Have you noticed that the lot across Green Street from the library has gotten greener? That’s due to two new developments: The partnership between Cunningham Township and The Urbana Free Library to create a community garden, and the reopening of the Urbana Free Library Bee and Butterfly garden.

Recently the library leased the lot at 203 w. Green to the Cunningham Township Supervisors Office so that they could develop a community food garden. You can see the Township garden proposal here.

The weather’s (finally) getting hotter, the sun’s coming out, and school is letting out for the summer. Soon, the streets will be full of the sounds of children playing outside and dogs barking. Families will be leaving town for a family vacation. And what better way to spend the time in the car than listen to an audiobook together? If you want something the whole family will enjoy, try one of these:

Happy 2018 National Library Week!

The first National Library Week was celebrated in 1958 with a theme of “Wake Up and Read!" As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of National Library Week it seems fitting that this year the theme is “Libraries Lead.”

Do you have a passion for poetry?  The 14th Annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition is now open.  All contestants must be Illinois residents and 18 years of age or over. 

Winners receive the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award, and there is a cash prize for first, second, and third place.  Entry forms, eligibility requirements, and further information can be found at: http://cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/library/center_for_the_book/.

Start writing!

Lauren C.

To celebrate Jazz as an American art form, the Smithsonian Institute has designated April as Jazz Appreciation Month. The Urbana Free Library takes pride in holding a broad and deep collection of jazz, as well as rock, pop, blues, folk, country, classical, international, and soundtrack (music and show) genres. To help you dig deeper into this extensive collection, try these specific searches:

I’ve seen a sharp increase in the sassiness of cookbooks coming through the Library.

Coming Soon- new additions to the Music Equipment Collection at The Urbana Free Library!
Place your holds now on the following new items:

From time to time, we get questions at the Reference Desk about the Library’s WiFi. The most frequent question is, does the Library provide WiFi for patrons to use? The answer is yes! But we also get asked several other questions about the WiFi at the Library. Let me answer some other questions you might have.