Glencoe Public Library Receives Illinois Centennial Award

At our centennial party last weekend, we were presented the Centennial Award from the Illinois State Historical Society. Watch the video below to see Trustee John Tuohy reading from the plaque.

Library Publishes Centennial History

We've had such an exciting 100 years that we decided to publish our history as a book!  We revealed the book Our First 100 Years at our centennial celebration, and you can view it online here, or come in to the library to view a hard copy.  We hope you enjoy it!

Happy Birthday to Us!!!

We're having a birthday party - and you're all invited!!!  That's right, in 2010 the library will be 100 years old!  On Sunday, January 10, all Glencoe residents are warmly invited to help us celebrate.  We'll gather in the Johnson Room for birthday treats, live music, and an exhibit on the library's first century.  This is an event that only happens every 100 years, so we hope that you can make it!

Special Centennial Program on African Americans in Glencoe

On Sunday, December 13th, Robert A. Sideman, author of the just published book African Americans in Glencoe: The Little Migration, will visit the library to discuss why he found his topic worthy of years of research, surprises he encountered along the way, and the road to publication.  This is yet another special program celebrating the library's centennial.

Exciting Centennial Fun for All Ages

We have two great centennial programs coming up over the next week. On Sunday, October 18 at 2:00 we will be hosting a special showing of Meet Me in St. Louis, the classic 1944 musical, released just three years after the library moved to its current location. And then on October 22 at 4:15 we will be having a book discussion just for kids on the book At Ellis Island, by Louise Peacock. All of the events leading up to our birthday bash on January 10 can be found on our centennial site.

Centennial Program: Glencoe Then and Now

Return to when streets were unpaved, chief activities were shopping at the local butchers or bakers, and children played on wooden sidewalks, as Ellen Paseltiner and Scott Javore visit the library on Sunday the 20th at 2:00 and present this Glencoe Historical Society program on our village's fascinating past. Originally created as part of Glencoe's second grade curriculum, Glencoe Then and Now has been reinterpreted for adults and is being presented as part of our Centennial celebration. Make sure you visit our Centennial site for more information on activities surrounding the Centennial.

Centennial Website

We are very excited about the library's centennial and the special events planned to celebrate our first 100 years. In fact, we are so excited that we created a new website entirely dedicated to the centennial! Not only does our new centennial site have all of the information about current and future programs for young and old, but it features trivia and histories of the library and Glencoe as well. We've even thrown in classic photographs, summer reading lists, and a downloadable audio driving tour, and we expect to add much more in the future. You can use the link in this email or find it on the top of the TOC on our homepage. Feel free to use the site's comment form to send us any type of information or feedback on what you'd like to see.

Daniel Burnham Exhibit

As part of our Centennial programming, we will have a Daniel Burnham exhibit running in the Hammond Room through December. Entitled Make Big Plans - Daniel Burnham's Vision of an American Metropolis, this photopanel exhibit, curated by The Newberry Library, tells about Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago. Stay tuned or visit our new Centennial site for more Centennial programming.

Our Centennial Celebration Begins

The library will be 100 years old soon, and to celebrate we are planning a series of special events. The first of these events will take place on Monday, April 6th at 7:00, with a program on another important centennial - that of the Burnham Plan. The year 2009 marks the centennial of Daniel Burnham’s visionary plan for Chicago and its environs and this slide lecture explores the Burnham plan along with its origins and sources. Learn about the full scope of the 1909 plan and its relationship to European and American precedents with art historian Jeff Mishur.

We have many more exciting events planned in honor of our Centennial - for more information check out our newsletter, contact us or just watch this space!

We Need Your Help!!!

As we get ready to celebrate our centennial year—the library was founded in 1910—we ask for your help. Do you have any old photographs or documents having to do with the library? Please let us take a look at your library memorabilia of any sort, especially from our earliest years. We are not asking that you donate your items; we’d just like to look at them and possibly copy or borrow them for an exhibit. Please call or email us with any useful information!

Library Centennial Vehicle Sticker Design Contest

The Glencoe Human Relations Forum is sponsoring a contest to design a vehicle sticker that honors the Glencoe Public Library's upcoming centennial. The contest is open to kindergarteners through 8th graders who may work alone or in a team. The design will be reduced to 3" x 3" and reprinted in four colors, so you should keep the design simple. Also, "Village of Glencoe" and "2009" must appear in the design. Entry forms can be picked up at the library and must be returned to the library, Village Hall or your teacher by Tuesday, October 7, 2008.