2013 year in review (or, Mostly We Moved a Lot of Stuff)

What a year it's been! I want to share with you a few of the highlights - but what to choose?? There were so very many magical moments in 2013.

We kicked off 2013 with a wonderfully successful Winter Reading Club: Chill Out and Read! And it's sure to be another fun winter of reading when this year's program: Reading is a Breeze! kicks off on January 4.

As the months rolled by, we learned robotics in the LEGO WeDo programs, where kids built functional robotics projects, we had an Art Attack, we sang with Ac*Rock, we became better babysitters, we challenged our Chess Mates, and practiced our PoetryPlay with a visit from poet Rebecca Kai Dotlich.

Then things heated up with Have Book, Will Travel, our 2013 Summer Reading Club. Over 2000 kids participated and 60 awesome teen volunteers made it an awesome summer with our Around the World in 80 Minutes (or less) kickoff and our Radio Disney Dance Party to celebrate! Thanks, guys.
Fall brought us LEGO Build a Reader storytimes, Polish and Hispanic Heritage Month events, Veterans Day letter writing, Kids Get Crafty, and Family Science Expo. I am out of breath (and my fingers ache from typing).

On top of the multitudes of fun stuff you may have noticed a few cosmetic changes happening on the 2nd floor of the library in recent months. Your 2nd floor self-check is still here, but in a different spot, and it's sharing a wall with the video screen that tells you about all the great programs we have going on. The parenting collection has made a leap across the room to be with our homeschooling and curriculum materials (I think it was lonely). The Chicago Bears Friend-Ship, a long-time fixture on the kids floor, has gone into dry dock. Our collection of music CDs is freeing itself from the too-high-for-kids furniture it currently lives in to be shelved with other media and at a much more browse-able level and in a place where it may grow.

Most of these minor changes are in preparation for some BIG changes to come. In 2014 we plan to increase the size of our program room. That's right! The place where for years you have come for storytime, for crafts, for games, for Wild Times, for so many good times is about to get super-sized! We are going to bust out a wall and get some much needed space. It may mean that things are a little out-of-sorts for a while, but rest assured the end result will be so much greater in so many ways!

We have had such a wonderful year, and we feel blessed to have spent it with you. If you're not here, you're missing out!

Best wishes to you and your family for a wild and wonderful 2014.