Teachers & Parents

The Youth area is open during all regular Library hours.

Our Teen space, located on the second floor of the Central Library, is open weekends, after 2 p.m. weekdays during the school year, plus school holidays and breaks. Teachers and student group leaders can request to use Teen space outside regular hours. You'll get an email confirming that your request was submitted and we'll let you know if it's been approved. Please note that reservations must be made at least 7 days in advance.

School District 54's Battle of the Books is on! See the titles included in the Battle and reserve or check out a copy.

Teachers

Do you teach at a school or other location within our Library district? Contact one of our librarians for help with school services.

• Cherilyn Contreras, Early Literacy Librarian (birth – pre-K): @email
• Samantha Eichelberger, School Services and Community Engagement Librarian (elementary): @email
• Abbey Pignatari, Teen Community Engagement Librarian (junior high and high school): @email

School Visits

Take a field trip to the Library! We welcome all public, private, parochial and homeschool groups from preschool through high school within our district for a visit.

If you can't make it to us, the Library will come to you! We can bring the following to your classrooms, resource fairs or other school events:

• Interactive presentations on STEAM topics
• Library resources
• Book talks
• Engaging storytimes (for ages birth to 5 at preschools and child care centers)

Resource Bags

For teachers, we offer Resource Bags filled with books handpicked by our staff based on grade and reading level. Fill out a request form to start receiving bags.

School and Community Events

We love taking Library services and information on the road! We can bring library card registrations, STEAM activities, storytimes and more to festivals and resource fairs at schools and other locations in our district. Contact one of our librarians to request participation for your next event.

Parents

With the help of members of our community, we've created an original book of songs and rhymes from our community. Complete with beautiful illustrations, the books includes each rhyme in English and its native languague so you can celebrate the many cultures of our community while also instilling a love of reading in your little one.

Is your teen looking for a volunteer opportunity? High schoolers can earn some service hours with us! We've also put together a list of in-person options in the community.

We have events and programs for kids including storytimes, as well as year-round reading programs to encourage reading every day.

Tweens ages 9 to 12 are welcome to read, relax or play games in our dedicated tween space.

We have desktop computers reserved for children's use, as well as iPads preloaded with age-appropriate learning apps.