Thanks to my "Live & Learn" program, 28 public libraries across Illinois will share $5.1 million in construction grants in Fiscal Year 1996 to build, expand and upgrade facilities, protect historical collections and make libraries accessible to persons with disabilities. Eighteen libraries are receiving the maximum $250,000 under our construction program.

This year's grants will aid in the construction of five new libraries — the Jeffery Manor Branch of the Chicago Public Library, the Grayslake Area Public Library, the Johnsburg Public Library, the River Valley District Library in Port Byron and the Georgetown Public Library.

"Live & Learn" will provide the bulk of the funding for the construction projects — close to $4.6 million. The remaining money, $561,486, is from federal library construction dollars.

Since its creation in 1993, "Live & Learn" has generated $13 million for 77 library construction projects in Illinois, benefiting 6.6 million people throughout the state.

In the last two years, we have approved plans to construct nearly 25 new library buildings, including four in Chicago and others in communities ranging from Glen Ellyn to Willowbrook, Crete, Chatham, Danville and O'Fallon.

We have seen new additions to several existing libraries that had outgrown their space. And we have seen many projects that make libraries more accessible to persons with disabilities.

Librarians around the state are telling us that many library improvement projects are finally moving ahead because local communities now know that the state will stand behind their efforts.

It appears we have touched off a building boom of sorts that is creating construction jobs, community development and new community pride around our state.

For example, a $250,000 grant will help the Geneva Public Library expand into the American Legion building next to it. This project will be undertaken with the help of American Legion Post 75, which will move across the street to a new site.

A 1991 survey of Geneva residents indicated that they wanted the library to remain in its current historic building. I commend the members of the American Legion for their community spirit, and hope this spirit of cooperation in Geneva spreads to other communities.

In addition to the Geneva library, highlights of the Fiscal Year 1996 Library Construction Grant program include:

• Chicago Public Library/Woodson Regional Library — A $250,000 state grant will build an addition housing the library's renowned Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. The Harsh Collection contains more than 70,000 books and other materials relating to African-American history. With the addition, the collection can be stored in an appropriate setting for researchers.

• Berwyn Public Library — A $250,000 state grant will help the library consolidate into one building. Currently, the library's collection is housed in two buildings 18 blocks apart. The new library, formerly the home of the Czechoslovak Society of America, will have twice the space of the existing buildings.

• Marion Carnegie Library — A $250,000 grant will help build a 10,000-square-foot addition to the existing library and remodel 6,000 square feet within the building. The renovations will provide more shelf space, a larger meeting room and an upgraded circulation desk.

"Live & Learn" initiatives generate nearly $19 million a year for libraries, including almost $5 million for construction projects. The program is funded by a portion of fees paid for vehicle titles and registration transfers. It provides:

• up to 40 percent of the cost for new buildings, with a maximum grant of $250,000, and

• up to 50 percent funding for projects that make libraries accessible to people with disabilities, with a maximum grant of $75,000. Libraries are taking on an ever more important role in education because education today does not stop at the schoolhouse door. And with the advance of computers and information technology, libraries are no longer just storehouses of information. They are points of entry into a huge world of knowledge.

Supporting these efforts should be a priority for our state, and it will continue to be a priority for me.

September 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 23