The Library will be closed all day on Sunday, March 31. Visit the Digital Library anytime: www.nileslibrary.org/digital-library

Blog

5 Ways to Infuse Montessori Education into Your Child’s Daily Life

August 31, 2020 marks Maria Montessori’s 150th birthday! Maria Montessori’s philosophy of education lives on today in Montessori schools and homes across the world. Today, thousands of educators, parents, and caregivers are remembering and celebrating Montessori’s commitment to advocating for the human rights of children. Celebrate with us by finding some new ways that you […]

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Library Wins Prestigious Marketing Award

The Niles-Maine District Library is a recipient of the American Library Association’s John Cotton Dana Award for excellence in library public relations and strategic communication. The award recognized the Library’s Best. Deal. Ever! library card campaign and was accompanied by a $10,000 grant. “I’m proud of the Public Relations and Marketing team who deliver highly […]

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Remembering Samer

Rachel – Teen Services It’s March 11th, a Wednesday night, and I’m sitting at the Teen Underground desk. The Library has been quiet lately and our teen space is unusually empty for a weeknight until Samer walks in. My mood brightens immediately upon seeing him open our door. He comes in smiling like he always […]

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5 Ways the Library Kept Me Sane During Quarantine

I’m not going to lie, sheltering in place was hard. My fiancé, Artie, and I (along with our boisterous cat Bolan), live in a small apartment in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago and we definitely felt the minuscule square footage of our home. I know, sheltering in place is no one’s first choice, but to […]

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Knowledge is Power: Books, Movies, and Documentaries to Further Education on Antiracism

“… ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” – James Baldwin I cannot overstate how significantly books contribute to antiracism. Understanding history beyond basic school textbooks helps us draw lines from the past directly to where we are right now. Educating ourselves adds invaluable depth to our antiracism and equips […]

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We Stand Against Racism

A Message from the Executive Director Sorrow. Anger. Worry. These are feelings all of us have experienced over the past few weeks following the horrifying and tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the ensuing response. The complicated situation makes it hard to know what the “right” thing to say is. But as a […]

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Homemade Play: Rainbow Foamy Soap

Incorporating the natural world around us in educational activities is an important way to enhance learning and early literacy. Read the recipe card on this screen. Mixing color gels and water will build an experience that you can share together. First, we gather what we need. Then we get to be scientists and do an […]

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Library Board Approves Tax Abatement

In order to help ease the financial burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Niles-Maine District Library Board of Trustees, at a special board meeting on May 11, 2020, voted to approve an abatement of the 2019-2020 Library tax levy in the amount of $1 million, or 14.3% of the levy. This decision will reduce […]

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Teens Find Community in the Underground

We visited the Teen Underground to see exactly what was happening. Here’s what we saw. The scene is set: teen boys, aged 13-15, sit anxiously in front of computers. They’re playing Minecraft in the Lower Level of the Library where two librarians—Donna Block and Rachel Colias—have worked together to energize Teen Underground, a space where […]

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Homemade Play Time

Incorporating the natural world around us in educational activities is an important way to enhance learning and early literacy. Mixing powders and water will build an experience that you can share together. First, we gather what we need. Then we get to be scientists and do an experiment. Last, we clean up, so we can […]

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