With the school year coming to an end, the opportunity to learn new skills is limited. Students and working adults alike find their summer days filled with lounging and vacation. More often than we would like to admit, however, we spend our days twiddling thumbs and awaiting more exciting days. While we long for adventure,…
The residents of Libertyville and Mundelein witnessed rapid change during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from the installation of Libertyville's first electric lights in June 1897 to Mundelein's first telephone in the early 1900's. Few changes, however, had quite the impact than the transition from horse-drawn carriages to our new ubiquitous cars. So let…
Lisa See's latest novel is set on a beautiful volcanic island off the coast of South Korea called Jeju. Nowadays it's called "Honeymoon Island," but until the end of the 20th century, it was the home of the haenyo, or sea women. These women formed diving collectives and caught seafood to feed and support their…
On May 24, 1999, the genealogy world welcomed the launch of a website called FamilySearch.org, a new and different way of researching ancestors with free images and indexed records. In the ensuing 20 years, we genealogists have come to rely on FamilySearch.org as one of the top online sites for our research. We find an…
Weretigers. Ghosts. Missing fingers. Yangsze Choo artfully weaves Asian folklore and the supernatural throughout her haunting new book, The Night Tiger. Part of the story is told through the eyes of an 11-year-old orphan, Ren. He dearly misses his dead twin, Yi, who often appears to him in dreams. Ren works as a houseboy for…
On a beautiful fall morning in Paris, things are not normal. Kate Moore, expat American in Paris, mother of two, and clandestine CIA agent, senses it almost immediately. There are sirens in the distance, too many, coming closer, and she wonders if this is the day her world will begin to fall apart. Over the…
Children’s librarian Melissa Phillips interviews Suzanne Slade, a prolific author whose recent picture book, Astronaut Annie, is literally out of this world. Learn about what goes into the creation of a children’s non-fiction book (hint: lots and lots of research in some fascinating places!). SHOW NOTES: Suzanne Slade’s website Suzanne Slade’s books held by Cook…
In April, tons of patrons logged into their nifty and free Lynda.com accounts to learn about a software or program they're unfamiliar with. Courses on Lynda scope from Animation all the way to Marketing. There is something out there for everyone and all you need is a CMPLD card and an internet connection! Check out…
When Princess Elizabeth announced her official engagement to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark in 1947, the news came as a welcome distraction to the harsh reality of post-World War II England. Jennifer Robson’s new novel, The Gown, takes the reader to this period when citizens had to maintain a stiff upper lip in the…
Taylor Jenkins Reid captures the wild and crazy 1970s rock ‘n roll scene in her fun new novel, Daisy Jones & The Six. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Reid said she “wanted it to feel like an episode of Behind the Music, as if you were hearing it from the people directly. That there was…
