Rock Island, IL Local history programs at the Rock Island Library in December and January will allow attendees to learn more about the history of Black Hawk State Park and about one of Rock Island's more notorious characters.

The following programs are in the Community Room of the Main Library at 401 19th Street. Free parking is available in the library's 20th Street lot.

History of Black Hawk State Park: 1:00 pm , Wednesday, Dec. 10 at Main Library. Beth Carvey, of the Black Hawk State Park will present on the history of the amusement park and the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at Black Hawk park, as well as more recent information on the new exhibit at the park's museum and on the park's natural areas and trails.

Citadel of Sin: The John Looney Story, 6:00 pm, Tuesday, Jan. 27, Main Library. Roger Ruthhart, co-author of The Citadel of Sin with Richard Hamer, shares details about the life and crimes of organized crime boss John Looney, who based his empire in Rock Island in the early years of the 20th century. Looney controlled gambling, prostitution, bootlegging and protection rackets before being convicted of several crimes in 1925.

All of these events all free and open to the public. For more events at Rock Island Public Libraries, visit the library website at www.rockislandlibrary.org, follow the library on Facebook or Twitter, or call 309-732-READ (7323.)

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Rock Island, IL: The Rock Island Public Library is planning ahead for future library needs and it wants your input. The library will host open community forums with veteran library planner George Lawson on Monday, Nov. 24 and Tuesday, Nov. 25.

The forums will be held at 6:30 pm on Nov. 24 and at 2:00 pm on Nov. 25 at the Rock Island Main Library downtown, 401 19th Street. Ample free parking is available in the library lot, just off 4th Avenue and 20th Street. The open focus group forums will allow the public to share their ideas for future library services and facilities.

"Providing comfortable, responsive spaces that meet current and emerging patron needs is part of our four-year strategic plan," said Angela Campbell, Rock Island Public Library Director. The sessions are designed to provide the library's planning team with information on community needs for library spaces and services.

Lawson is an Ames, Iowa based library space needs consultant with 39 years of library experience. He focuses on building, strategic and operational planning, and has consulted on more than 400 library building projects, including studies for Moline, East Moline, River Valley Library District (Port Byron,) and Clinton Public Libraries.

The Rock Island Public Library board of trustees engaged the team of Gere Dismer Architects, George Lawson Library Planning, KJWW Engineering Consultants and Missman Civil Engineers to create a Library Master Plan Study that will include a facility assessment of all three branches and planning recommendations for each.  Since Oct. 15, the study team has been working on a library needs assessment, which includes touring the three library locations, observing operations, interviewing staff, and reviewing worksheets.

Once the needs assessment portion of the study is completed, the team will develop recommendations and a final report, which could include recommendations for building, space utilization, conceptual design, engineering needs, site planning, and cost estimates.

Buildings included in the study are the Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street, 30/31 Branch, 3059 30th Street, and the Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road.

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Rock Island, IL: The Rock Island Public Library's Main Branch at 401 19th Street, will be closed to the public starting at noon on Thursday, Nov. 13 in order to transform the library into a star-studded stage for "Lights, Camera . . . Literacy!"

The Food for Thought fundraiser is an annual event hosted by the Rock Island Public Library Foundation, as a means of both raising awareness of the Foundation and of raising funds for special projects and improvements at all three libraries in Rock Island. Lights, Camera . . . Literacy!" offers guests a walk down the red carpet with food from guest chefs, complimentary beverages, musical entertainment by the Edgar Crockett Duo and Lee Blackmon, just for fun magic, palm and tarot card readings by donation, and bidding on a variety of silent auction items. The event is from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm at Rock Island Main Library, 401 19th Street.

Guests get the Main Library to themselves for a night of socializing and dining around food stations on the first and second floors. The selections include dishes from:

• Eudell Watts, III, of  Eudell's Specialty Foods - Thai Lettuce Wrap
• Martha Cleveland of  Blue Cat Brew Pub - Cakes and other desserts
• Annette Zapolis, of  Cool Beanz Coffee House-  Olives, flatbreads, cookie bars, brownies, coffee and more.
• Kitchen Express, a program of the Thurgood Marshall Learning Center -  Hoisin Steak Rolls, Caramel Brownie Bites, and a Spicy Red Pepper Jelly/Lemon Goat Cheese Cracker
• Chef Craig Joos, HyVee of Rock Island- Hot pasta dish
• Chef Jose Zepeda of  QC Coffee & Pancake House - Chef Jose's #1 Seller, Homemade Corned Beef Hash. Special Recipe Hand-Made Sausage Links, Biscuits & Gravy and a Rock Island Favorite, Orange Grand Marnier Pancakes.
• Main Street Catering (Rock Island Holiday Inn) - Mini desserts

Also on the menu are complimentary soda, water , coffee, wine tastings from wine retailer Thad Miller, and beer tastings from Dan Cleaveland, the brew master for Blue Cat Brew Pub. Food and complimentary beverages are included in admission. Just for fun tarot card and palm readings will be available on a donation basis by Lady Cassandra, advisor to the stars, with walk-around magic provided by the "Great Matthew."

A wide variety of silent auction items will also be available for bidding. Packages include auctions for a window cleaning service for up to 25 windows, a truckload of firewood to keep cozy all winter, an outdoor fire pit donated by Crawford Company, restaurant baskets, and handmade arts and crafts. Literary-themed baskets include a Christmas book and quilt from Joy Murphy, a book and DVD set of "The Roosevelts," "My Little Pony" graphic novels, and an Eric Carle The Very Hungry Caterpillar poster, board book, and hand-sewn felt caterpillar "food."

Guests who RSVP in advance receive preferred admission of $35 per person. To RSVP, please call 309-732-7326 or email riplfoundation@gmail.com by 5:00 pm on Nov. 11. Walk-in admission without an advance RSVP is available at $40 per person. Admission is payable by cash, check or credit at the door.

While the Main Library will be closed after noon on Nov. 13, both the Rock Island 30/31 and Southwest Branches will be open for patrons with library needs, as will the library's online branch services at www.rockislandlibrary.org. For more information, visit the library website or call 309-732-READ.

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The 17th-annual Frieze Lecture Series, a partnership between the Rock Island Public Library and Augustana College, wraps up at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, Nov. 11 with a presentation on "Augustana's Hometown Heroes" by associate athletic director and sports information director Dave Wrath.

Wrath's topic builds on the library's recent Hometown Teams" collaborative exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution and the Illinois Humanities Council.

The college's best known sports legend, Ken Anderson, the NFL's 1982 Most Valuable Player, was featured in a local display at the library in September and October. But there are dozens of other worthy athletes that have catapulted Augustana to the national stage. Wrath, an inductee of the College Sports Information Directors of America's Hall of Fame, will share the stories of those whose exploits landed our community on sports pages around the country.

The lectures are offered annually on four Tuesdays in October and November at the Rock Island Main Library,  and take their name from an architectural feature of the historic building. Previous lectures this year considered Augustana's "hometown" connections to and from Sweden, how Conrad Bergendoff changed his thinking on the connections between Sweden and Lutheranism, and the stories of local writers who are part of the area's rich literary heritage.