The results of our Spooky Halloween Writing Contest are in! Three winners were chosen from each of the Teen and Adult categories. We’d like to congratulate the winners and thank all of you who participated!
Teen Winners
Beyond our community, Library Card Sign-Up Month is celebrated in September by the American Library Association and libraries nationwide to remind everyone that a library card is the first step towards academic achievement and lifelong learning. So this September, sign up for a new FDL card, renew your expired card, or replace your lost card to be entered into a prize drawing for an Amazon Fire tablet! Already have an FDL card in good standing? Use it to check out physical materials within FDL throughout September, and you could win an Amazon Fire tablet, too! Encourage your friends and neighbors to get their library cards, and discover all of the great resources and programs available at FDL!
For more information about how to sign up for your library card, visit fondulaclibrary.org/library-cards/.
Reading for fun helps us restore and refresh our minds! This summer, we encourage readers of all ages to explore the concept of conservation, or protecting wildlife and their habitats. Visit a park, build a wildlife garden, or help clean up your community with FDL for the library’s 2024 Summer Reading Program: Read, Renew, Repeat! Join us June 1 through July 31 for a fantastic summer reading program offering fun and prizes for readers of all ages! Readers can register and track their progress online at fondulaclibrary.beanstack.org or on-the-go with the Beanstack app, or pick up a reading log from the library.
Engaging programs are planned throughout the summer focusing on a variety of environmentally-friendly activities, such as gardening, recycled art projects, an outdoor music series, and more! We’ll also have family favorites like story times, movie nights, and crafts, as well as a lineup of exciting presenters to share magic, music, wildlife, science, and more! Find programs and register to attend through our online calendar.
Start Reading!
• Borrow books, audiobooks, and magazines from Fondulac District Library or download or stream eBooks and audiobooks from our digital collections.
• Whether it’s reading a graphic novel, listening to an audiobook, or reading an article, it counts! All reading must occur within the program dates.
Earn Badges
• Record your minutes in Beanstack.
• Earn 1 badge for every 50 minutes (PreK-2nd graders), 100 minutes (3rd-8th graders), or 150 minutes (high schoolers and adults).
• Earn bonus badges for completing an activity or attending any three Fondulac District Library programs.
• Earn 10 reading badges to complete the program. Kids can pick up badges at the Youth Services desk, and teens can pick up badges from the 2nd floor Information desk).
Win Prizes
• Participants receive prizes for reaching the halfway point AND for completing the program.
• Participants who complete the program will also be entered into a prize drawing!
• Midpoint prizes can be picked up starting June 10, and completion prizes can be picked up starting June 24. Prizes are available while supplies last.
• The last day to pick up prizes is August 14.
Our 2024 Summer Reading programs and prizes are made possible thanks to our amazing community sponsors!
Hey library lovers, it’s that time of year again—National Library Week! We need your help spreading some library love by sharing what you appreciate most about the services and resources that Fondulac Library provides.
Do you love getting lost in the stories of the library’s summer reading program, storytime, or book club? When you walk through the library’s doors, are you looking for a quiet nook to study, or a favorite librarian to help you with reference services? What’s your favorite thing to check out—books, movies, cake pans, seeds? Do you attend programs to enrich your mind, meet local authors, or find support from your community?
We want to know how YOU library!
Participating is easy:
Snap a pic or shoot a video showcasing your favorite thing about Fondulac Library!
Post to Instagram or on the I Love Libraries Facebook page with the hashtag #HowILibrary.
And don’t forget to tag #FondulacLibrary to let us know how much we’re are appreciated!
What’s in it for you?
In addition to the gratification of supporting libraries, there’s also a chance to win great prizes.
So, let’s see those book stacks, favorite reading spots, and all the adventures that the library take you on!
The promotion starts Sunday, April 7, at noon CT and ends Friday, April 12, at noon CT.
Join the #HowILibrary movement, and let’s make this the best National Library Week ever!
The Youth Services department is offering a weekend course in Chinese culture and language for tweens and teens! Learn about Chinese culture and language with Mengmeng, teacher and principal of the Peoria Chinese Language School. She starts each class by reading popular Chinese storybooks, then students learn Chinese games and crafts, and try authentic Chinese food.
A study by Drexel University School of Education determined multiple reasons why multicultural education is valuable for young people. Students become more empathetic and open-minded. Young people who learn about different cultures feel more comfortable and safe with differences later in life. This allows them to interact in a wider range of social groups and feel more confident in themselves as well as in their interactions with others.
We hosted the first course in March, the topic being the Chinese Spring Festival. Participants heard stories about the history of the festival, and learned about lucky and unlucky numbers in the Chinese culture. They rounded out the program by making Chinese lanterns AND got to try sticky dumplings with sesame paste!
The next class is Saturday, April 6. The topic is basic Chinese characters. Students will learn four ways of forming the characters by practicing calligraphy, then carve a rubber stamp to take home with their names in Chinese. The featured food is wontons!
The third course on May 4 will introduce conversational Chinese dialogue. Participants do not need to have attended all of the classes. Chinese Culture and Language is open to ages 13-19. Students can be registered online for the April 6 class here: https://fondulac.librarycalendar.com/event/chinese-culture-language-353 .
Follow this link to register for the May course: https://fondulac.librarycalendar.com/event/chinese-culture-language-365
2/29/24:
The library’s new online calendar and registration system is now live! Patrons may now browse and register for upcoming programs and events online. As always, staff are happy to help you register for events and answer any questions you may have.
2/26/24:
Please note that the library will be transitioning to a new online calendar and registration system. To facilitate the process, online registration for events through the current calendar system will close at 5 p.m. on February 27. Patrons who wish to register for events after online registration is temporarily closed on February 27, but before February 29, may contact the library at 309-699-3917. The new online calendar and registration system is expected to be available on the library’s website by 9 a.m. February 29.
Fondulac District Library is celebrating our 10th Birthday in our current location! Our building at 400 Richland Street hosted its grand opening November 2, 2013. In honor of this big anniversary, we’re inviting you to take part in our Instagram library memories photo contest!
Rules:
Contest runs October 4-November 1, 2023.
Winners will be announced November 4.
Pictures must feature some aspect of Fondulac District Library.
Any person featured in an image must provide consent before the picture is taken.
Post photos to Instagram using the hashtag #fondulaclibrary10 in your caption.
Make sure your profile is public OR follow Fondulac District Library (@fondulacdistrictlibrary) on Instagram so we can see your entry.
Three winners will be determined by our library board president, Ellen Hanks.
Join us in celebrating 10 years of supporting your freedom to read!
400 Richland Street has hit the double digits! Mark your calendars for the library building’s 10th birthday open house celebration on Saturday, November 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Join us for fun activities, a special story time, treats, a sculpture dedication in the Reading Garden for long-serving Trustee Colleen Cole, and more. Watch the library’s webpage and social media pages for more information about the upcoming festivities!
It’s hard to believe that an entire decade has passed since the opening of the new location. This chapter of the library’s history has been filled with innovative programs, community events, and the addition of numerous modern resources and services for library patrons. All of us at FDL are excited to see what is on the next page of this adventure, and we hope that you will be a part of the story. Stop by to check out the party – and some new books, music, games, equipment, and other materials too!
This week, during 2023’s Banned Books Week and as we wrap up the Central Illinois Reads: Freedom to Read initiative, the library is proud to share this video displaying intellectual freedom in action.
On May 4, 2023, Fondulac District Library hosted a panel discussion with East Peoria Community High School students about the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book, about a teenage girl’s journey through her trauma after a sexual assault, is often challenged and/or banned due to its portrayal of lived experience and mature content. The eight participating students spoke thoughtfully, eloquently, and maturely in sharing their insights about the book and the complex issues it includes, as well as the challenges it often receives.
We thank EPCHS’s Jill Dawson for organizing this group of students and Ben Diggle for videotaping this event.
(Please note that microphones were not used for this event, and volume adjustments will be necessary throughout viewing.)
“This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.” – Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom
Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For more than 40 years, the annual event has brought together the entire book community — librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, writers, journalists, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. The books featured during Banned Books Week have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.
In a time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom ALA documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. Of the record 2,571 unique titles targeted for censorship, most were by or about LGBTQIA+ persons and Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
When we ban books, we’re closing off readers to people, places, and perspectives. But when we stand up for stories, we unleash the power that lies inside every book. We liberate the array of voices that need to be heard and the scenes that need to be seen. Let freedom read!
Fondulac District Library is a proud supporter of Banned Books Week. Let freedom read!