CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY

“America’s school libraries are an inexhaustible fountain of knowledge. They provide today’s students with the skills they need to achieve great things in their lives. School librarians help children develop a love of reading and teach them to become critical thinkers. In other words, they are essential to building a child’s greatest asset – their mind.” - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Wise words, Kareem!

Windy City Hoops

The city of Chicago has teamed up with NBA legend Isiah Thomas to launch Windy City Hoops, a youth basketball league to provide safe alternatives to drugs, gangs and violence, one hoop at a time.

Basketball programming has a proven impact on providing youth with alternatives to drugs, gangs, and violence, and the $480K raised on the Windy City Hoops’ Indiegogo page will go toward funding a year-round basketball league hosted by the Park District on Friday and Saturday nights in targeted communities across the city.

The leagues will operate in 10 parks, opening up an additional 3,200 opportunities for at-risk youth ages 13-17. The leagues will operate from 7-10pm on Fridays and 5-10pm on Saturdays, a substantial expansion that will double the total number of hours of teen basketball programming provided by the Park District year-round.

Click here for more information about about Windy City Hoops, and learn how you can help this amazing program.

“If I’m not trying my best I might as well retire.”

From everybody at the Chicago Public Library, we would like to wish Derrick Rose a happy 24th birthday!

Michael Jordan - Reading Advocacy Poster

We stumbled upon this gem, a classic poster featuring Michael Jordan, encouraging people to read. 

You can soar to new heights by reading books.

Thanks for helping the cause, Michael!