Don't forget to pick up your free CFL bulbs

The library has received a second shipment of CFL bulbs to share with Des Plaines residents. If you didn't receive yours during our first giveaway, on Earth Day, stop by soon - bulbs are almost GONE. In fact, between April 22-23 this year, we gave away 5,000 bulbs and we have distributed more than 2,000 bulbs in the past week.

Every Des Plaines household is eligible to receive THREE free CFL bulbs, a real value considering the price of these bulbs at retail stores. Light bulbs are available at the Information/Registration Desk on the library's first floor. Please make sure you take an informational handout with your bulbs. The handout contains important information on proper disposal of the bulbs after they burn out. CFL bulbs contain small amounts of mercury and care must be taken when disposing of them. They may not be placed in your regular garbage pick-up, and please take care to keep the bulbs away from children and pets. There are plenty of drop-off locations available so disposing of the bulbs is very convenient - and, CFLs last so much longer than regular bulbs, you won't need to dispose of them for a long, long time.

Bulbs are going fast and when they're gone, they're gone. So come in and get yours today, and while you're here, say hello and check out some new books, DVDs or CDs. The bulbs, which are being used to reduce energy and prevent greenhouse gas emissions, were made available to Des Plaines as a member of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus through a grant from the Northern Illinois Energy Project (NIEP) and the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NIEP). For even more information on how to "go green," use our helpful Web guide and watch for the City of Des Plaines' "DEEP GREEN" programs, at locations throughout the city.

Celebrating our Volunteers

Earlier this month, the Des Plaines Public Library paid tribute to some very special people - our volunteers, who put in countless hours of hard work and dedicated service to keep the library running efficiently. As our Head of Public Information, Heather Imhoff, said at the luncheon, we truly could not manage without our volunteers. Some make sure that the library's hundreds of thousands of items are correctly placed on the shelves. Others help out with interlibrary loan tasks, reference projects and cleaning - you have no idea how dusty library shelves can get! We're so grateful to these folks and it was our pleasure to provide a lunch for them, along with some keepsake gifts, and - a little entertainment, in the form of Wii bowling on the library's awesome big projection screen. Next time you see someone working in the library stacks, ask if they're a volunteer, and if so, give them a big "thank you." It takes a generous person to work so hard without the benefit of a paycheck or other "perks." Interested in becoming a library volunteer? We need you! More information on our volunteer positions can be found here, along with an application form.


Hey - I just noticed that this is my 101st PlainTalk post! How am I doing? Do you like the library's blog? Is it helpful and interesting? Do you have suggestions for future columns or regular features? Please post a comment here and let me know what you think. Or, if you'd prefer to send a private message, email me at kmcbride@dppl.org. I hope that you enjoy reading PlainTalk and pretty soon, you'll be able to double your fun. When we unveil our completely new Web site at the end of May, we'll also be introducing a different kind of library blog, "Positively Ellinwood Street." PlainTalk is a general blog about the library and also about the Des Plaines community. Positively Ellinwood Street will be written by our Readers' Services staff, the people who are totally in the know when it comes to what to read, watch or listen to next. Positively Ellinwood Street will contain reviews, recommendations, information about book discussion groups, lists of soon to be released books, movies and music and, well, a lot more. Our new Web site is coming in just a few weeks and I'll tell you more about it soon. But please let me know what you think of PlainTalk so far. I'd love to hear from you.

DPPL People - Meet Joanne Griffin!

It's May and that means it's time for another edition of DPPL People, this time featuring Reference librarian Joanne Griffin, who also happens to be the library's liaison to the Des Plaines business community. You will often find Joanne assisting patrons at the fourth floor Reference Desk, and she is also an active member of the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce - you may remember her star turn in last year's series of library videos spotlighting local businesses (which can you find on PlainTalk TV).

Joanne takes an active role in the library's Green Team, too, and was a huge help to me when we recently decided to create an online index of "Green" resources and an expanded business/career section for our new Web site. Say hello to Joanne the next time you're in the library, but in the meantime, you can learn more about her by reading her answers to our DPPL People Questionnaire, down below. Every month we spotlight a different library employee, so remember to check back at PlainTalk frequently!

Three words that describe your current state of mind are…
Only two come to mind and they seem to be opposites. Centered and questioning.

What is your most treasured possession? The 2 sharpest knifes in my kitchen.

What is your greatest extravagance? My garden.

Who are your favorite writers? I read a lot of mysteries, my favorites are those set in foreign countries. Years ago my favorite writers were Alice Hoffman, Isabel Allende. But lately I don’t necessarily have strong favorites. It is a little like asking a parent to choose their favorite child.

Who are your favorite heroes of fiction (in writing, film, drama)? Well, I recently saw a copy of A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole sitting at the Reader’s Services desk and was reminded how much I loved reading this tragic comic book about the people you never meet when you visit New Orleans and was mesmerized by the main character Ignatius J. Reilly. Overweight, underemployed, living with his eccentric mother he falls into one adventure after another with a cast of other eccentric characters. It was like watching an accident yet I kept rooting for him.

Name three persons/characters from history with whom you would like to have dinner. Queen Elizabeth I of England a survivor who kept reinventing herself and took England from a tiny island nation to a world power.

Who are your heroes in real life? If I named someone it would be Billy Jean King who really changed the world of sports for women. It is one thing to strive to create a career for yourself but another to envision changes that others in the future will reap the benefit of.

But I think heroes are often unnamed or unknown. A friend once told me a story about her boss who was the first woman who reached a higher, male only position at a major Chicago bank (Continental Bank, I think). She told my friend that being in that position gave you the privilege to eat lunch in a private lunchroom. She said that as she first walked down the center aisle of the lunchroom all the men gave her a frosty stare. In my personal life, one of my heroes is my sister-in-law. She is a great mother and was a wonderful daughter-in-law to my mother.

What or who is the greatest love of your life? “Greatest love” sounds so potentially tragic: like Romeo and Juliet. I can tell you about my latest love. My brother’s family have a new dog called Trixie. She is half Cocker Spaniel and half Dachshund and is always very happy to see me.

Who is your favorite artist? I don’t have a favorite artist but I do have a favorite painting. Jules Breton’s The Song of the Lark somehow seems to resonate with my personal ‘story’.

Who is your favorite musician? I like music but I am not possessive about it. I like many types of music but the “harder” the rock the less I like it. I like the soundtrack from the Chinese movie In the Mood for Love. It has Latin jazz, traditional Chinese, a mix of modern and old. I like the music of a modern Polish composer Henryk Gorecki, particularly Symphony 3 - Sorrowful Songs. I like a French singer called Patricia Kaas. My musical tastes are eclectic.

The quality you admire most in a man is… a man who really likes women of all ages, really likes the gender. Sort of the opposite of a misogynist.

The quality you admire most in a woman is… confidence in herself.

Biggest pet peeve? I’m sure I have peeves but I don’t think I have a pet peeve.

Favorite food? When I was younger I used to love cheesecake and blue cheese and I never ate beef. Now I like many different foods in moderation. What I really like is a well prepared food. I would much rather have smaller portions of well prepared meals than a lot of cafeteria food.

What three words would your closest friends use to describe you? Loyal, funny and curious. At least my husband thinks I am funny.

Why did you choose to work in a library? Well, as you can see from my answers. You can’t pin me down. I don’t like to have “one” favorite. I’m a generalist and a public library is a great place to be if you are a generalist.

What is your favorite thing about the Des Plaines Public Library? It doesn’t rest on its laurels but is always trying to improve.

Name one, and only one, "desert island" book, CD or movie. Only one. I would take a randomly selected volume of the World Book encyclopedia. But not the X, Y or Z volumes that are smaller. I’d like the variety of topics even in a single volume.

The movie of your life – who plays the role of you and what song plays over the closing credits? Someone with a French accent, maybe Catherine Deneuve or Juliette Binoche and some Debussy over the credits.

What's Happening This Month at DPPL - May edition

How on earth did May get here so quickly? I was starting to think that the mountain of snow I gazed upon outside my office window was never going to melt and then I woke up to tulips. In order to keep you posted on events and programs at the library, I've been making you little preview videos every month and posting them here in PlainTalk. Have you watched them? What do you think? They're just meant to be short and sweet, to whet your appetite for music, art, politics, book talks, whatever we're doing in the next few weeks. Of course, if you need all the details, you will always find them on our Events calendar. You can register online through the calendar for those programs that require registration, but remember - many of our programs are drop in as you are and all of them are free. Can't beat that, given how the prices of so many other items and services are skyrocketing! So, check out our "What's Happening" video for the month of May, and scroll down the page on PlainTalk and watch our video recap of "Do the Dewey," too. You'll see how much fun we had entertaining a library full of guests and we hope it inspires you to join us next Spring for Dewey '09.