Towanda District Library

 301 S Taylor St
 Towanda, IL 61776
 309-728-2176
 Fax: 309-728-2139
 Email:
  towandalib@yahoo.com

    

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10a - 8p
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  3p - 6p
  3p - 6p
  9a - noon

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Photo Album


                             Towanda Busy Bees 4H fall clean-up at the library in November, 2007.
 


Mary Pasek Williams receiving the ‘Librarian of the Year’
 award along
with DeAnna Belz, who nominated her.

 

Towanda District Library Director Mary Pasek Williams was awarded the Alliance Library System "Librarian of the Year Award."  The ALS' Librarian of the Year Award is presented to an outstanding risk-taker, innovator or change agent contributing to the field of librarianship and library development. 

Library board member, DeAnna Belz, nominated Mary, citing Mary’s transformation of our small town library into one that rivals many big city facilities.   During Mary’s tenure, library circulation has tripled and visits to the library have increased five-fold.  The ALS noted that Mary is a librarian’s librarian; skilled as an administrator as well as a community and library leader.

The Alliance Library System, headquartered in East Peoria, is a high tech training and continuing education center covering 256 libraries across 31 counties in central Illinois.

 

 

 

Logan Maughan's Eagle Scout project.

He and Scout troop 56 (Towanda Boy Scouts) completed two jobs at the library on June 9, 2007:

  • Installed a new shelving system in the library's storage closet

  • Pulled bushes, excavated a plot around the flagpole, laid down mulch and planted lilies
     


Busy Bees 4-H group at their annual spring clean-up at the Library, 2007

 


Volunteers Pat and Bernice planting flowers at the library, spring, 2007


 Towanda Junior Girl Scout Troop #243, Nov, 2006

4th graders at Towanda Grade School, the girls are working on requirements for their Junior Girl Scout Bronze Award.  "The Girl Scout Bronze Award, the highest honor a Junior Girl Scout can earn, requires her to learn the leadership and planning skills necessary to follow through on a project that makes a positive impact on her community. Working towards this award demonstrates her commitment to helping others, improving her community and the world, and becoming the best she can be."

 


Book Sale Patrons, July 4, 2006

 


                          Book Sale Volunteers, July 4, 2006

 

                        Bloomington-Normal Kendo Club Demonstration, June 21, 2006

The Kendo Club of Bloomington-Normal gave a demonstration of Kendo (Japanese martial arts) to participants in the 2006 summer reading program - Voyage to Book Island.

 


Internet Provider Forum, Nov., 2005

This was an informational meeting on how to choose an internet service provider in the Cooksville-Towanda area, with representatives from Frontier Communications (dial-up and DSL), DTN Speednet (broadband) and MediaCom (cable).
 


Hurricane Horror: Aftermath of Katrina and Rita, Nov., 2005

An Illinois Farm Bureau photographer presented a slideshow on the hurricane-ravished agriculture industry in Louisiana.  He showed the impact on the dairy, poultry, fishing, timber and cattle industries. 
 

 

 

 

Children who came in costume to the October, 2005, library program: Chilling Stories and Creepy Crafts.


One way to get to a small town library

 


A patron checking out books at front desk


Story hour

 


Story hour pumpkin carving


Story Time

 


Story Time Crafts

 

Making Cider

On a fall evening in October, 2004, David Williams, ISU biology professor and apple enthusiast, demonstrated cider-making using an oak cider press.  Children took turns grinding the apples in the press. After the demonstration, there was a hot-dog roast over an open fire with marshmallows to roast and special variety apples for baking. After the meal there was a showing of the "Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein" on the library lawn (moved inside when it started to rain).

 

 

Fourth of July Parade

17 patrons represented the Towanda District Library in the 2002 Towanda Fourth of July parade.

  

 

Reading Rocks

The Towanda District Library summer reading program for 2002 was "Reading Rocks."  It was a fun and educational program that focused on geology.  The Wednesday morning programs included two geologists who came in to talk about the formation and identification of rocks, a show-and-tell dinosaur program, a juggling/balloon act, a rock painting session with the Ecology Action center, and a season finale Flintstone party on July 17th.  Participants who read at least 3 hours every week received tokens to buy geology-related prizes from the library store and received a new paperback book thanks to donations from local organizations.  Contributors included the Towanda Senior Citizens, the Home Extension Assn., the Towanda 4-H, the Lions Club, the Junior Women's Club, and Upper Limits Rock Climbing Gym.  The 4-H Busy Bees provided cookies for every program.  Over 70 children participated in the program!

  

Story Hour children - sitting in a row

Story Hour - children being read to

Story Time

The Towanda District Library holds four 8-week story hour sessions during the school year for preschoolers. These programs take place on Wednesday mornings from 10am-10:30am for 3-5 year-olds.  During each program, Shirley Porter reads two or three stories and does finger-plays, songs or activities and works on a craft with the children.  Registration is required.  Children begin each session by finding their nametags and taking their places around the story circle.  Children for this session should be able to sit for 15 minutes on their own while their parent or guardian is in another part of the library.

If you are interested in a story hour for 18-month-olds - 3 year olds, we will offer one if a minimum of five children register.  This program will take place with the child sitting on the parent/guardian's lap.  We will do lap songs and games with the children and short books will be read with emphasis on sounds and identification of pictures. Children in this story hour will learn how to sit still for stories with the comfort of their parents or guardians nearby.

  

 

 

 

Redbird Readers in pairs at tables

Redbird Readers on the floor

 

Redbird Readers picnic

Redbird Readers

The Redbird Readers program involves ISU/Towanda Elementary/Towanda District Library. Every fall and spring, an education class comes to the library to tutor 1st and 2nd graders (usually) in reading.  Usually, the entire 1st or 2nd grade class comes to the library and is paired up with an ISU student who works with that student for the entire semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The Towanda elementary students range in reading abilities so that the ISU students have as good a chance at working with a good reader as they do of working with a struggling one. The ISU students’ grades for the course are based on the work they do here.  The professor lectures, has discussions, and gives exams here before and after the elementary kids are here, so the entire university course is held at this library.  These photos were from the last day with the kids for the spring, 2002 session, and each group/pair had a little party.  The kids and the ISU students take this class very seriously and get to know their partners quite well over the semester.

 

 

Volunteers at Volunteer Appreciation Night

Roy Redding showing up the new shirts for the volunteers.

Volunteer Appreciation

A volunteer appreciation dinner was held at the library in April, 2002, to thank the library’s many wonderful volunteers.  For more on this event see the Volunteer web page.

 

 

Getting Ready for ‘Internet for Seniors’

Internet classes, called "Beginning Computer/Internet Course for Seniors", were held on Tuesday evenings in February, 2002, in two sessions of one hour each for four weeks.  The laptops that were used in the sessions were borrowed from the Tremont District Library, who had purchased them for this purpose.  We hope that we can reserve the laptops again in the fall or winter for additional classes.  The response from this course was great.

 

 

Decorating balloons for Halloween party at the library, October, 2002

Kids showing off their eye patches at the Halloween party at the library, October, 2002

 

Decorating the window at the Halloween party at the library, October, 2002

 

Decorated window in daylight after the Halloween party at the library, October, 2002

"Spooky Stories and Creepy Crafts"  
2nd annual Halloween Program for 4th-6th graders, October, 2001, at the library.

  

 

 


This web page was last updated on Thursday December 20, 2007, by Helen Mogill