Eclipse Glasses for Cardholders

[UPDATED APRIL 3: SOLD OUT]

The Vernon Area Public Library distributed 1200 pairs of eclipse glasses to their cardholders at the beginning of April. 

The Chicagoland area will experience a partial solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.

Solar eclipse glasses are required in order to view the partial eclipse safely. Looking at the sun without a protective filter during a partial eclipse can cause permanent vision loss.

The eclipse glasses came at no cost to library cardholders and their families. The library acquired 2,000 pairs of eclipse glasses through the SEAL (Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries) program. Approximately 800 pairs were distributed during the partial eclipse in October 2023. 

Families who kept their glasses from October 2023 can continue to use those. The balance of the donation -- 1200 pairs -- were handed out at the beginning of April 2024.

During a solar eclipse, the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking Earth’s view of some or all of it. This is possible because, from Earth, the sun and the moon appear roughly the same size in the sky. 

The continental United States will experience a partial eclipse on Monday, April 8. Northeastern Illinois will experience the event beginning at approximately 12:51 p.m.  and lasting until 3:22 p.m. 

The total eclipse will only be visible over a path approximately 115 miles wide. The total eclipse path enters the US in southwest Texas and will move northeast across the continent, leaving the U.S. at the Gulf of Maine.

Vernon Area Public Library cardholders can check whether glasses are still available by looking on the event listing on the library calendar.

More information about the April 8 eclipse can be found at science.nasa.gov/eclipses.

​More information about safe solar viewing can be found at eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety/eyewear-viewers.