Front Page

Looking for fun and affordable activities for your family this summer?  The Villa Park Public Library is once again participating in the the Museum Adventure Pass program.  This program allows patrons to use their library cards to check out free passes or receive discounted admission to 17 area museums. 

Some of the participating locations include:  the Brookfield Zoo, the Air Classic Inc. Museum of Aviation, Catigny Park, the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Illinois Railway Museum, Legoland Discovery Center and many more.  New locations have been added this year, so check out the list of participating museums at www.museumadventure.org, or ask a librarian for more information.

To emphasize the importance of reading to your baby from birth, the Villa Park Public Library and the Kiwanis Club of Villa Park are offering our Born to Read program to children from birth up to 36 months. If you are a resident of Villa Park or Oakbrook Terrace, bring your baby or toddler in, sign them up for their very first library card, and we will provide you with information about the Library’s storytimes and other programs for young children. You will also be given the opportunity to choose a free book for your baby.

Monday, May 13, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. 

Accomplished gardener and master chef Kate Bradley will provide ideas and recipes for cooking fresh-fresh-fresh from your garden. (Or your friend’s garden!)  A $3 tasting fee is due at time of registration.

Saturdays, May 11, June 15, July27, August 17 at 9:30 a.m. 

Bring a pen, paper and an open mind.  Tom Somora will discuss how to revive your old career, or begin a new one.  Been laid off, reorganized, or fired and don’t know how to get started?  Maybe it’s time for a new direction.  Join us for a Saturday morning workshop to help you get back in the market for a rewarding and fulfilling career.  Limited to the first six people to sign up.

Friday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m. 

National Historic Preservation Month is being celebrated by proclamation in Villa Park in May. On Friday, May 10, at 7:00 p.m. at the Villa Park Public Library Annex (317 S. Ardmore), the Villa Park Historical Preservation Commission, Historical Society, and the Villa Park Public Library are co-sponosoring a special free program on Sears Catalog Homes, given by Rebecca L. Hunter. She is a nationally recognized expert, author, and researcher of these houses.

Sears sold these “Modern Home” kits from 1908 to 1940. Everything you needed to build the house was assembled with instructions – including lumber, nails, flooring, roofing, bathroom fixtures, plumbing, etc. Shipped by railroad boxcar and then usually trucked to a home site, the average Sears Modern Home kit had 25 tons of materials, with over 30,000 parts. All you needed to do was excavate the foundation.

It is believed that Villa Park may have over 70 Sears houses. However, only 11 have been authenticated and have received an honorary “Sears Catalog Home” plaque from the Villa Park Historical Preservation Commission. Attend this program to learn more.