Discover the World at Your Library This Winter

Libraries across the nation are sponsoring a treasure trove of events this winter. From history lectures to job hunting workshops, from pajama time storytelling hour to language classes, you are bound to discover a class or event--or even a book--to spark the imagination of all members of your family this winter! 

Read below for a sample of library happenings across the country. For ideas about how to make the most out of a library visit with your family, check out the NCBLA's article, "An Affordable Family Night Out: Visit Your Neighborhood Public Library."

Boston

Starting this month the Boston Public Library initiates its Local and Family History Lecture Series, which will continue through May. In this lecture series speakers will shed light on topics such as Boston’s metamorphosis into an intellectual and cultural hub, uncovering family connections to the Civil War, and what drove Bostonians to dump tons of tea into the harbor on a cold December night in 1773. The series alternates between topics of local historical interest and instruction for those interested in genealogical research. A particular focus of the 2011 series is the men and women of the Civil War Era, as the nation marks the 150^th anniversary of the start of the conflict. 

Chicago

The Chicago Public Library is offering a lecture series titled Law at the Library, to be presented by the Library and the Chicago Bar Association. The weekly lectures begin January 24 and continue through April. January's lecture is titled "Cleaning Up Your Credit." 

Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Public Library is sponsoring the ALOUD series, featuring lectures, readings, performances, and discussions. Tomorrow's program features V. S. Ramachandran, author of The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human. Also at the Los Angeles Public Library is the exhibit "Forty Years of Sesame Street Illustration: Selections from the Publishing Archive of Sesame Workshop," which explores the history of the popular children’s educational television show Sesame Street, through April 30, 2011. 

What's happening at YOUR local library?!