IN THE LIBRARY LOOP - JULY 2026
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Time to Celebrate Summer Reading! |
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Peoria Public Library’s Summer Reading program officially and sadly comes to an end on Saturday, July 11.
Be sure you and your family have filled in your BINGO cards so you can pick up a party pass to our celebrations. If you filled in your entire BINGO card, you will be included in our Grand Prize drawing. (Remember, if you participated solely on paper, we need to see your completed card.)
Grand prizes will be drawn July 20th. Winners will be notified by phone or email.
All About Our Parties!
Peoria Riverfront Museum ~ Family Celebration Tuesday, July 14 | 5-8 PM at Peoria Riverfront Museum ** Must bring your Party Pass to Attend **
Free and open to all ages. The entire museum is ours to explore, including the blockbuster exhibit TOYTOPIA!
Peoria Main Library ~ Adult Party Friday, July 17 | 6:30 -8:30 PM at Main Library, 107 NE Monroe ** Must bring your Party Pass to Attend **
Free and open to adults. We’ll enjoy mocktails and refreshments, catered by Cracked Pepper, while you explore fun things to do on every level. Make your own clay creation with Fired Up Pottery. Play life-size games with friends. Win door prizes & more! |
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| Celebrating America 250 | On July 4, 2026, our nation will commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
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Libraries across the country, including Peoria Public Library, are marking this historic milestone with programming that honors the contributions of all Americans, as we look ahead toward the future we want to create for the next generation and beyond. |
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Check our New Book shelves for related reading, including but not limited to these:
Peoria Public Library is hosting a variety of programs: America 250 Programs
Special highlights include: America 250: Family History Workshop 10 AM to 4 PM, Saturday, July 11 ~ Lakeview Branch, 1137 W. Lake Ave.
Ever wondered if your ancestors were in the Civil War or even the Revolutionary War? Certified Genealogist and expert in military records research Craig Roberts Scott will present a series of workshops throughout the day related to uncovering records from America’s greatest conflicts. Guests are invited to stay all day or drop in for a session or two. Lunch will be on your own. Free and open to all.
America 250: Founding Mothers with Laura Keyes of Historic Voices 1 to 2:15 PM, Saturday, July 11 ~ Peoria Public North Branch, 3001 W. Grand Pkwy.
Historian Laura Keyes will share her research on the women who helped found our nation, including female spies and soldiers. Free and open to all adults. |
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| Calling all gardeners! | Good news, Peoria Public Library’s Seed Library will continue all year long! And we’d like a little help from you!
| You can now donate seeds from your bountiful garden to help others. Just pick up a donation form, with its attached packet, at Main Library.
Since March when we launched this, just shy of 200 people have picked up packets.
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Currently, the library purchases a small variety of vegetable, herb and flower seeds from locally owned Kelly Seed Co., but we would like to be able to expand our offerings. The Seed Library, free and open to all, is only located at our Main Library in Downtown Peoria — now with free parking.
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| Special Gallery Exhibit: Backstage Hollywood: The Photographs of Bob Willoughby |
Peoria Public Library is pleased to welcome a special traveling exhibit through August 11 at our Main Library gallery: Backstage Hollywood: The Photographs of Bob Willoughby.
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The candid, intimate photographs we see of celebrities today. Willoughby did them first. |
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Enoy dozens of photographs from 17 iconic films from the golden age of Hollywood, including Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Alfred Hitchcock on the set of Marnie, Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby, and Marilyn Monroe in Let’s Make Love, to name a few.
Free and open to the public, and available during regular Main Library hours. Our gallery is located on lower level one of Main Library.
Note: This exhibit is brought to us thanks to Mid-America Arts Alliance, in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and ExhibitsUSA |
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| Saying ‘So Long’ to Peoria Public Library Family | We said ‘so long’ recently to one of our favorite faces.
Stacy McLeod retired in June after 22 years (and one week!) of making Peoria Public Library shine.
| As her last chalkboard note to us said, 'She lived happily ever after!' and we know she will.
Time to put your feet up, friend! Best wishes!
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We had to ask her for her thoughts. You know, just to prolong the goodbye.
What are some of the major changes you’ve seen in the last two decades?
Stacy: We’re so much bigger. Even though we closed two branches while I was here, we added North Branch and that branch has given us so much more space.
Do you have a favorite memory?
Stacy: That’s hard. Of course, the people. Staff and the people who use the library. I do remember back when we used to raise money for St. Jude and you’d get put in “jail.” You had to raise donations to get out. I was in jail with Bob Meismer. That was fun.
What will you do in retirement? Stacy: Work on my house.
Any last thoughts? Stacy: I just want to say I love the library. I always have. I have always cared what people see and what they think of us. |
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| Library News | Earlier this month, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias awarded grants totaling just over $27 million to libraries across the state.
Peoria Public Library received two grants – a $192,355 per capita grant and a $100,000 grant for security system upgrades.
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The per capita grant will be used to expand the library’s programming and promotion, including a new website. The security grant will allow the library to replace outdated security software and add new cameras, giving staff ability to view in real time. |
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Photo: Peoria Public Library Deputy Director Veronica De Fazio is interviewed by WMBD-TV about the state grants the library has received this year.
In other news, House lawmakers unanimously passed House Bill 5236, the Digital Library Protection Act, but the bill didn’t make it out of committee in the Senate before the legislature adjourned.
A key point of the bill is that it would prohibit publishers from charging libraries more than the public for the same item. For example, according to the Illinois Library Association, libraries would pay $29 for the hard cover book, Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. The public would pay $32 for the same book. A $3 difference in the libraries’ favor.
But, for that same title in a digital format, the average person pays $14.99 for either an ebook or audio book. A library would pay $55 for the ebook and $95 for the audio book. For libraries, digital materials also come with “rental” rules, such as a certain number of checkouts allowed at one time.
Some good news, Peoria Public Library was featured on the cover of the June issue of the ILA Reporter, the quarterly magazine published by the Illinois Library Association.
The photograph featured a special marriage proposal at our North Branch during National Library Lovers Month. |
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| Resource Update: Palace Project | The Palace Project, one of our newer digital resources for ebooks, was only accessible via its app.
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This month, it is now accessible online |
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Why does this matter?
Kindle users couldn’t download the app so they couldn’t check out the more than 30,000 free ebooks in Palace Project. Now, Kindle users can use their web browsers for access.
Maybe you prefer searching for your next read on the large screen of a desktop. Now you can. |
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