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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.
Sunday, April 26, 2015, is going to be a community-wide celebration of Barrington's 150 years, with plenty of opportunities to make new memories to cherish for years to come.
First, experience an exciting day in Barrington, circa 1865! Please note that due to weather, this event has been rescheduled from Saturday, April 25, to Sunday, April 26. To celebrate 150 years, the Village will feature an 1865 Street Festival in downtown Barrington at Cook and Station Streets from 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. The event will transform the area into a historically themed extravaganza replete with old-time fanfare. There will be an extensive selection of small-plated fare, served by numerous local restaurants. This will include a pig roast, as well as other tasty treats of the era. In addition, Egg Harbor will be extending their hours for the day.
Music will be plentiful with performances by the Ragged Rascals, the BHS Jazz Band, and the Barrington Children’s Choir, as well as other groups. You can also enjoy an exciting array of street performers complete with a penny farthing cyclist, a juggler, barbershop quartets, and more. There will even be a chance to kick up your heels for the Virginia Reel.
Free pony rides, a photo booth, and a special Vintage Carnival planned by the Barrington Junior Women’s Club will provide fun for the whole family. In keeping with the era, special thematic souvenirs will also be available for purchase. In addition, the public can purchase the special Sesquicentennial Edition of Quintessential Barrington magazine, which includes dozens of never-before published photographs of Barrington area history, as well as numerous articles about Barrington’s storied past.
Into the evening, enjoy beer and wine bars and music by Pat McKillen and the Knapik Brothers. Share a memory or two with your neighbor as you sit around the fire and raise a cup of cheer as Barrington salutes the past, celebrates the present, and looks toward the future. Barrington’s 1865 Street Festival – it’s THE PLACE to be on April 25th!
Generous premier sponsors for all Sesquicentennial events are Charles Schwab, Wickstrom Auto Group, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, BMO Harris Bank, Barrington Area Community Foundation, Barrington Bank and Trust, Refined Construction Services, and Town & Country Painting of Barrington. More details and a schedule of events on the Village of Barrington website.
Also Sunday, April 26, the Barrington Area Library warmly welcomes you to Socialize, Share, and Celebrate Barrington History!
Stop in between 2-5 PM and enjoy a good, old-fashioned history fair, all about Barrington!
You'll meet and learn from Barrington architects, artists, authors, and organizations. Learn about Barrington's most historic churches, longtime businesses, well-known residents, and Barrington's role in the American Civil War. Enjoy artists' renderings and photographs of beautiful Barrington scenes, while sharing light refreshments and good conversation with your friends and neighbors. Check out the vintage 1928 Pirsch fire truck on our plaza, too!
At 2:30 PM, the Garden Club of Barrington will officially dedicate the Ruth and Robert Work Memorial Garden, on the east side of the library, next to the meeting rooms.
A special thank you to the Girl Scouts of Barrington and their leaders for assistance at this event.
Sesquicentennial Committee members (Jane Christino, Bonnie Gordon, Kay Griffith, Linda Kemper, Bev Kramer, Evie Stachura) wish to express their gratitude to Flo Bash, an early supporter of the arts and culture in Barrington. Flo spearheaded the Barrington Area Arts Council and “nurtured excellence in every kind of cultural endeavor – artistic and intellectual.”