Skokie Public Library, Skokie, IL

Web site: www.skokielibrary.info
Press Contact: Christie Robinson, crobinson@skokielibrary.info, 847-324-3126

Left to right: Mrs. Laura Bush, community member Aleksandr Krapivkin, Director Carolyn Anthony, and IMLS Director Anne Radice. Click image for a larger version.

With 42 percent of its residents foreign-born and 97 languages other than English spoken at home—including Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Korean, Chinese, Urdu, Gujarati, and Greek—Skokie, Illinois, is recognized as one of the most diverse cities in the United States. The Skokie Public Library (SPL) embraces the diversity of its constituency and takes great pride in targeting and tailoring its programming to the many and varied populations it serves.

When visitors arrive at the library, they are greeted by large banners that say “library” in 14 different languages; inside, the multilingual signage continues, with “welcome” written on a number of walls. On the library’s Web home page and above the foreign-language book section (which contains almost 20,000 titles in 18 different languages), flags of many nations are on display. Additionally, there is a “recent immigrants” page on the library’s SkokieNet Web site—which has the distinction of being one of the first library-sponsored community Web sites in the country—with information on topics from becoming a citizen to getting a Social Security card. All of these steps have been taken to ensure that every person in Skokie feels comfortable spending time in his or her community library.

The emphasis on programs that speak to the diverse population continues with the library’s cosponsorship of the annual Skokie Festival of Cultures. Started in 1991, the festival provides two days of ethnic foods, music, dance, crafts, fun cultural activities for the kids, and a chance for integral community development. Last year, 31 different cultures were represented, and the festivities drew 25,000 visitors.

People who are visually or hearing impaired or have limited mobility are another part of the population well served by the Skokie Public Library. Skokie Accessible Library Services was created as a way for the library to provide these members of the community with services including telecommunication devices for the deaf, JAWS for Windows speech synthesis, and Duxbury Braille Translation Software, free of charge. The library also is fully accessible for patrons in wheelchairs or scooters.

Aspiring musicians have an important role in the library’s programming as well, and are encouraged to apply for SPL’s Young Steinway Concert Series. Occurring monthly, the series showcases exceptionally talented youth and offers the musicians valuable performing experience in front of a large audience, as well as free concerts for the community. The series has had more than 400 participants, 99 of whom have moved on to professional music careers. Successful alumni are asked back to play in special solo concerts.

Begun in 1930 and operated out of a rented room above a drugstore, the Skokie Public Library has come to be an essential part of the Skokie community, offering all of its visitors—regardless of race, ethnicity, or ability—numerous opportunities to interact and learn.

“I’m proud, but not surprised, that the Skokie Public Library was one of only ten institutions in the nation to receive the 2008 National Medal from the Institute of Museum and Library Services,” said U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9). “The Skokie Library is constantly redefining and expanding its role and has become an indispensible part of our community—providing access to information, resources and services that have helped change the lives of local residents. I congratulate the visionary leadership of Carolyn Anthony and her staff. They have created a local treasure and a model for the country. I can’t imagine a more deserving library than the Skokie Library.”

Community Member Aleks Krapivkin
Student Finds His Niche Thousands of Miles from Home
Aleks Krapivkin was just 10 years old when he and his family left their home country of Ukraine for the ethnically diverse city of Skokie, Illinois. An aunt who had moved to Skokie years before recommended that Krapivkin and the rest of his family visit the Skokie Public Library (SPL). One of Krapivkin’s first impressions of the library was that it was nothing like his local library in Ukraine. Instead of a small, rented space above a dance studio, the three-story Skokie Public Library had hundreds of books, and, best of all, air conditioning. Krapivkin spent his first year at the library working his way through the children’s book section to sharpen his English skills. It wasn’t until he was asked to help out at the Curious George birthday party that Krapivkin realized that he also enjoyed volunteering at the library. Today, four years after immigrating to America, Krapivkin spends his free time at the library, assisting with the Summer Reading Club, working on the library’s robust Web site, SkokieNet, and filming promotional YouTube videos for the library with friends. Krapivkin credits the librarians at SPL for creating the welcoming atmosphere that he and his family enjoy.