Vernon Area Public Library joins more than 200 other Illinois libraries to host 2024 MacArthur “genius grant” winner Jason Reynolds on Zoom on Tuesday, October 22, at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to all; sign up online or call 224-543-1486. 

Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author, advocate and mentor for children and teens, and the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. 

He was recently named among the 2024 cohort of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellows — sometimes referred to as the "genius grant" recipients — who are selected for exceptional creativity and potential. The MacArthur Fellowship is the most recent in Reynolds’ long list of accolades, which include a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and multiple Coretta Scott King Honors. 

His books include Stamped (with Ibram X. Kendi), Stuntboy, the Track series, Miles Morales, All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely), When I Was the Greatest, The Boy in the Black Suit, Look Both Ways, Ain't Burned All the Bright, and Long Way Down. His short story “A Recording for Carole Before It All Goes” is included in the anthology The Collectors: Stories, which was named in January as the winner of the 2024 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.

Reynolds lives in Washington, D.C., where he is on faculty at Lesley University for the Writing for Young People MFA program. 

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present (ILP), a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events on a shared virtual platform. 

ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Illinois Libraries Present is committed to inclusion and accessibility. To request accommodations, please email [email protected].

Other upcoming events in the ILP series include Chef Art Smith in conversation with Chicago journalist Monica Eng, award-winning graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier, and a virtual screening of the Broadway production of “Little Women: The Musical.”

Vernon Area Public Library District will receive $65,645 from a State of Illinois Public Library Per Capita Grant, announced Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Alexi Giannoulias in a recent news release.

“The annual Per Capita Grant helps us ensure continued access to high-quality materials and learning opportunities,” said Vernon Area Public Library Director Anne Rasmussen. “From our youngest patrons starting out in baby storytime to the seniors we serve through assisted living visits, this grant helps all in our library district to connect to information, culture and each other.”

Public Library Per Capita Grants are awarded annually to support local public library services. This year, public libraries were allocated just under $1.50 per resident of their service area. The funds can be used for operational needs including buying books and other materials for patron use or capital improvements to their facilities.

To be eligible for a Public Library Per Capita Grant, the library must meet certain performance standards and continuing education requirements set by the Illinois Library Association, must have completed the most recent Illinois Public Library Annual Report, and — new for 2024 — have formally adopted an anti-censorship policy such as the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights. 

On June 12, 2023, Illinois became the first state in the nation to ban book bans. The law, which took effect on January 1, 2024, blocks state grant funding to public libraries and schools that don’t adhere to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, a set of rules that says reading materials shouldn’t be removed or restricted due to “partisan or personal disapproval.”

Public Library Per Capita Grant funds are allocated by the state to help ensure all residents have access to quality resources and programming.

Information and forms are now available for people considering a run for Vernon Area Library Trustee in the April 1, 2025 Consolidated Election. 

Prospective candidates can pick up a packet of paperwork at Vernon Area Public Library, 300 Olde Half Day Road, Lincolnshire, during regular library business hours. The library is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Ask at the Adult Desk. Forms are also available for downloading from the library webpage For Prospective Candidates.

Public library trustees are nonpartisan community representatives. They determine the library’s policies, set its budget and advocate on its behalf. The library board meets monthly at the Vernon Area Public Library in Lincolnshire, typically on the third Monday, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Three of the board’s seven seats will be filled at the spring election. Trustees elected in April 2025 will serve six-year terms beginning in May 2025 and expiring in April 2031. 

To qualify to run, prospective candidates meet residency and other requirements. They also must petition at least 50 signatures from qualified voters residing in the district. Prospective candidates may begin circulating nominating petitions, which are included in the packets, beginning August 20, 2024. 

Completed petition packets may be filed at the library during weekday administrative business hours beginning Tuesday, November 12, 2024. The last day to file is Monday, November 18, 2024. Paperwork may be filed by mail or in person, either by the candidate or a representative of the candidate.

Those wishing to run for this office are strongly advised to obtain legal counsel regarding candidate requirements, the proper method for completing the petition forms, the qualifications of signers and circulators, and other information.

OverDrive and its companion app, Libby, will be offline on Monday, July 1, for upgrades.

Any content that is checked out and downloaded to your device will remain unaffected. New checkouts, holds, and streaming will be temporarily unavailable.

When the upgrades are complete, cardholders will find more than 280,000 additional e-books and digital audiobooks, plus new digital magazines, when they log back in.

The upgrades are the results of Vernon Area's new membership in the Digital Library of Illinois (DLIL).

The Digital Library of Illinois is the largest consortium in the state for digital material on OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide. 

By joining, Vernon Area Public Library triples its offerings of e-book and audiobook titles and increase the number of copies available for checkout from 17,134 to more than 300,000. 

For patrons, this means more choice and shorter waits for popular materials, such as current bestsellers The Women by Kristin Hannah or The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.

“We are excited to provide patrons with access to more content, and more quickly,” said Vernon Area Public Library Director Anne Rasmussen. “This agreement allows us to expand the breadth and depth of our digital offerings, decrease hold times on popular materials, and deliver better value for taxpayers by sharing materials with our neighbors.”

The upgrade will also provide Vernon Area patrons with a new collection of digital magazines, including popular periodicals covering news and politics, health and fitness, food and cooking, crafts, sports, and other subjects.

The transition will be nearly seamless for Vernon Area Public Library e-book and audiobook readers, who will continue to access OverDrive materials through their browser or on Libby, the popular and free e-reading app that is already familiar to library e-book readers.

Libby/OverDrive will be unavailable on Monday, July 1, during the transition. Materials that are currently checked-out and downloaded on readers’ devices will be unaffected. The new materials will be available to readers when they re-log in to Libby/OverDrive on Tuesday, July 2.

The Digital Library of Illinois (DLIL) is managed by the Electronic Content Consortium (ECC), a nonprofit collaborative of libraries across Illinois. The ECC leverages economies of scale to jointly negotiate and purchase electronic content at terms that may not be available to standalone libraries. 
More than 120 Illinois libraries participate, including nearby Deerfield, Palatine, Highland Park, Mount Prospect, and Northbrook public libraries.