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The Barrington Area Library has held a Summer Library Club for many decades, with themes ranging from food to music to travel. Over the last two years, in an effort to revitalize the Summer Library Club for adults and young adults, the library has partnered with local businesses to provide assistance to area food pantries. Adult and young adult readers are given a reading challenge - this year's challenge was 1,000 books in two months - and if the challenge is met, the businesses make a financial contribution to the food pantries.
This summer, the Barrington Bank & Trust stepped up in a big way by being the sole sponsor of Summer Library Club, offering a $1,000 donation to be split between the Barrington Township Food Pantry and the Cuba Township Food Pantry. Thank you to the adult and young adult readers of our community for reaching the 1,000 book goal, and THANK YOU, Barrington Bank & Trust, for this very generous donation!
All of us at the Barrington Area Library believe that reading is good for mind, heart, and spirit, and this community endeavor proves that in a very powerful way. Barrington Township Supervisor Eugene R. Dawson put it this way: "Wow! How do we begin to thank you for your extremely generous monetary donation for the benefit of the Barrington Township Food Pantry? It's not often we get a donation of this amount and I can tell you, we were very excited to receive your generous check...People often think that because we are located in Barrington that there is no need for assistance. However, as you know, there is always a need to help someone. We will be able to provide food and use the money to stock our pantry shelves."
Library Executive Director Detlev Pansch (left), Community Librarian Ashley Johnson (second from right), and Barrington Bank & Trust Senior Vice President of Business Development John Haniotes (right) present a check to Cuba Township Supervisor David F. Nelson (center) and staff at the Cuba Township Food Pantry.
Lots of smiles as the check is presented to Barrington Township Supervisor Eugene R. Dawson and staff at the Barrington Township food pantry.
Generous Sponsor of Barrington Area Library Summer Library Club 2015
Please note the following important information concerning parking at the Barrington Area Library:
Repair work on the back/upper parking lot has been rescheduled for Wednesday, August 26.
The back parking will be closed off at 9 PM on Tuesday, August 25, and will not be available until some time on Thursday, August 27.
Please do not park in or pass through the back lot during this time.
Thank you for your patience as we make improvements to our campus.
Update: around noon on Friday, July 31, we exceeded our 1,000 book goal! Thank you, adult and young adult Barrington area readers, and thank you to our sponsors, Barrington Bank & Trust, for their generous $1,000 donation to the Barrington and Cuba Township food pantries!
Time is running out on Summer Library Club - and we need your help!
This year's club for adults and young adults came with an exciting challenge from our sponsor, Barrington Bank & Trust: if we can get adults and high school students to read and log in 1,000 books this summer, Barrington Bank & Trust will donate $1,000 to local food pantries. (The total will be split between the Barrington Township Food Pantry and the Cuba Township Food Pantry.) So, you can help feed hungry people in the local community just by reading and telling us what you've read!
That's it! You'll also be entered into a drawing for some unique and fun prizes but the real reward comes from helping others. We know this wonderful, generous community will come through by helping us reach our 1,000 book goal by July 31 2015!
From babies to seniors, all are welcome to join us for Summer Library Club!
Every Hero Has a Story:
for kids & young teens
Preschool Club (Birth - Kindergarten)
Preschool Club members collect stickers for visiting the library until they earn a free book. Register at the library.
Student Club (Grades K - 8)
Student Club members receive a free book after completing ten library activities, such as reading a book or attending a library program. Those who keep reading will earn Library Bucks to spend on prizes and activities of their choice. Register online.
It's a great way to encourage library attendance and reading during the summer months!
Sign up any time between June 5 - July 31 on the library website.
Read To The Rhythm:
for adults & young adults
We've made some changes to these clubs this year which we hope will entice you to join. Look for musical performances and music-themed events all summer, too. Registration for Adults and Young Adults is now open - use the links below.
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For adults: what's a personal MakerLab session? It's the opportunity to work one-on-one with our expert staff to make one of these fun projects! We supply the tools, you bring the curiosity!
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On Sunday, May 3, 2015, the Barrington Area Library will honor long-time Trustee Richard J. Ryan, who has served on the Library's Board of Trustees for a total of almost 36 years. A reception will be held at the Library from 2-4 PM. All are invited to enjoy light refreshments, celebrate Dick Ryan's legacy, and thank him for his many years of service, dedication, vision, and community engagement.
Ryan served as Board Treasurer from 1974 to 1980, and as Board President for 25 years, from 1985 to 2010. He plans to step down in May of 2015, after fulfilling his current six-year term.
Even before he was elected to the Board in 1974, he served on the Barrington Area Development Council’s ad hoc library committee and acted as co-chair of the library coordinating committee for publicity. In 1991, the Library broke ground on a 31,000-square-foot addition and renovation project for the library he had help to build in 1978. Of course, he also served on the Board of Trustees that approved and oversaw the Barrington Area Library's complete renovation in 2013-2014.
In 2012, Ryan received the ALA Trustee Citation, established in 1941 to recognize public library Trustees for distinguished service to library development, honors the best contributions and efforts of the estimated 60,000 American citizens who serve on library boards. Ryan was one of only two recipients that year.
When asked to support Ryan's nomination for the ALA Trustee Citation, current Library Board President Don Minner praised Ryan for his persistence in seeing projects through to completion, his tirelessness in advocating for the library within the community, and his openness to new ideas and services within the library. In 2011, Minner and the other trustees bestowed upon Ryan the honorary title of President Emeritus. Executive Director Detlev Pansch notes that Ryan is both an engaged board member and enthusiastic library user, checking out materials several times a week, greeting staff members by name and often attending monthly staff meetings to acknowledge service milestones of longtime employees. Board President Minner sums it up best: “Richard J. Ryan’s decades of work on behalf of the Barrington Area Library can be seen and felt in every part of the building and its grounds, and experienced in all of its collections and services.”
We would be honored if you would join us in in celebrating Mr. Richard J. Ryan.