City of Stories: The Edgewater Library

Hard at work.

This year, the Chicago Public Library’s theme is “City of Stories,” which celebrates stories that explore people, community and culture, and the common themes that connect us. 

The final exhibit - City of Stories: The Edgewater Library on display now.

That theme extended to the Edgewater Branch Library and its summer interns, Dana and Parrish, both age 16. After hearing stories about the library from its staff and patrons, they began to understand the community’s experiences and how the library helps them. Then Dana (l) and Parrish (r) created an exhibit, “City of Stories: The Edgewater Library,” which is displayed on the first floor.

Here’s what they learned:

• The Edgewater Library means a wide variety of things to different people. People of all ages and backgrounds come to the Edgewater Library to read, attend programs and connect with others.

• The Edgewater Library is more than just books; it provides a comfortable place for people to be and get help and advice on whatever they need.

• Over the years, the Edgewater Library has had a positive impact on the community and neighborhood.

The summer internship program is in partnership with After School Matters. In addition to this project, Dana and Parrish, assisted the children’s librarians with Summer Learning Challenge reporting and helped all librarians with prep, set up and break down of programs. They even taught staff how to make certain crafts before staff members taught them to patrons.

Chicago Public Library’s City of Stories.