Community Calendar

Participants are invited to bring a favorite book from home, or select one from the library’s collection, and read aloud to Hobo. This relaxed, supportive experience helps build reading skills and confidence while making reading fun. The program is free and open to the public.

April is Citizen Science Month, and the Library invites the community to take part in hands-on projects that contribute to 2.5 Million Acts of Science, a national America250 initiative celebrating civic participation and discovery. Citizen science empowers everyday people to support real scientific research by observing and sharing information about the world around them.

Featured projects include Stream Selfie, which helps document the health of local streams through shared photos; Globe at Night, an international effort to measure and raise awareness of light pollution; and iNaturalist, a global platform for recording plants and wildlife to help scientists monitor biodiversity. Information on how to participate in all three citizen-science projects is available at the Library. All projects are free and open to the public and are suitable for adults and families alike.

April is Citizen Science Month, and the Library invites the community to take part in hands-on projects that contribute to 2.5 Million Acts of Science, a national America250 initiative celebrating civic participation and discovery. Citizen science empowers everyday people to support real scientific research by observing and sharing information about the world around them.

Featured projects include Stream Selfie, which helps document the health of local streams through shared photos; Globe at Night, an international effort to measure and raise awareness of light pollution; and iNaturalist, a global platform for recording plants and wildlife to help scientists monitor biodiversity. Information on how to participate in all three citizen-science projects is available at the Library. All projects are free and open to the public and are suitable for adults and families alike.

April is Citizen Science Month, and the Library invites the community to take part in hands-on projects that contribute to 2.5 Million Acts of Science, a national America250 initiative celebrating civic participation and discovery. Citizen science empowers everyday people to support real scientific research by observing and sharing information about the world around them.

Featured projects include Stream Selfie, which helps document the health of local streams through shared photos; Globe at Night, an international effort to measure and raise awareness of light pollution; and iNaturalist, a global platform for recording plants and wildlife to help scientists monitor biodiversity. Information on how to participate in all three citizen-science projects is available at the Library. All projects are free and open to the public and are suitable for adults and families alike.

This documentary examines the events leading up to the May 4th, 1970, shooting of unarmed students by the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University, which left four students dead and thirteen wounded. Told through firsthand accounts, the film places the tragedy within the broader civil rights and anti–Vietnam War movements of the 1960s and 1970s.

The shootings sparked the largest student strike in U.S. history, spreading to more than 3,000 campuses nationwide. Just ten days later, police killed two students at Jackson State College in Mississippi, an event that received far less national attention. The film traces how years of organized activism, racial injustice, opposition to the Vietnam War, and inflammatory political rhetoric created the conditions for these acts of state violence.

Featuring more than twenty personal testimonies, Fire in the Heartland offers an intimate look at a pivotal moment in American history and provides critical context as campus protests and state responses once again shape national conversations. The film is 56 minutes, not rated, and made possible through Kanopy. The program is free and open to the public.

Adults ages 19 and older are invited to join a hybrid community book club that brings readers together to explore the American Revolution through shared reading, short film clips, and conversation. Each month, participants will view a preview from the PBS documentary The American Revolution by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, along with additional short videos connected to the featured book, followed by an informal group discussion.

The featured title for this session is “The Ride: Paul Revere and the Ride That Saved America,” by Kostya Kennedy, a vivid and newly researched retelling of Paul Revere’s April 18–19, 1775 mission. Drawing on archival records, letters, diaries, and contemporary accounts, the book reveals the ride as a far more complex and precarious event than the familiar legend, one involving a loosely coordinated network of riders, near-disaster, capture by British forces, and crucial contributions from lesser-known figures who helped spark the opening moments of the Revolution. Written with pace and drama, the book restores the tension, teamwork, and high stakes of this foundational American story.

The program runs approximately 45–60 minutes and is free and open to the public. Virtual registration is available at: https://shorturl.at/XejdY. Copies of the book are available at the Granville Branch.

April is Citizen Science Month, and the Library invites the community to take part in hands-on projects that contribute to 2.5 Million Acts of Science, a national America250 initiative celebrating civic participation and discovery. Citizen science empowers everyday people to support real scientific research by observing and sharing information about the world around them.

Featured projects include Stream Selfie, which helps document the health of local streams through shared photos; Globe at Night, an international effort to measure and raise awareness of light pollution; and iNaturalist, a global platform for recording plants and wildlife to help scientists monitor biodiversity. Information on how to participate in all three citizen-science projects is available at the Library. All projects are free and open to the public and are suitable for adults and families alike.

April is Citizen Science Month, and the Library invites the community to take part in hands-on projects that contribute to 2.5 Million Acts of Science, a national America250 initiative celebrating civic participation and discovery. Citizen science empowers everyday people to support real scientific research by observing and sharing information about the world around them.

Featured projects include Stream Selfie, which helps document the health of local streams through shared photos; Globe at Night, an international effort to measure and raise awareness of light pollution; and iNaturalist, a global platform for recording plants and wildlife to help scientists monitor biodiversity. Information on how to participate in all three citizen-science projects is available at the Library. All projects are free and open to the public and are suitable for adults and families alike.

Join us for this new gathering at Woodstock Public Library as we enjoy a complimentary cup of coffee and discuss a new program topic with a guest speaker every month. Free to attend, but advance registration is required.

February 26 - New Advances in Alzheimer’s Treatment with the Alzheimer’s Association
March 26 - Identity Theft & Fraud Prevention with the Illinois Comptroller’s Office
April 30 - Fall Prevention with Smith Physical Therapy+ of Crystal Lake
May 28 - Mental Health in Older Adults with NAMI of McHenry County
June 25 - Discount and Ride Free Programs with RTA

Youth ages 8–14 are invited to a hybrid community book club that brings readers together to explore the American Revolution through shared reading, conversation, and film. Each month, participants watch a preview from the PBS documentary The American Revolution by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, along with short videos connected to the featured books, followed by an informal discussion.

The featured titles for this session are “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” by Christopher Bing and “The Many Rides of Paul Revere,” by James Cross Giblin. The Many Rides of Paul Revere goes beyond the familiar legend to present a lively, accessible biography that traces Revere’s life from the son of a French immigrant to a skilled silversmith and key figure in the growing resistance to British rule, highlighting his many daring rides and wide-ranging accomplishments through clear prose and striking black-and-white archival images. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere offers a visually stunning interpretation of Longfellow’s poem, blending history and imagination through meticulous research, period maps, reproduced documents, and dramatic engravings that immerse readers in the tense night of April 1775, creating not just a history lesson, but a powerful artistic experience that brings the American Revolution vividly to life.

The program runs approximately 45–60 minutes and is free and open to the public. To register virtually, please visit: https://shorturl.at/VRKtu. Copies of the book are available at the Condit Branch.