What Do You Want to Ask the Evanston Public Library Director?

Submit your questions to Patch and we'll do our best to ask them of Evanston Public Library Director Karen Danczak Lyons when we sit down for a conversation later this week.

What Do You Want to Ask the Evanston Public Library Director?

Submit your questions to Patch and we'll do our best to ask them of Evanston Public Library Director Karen Danczak Lyons.

Much is afoot at the Evanston Public Library, where new director Karen Danczak Lyons took over in March after a long career with the Chicago Public Library. Perhaps most notably, Lyons and her staff are making plans to take over operations of The Mighty Twig, the independent library founded by volunteers last March after the city closed the South Branch due to lack of funds. Under a proposal approved by the library board, the new branch would be staffed by Evanston Public Library employees with help from volunteers, and would be supported by fundraising and grants. Lyons and her staff are also studying the feasibility of a new branch location in west Evanston, in line with a strategic plan for the years 2011 through 2014 that sets improved…

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Jennifer Fisher

11:24 am on Friday, November 9, 2012

Thanks to everyone who asked questions! We've got your answers here: http://evanston.patch.com/articles/the-evanston-public-library-director-answers-your-questions   more ›

Join the Undead at Evanston Public Library

The library will be hosting a "Zombie Walk" for teens and older children Monday, Oct. 29. Put on your oldest clothes and goriest makeup and follow the crowd.

Wondering where the undead congregate in Evanston? This year, it's the Evanston Public Library, which is hosting its first ever Zombie Walk Monday, Oct. 29. Teens and older children are invited to don their oldest, rattiest clothes and goriest, bloodiest-looking makeup for the event, which begins with zombie stories from a master storyteller and concludes with a zombie parade. The program begins at 7 p.m. in the Community Room at the main library, 1703 Orrington Ave.

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Library Plans to Operate Mighty Twig, Funded By Donations

Evanston Public Library trustees approve a fundraising campaign for staffing the Mighty Twig, an independent library started by volunteers after the South Branch closed.

Evanston’s volunteer-run library, the Mighty Twig, could become a branch of the Evanston Public Library if a fundraising campaign planned for this fall raises enough dollars. At a recent board meeting, Evanston Public Library trustees approved Director Karen Danczak Lyons’ proposal to transform the Mighty Twig into a branch of the main library. The nonprofit operation at 900 Chicago Ave. was formed by the Evanston Public Library Friends group in March 2011, after the city shut down the South Branch library due to lack of funding. Its current operating budget is $52,200 a year, including rent, utilities and administrative costs. Under Lyons’ proposal, the Mighty Twig would be staffed by Evanston Public Library employees with help from …

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Focus: Personal Finances September 22-27

The Evanston Public library is hosting a number of informational sessions on estate planning, social security, fixed income and foreclosure and mortgage scams from Sept. 22-27.

If you are interesting in gaining a stronger handle on personal finances now and in the future, take part in Personal Finance Week at the Evanston Public Library.  Five separate seminars are planned between Sept. 22-27, and will focus on areas including how social security can figure into your retirement plans, estate planning, living on a fixed income and mortgage and foreclosure scams to be aware of.  Each will be held in the Community Meeting Room at the Main Library.  The dates and times are as follows: Social Security: Sat., Sept. 22 1 p.m.  Registration Foreclosures and Mortgage Scams: Mon., Sept. 24 6:30 p.m.  Registration Focus on Fixed Income: Tues., Sept. 25 7 p.m.  Registration Estate Planning: Wed., Sept. 26 7 p.m.  …

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Evanston Public Library, Mighty Twig May Join Forces

The library board gave new director Karen Danczak Lyons approval to begin formalizing ties with the volunteer-run library formed after the South Branch Library was closed.

Evanston’s volunteer-run library, The Mighty Twig, could soon see funding and staffing from the Evanston Public Library, according to the Evanston Review.  Evanston Public Library board members voted last week to give director Karen Danczak Lyons permission to formalize a relationship with the citizens’ group that runs the Mighty Twig, the Review reports.  Staffed entirely by volunteers, The Mighty Twig was opened in spring 2011 after the city voted to shut down the South Branch Library last year due to lack of funding.  Now, the Evanston Public Library may contribute as much as $103,000 in funds toward The Mighty Twig in the next fiscal year, according to the Review. For the full story, visit the Evanston Review website. 

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From the Editor

Library's 'Mission Impossible' Book Club Launches Monday

Residents who have signed up will tackle Flannery O'Connor's 'The Complete Stories' during a three-month discussion series that begins with a public lecture Monday night.

My copy of Flannery O'Connor's The Complete Stories might have been a gift, or I might have procured it in some sort of used-book buying frenzy. My memory is unclear, and there's no evidence in the form of a price tag or a penciled-in number on the first page. What is clear is that I've been in no hurry to read it, since I can tell you that it's sat on my shelf (and endured several moves) for at least five years, maybe ten. That is, until now. I've officially signed up for the Evanston Public Libary's "Mission Impossible Book Club," which will tackle O'Connor's collection of short stories this fall. Organized last year with the goal of finishing War and Peace in one year, the book club has scheduled The Complete Stories for just three …

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Library Board Votes to Eliminate DVD Fees

The Evanston Public Library board voted unanimously to drop its $1 rental fee for DVDs at a board meeting Wednesday night.

Love the Evanston Public Library's DVD collection but hate having to pay to rent one? Then we've got good news. At a meeting Wednesday night, the library board voted unanimously to eliminate the $1 rental charge, according to the Evanston Review. New library director Karen Danczak Lyons suggested the change, the Review reports, explaining that DVDs were originally more expensive for libaries to acquire, but that costs have since gone down. Lyons said that Evanston residents "have already paid for the (DVDs) purchasing through their taxes and through fund raising," according to the Review. For the full story, visit the Evanston Review.

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Kids Learn Skills To Fix a Bike, Succeed in School

Sixth-graders in Northwestern University's "Project Excite" learned how to repair and maintain a bike and improved their writing skills during the second year of a summer bike program.

Tires squeal in the Evanston Public Library’s basement garage as a group of sixth-graders test out the new bikes they’ve just learned how to repair and maintain.  Understanding how to fix the brakes was the most useful lesson, says Jojo Tertullien, 11, a student at Betsy Rhodes. “You need brakes because otherwise you have to use your feet!” he explains.  The six-week program enrolled students involved in Project Excite, a partnership between Northwestern University, Evanston Township High School and District 65 that is designed to bridge the gap between minority and nonminority students in science and math. Besides learning basic bike skills, Tertullien and his fellow students wrote stories about bicycles, read poetry and completed writing…

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Evanston Public Library Book Sale Begins Friday

Proceeds from the sale, which runs through Sunday, benefit the Evanston Public Library.

Looking to pick up a last minute beach read on the cheap? The Evanston Public Library book sale beginning this Friday. Books on such topics as travel, cooking, art, music, politics, history and more will be on sale, as well as a selection of children's books.  "The book sale serves as a cultural resource and an opportunity for Evanston residents to give back and to go 'green,'" said Administrative Services Manager Paul Gottschalk, "By recycling books, we conserve precious resources, while also raising money for library services and resources." The book sale opens with a sneak preview on Friday, Aug. 10, from 10 a.m. to noon; admission is $5 per person. Admission to the regular sale is free; hours are noon to 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m…

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