Forums on Expanding 2-1-1 Phone Service

United Way, Illinois AIRS and other community leaders are working to extend 2-1-1 services across Illinois and want to hear from you. 2-1-1 is an easy to remember phone number that could connect Americans to essential community resources.

This call for input and discussion on 2-1-1 development is being done as part of the work of a 2-1-1 Illinois Statewide Business Planning Steering Committee, supported by the United Ways of Illinois, Illinois AIRS, and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.  

Learn more about upcoming forums and more about how 2-1-1 service can expand in Illinois. Forums are open to any anyone interested in improving and strengthening how people can access information about available health and human services in their communities. 

More information can be found in this fact sheet.

Preparing for H1N1

As children return to school, a national communications campaign has begun to prepare for the H1N1 flu. Libraries and museums can play important roles in helping to spread the word about the H1N1 flu and can engaged in strategies to ensure continuous learning for children’s whose education may be interrupted by H1N1 flu conditions.

Expect Road Construction For Those Traveling to DLS

Beginning Monday, May 26, 2009, there will be construction on Roosevelt Road (IL Route 38) in the area between Washington Street / Fabyan Parkway and Kautz Road. Construction is expected to conclude sometime in July.

Another project taking place that could affect your drive to DLS is the closure of Roosevelt Road (IL Route 38) at the railroad crossing in West Chicago, just south of the DuPage Airport. That project begins June 8, 2009 and is expected to last for two weeks.

Expect lane closures and extra traffic. Give yourself extra time if coming to the DuPage Library System for a meeting. A good alternate route is North Avenue (IL Route 64) and come south on Kautz Road, Kirk Road, Route 25, or Route 31 in St. Charles.

More information is available on the Illinois Department of Transportation’s website. 

Two Schools in DLS Closed Temporarily Due to H1N1 Virus

On Wednesday, April 29, 2009, the Kane County Health Department recommended that the Rotolo Middle School in Batavia and the Marmion Academy in Aurora close temporarily following the identification of a probable swine flu case in each of the schools. Both schools are complying and will be closed until Monday, May 4th. The swine flu is also known as the H1N1 virus.

More information about the H1N1 virus is available on the Illinois Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control websites.

Recordings By Holocaust Survivors Available Online

The moving and often disturbing testimonies of Jewish migrants and refugees to Britain, many of whom survived Nazi concentration and labor camps, are being made available online in their entirety for the first time on the British Library's website. Over 440 hours of recordings explore the personal experiences of persecution across war-torn Europe and the impact of the Holocaust, covering:

Anti-Semitism Before the Second World War
Pre-war Refugees and the "Kindertransport"
Ghettos and Concentration and Labor Camps
Survival in Hiding
Resistance and Liberation
Searching for Family in the Aftermath
The Legacy of the Holocaust

The testimonies now available are drawn from a major oral history program, The Living Memory of the Jewish Community, which between 1987 and 2000 gathered audio interviews with Jewish survivors of the Holocaust and their children.

Many other Holocaust oral history interviews are also available at the British Library. Details about these can be found here.

Favorite Restaurants in or near Geneva

Do you have a favorite lunch place when you come to Geneva for a DLS meeting? Share your restaurant recommendation(s) with other DLS members by posting a comment. Just click on the Comments link below to get started.

Everything But Libraries

We've added a new subject category to the DLS Here & Now blog -- Everything But Libraries. Check here for news, information, posts, and comments about nonlibrary topics of interest to DLS members.