PrairieCat

05/27/2026

What's missing from this photo? You! Visit the Rockton River Market on Wednesday evenings and say hello to some of your favorite PrairieCat member librarians from South Beloit Public Library, Talcott Free Library and North Suburban Library District-Roscoe.

04/30/2026

PrairieCat eNewsletter - April 2026 -

Hi folks, In April, several PrairieCat staff attended the Innovative Users Group (IUG) Conference in Chicago. It was a great opportunity to learn about upcoming enhancements to Sierra and Vega products, and to hear from other Innovative customers about their experiences. Of course, some of the most....

04/20/2026

It's National Library Week!

Millions of people visit their libraries every week—and for good reason. During National Library Week, April 19–25, take time to discover what brings you joy at your library. Visit your library and bring friends and family along; encourage a friend to get a library card and discover the opportunities it unlocks; browse the shelves, join a book club, attend a program or storytime, or get started on your next creative project in a makerspace.

National Library Week is filled with opportunities to celebrate our libraries and take action to keep them strong. Join in on one (or all!) of the various commemoration days:

Monday, 4/20: Right to Read Day - we're calling on library lovers and advocates to celebrate wins against censorship efforts and to take action to defend the freedom to read. On Right to Read Day, ALA will release the State of America's Libraries Report, including the list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2025.

Tuesday, 4/21: National Library Workers Day - take time to honor and thank the library workers at your library for all they do to impact your community.

Wednesday, 4/22: National Library Outreach Day - a day to celebrate libraries meeting people where they are. Look for your library out in your community - in the bookmobile, at a local pop-up, at schools or assisted living facilities, or wherever!

Thursday, 4/23: Take Action For Libraries Day - this year, we're asking YOU to show up for our libraries and take action against legislative censorship attempts by contacting Congress.

Stay tuned for posts throughout the week and more ways to get involved, and be sure to visit your library and ilovelibraries.org and celebrate your library.

04/06/2026

Happy School Library Month! School libraries inspire a love of learning and give every student the resources they need to succeed.

Visit the American Association of School Librarians website to access resources and find ways to celebrate and promote this important month! https://ow.ly/jLJQ50YCOXu

04/02/2026

Being able to chat directly with the people behind the products we use is one of the best perks of events like

What questions would you like PrairieCat to ask our vendors tomorrow on the last day of PLA? (I may or may not have already heard some great things coming to our mobile app 🤫)

04/02/2026

Illinois libraries representing at the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference in Minneapolis! 💙✨

04/01/2026

A PrairieCat staff member is one of the 6,000 attendees at !

Check out the full house at the opening ceremonies where we heard from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson talk about the importance of having libraries available in all communities.

If you're at PLA, let us know in the comments so our PrairieCat member libraries can be on the lookout for each other (and share which vendors in the exhibit hall have the best candy)!

03/26/2026

PrairieCat eNewsletter - March 2026 -

Hi folks, This month, I wanted to address something that I know has affected us all: The ongoing disruptions to our daily business caused by system outages and errors. We started experiencing Sierra slowness and downtime in a significant, repeated fashion about 6 months ago. These failures, which w...

02/27/2026

Congratulations to the Walnut Public Library District for being named the ILA Member Photo of the Month for February!

The library's Toddler Time group explored Alaskan culture in February. With help from the community, the library gathered 500 milk and water jugs to build an igloo. High school volunteers worked alongside library staff to construct it, and children and adults had fun crawling or walking into the igloo for some winter fun!

02/26/2026

PrairieCat eNewsletter - February 2026 -

Hi folks, As some of you know, prior to my tenure here at PrairieCat I served as the IT and Virtual Services Officer at Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado Springs, CO. While there, one of the things I was very proud of was the library’s assistance during two of the massive forest fires that h...