for School Libraries are designed to help libraries tell their stories in a more coordinated and impactful way. RAILS and...

At the 2020 ILA Annual Conference, I had the privilege of co-presenting a program, Effective Library Marketing Campaigns, with two colleagues, Burgundy Hill from Quincy Public Library and Ann Reeves from Eureka Public Library District. Our presentation focused on how libraries can promote themselves...

The Lincolnwood Public Library Junior Justice League, a community service club for 3rd-8th graders, works throughout the school year to highlight kids’ voices and interests to provide activism and agency. They choose the causes and projects to focus on - ranging from supporting animals in shelters...

RAILS Member Engagement Manager Dan Bostrom speaks with Sasha Vasilic, the Public Relations and Marketing Supervisor, Niles-Maine District Library about the Best. Deal. Ever. campaign. This campaign won the Niles-Maine District Library a John Cotton Dana Award from the American Library Association...

When Illinois’s Stay at Home order went into effect on March 21, 2020 and public libraries were required to close their buildings, something happened. At RAILS we started to see a noticeable shift in user behavior on the eRead Illinois Axis 360 e-content platform. The number of holds being placed on...

In 2019, the Matteson Area Public Library District organized its first comic-con event, MAPLD FanFest, in April. Initially, we weren’t sure how our community would receive the idea of a FanFest. We hoped for at least 300 attendees but were pleasantly surprised that we had close to 1,000. With the...

RAILS Member Engagement Manager Dan Bostrom speaks with Dr. Mary Moen from the School Librarians of Rhode Island about Overdue: The Value of School Librarians. The School Librarians of Rhode Island produced this short documentary style advocacy film to show the value of school librarians. Please be...

In 1959, a housing developer began work on new, upscale homes in Deerfield, with a difference--the development would be racially integrated. Many residents immediately opposed the development. In the weeks that followed, residents passed a park referendum to condemn the developer’s land. The crisis...

Are you interested in library advocacy and outreach? Want to help RAILS libraries tell their story and make the case for increased support/funding? Apply to be a My Library Is.. Advisory Group member! RAILS is seeking seven volunteers to help publicize the campaign and make people more aware of...

Colona District Public Library’s Youth Services assistant, Bailey Hager, had a very busy spring and summer. Bailey began a Virtual Story Time in March which will continue indefinitely. She purposefully chose books to match crafts she was demonstrating using items easily found in a home. She used...

As librarians working during COVID-19, our main challenge is to understand our community’s needs when social distancing is a must. In the past three months, the Northlake Public Library District has worked through four different re-opening phases that required constant adaptation and resilience...

When the initial coronavirus shutdown came in early March, no one had any idea long it would actually last. Libraries closed with little or no warning. Books that were checked out could not be returned, new books could not be checked out, and all the programs and activities that libraries pride...