The Illinois Heartland Library System’s 8th Annual Library Crawl is underway, and this past week, four Tolono Library staff members took some time out of their day to go crawling. Over the course of eight hours, Hilary, Leslie, Amy, and Megan visited nine libraries on a westward portion of the trail. Starting at Allerton Public Library in Monticello, they continued to Goose Creek Library District in DeLand before making their way to the Argenta- Oreana Library District which has two branches: one in each town. At the Forsyth Public Library, the crawlers were envious of the metal flying book water fountain that they had outside their building. The Maroa Public Library has a beautiful outdoor patio area with a sound garde, water fountain, and fire pit; the director said they use the area a lot of programming including events such as movie nights. The group stopped for lunch in Clinton at Coffee Corner before making their way to the Vespasian Warner Public Library across town. Their main library building had been built in the ‘90s attached to their own building from the nineteenth century. There are several Carnegie libraries in Illinois, and one of them is home to the Lincoln Public Library District. There, a clerk, Alex, gave us a special tour of their upper floor that has never been renovated. As we walked up the narrow, curving staircase, we warned us of the paint that still had lead in it. The top of the stairs ended just before an office that used to belong to the director of the library. Another door led us to an attic space that let us see the top of their stained-glass dome. It was a beautiful library and definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Our final stop was at the quaint Mt. Pulaski Library before we headed back home. At each stop, our Tolono Library Adventurers were met with friendly workers who were more than happy to share information on their library. They were inspired by other libraries’ displays, programs, and structures, and returned with enthusiasm to try these new ideas!
The library crawl continues through the end of October; you can pick up your passport at your local Illinois Heartland library. For Tolono Library Patrons, if you visit 5 libraries and return your passport with their five stamps by the end of the month, you will be entered to win our cozy prize basket that includes a copy of The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. There are several more programs coming up at the library this month. To see a full list be sure to visit our website or stop in for a calendar!