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News & Announcements
Pursuing knowledge through lifelong learning is a great way to stay engaged and active. Whether you learn on your own time, take a free class or attend a fun presentation, your local library offers plenty of ways to help you stay sharp, learn new skills, and build connections to other people who share your interests. Here are just a few of the ways the Rock Island Public Library is helping adult learners beat cabin fever and learn something new:
Want to build your computer skills? Take advantage of these free February classes for adults at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street:
· Searching the Internet: Feb. 7, 11:30 a.m.
· Email Basics: Feb. 8, 2:00 p.m.
· Files, Folders & Flash Drives: Feb. 14, 11:30 a.m.
· Social Media: Feb. 15, 2:00 p.m.
Registration is required for these classes. Please call 309-732-7330 to sign up. These classes are full, but a second set of classes is planned for April. Registration for April classes begins March 5th!
Have a new Kindle, NOOK, Tablet or Reader? Learn how to download free eBooks and audiobooks with classes on the library’s OverDrive digital book service. Classes will be offered at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6 and at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at the Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street, and at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Rock Island Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road. Additional classes are scheduled for March and April. Each class offers the same content. For questions, please call 309-732-7330.
Enjoy Some Winter Reading. Pick up a good book and get creditfor it with the Rock Island Library’s‘get fired up for winter reading’ campaign. Simply complete an entry form for every book, audiobook or eBook you finish from February 1 to March 2, and drop it in the box to be entered in random prize drawing. Entry forms are available at all Rock Island Library locations. Looking for a good book to read? The library Alpha Book Club will discuss “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” by Garth Stein, at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6.
Going Somewhere? Learn a New Language with Mango! Mango is the easiest and most effective way to learn to speak a foreign language. Ask directions and learn other basic skills in German, French, Spanish or 31 other languages, or choose more advanced courses for a complete course in language and culture. Learn at your own speed, and repeat lessons whenever needed! Use Mango for free with a Rock Island Library card and Internet connection. For details, see “Internet Tools” at www.rockislandlibrary.org
Bored? Get Out of the House and Meet Others! The library’s new Senior Series will offer a variety of free presentations on history, music, culture, and more on selected dates in 2012. With the majority of programs scheduled at 2:00 p.m., they offer a quick mid-afternoon learning break.
2:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 13: “Women Serving Our Nation in the 1st and 2nd World Wars.” Celebrate Women’s History Month with a tribute to the contributions of women at the Rock Island Arsenal presented by Kris Leinicke, Director of the Rock Island Arsenal Museum.
2:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 27: “Eddie: Lincoln’s Forgotten Son,” with Civil War scholar Tom Emery, of Carlinville, IL. Edward Baker Lincoln, the second son of Abraham and Mary, died in 1850, just a month short of his fourth birthday. Yet his brief life had a profound influence on his parents, as Abraham underwent a religious transformation and Mary’s mental instabilities begun to take shape. This 45-minute program discusses several myths about the Lincolns, and emphasizes their life in Illinois before the White House.
2:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 10: Frederick Weyerhaeuser’s Lumber Company Beginnings in Rock Island: Come celebrate National Library Week by learning about logger baron and library patron Frederick Weyerhaeuser’s beginnings in Coal Valley and Rock Island, with a photo presentation by Gayle Rein. Weyerhaeuser contributed much of the funds to build the Rock Island Library’s 1903 downtown building.
All of the above programs are free and open to the public, and will be offered in the Rock Island Main Library Community Room, 401 19th Street. No registration is required.
A free print calendar of events is available each month at Rock Island Libraries. For more upcoming events at the Rock Island Library, visit www.rockislandlibrary.org, follow ‘RockIslandLibrary’ on Facebook, or call 309-732-7303.
| Last updated February 2, 2012 |
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Get Fired Up for Winter Reading at the Rock Island Library  Snowy days are a great time to warm up with a good book, which is why the Rock Island Public Library is promoting a “Get Fired Up for Winter Reading” program from Tuesday, January 17 through March 2 at all library branches. The contests are open to children from pre-Kindergarten through 6th grade levels and for adults. The "fired up for reading" theme coincides with Chinese New Year on January 23 and the Year of the Dragon in 2012.
Children’s reading logs are available at two reader levels. The reading log for children in pre-kindergarten through second grades allows younger readers to record the title of each book they read, or have read to them. Children can earn prizes at the 10 book half-way point, and at the 20-book finish. More advanced readers in the third through sixth grades are encouraged to record their reading in 20 minute increments. Prizes are awarded at five and 10 hours of reading time.
Reading logs are available at all Rock Island Library locations starting January 17, and are due back to the library by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 2.
Adults can get fired up for reading simply by completing a short entry form for each book read or listened to from January 17 to March 2, 2012. eBooks and audio books also count as an entry. Forms and entry boxes will be available at all Rock Island Library locations. Prizes will be randomly drawn from completed entries after March 2, with winners notified by phone.
Funding for children’s and adult winter reading was provided by the Friends of the Rock Island Public Library.
Teens are participating in the Beast Your Brain Teen Read Challenge, which encourages teens to read 250 minutes or more until January 28. Teen Read Challenge logs are also available at all Rock Island Library locations. The Teen Read Challenge is sponsored by all Quad City libraries.
| Last updated January 26, 2012 |
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Rock Island Libraries Observe Furlough Day on Wednesday, Feb. 29 All branches closed due to city-wide budget cuts The Rock Island Main, 30/31 Branch and Southwest Branch Libraries will be closed on Wednesday, Feb. 29 as the result of city-wide budget cuts. Library staff will be on unpaid leave, and will not be available by phone, email or in person. As a result, most library services, including the availability of book drops, public computer access and the ability to pick up books on hold, will be affected.
This is the last in a series of six furlough days planned for the library’s current fiscal year, which extends from April 1, 2011 to March 30, 2012.
The last day to check out or return library items before the one-day closure will be Tuesday, Feb. 28..
· No materials will be due on the furlough day and no fines will be accrued for that day.
· Rock Island Library book drops will be locked after 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday. They reopen on Thursday, March 1. Patrons are warned not to leave books and materials outside library locations during the furlough day. Fees will be assessed for lost or damaged items left outside book drops.
· Patrons will be able to use the online catalog to search for items and place holds, but staff will not be available to process the books and materials reserved on a daily basis.
· eBooks and downloadable audiobooks will continue to be available via the library’s OverDrive digital media subscription. Email, phone and text notification services will continue, but patrons will not be able to pick up reserved items until the library re-opens.
· Most portions of the library website will be available, such as online calendars, online databases and downloadable ebooks, but staff will not be available to maintain the website or answer questions about the use of library resources.
Regular library hours and services resume Thursday, March 1, 2012.
Complete details on affected services are available at the “library closing’ page.
| Last updated January 26, 2012 |
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The February art exhibit at the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street, features art works by Rock Island/Milan high schools. The "Art Start" show is sponsored and organized by the Rock Island Art Guild. Works are available for viewing during regular library hours. The show is on the 2nd floor of the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street.
| Last updated February 1, 2012 |
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| Last updated January 26, 2012 |
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Rock Island Public Library belongs to the RiverShare Libraries group. Check out our new catalog at the link above!
Need Tax Help? Volunteers from the United Way and the AARP Tax-Aide program will be at the Rock Island Main Library this Saturday, Feb. 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to provide free tax preparation services for families earning less than $49,000 annually. For details, see our "Be Money Wise" page or call the United Way at 563-355-9900. Cabin Fever? Learn something new @ your library! Take advantage of book discussion groups, OverDrive eBook classes, Winter Reading programs, teen events, children's storytimes, children's craft nights, Lego clubs and more. Print off our February calendar and keep it handy! Check our online calendar, news and newsletter links for more information on library events. eNews newsletter.
| Last updated February 2, 2012 |
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 If you’ve recently received an e-Reader or other portable reading or listening device, and want to read or listen to free library books, the Rock Island Library has a free class for you. The Rock Island Library will offer“How to download eBooks and more with OverDrive" at the following dates and times:
6:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, Main LIbrary downtown, 401 19th Street
10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21, Main Library,
10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Rock Island Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road.
6:00 p.m, Tuesday, March 6, Main Library Community Room
The same content will be presented at all classes.
Please note that this class will show you how to download OverDrive eBooks or eAudio titles to a portable reading or listening device. It is NOT a class on using your device.
OverDrive is the library’s digital books subscription. It allows Rock Island Library cardholders to download free eBooks and audiobooks onto a wide variety of digital devices, including eReaders, smartphones, tablets and other devices. Items automatically return at the end of the check-out period. A number of Illinois Libraries are members of the eBook/audio book buying group, which is completely separate from the regular library catalog. Your library must subscribe to the Omni Libraries eBook/audio collection to use this service.
Attendees can follow a downloading demonstration. Afterwards, they may try the system for themselves with a Rock Island Library card and their own equipment. To make this a hands-on class, participants should bring along their device and laptop Titles may not be downloaded to library equipment.
More details about device compatibility and using the service are available via the OverDrive media link or the ‘Download This” menu on this website.
| Last updated January 26, 2012 |
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All Rock Island Libraries will be closed for staff furlough days on the following dates: Monday, January 16, 2012 Wednesday, February, 29, 2012 The furloughs are part of budget-cutting measures for the City of Rock Island. Staff will be on unpaid leave for these days. Bookdrops will be locked as there will be no staff to check them on these days. Please see our Library Closing page for more details.
| Last updated January 6, 2012 |
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Need some help? Try our free class on using OverDrive. See our calendar for dates!
| Last updated November 14, 2011 |
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Friends of the Rock Island Public Library support special programming, equipment and other needs of Rock Island Libraries with proceeds from the book sale room at the Rock Island 30/31 Branch Library. The Friends welcome donations of gently used books and current magazines in good condition at the 30/31 Branch Book store. The next big book sale for the Friends is Thursday, January 5, 2012.From September through May, they also offer monthly lunch programs on a variety of topics. To join the Friends, see the “Support Your Library” section of this website. We thank them for their support of many projects, including Summer Reading!
| Last updated November 14, 2011 |
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