Chicago Public Library gets millennials interested with beer events and parties

Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune

Participants talk about one of the book selections at the Books+Beer event in Revolution Brewing’s tap room. The event was put on by the Junior Board of the Chicago Public Library Foundation as one way to get more millennials interested in the library.

by Alison Bowen, Contact Reporter  

Chicago Tribune

A hum of conversation convened recently at Revolution Brewery around wooden tables clustered with empty beer cups.

Clad in flannel and pendant necklaces, the diverse crowd of young people wasn't present solely for hops — more to learn which hibiscus ale paired best with George Saunders.

The event, on a warm summer evening backdropped by an American flag and beer barrels, was hosted by the Junior Board of the Chicago Public Library Foundation, a group targeted at millennials.
Its members, 50 young professionals in Chicago, are convinced that city libraries are vital — and vibrant. And they think other 20- and 30-somethings should agree.  Read more...

Where are the books? Libraries under fire as they shift from print to digital.

 Laughing students walk into the renovated Woodrow Wilson Library in May. The library is used by local elementary schoolchildren as a space to hang out with friends and use the Internet. (Erin Schaff/For The Washington Post)

by Michael S. Rosenwald July 7 at 9:34 PM

The hallmark of public libraries — the printed book, bound by covers and centuries of page-turning — is being shoved aside by digital doppelgangers.

Around the country, libraries are slashing their print collections in favor of e-books, prompting battles between library systems and print purists, including not only the pre-pixel generation but digital natives who represent a sizable portion of the 1.5 billion library visits a year and prefer print for serious reading.

  [Millennials prefer reading in print. Yes, you read that right.]

Some of the clashes have been heated. In New York, protesters outside the city’s main branch have shouted: “Save the stacks! Save the stacks!” In Northern Virginia, the Fairfax County library system chief recently mused that the Friends of the Library were no longer friends — a feud fueled by outrage over a print collection that has shrunk by more than 300,000 books since 2009. The drop in the District is even more dramatic: Nearly 1 million books have vanished since 2009.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/where-are-the-books-libraries-under-fire-as-they-shift-from-print-to-digital/2015/07/07/eb265752-1525-11e5-9518-f9e0a8959f32_story.html