Did you know that the library has a puzzle exchange available to everyone? You don’t even need a library card!
The puzzles are located on the east side of the Adult Services Department. Can’t find them? Ask anyone at the reference desk.
Each puzzle is encased in a plastic bag to ensure all of the pieces stay together. You can take them home or do them on one of the tables at the library. Just make sure to initial and date the inside of the puzzle lid before you put it back on the shelf.
No need to check them out. Puzzle exchange is done on the honor system. If you’d like to bring one to put in its place we’d love it, but it’s not mandatory. Have a bunch of puzzles you’d like to donate? As long as the puzzle and box are in good condition and all the pieces are present, we’ll gladly take them. Contact the reference desk at [email protected] or (815) 756-9568 ext. 2150 for more details.
Are jigsaw puzzles not your jam? That’s okay. On December 20 at 11:00am we’ll be hosting crossword puzzle races. The program is intended for adults, but teens and children are welcome to participate. The fastest crossword puzzle solvers will win puzzling prizes!
We’ve also got a wide variety of puzzle books you can check out. For example, we’ve got The Lady or the Tiger?, and Other Logic Puzzles by Raymond M. Smullyan, which is a series of logic problems and puzzles with important mathematical and logical concepts, including paradoxes, meta-puzzles, number exercises, and a mathematical novel. If you’d like more of a variety of puzzles, check out Keep Your Brain Fit: 101 Ways to Tone Your Mind by Gareth Moore. These mental workouts will help keep your brain sharp and healthy.
Perhaps you’d prefer to read about puzzles. Check out The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crossword to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life by A.J. Jacobs.
In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik’s Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers, and a hidden, super-challenging but solvable puzzle—The Puzzler will open readers’ eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration.
— Amazon.com
No matter how you like your puzzles, there’s something at the library for you. If you need help finding puzzles that will interest you, contact the reference desk at [email protected] or (815) 756-9568 ext. 2150.