Events at this location

Whether you know a little or a lot about chess, join us for a night of informal chess play at the library! Chess can help improve brain function, increase creativity, and develop problem-solving skills. Some chess sets will be provided, or participants can bring their own.

This program is intended for adults. No registration is required.

For additional information, please contact Tristan at (815) 756-9568 ext. 2114 or at [email protected].

Compudopt provides technology access and education to under-resourced youth and their communities. Their programs serve to eliminate limited access to computers, facilitate growth in technical and digital literacy skills and support the future of youth and their communities.

Compudopt will be at the library for a computer distribution drive! They will provide computers to families in need who do not have access to a computer in the home. To qualify families must have a child in k-12 education and not own a computer in the home. Each family who qualifies and is chosen will receive one computer only. Compudopt will distribute either desktops or laptops and do not guarantee one or the other.

This event is free and open to all. Please make sure that your family qualifies to receive a free computer. Click here to register.

For additional information, please contact Samantha at [email protected] or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1701.

Personal property appraiser Carolyn Law will explain the difference between “antique” and “collectible” and identify the key features that most affect value in each category. She will demonstrate basic techniques of identification and evaluation on a variety of popular antique and collectible items and discuss the various marketplaces where such items are typically bought and sold, the pros and cons of each, and trends in the antiques and collectibles market over time.

Carolyn is owner of Carolyn Law Antiques LLC in Sycamore, Illinois. She is a certified personal property appraiser and antiques researcher specializing in decorative arts and sterling silver.

This program is free and intended for adults. No registration is required.

For additional information, please contact Samantha at [email protected] or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1701.

Having a child come out to you can be a confusing, emotional time. Join us on National Coming Out Day for a panel of teens, parents, and experts to talk about how to support your LGBTQ+ kid when they come out. Submit questions in advance by contacting Britta at [email protected] or (815) 756-9568 ext. 2100.

This program is intended for adults, although teens are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Britta at [email protected] or (815) 756-9568 ext. 2100. No registration is required.

This program is a partnership with Youth Outlook.

Join DeKalb Township, Citizen’s Utility Board (CUB) and Community Contacts, Inc. for a presentation on energy savings and energy assistance programs. With continued high energy prices, being energy efficient can lead to savings. During this event, CUB staff will discuss energy saving techniques, how to read your utility bill, ways to avoid scams, and energy efficiency programs. Community Contacts Inc. will share details about the multiple benefits available through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Bring all your utility-related questions!

This free program is open to all. No registration is required.

For additional information, please contact Samantha at [email protected] or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1701.

Have you ever wondered what paranormal investigators do? What tools they use? How they analyze the evidence they collect and make sense of it all? Join paranormal investigators Greg Reisner & Jenny Beyerlein of the Spectre Group in Iowa City as they walk you through the process of a typical case and show you the evidence they has collected along the way.

Greg Reisner was born and raised in the DeKalb Sycamore area. He decided to become a paranormal investigator after receiving some strange phone calls in 1996 after the passing of his father. In the past 14 years him and his team, Johnson County Paranormal, have done well over 100 investigations in a variety of locations including restaurants, cemeteries, the Villisca Ax Murder House and more. During this session Greg & Jenny, representing their second Paranormal Team, The Spectre Group, will discuss the evidence they have collected from four high profile locations; Villisca Ax Murder House, Edinburgh Manor, Peoria State Hospital and Morse Mill Hotel.

This event is free and open to all. No registration is required.

For additional information, please contact Isabel at [email protected] or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1700.

HOPE Fair Housing is the oldest and largest fair housing organization in the state of Illinois. They will be sharing vital information on the agency and its programs, the Fair Housing Act, History of Fair Housing in the United States, information on Disparate Impact, and more.

Nafia Khan is the Director of Outreach, Events & Fundraising for HOPE Fair Housing Center. Prior to joining HOPE, Nafia worked in the field of Developmental Disabilities for five years, in direct service and advocacy. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for the large part of her career, with experience in both state and local government, most notably for former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.

This community training is free and open to all. It is intended for adults and no registration is required. Snacks will be provided!

For additional information, please contact Samantha at [email protected] or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1701.

Remember the experience of turning off the lights, huddling under a blanket, and watching an old black and white monster movie? Ever tell ghost stories by candlelight? Or around a campfire?

That skin crawling experience is what Familiar Spirits recreates for teens and adults. With a little something extra.

Experience an evening of “supernatural” theatre where the stories are so frighteningly real, the only relief is to scream, that is, after you stop laughing…

This is an interactive performance of chilling stories, eerie history, and inexplicable “supernatural” occurrences.

“William will have you believing in ghosts…with the lights on, he can chill the blood, but when the lights go out, it’s even more scare.” -Courier News (Elgin, IL)

This program is intended for adults and older teens, but younger patrons may attend with parental discretion. No registration is required.

For additional information, please contact Isabel at [email protected] or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1700.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the DeKalb Public Library.

Family homelessness, in the DeKalb area and nationally, is an issue that gets little attention, yet impacts literally millions of children with and without parents. This forum will delve into the local issue–causes, challenges, resources available, needs–and the national perspective–policies, practices, and predictions.

A short film clip will be shown from the award-winning documentary on the edge: Family Homelessness in America, filmed and produced by Laura Vazquez and Diane Nilan.

The panel–NIU Professor Laura Vazquez, documentary filmmaker; Lesly Wicks, executive director of Hope Haven; Diane Nilan, national activist, filmmaker, and author– will touch on both the local issue and broader national current/proposed policies that impact families.

The panel will discuss the underlying causes of family homelessness and the personal consequences and challenges that face families on a short and long-term basis. Included in topics to be discussed: housing, trauma, education, health care, childcare. Current federal and state responses and pending legislation will be described.

Nilan’s book, Dismazed and Driven – My Look at Family Homelessness in America, covers family homelessness both on a national level and in DeKalb. Her book will be available for purchase with proceeds benefiting Hope Haven.

This panel discussion is free and intended for adults and mature teens. No registration is required.

For additional information, please contact Samantha at [email protected] or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1701.

Traditional Hawaiian music was brought over to the mainland United States during the 1915 Pan Pacific Exposition, where it later fused with jazz, ragtime, and other styles of popular music to evolve to its present form, and prominently features guitar, steel guitar, and ukulele.

Bill Tong and Dean Milano will perform a set of traditional and popular Hawaiian music songs during this afternoon concert.

Bill (guitar, ukulele, vocal) has performed for a Hawaiian music band, A Bunch of Coconuts, from 2008 to 2016, and previously played with Na Mele Aloha from 2005 to 2008. He is a multi-instrumentalist who has performed solo and with various folk, country, old timey, and rock bands for the past 25 years.

Dean (bass, guitar, vocal) has performed solo and with a multitude of bands of many different musical styles for over 50 years.

This program is free and open to all. No registration is required.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

For additional information, please contact Samantha at [email protected] or at (815) 756-9568 ext. 1701.