Set in the heart of the Park Cities, books, storytimes and quiet corners are only part of what make the Highland Park and University Park Libraries important to the community. Together, they serve as educational spaces where residents come together to learn.
From technology workshops to author talks, both libraries have changed beyond their traditional purpose to now have new programs to help residents develop new interests, and access new information.
“I would say that it is a place for people to connect to lifelong learning, to discover new talents, discover new interests and use their imagination,” Highland Park Library Director Kourtney Nelson said. “One of our goals is to really help people achieve what they want to by using information.”
Access to online learning has become one of the library’s biggest strengths, giving visitors tools for research and exploration of different topics.
“One of our biggest online collections is databases,” Nelson said. “We have over 80 databases, and they range in topics. Some of them include things like homework, health, language learning, business and careerers, genealogy, history, science [and] literature research.”
At the Highland park library, regular events give people a reason to come together. There, Mahjong and book clubs have turned into social gatherings.
“They play Mahjong for two hours and we’re finding that it’s really fun, they love it. We have Mahjong sets that people can check out from the library,” Adult Services Librarian Pamela Skjolsvik said. “Those always get checked out.”
The library also welcomes readers to a monthly book club. Every month, a new book is introduced giving community members a chance to discuss different literature.
“The book club is called “The Lunch Bunch Book Club” and we meet on the second Wednesday of the month at noon. People are welcome to bring a snack with our lunch while we discuss the book,” Skjolsvik said.
Engagement at the Highland Park Library continues to thrive. Residents come for clubs, volunteering and group activities that bring people together through shared interests.
“Residents are looking for the sense of community and shared interests,” Nelson said. “[the activities] get people discussing issues, sharing opinions and the volunteering program has just seen a surge and increase in popularity.”
Additionally, as technology continues to help people access information, the Highland Park Library has worked to make its resources more accessible. From online collections to personalized research help, people can receive guidance easily.
“We have a service called “Book a Librarian,” where people can actually set up a time to talk to a librarian,” Nelson said. “We also offer virtual author talks. So two to three times a month, there’s authors from around the world, highly acclaimed best selling [authors].”
On the other side of town, teen programs continue to grow at the University Park Library, which offers students academic support and a space to study.
“We do a once a month program for teens. We trade off who hosts it, so sometimes it’s at Highland Park Library, sometimes it’s here,” University Park Library Youth Event Coordinator, Zoe Williams said. “In December and May, we have AP and final study halls. We have study rooms at the library that you can reserve up to two days ahead of time, and we have groups of high school students that come to study.”
The library hosts many programs, ranging from reading clubs to new hands-on learning opportunities, and kid’s story times.
“We are going to start offering Mahjong classes, and we have our book club that we have on a monthly basis,” University Park Library Director Jackie Lott said.
The University Park library is also preparing for its first major redesign since opening in 2018. After years of observing how families use the space, staff are planning updates that will serve the library’s children programs.
“One of the things we are looking at right now is something called a programmatic study,” Lott said. “[So] looking at rearranging the children’s area to make it basically more open because we have a lot of interest in children’s services.”
Together, the Highland Park and University Park libraries show that learning thrives when the Park Cities community comes together.
“Life long learning is something that we really embrace and something we want to promote and support within the community to bring people together,” Nelson said.
