Community Calendar

Prepare for swoon-worthy reads and lively conversations with fellow romance lovers! We meet each month to discuss our latest romantic read-- sharing thoughts, feelings, and favorite moments along the way. From steamy westerns and eerie sci-fi love stories to sweeping historical romances, our carefully chosen selections span the full spectrum of the genre. Whether you're a longtime romance reader or just starting to explore, you'll find your perfect match here!

September: Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
October: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming
November: The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava

Books are available in Adult Services. No registration is required. This book club is intended for adults.

For additional information, please contact Amy at amyf@dkpl.org or call (815) 756-9568 ext. 2150.

Northern Rehab Physical Therapy Specialists is collecting donations for the Sycamore United Methodist Church (SUMC) Coat Ministry. Needed items include new and gently used coats, boots, mittens, scarves, and other winter accessories. All Northern Rehab locations are serving as collection sites at their DeKalb, Genoa, and Rochelle locations. Please drop off donated items between October 6 -17.

For additional information about Northern Rehab, please call 815.756.8524, visit www.northernrehabpt.com or find us on most social media platforms.

The Putnam County Public Library District is excited to host Fall Fun Week at the Granville Branch from Tuesday, October 14th through Saturday, October 18th.

Throughout the week, visitors are encouraged to stop by and take photos with friends and family in front of a specially designed fall-themed photo backdrop—a perfect setting to celebrate the beauty of the season.
Guests will also receive a complimentary keepsake (while supplies last). Choices include a glowstick charm bracelet or a laser-engraved wooden pendant featuring either a leaf or pumpkin design. Keepsakes will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, so attendees are encouraged to arrive early to ensure availability.

The Granville Branch is located at 214 S. McCoy Street, Granville, Illinois. For more information, please contact the Library at 815-339-2038.

The Granville Branch of the Putnam County Public Library District invites the community to a special Movie Matinee screening of Flyways, a breathtaking documentary that takes audiences inside the extraordinary world of migratory shorebirds, on Tuesday, October 14th at 1:00 p.m.

Every year, more than 200 species—including Far Eastern Curlews, Lesser Yellowlegs, Red Knots, and Hudsonian Godwits—embark on epic journeys along ancient routes known as Flyways. These remarkable travelers migrate thousands of miles from the Southern Hemisphere to Arctic breeding grounds and back again, with some species flying for up to nine days non-stop without food or water.

Yet these incredible birds now face grave challenges. Flyways explores how climate change and rapid urban development are driving steep population declines, and follows a global conservation movement—scientists, activists, and everyday bird lovers—working together to protect these resilient yet vulnerable species.

This 54-minute documentary (rated TV-14) is made available through public performance rights by Kanopy. For more information, please contact the Library at 815-339-2038.

In this talk, anthropologist Eleana Kim discusses her fieldwork in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, which has often been referred to as the “most heavily militarized border in the world.” The unresolved war between the two Koreas has been ongoing since the formal end of the Korean War in 1953. For more than 70 years, the zone has been a de facto protected area, off limits to human habitation, and is now celebrated as a site of rare biodiversity. This talk complicates the conventional narrative about the DMZ that frequently frames its nature as an unexpected outcome of war and discusses what we can learn from a closer look at its actually existing ecologies and the people who study them. Rather than the symbolic narrative of an accidental sanctuary, Kim shows instead the importance of recognizing its “nature" as materially and ecologically vulnerable to the effects of militarization, capitalism, and climate change.

Reception to follow. This event is in conjunction with the “How We Rebuild” exhibition on display through Dec. 19. This exhibit is a program of ExhibitsUSA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance and The National Endowment for the Arts.

Eleana Kim is a sociocultural anthropologist and Professor of Anthropology and Asian American Studies at University of California, Irvine. She specializes in kinship, human/nonhuman ecologies, migration, and the senses, with a regional focus on contemporary South Korea. She is the author of two award-winning books, Adopted Territory: Transnational Korean Adoption and the Politics of Belonging (2010) and Making Peace with Nature: Ecological Encounters Along the Korean DMZ (2022), both of which were published by Duke University Press. She is also the co-editor, with environmental historians David Fedman and Albert Park, of Forces of Nature: New Perspectives on Korean Environments (Cornell University Press, 2023). She teaches courses on anthropological theory, kinship, migration, transnational Korea, and the senses.

Improve your knowledge of English and become more comfortable speaking in everyday situations. Practice basic English grammar concepts in conversation, learning how to ask and answer questions, expanding your vocabulary, and learning to understand the sounds of spoken English.

This class is intended for adult participants at a low intermediate level of speaking English or higher, but all are welcome to attend.

On September 2 this class will be held in the Bilder Family Meeting Room.

This program requires registration. There will be limited seats for unregistered patrons.

For more information or to register, please contact Britta at brittak@dkpl.org or (815) 756-9568 ext. 2100.

Get ready for a spine-tingling evening with author Troy Taylor as he takes you on a journey into Illinois’ haunted history. This captivating virtual program, hosted by the Putnam County Public Library District on Tuesday, October 14th at 6:00 p.m., goes beyond ghost stories and folklore, uncovering the true tales behind some of the state’s most chilling legends and little-known haunts.

From the legends and lore surrounding Abraham Lincoln—America’s most haunted president—to the devoted bartender who never left his favorite nightclub, from one of the most famous spirit possessions in American history to the unsettling story of Chicago’s legendary vanishing hitchhiker, these eerie accounts will bring the state’s haunted past vividly to life. Whether you are a skeptic or a believer, this program promises to leave you with goosebumps—and perhaps even sleeping with the lights on.

The event will be hosted live on Zoom, and registration is required at https://shorturl.at/w8G06. For more information, please contact the Putnam County Public Library District at 815-339-2038.

Microforests, also known as tiny forests or Miyawaki forests, are dense, native woodlands planted in small urban spaces. These fast-growing, biodiverse ecosystems have a significant impact on local climate. In addition to cooling, microforests sequester carbon at a higher rate than conventional forests due to their high planting density and rapid growth. This helps remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. They also improve air quality by filtering pollutants, and their dense root systems help manage stormwater runoff, reducing the strain on urban drainage systems during heavy rain.

Join us to explore how these compact green spaces can make a huge difference in creating cooler, healthier, and more resilient communities. Don't miss this chance to discover the power of planting small!

This program is intended for adults. It does not require registration.

For more information, please contact Britta at brittak@dkpl.org or (815) 756-9568 ext. 2100.

Want some practical tips on how to rid your property of invasive tree species such as buckthorn and honeysuckle? Join Sarah Michehl from The Land Conservancy to learn how to control these species, as well as native tree and shrub replacement recommendations. Also, attendees will learn about the Conservation@Home program and how our local native flora can make a difference to the ecological health of McHenry County.

Dave’s program, The Story of Christopher Columbus and His Famous Ships, includes some history, some storytelling by Dave, some humor, and of course some controversy. The three famous ships will also be on display, as well as some artifacts related to the history of this famous explorer. Was Columbus a true genius of the seas, or just the luckiest guy ever to sail the earth? Come hear his story and decide for yourself.

Dave Dini is a modeler and member of the Stateline Area Modelers (SAM) Club from Durand, Il. Dave’s special interest is wooden ships, and over the years he has built 1/64 scale wooden models of Columbus’s three famous ships that he used to discover the New World. Dave welcomes questions and discussion at the end of his talk.