Oak Park Library is currently closed and will re-open on Monday, Dec. 18 at 9 a.m.
JoCoLibrary Uncovered
Did you get a chance to hear this month's podcast episode?
Some call it Civic Engagement. We call it Community Matters! The Library has a plethora of programs, events, services and resources for you, yes you, to be a more informed citizen. Ashley Fick drops by to share her journey to becoming our Civic Engagement Librarian. We get the inside scoop on the "how," "what" and "why" behind Legislative Coffees, Civics 101, Gather at the table, the News and Views group, Librarian Research Guides and Elections.
Members of the Civic Engagement committee phone in to share why they participate on this important team and explain why community matters.
Charles talks to Community Matters Book Club coordinator Melanie Fuemmeler. Our music guest is Jill Westra & Them KC Boys sharing the track "Speedin' Again" and an essay from author Virginia Brackett.
Come spend an entertaining hour with us. Who knows, this might just be the episode where we finally find Paul Rudd! (Spoiler alert ... it's not.)
New Podcast Episode
Discover Your Library: The Arts
We're back again for your monthly Library Insider. it's the Did you hear? podcast and we are on part 4 of our Discover Your Library special. This month? The Arts!
Music, art exhibitions, writing ... we have so much to offer artists and you!
In this episode:
- Musical guest The Wires
- Local Writer Martha Gershun reads her short story: "The Hatch"
- Local Arts Librarian Bryan Voell chats about exhibitions, our new Artists in Sight on demand offerings, and the local music blog
- We sample an interview with Artist Sol Anzorena
- A talk with artist Dianna Bartel
- and so much more!
Art is transformative and transcendent. Let us take you away for the next hour or so.
Our Patrons
We're excited to release our newest Did you hear? podcast episode. "Our Patrons" is the second in a series of seven episodes we're devoting to the theme: Discover Your Library!
Our Librarians chime in to share their favorite stories about our patrons. It's sometimes funny, often heart-warming and always interesting. Join Charles and Dave as we attempt to answer the question, "Just who are our patrons?"
Discover the new podcast episode!
Exciting news! We were able to record in-person for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. Not-so-exciting news...the audio isn't perfect—we're rusty. But, listenable? Yes!
In this episode we have even more exciting news. We're introducing a 7-part storytelling series we're calling "Discover Your Library." From now until the end of the year we will be sharing stories from patrons and Librarians. We'll look behind-the-scenes of our events and our collection. We'll explore the connection between the Library and civics. We'll reveal how the Library plays an important role in supporting local arts.
We introduce you to our new series AND we play some fun getting-to-know-you games so you can learn a little bit more about your podcast hosts. Did you hear?
The Poetry Episode
It's another Did you hear? podcast episode with Shannon, Jack, Charles and Dave!
In this episode, we offer closure to poetry month and suggest poetry should not be confined to a single month. We crammed this episode full—like an over-stuffed el grande burrito—with flavorful content from all kinds of tasty angles. (OK, we're not poets, but we love poetry!)
- Hear poets featured in elementia
- A look back at our Poetry Walk and how it lives on digitally
- Exciting upcoming poetry writing programs and a visit from an impressive author
- Physical art as poetry
- What happened to KCUR's New Letters on the Air?
- Our haikus!
- Your haikus!
- And the latest installment of In Search of Paul Rudd
All this and more! It's the Poetry episode and it's not to be missed. When is this delightful episode available? Right now!
April Podcast Episode Encore
April's Did you hear? podcast episode is "Parents as Teachers"?
Whether it's homeschooling, or home learning that complements traditional school, Library resources are available to help. Parents as Teachers describes the role, relationship and resource of you as a critical educator.
Our March theme? Poetry.
We have a look back at our poetry walk to give you a behind the scenes look at how this incredible outdoor event came together. We share some of the great works presented on the walk and help you find more great poetry. Also, we look into poetry events and even explore physical art as poetry.
New Podcast: Parents as Teachers
What do we mean by "Parents as Teachers"?
Well, parents as teachers can mean being involved in your child's K-12 education--COVID distance learning or not. But, COVID has maybe forced many of us to be a bit more involved. Whether it's homeschooling or home learning that complements traditional school, Library resources available to help. Parents as Teachers describes the role, relationship and resource of you as a critical educator.
We pursue stories loosely-related to this broad theme and have some fun as well. Be sure to stick around until the end for another edition of In Search of Paul Rudd.
March and April Podcast Episodes
The Did you hear? podcast March episode's theme is "Things You Can Still Do at the Library." We bring you stories about Udemy, the MakerSpace, Career Development's relationship with a retiree helping you make sense of mint.com and budgeting, and bringing famous authors to storytimes.
We're excited to announce we are excitedly working on our April episode, "Parents as Teachers." Broadly, this theme explores parental involvement in education. We've got something for parents of any K-12 student. COVID has forced many of us to be a bit more involved in our child's education than we ever have before. The Library can help! Whether it's homeschooling or home learning that complements traditional school, Library resources can make your life easier. Join us April 1st to dive into the roles, relationships and resources for parents as teachers.
New Podcast Episode
The Did you hear? podcast makes its triumphant 2021 return. It's been a while since you last heard from your Library insider, but we're back! This year, we have some changes. We are now a monthly podcast. New episodes are released on the first day of each month. Also, we now have a small group of hosts who bring behind-the-scenes stories to life for our thematic episodes. This month's theme? "Things You Can Still Do at the Library." We bring you stories about Udemy, the MakerSpace, Career Development's relationship with a retiree helping you make sense of mint.com and budgeting, and bringing famous authors to storytimes. All this and Dave has a brain glitch causing him to forget the name for the prestigious annual award for children's book illustrators (Before you scream at your phone or computer, it's the Caldecott Medal.) Enjoy!