Our Summer Reading Program ends Friday, July 31! Please be sure to turn in your reading log or enter your participation in Beanstack in order to be eligible for program prizes, as well as bonus raffles!

We’re celebrating all of our readers’ achievements on Saturday, July 25 starting at 10am with a Summer Reading Wrap-Up Party featuring friends from Barnyard Discoveries mobile petting zoo! Activities and snacks will be available inside the Youth Services Department. This is a great time to log your reading, pick up prizes, check off activity badges, and finish up raffle tickets. Everyone is welcome!

Yes, it’s that time again…students and educators alike are gearing up for a new school year. FDL has the resources to help teachers prepare for that big first day and beyond! Make an impact with a vibrant, welcoming bulletin board or display using our AccuCut Mark 4 die cut machine! Dies include letters, numbers, shapes, plants, animals, sports, and more. Bring your own materials like paper, fun foam, and felt. Please contact the Youth Services Department or use our convenient online form to request an appointment. 

Back to school doesn’t just mean bulletin boards! FDL offers free access to online databases that provide useful learning materials like lesson plans and printable worksheets from Educate Station, or genre lists and read-alikes from NoveList K-8. We also offer trusted research tools for students provided by the Illinois State Library, as well as World Book Advanced and many more. These resources are accessible from any computer and do not require a library card!

Young readers ages 7-12 have the opportunity to talk about their favorite book on local TV! Paul Coussens from East Side Community Media will work with kids to film 1-2 minutes of book reviews for commercials to air this coming fall! Each child will be given a 30-minute timeslot to come to the library and film their review on Thursday, August 6. Those interested may stop by the Youth Services Department to register and pick up a sign-up sheet. 

In 2025, one of Paul’s Kids’ Corner videos, Aaron Johnson’s review of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian, was awarded first place at the Wisconsin Community Media’s Best of the Midwest Film Fest in the Entertainment category. You can find the award-winning video, along with all of the other Kids’ Corner videos, on our YouTube channel!