April 12, 2011 marked the 150^th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.  The war began at 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861 when Confederate forces attacked a military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina.  The many names attached to the Civil War reflect the nation’s deep and abiding emotions about this event: the War Between the States, The War for Southern Independence, the War Against Northern Aggression, the Brothers’ War, and the Late Unpleasantness. An excellent overview article on the PBS website notes: “It was the most horrible, necessary, intimate, acrimonious, mean-spirited, and heroic conflict the nation has ever known.” www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/

More books have been written about the Civil War than any other event in American history.  The Northbrook Public Library has an outstanding collection of non-fiction books that we encourage you to enjoy.  During the month of July there will be an interactive book display by the Reference Desk on the 2^nd floor. In addition, we have created a list of highly regarded Civil War books and websites. The list is available as a handout and through our new catalog. Access the List of Civil War Books and Websites Here.

You are invited to vote for your own favorite Civil War book by writing its title on our posters.  You may also email your choice to nbkref@northbrook.info or call us as 847-272-4873.  A result of this community poll will be published in August. So, vote early and often!

Protect the environment with green cleaning products and design; enjoy entertaining on your new deck or patio, and discover other fixes to rejuvinate your home.

Browse our shelves electronically below: Backyards | Decorating Tips | Green Cleaning | Decluttering | Home Organizing |

Outdoor Living | Simple Home Decorating | Simple Home Decorating Projects

Welcome Students! During this new school year, remember that you can use the library through our website:

Submit questions online: we take questions by phone, email, and through the Ask Us form  on our website. Ask us. We’ll email articles or links, or guide you to sources you can use.

Use eResources. Your Northbrook Public Library card number is your password to a truckload of searchable encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines and journals, and images, including primary resources for your research papers. Go to northbrook.info. You’ll find Homework Help under the tabs marked Research or Teens.

Take a break on Twitter or Facebook: We know you’re studying hard, but even the most scholarly of students needs a break.

While you are in the library, drop by the second floor to take a look at the YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Illustrated with photographs that only became available in the post-Communist era, the encyclopedia aims to recover and represent all aspects of Jewish life in “the World Before,” as the pre-Holocaust era is often called in Holocaust museums. Readers will find this two volume encyclopedia in the reference collection, REF 305.8924 YIV.

The Chicago YIVO Society 2010 Summer Festival of Yiddish Culture brought more of its programs to the library this summer.  This event took place on Tuesday, June 15, at 12:15 in the Auditorium.