Welcome to the 4th Annual Illinois Heartland Library System Library Crawl!
The first Library Crawl was started by the Bethalto Public Library District in 2019 to encourage library patrons to find out about a major benefit of having a library card –the millions of items in public libraries throughout Illinois that they can access.
That first year, 28 libraries from the Metro East area near St. Louis participated. Now the Library Crawl has grown to include 125 libraries from all over central and southern Illinois.
All of the participating libraries are members of the Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS) –which helps us cooperate and share with each other. IHLS is one of three library systems in Illinois. IHLS has 227 public, 235 school, 30 academic, and 29 special member libraries.
They also oversee the courier service that allows delivery vans to bring materials back and forth between all of us.
For the librarians, the best part of this event is meeting the bibliophiles/booknerds/librarylovers who come to visit during the Library Crawl. We know you’ll enjoy each and every destination!
How this works:
During the month of October, there will be Library Crawl Passports at the main desk and on display at O’Fallon Public Library. Visit the main desk at any of the participating libraries to get a stamp on your passport.
O’Fallon patrons who get 5 or more stamps in the Library Crawl will also be added to a drawing for a prize.
At the end of the event, return this passport to your home library and share the news about your adventures!
Many libraries are closed on Columbus Day, Monday, October 10, 2022. Call your destinations to check before planning your travels for that day.
Remember, you can use your library card along the way to check out items at the libraries you visit. Then simply return them at your home library. Our statewide courier service will take care of the rest and deliver the items back to their home. This awesome service brings items back and forth every day of the week, ensuring all of our collections are available to any patron!
Share the joy — take pictures along the way and post them with #IHLSLibraryCrawl2022 on social media. And happy crawling!
The O'Fallon Public Library News 