Write Through Chicago: A Writing Workshop for Young Adults

Tell Chicago’s history in your own words at this mini writing workshop! Students in 5th–8th grades are invited to stretch their creativity by writing about such events as Lincoln’s Chicago funeral, the Columbian Exposition, the first McDonald’s burger, and the Haymarket Riot. The workshop will be taught by Bob Boone and Mark Henry Larson, former teachers and authors of the recently published writing program and book Write Through Chicago: Learn About a City by Writing About a City. The workshop takes place at 1:00 on Friday, November 14th. Registration is required; please sign up at the Reference Desk by November 13.

Lyric Opera Lectures: Il Trovatore

Enrich your operagoing experience with our series of Lyric Opera lectures! Jeffrey Sherman of the Lyric’s lecture corps will present a program on Il Trovatore on Tuesday, October 14th at 1:00 - just in time for opening night. Later in the season, we’ll feature Anna Bolena (on December 2) and The Passenger (on February 17).

A History of Service - The First Hundred Years of Family Service of Glencoe

Glencoe has always been a caring community and nothing demonstrates that better than the founding and development of Family Service of Glencoe. FSG partners with the Glencoe Public Library and the Glencoe Historical Society to present a special program on Sunday, October 5 at 2:00 on the evolution of this treasured Glencoe resource. Don’t miss it!

Attention and Executive Functioning in the Classroom

Join us on Wednesday, October 1st at 7:30 when Drs. Jennifer Edidin and Dorit Raviv, of the Evaluation Center for Learning in Northfield, will speak to parents about attention and executive functioning in school-aged children. They will discuss associated disorders, assessment, ideas for intervention, and school accommodations.

100th Anniversary Celebration of Ravine Bluffs Begins

A century ago, a remarkable Glencoe family hired two giants of design - Frank Lloyd Wright and Jens Jensen - to envision homes and a landscape for their rolling, ravine-cut property near the bluffs of Lake Michigan. The result, the Ravine Bluffs enclave, was and still is a source of pride for our community. It contains six homes, three poured concrete planters, and a bridge designed by Wright; with the two additional Wright homes in the village, little Glencoe is home to the third highest concentration of Wright-designed structures in the world.

To celebrate the centennial of Ravine Bluffs, the Glencoe Historical Society is partnering with the library and other community institutions for a year of special events. Opening the series on Sunday, September 28, at 5:00 p.m., will be Glencoe resident and noted architectural historian Gwen Summers-Yant, who will present a slide program on Frank Lloyd Wright in Glencoe. Held in the library’s Johnson Room, the lecture will trace the development of Ravine Bluffs, discuss its architectural distinctions, and explore some of the fascinating personal aspects of the Booth family (who founded the subdivision) and their relationship with Wright. Please note that the library will close at 4:00 and will reopen at 4:30 for seating. Please stay tuned for other Frank Lloyd Wright-related programs in the library and the village, including our Sunday, November 2nd program where an architectural historian will take an in-depth look at one of the Wright-designed Glencoe homes.

Moments of Peace: Mindfulness Program

Create moments of peace throughout the day. How? Easy. Just by seeing things mindfully. In this class we will experience five different ways of seeing the world mindfully, so that you can cool down and become calm almost anywhere…anytime! This class will be taught by Xianyang Carl Jerome of the North Shore Meditation and Dharma Center of Highland Park, and Glencoe resident Caren Deane Thomas, a consultant who incorporates mindful awareness in her practice. The class will take place in the Hammond Room on Sunday, September 28th at 1:00 and will repeat on Thursday, October 16th at 1:00.

College Admissions 101

Not sure where to begin your college search process? Stressed out by the amount of information on the 'best' colleges to attend? On Tuesday, September 23rd at 7:30, Thomas Jaworski of Quest College Consulting will host a one-hour interactive program (bring your smart device) that will provide tips on identifying the best academic, social and financial fit for all families. This program is for both students and parents.

Monday Night at the Movies Venue Change

Due to the upcoming demolition of the Women's Library Club building, all of our Monday Night at the Movies screenings have been moved to the Hammond Room of the library. This change of venue will begin with our August 18th screening of Finding Vivian Maier. We will continue to screen Monday Night at the Movies films at 1:00 and 7:00 and, as always, all our of films are free of charge and open to everyone.

The Essential Great Chicago Fire

It started in a barn and in two days nearly destroyed a city! On  Wednesday, July 30th at 7:00 p.m., presenter William Pack will weave together technical details of the fire with vivid, firsthand accounts from those who lived through the conflagration of 1871. This entertaining, multimedia storytelling event is suitable for adults, teens, and families with older children.

The College Essay, or How to Keep an Admissions Officer Awake

The essay is the only part of a college application that’s completely in the student’s control. On Tuesday, July 29th at 7:30 pm you can learn how to make the most of it from Hanna Stotland, a college admissions consultant with over a decade of experience. Ms. Stotland will cover getting started, subjects to avoid, and how to stand out from the crowd. Both students and parents are welcome.

The Surrealist World of René Magritte

The paintings of Belgian Surrealist René Magritte have long fascinated viewers. Many find Magritte's works as intellectually challenging as they are visually appealing. Art historian Jeff Mishur returns to the library on Monday, July 7 at 7:00 to discuss Magritte's relationship to the Surrealist movement and places his work in an appropriate historic context. Jeff's slide lectures are always popular and informative!

Chef and Author Ina Pinkney

Come meet The Breakfast Queen on Wednesday, June 25 at 7:00 pm!  Restaurateur Ina Pinkney, chef and owner until a few months ago of Ina’s in the West Loop, will read from her 2013 memoir and cookbook Taste Memories: Recipes for Life and Breakfast and will bring samples of one of her most popular recipes. Ms. Pinkney was awarded the Golden Whisk Award from the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs Organization, was a leader in getting smoking banned from Chicago restaurants, was a co-recipient of Chicago magazine’s 2011 Green Award, and was named the Small Business Association’s 2008 Woman in Business Champion. Copies of Taste Memories will be available for purchase and signing.

Sign up for Wordplaygrounds

Do you enjoy writing poems, stories, and creative nonfiction? Have fun exploring the world - and the worlds of your imagination - through language this summer. Our popular Wordplaygrounds creative writing workshop for students ages 13-19 returns to the library this summer on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:00-8:30 pm, from June 24 through July 17. Taught by author and New Trier English teacher John O’Connor, this fun, interactive workshop will feature guest artists, chances for publication, and a open mic reading as well. Back by popular demand for its third year, this program is funded by the Friends of the Glencoe Public Library. If you would like to be part of the Wordplaygrounds workshop, please call the library to sign up by Friday, June 20. Glencoe teens will be given priority if the workshop fills up.

Chicago's Outdoor Public Sculpture

Take an indoor walking tour of Chicago’s outdoor art on Tuesday, June 17 at 7:00 pm with Susan Musich, the primary lecturer for Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Beginning with the Picasso in Daley Plaza and ending with the works in Millennium Park, Ms. Musich will reveal how contemporary artists are changing the face of our city and our ideas about what public sculpture can and should be. Her spring program on contemporary art was very well received - don’t miss this one!

The Chicago White Sox and the Pennant of 1959

Join Glencoe author and baseball historian Charles Billington on Tuesday, May 20 at 7:30 pm in a celebration of the Go-Go 1959 White Sox. This colorful team, a unique blend of remarkable pitching, fielding and speed but not much offense, brought an American League pennant to the South Side for the first time in 40 years. Billington will analyze the season and show rare film footage and will also talk about the behind-the-scenes front office conflicts, the economic climate of baseball in that era, and the impact and social implications the White Sox had on the fabric of the city.

Write Through Chicago program cancelled

Our Write Through Chicago program has been cancelled and will be rescheduled for the fall.

Early Emergent Literacy Workshop

Do you have a Pre-School, Kindergarten, or 1st grade child that knows their letters and sounds, and can answer questions asked about books but has become frustrated with the next steps in reading? Join Glencoe resident Dr. Erika Burton, education expert and founder of Stepping Stones Together, at 7:00 pm on Thursday, May 8 for a hands-on workshop to empower you with the seamless tools to help your child with beginning and emergent literacy.

Surviving Standardized Testing

PSAT, ACT, SAT. High schoolers face an alphabet soup of standardized testing that can determine where they get into college. College admissions consultant Hanna Stotland will be at the library on Tuesday May 6 at 7:30 pm to explain why these tests became so important, how colleges use them, and how to choose the right test preparation for you. Master the testing system and maximize your score!

Meet Chicago Quarterly Review

Do you know about Chicago Quarterly Review? Here's your chance to get up close and personal with this nonprofit, independent literary journal that publishes short stories, poems, translations and essays by emerging and established writers. Volume 17 (The Chicago Issue) of CQR has just been published. It features the talents of 54 writers and visual artists who demonstrate Chicago's deep well of literary and artistic vitality. On Monday, May 5 at 7 pm, the library will host several contributors to The Chicago Issue as well as one of the CQR's editors. They'll show, read from, and talk about their work. Copies of The Chicago Issue will also be available for purchase at the event from Books on Vernon, a longtime partner of CQR.

Crawl Into 5 Plays!

Imagine being able to crawl into someone else’s mind and experience an entirely different world! How much fun would that be? That is just what we’re going to be doing as we read and digest five different plays. We'll poke around in the mind of the playwright, morph into the play’s characters, explore the scenery and setting and, ultimately, be the critical audience. And instead of just watching the five plays, we will become the plays! Along the way, we will discover the beauty and power of the language and come to appreciate artists who manage to say exactly what they want to say and still make us understand. Michael Kamen, a Glencoe resident with many years of experience as a film producer and college faculty member, will lead these sessions. This program is jointly sponsored by the Glencoe Public Library and the Glencoe Park District and will take place at the Takiff Center, 999 Green Bay Road. It will run on Thursdays; May 8, 15, 22, 29, and June 5, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Registration is required: call (847) 835-5056 to register.