SAUKVALLEYMEDIA

At the Lanark Public Library, every time you turn the corner you find something new: there are books, of course, but the library also offers summer reading programs, community events, local history, family trees, research, audio books, CDs and DVDs, computers, and much more.

Lanark’s library, which has been around since 1885 and in its current home since 2013, is the closest one to Lake Carroll, and Janie Dollinger has seen many lake residents take advantage of its catalog and growing number of resources since she became its librarian in 1970. She doesn’t do it alone, though: In addition to library volunteers, there’s a nine-member library board appointed by the mayor. The library also has some really good friends.

The Friends of the Lanark Public Library is a support organization that helps promote the library and raise money for its materials and events. The Friends group is “such an asset to us,” Dollinger said. “They do a great deal of things for us. They help pay for all of our subscriptions for our large-print books that we get every month, for our e-books that are online that people can use with their electronic devices, and they help us co-sponsor a lot of our programming. The Friends are very supportive of our programming.”

Among the services and programs the library offers are a resources for revealing the roots of people’s family tree. National Library Week, which runs from April 23-29 this year, has been a primary event at Lanark’s library for a number of years. The celebration revolves around a theme, and this year’s is “There’s more to the story.” Playing off that theme, the library will help families learn more about their own story, with 30-minute genealogy sessions offered from April 2628, in which volunteers will help people learn the ropes on the Ancestry and Ancestry World family history research websites. Those interested in participating must call the library to make an appointment, and come with at least someone’s name and a date range to start with.

Director

“We have a subscription here, so when you use our computers. We can log you in and you don’t have to have your own personal account,” Dollinger said. “They’ll get your started and whet your appetite. The bug will bite you because just one little interesting fact about your family really makes people want to delve in and get answers immediately.”

Ramona Koning is the library’s genealogy volunteer on Wednesdays and Fridays, and has spent decades doing family research, both through the library and on her own time. She plans to be a big part in helping people get started on their quest for family history when National Library Week rolls around.

“I’ve used Ancestry for a long time,” Koning said. “I enjoy helping other people and I love it when we find stuff. You can find tons of stuff, and they’re adding all of the time. Just because you’ve looked 20 years ago doesn’t mean you won’t find more now.”

Using websites such as Ancestry is like browsing through a worldwide library of information.

“Years ago, you couldn’t do that,” Dollinger said. “You had to write letters to people and hope they answer. Now, with computers, it’s completely different with what you can find, and what you can find on Ancestry. There’s so many photographs and information — you could see your greatgrandfather’s signature on something, and that’s exciting.”

Having a service like Ancestry.com available isn’t free; like other research websites, there’s a subscription fee. That’s where the Friends of the Lanark Library steps up and steps in to help. Through used book sales and fundraising the group, with nearly 60 duespaying members (membership is $12 per year), lends the library a hand.

The most visible part of the Friends group is the Twice-Sold Tales used bookstore, located in a small mall inside Special Touch Flowers and Gifts on state Route 64, at the south edge of town. Volunteers staff the store and organize donations of books. Books are priced from 10 cents for small paperbacks to $5 for lightly used large hardcovers. The store also sells CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs and audio books. All proceeds go to the library.

The store is not only a win for the library, but also a win for the flower shop as well, helping boost customer traffic.

“It’s a benefit for both of us,” Dollinger said. “They have to walk through the florist to get to our bookstore.”

The store’s sales have helped the library build up not just its book collection, but offer other programs and services, too.

While readers appreciate the library’s peace and quiet, patrons have come to appreciate its pieces and quiet, too. Late last year, the library began offering jigsaw puzzles for checkout, and they were a big hit for both families and businesses, Dollinger said.

“During the couple of days when we had the Christmas blizzard, they were very popular because people had all of their wrapping done and weren’t going to be going anywhere. [Families] could start a big jigsaw puzzle, and even companies have started jigsaw puzzles as well.”

History buffs have taken a shine to the library’s local history room, which contains microfilm from Lanark and Carroll County newspapers, high school yearbooks and local history books — including a copy of the two-volume history on Lake Carroll, “The Story of Lake Carroll: The Great Escape,” written by former resident Evelyn Rolfs in 1992. Local history material stays at the library and can’t be checked out.

Publications in the local history collection have sparked attractive exhibits to help bring people to the library. During Eastland High School’s Homecoming Week in mid-September, the library used its yearbook collection to find photos of businessmen who were on the local football teams more than 30 years ago and create a “then and now” guessing game.

Dollinger said they’ll do something similar for this year’s Homecoming, but likely with pictures of Homecoming queens.

“We wanted to do something about football,” Dollinger said. “We went through a list of businessmen or Chamber of Commerce members who used to be football players, and went through the yearbooks back into the ’60s, the ’70s and ’80s and copied their football picture. We made a big tri-fold poster with all of these football players, and one cheerleader, and we had a sheet where you could try to name all of these people to win the contest.”

The library’s history collection also has a picture book, “Lanark Illustrated” (1901), which features pictures of local houses. The library used it so that people could match old photos to a current one and guess the homes’ location.

“We had people come up with their children,” Dollinger said, “and tell them, ‘Grandma’s house is on here, where is it?’”

There’s a lot more than just books at the Lanark Public Library ...

Patrons can pick up a puzzle, or DVD, look at microfilm, see pieces from local photographers and artists, do genealogical resources and more. Can’t find what you’re looking for? The staff will be happy to help.

As Valentine’s Day approached, the staff put together this display, encouraging people to let them set them up on a “blind date” with an item from the library’s collection.

While the Friends group has been a big help, the library is also supported by a share of local property tax dollars. The library district includes the city limits of Lanark. In addition, a small percentage of city sales tax also goes to the library. Those who reside or own property in Lanark’s limits can have a free library card. People outside of the district, such as residents in Lake Carroll and Shannon, can get a card for $50 a year.

Card holders can also take advantage of the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), a system that taps into a statewide network of public, educational and professional libraries to make a greater selection of books available. If one library doesn’t have a book, another might, and the books can be ordered for checkout from participating libraries. Dollinger said she’s has handled a number of books from part-time Lake Carroll residents who’ve checked them out from libraries in their hometown and returned them in Lanark.

Among the items in the Lanark Public Library’s local history collection is a copy of the two-volume history on Lake Carroll, “The Story of Lake Carroll: The Great Escape,” written by former resident Evelyn Rolfs in 1992. While local history material may not be checked out, people are welcome to stop by and peruse the past.

Another way Lake Carroll residents have benefited from the library is through its audiobooks. The commute to and from the Lake can be a long one for some residents, and the audiobooks helps pass the drive time. Dollinger has patrons who use them during round-trips to work far away from town.

“I see a lot of people who work in Rockford that live in Lanark,” Dollinger said, “and they like to listen to a book a week spending an hour and 15 minutes each way driving to Rockford and back.”

Both the library and the Friends group each have an active Facebook page that promotes special events, reading programs and new books. Last year’s summer programs at the library were bustling with activity, and it plans to be just as busy this summer, Dollinger said. In addition, the “Swap and Share” events have become popular in recent months at the library, where people can bring in household decor and goods to swap or share. Library volunteers also use the event as an opportunity to talk about what the library has to offer. What it has to offer is a lot — and don’t let the size fool you. It may look like there’s not a lot in the unassuming building the library shares with City Hall, but you know what they say: You can’t judge a book by its cover.

LANARK PUBLIC LIBRARY, 111-A

South Broad St. is open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, noon to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Find it on Facebook, email lanarklibrary1@gmail.com, go to lanarkil.gov/lanark-publiclibrary, or call 815-493-2166 for more information.

THE LIBRARY BOARD MEETS at 5:15 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the City Council chambers directly across the hall from the library.

TWICE-SOLD TALES, a used book store operated by the Friends of the Lanark Public Library, is at Special Touch Flowers and Gifts, 504 state Route 64. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Find "Twice-Sold Tales and Friends of the Library Used Books and More" on Facebook or call 815-238-4763 for more information.