National Library Week | Libraries Broaden Our World
From clay tablets to parchment and papyrus scrolls. Libraries have been valued as repositories of knowledge since at least 2600 B.C. But it was after the invention of paper that public libraries were formed. While books are the mainstay of our libraries, they offer so much more.
During National Library Week (April 4-10), take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the resources Chicago Public Library (CPL) offers. In addition to books (hardcover, audio, e-books), check out the movies, music, magazines, virtual programs, and other information such as an archival collection, Chicago history, and 100 years of Chicago newspapers.
"Libraries broaden our world,” said Chicago Public Library Commissioner Chris Brown and one of the newest members of Friends of the Edgewater Library. “They’re about learning and exploring our potential, and I can’t think of higher stakes than the collective potential of our neighborhoods." (See News-Star article below for the story on his recent visit to Edgewater.)
Friends of the Edgewater Library and Edgewater library staff meet the new CPL Commissioner, Chris Brown, second from right. Chris also toured the Rogers Park Library while in the neighborhood.
Brown, a former Uptown resident, joined CPL in February 2021. He has more than 13 years of experience working in multi-branch public library systems.
Nationally recognized for innovation in libraries, he most recently served as the Deputy County Librarian at Santa Clara County Library District in California.
Books on his nightstand – all available through CPL – include the following:
The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future by Joseph E. Stiglitz
Leading with Dignity: How to Create a Culture That Brings Out the Best in People by Donna Hicks Ph.D.
Eyes on the Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs by Robert Kanigel
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
Tell us what you’re reading at our next meeting of The No Book Club on April 26. Register.
Read more about how libraries show up in fiction on the CPL blog, Libraries in Fiction, and in this general search on Books About Libraries. Also check out this 2019 CPL post by Edgewater Branch Librarian, Joanna Hazelden on the movie by Emilio Estevez, The Public, which talks about the role libraries play in communities and the lives of the people they serve.
Article From the News-Star
News-Star Features CPL Commissioner’s Visit to Edgewater Branch Library & Friends in its March 24-30 issue