Tickets now available for “One Book, One UIS” event featuring civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis

Tickets for the “One Book, One UIS” presentation featuring civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John Lewis are now available free of charge to the general public through the UIS Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office. Lewis will speak at the auditorium on Monday, October 19 at 7 p.m. along with co-author Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell.

The graphic memoir, MARCH, which tells Lewis’ life story, has been chosen by UIS as the campus community read for the 2015-16 academic year.

The program, “MARCH: The Struggle for Racial Equality and Social Justice”, is supported in part by Illinois Humanities and the Field Foundation of Illinois. Other sponsors include the UIS Chancellor’s Office, Friends of Brookens Library and the UIS ECCE Speaker Series.

The title of the book MARCH comes from the many marches that Lewis organized or participated in, including one of the most well-remembered moments in civil rights history—the march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. Lewis was one of the organizers of the march, which drew nationwide attention when the non-violent marchers were attacked by Alabama state troopers. Many historians believe that the images of cruelty from the Selma march were a factor in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Lewis has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1986. Born the son of sharecroppers in Pike County, Alabama, he became a civil rights activist while a student at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, organizing sit-ins and participating in freedom rides. From 1963-1966, Lewis chaired the Student Nonviolent Organizing Committee (SNCC) of which he was a founder.

Over the years, Lewis has received many prestigious awards, including the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. He was recently presented with the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government from the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

Co-author Andrew Aydin currently serves in Representative Lewis’ Washington, D.C. office handling telecommunications and technology policy as well as new media. He previously served as director of communications and press secretary during Lewis’ 2008 and 2010 re-election campaigns.

Nate Powell is a New York Times best-selling graphic artist whose work includes the critically acclaimed, award-winning Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole and three other books. He is currently drawing the graphic novel adaptation of Rick Riordan’s #1 bestseller Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero.

MARCH is planned as a three-volume trilogy. At UIS, we are reading volumes one and two. MARCH: Book One has received numerous awards, including a 2014 American Library Association (ALA) Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award and an ALA Notable Children’s Book designation. It made the “best books of 2013” lists of USA Today, The Washington Post, Slate and others. MARCH: Book Two has just been published and has already garnered a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.

This is the second community grant that UIS has received from Illinois Humanities to bring authors with important public policy messages to the campus and the Springfield community.

Members of the public may obtain free tickets by visiting the UIS Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office, located in the Public Affairs Center on campus, or by calling 217/206-6160 or 800/207-6960. Charges may apply for those who choose to have tickets mailed to them. You must have a ticket to be admitted to the event.

For more information about the “One Book, One UIS” community read, the event on October 19 and related events, visit www.onebookoneuis.com.

Award-winning author Katherine Boo to speak at UIS

WHAT: Katherine Boo will discuss her award-winning book Behind the Beautiful Forevers during a rescheduled event at the University of Illinois Springfield. Boo had been scheduled to speak last fall at the keynote event for the first “One Book, One UIS” initiative, but was forced to cancel due to illness. This event is free and open to the public.

WHEN: Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: Behind the Beautiful Forevers won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2012, was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize, and appeared on a host of “best book” lists for 2012. The book is an account of the lives of the inhabitants of Annawadi, a Mumbai slum in the shadows of luxury hotels and the international airport. Katherine Boo followed the lives of several key residents of Annawadi as the global economic downturn in 2008 and 2009 added to the tensions that already existed over issues of religion, caste, and gender. Her portraits are compelling, sometimes heartbreaking, and offer insight into globalization at the personal level in one of the 21st century’s great, unequal cities.

Katherine Boo is a staff writer at The New Yorker and a former reporter and editor for The Washington Post. She learned to report at the alternative weekly, Washington City Paper, after which she worked as a writer and co-editor of The Washington Monthly magazine. Over the years, her reporting from disadvantaged communities has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize, a MacArthur “Genius” grant, and a National Magazine Award for Feature Writing. Boo has said about her work: “Very little journalism is world changing. But if change is to happen, it will be because people with power have a better sense of what’s happening to people who have none.”

The “One Book, One UIS” initiative is being coordinated by Brookens Library and is supported by funding from Friends of Brookens Library, the Chancellor’s Office, the Diversity Center, and the ECCE Speakers Series. A book signing will immediately follow the lecture.

Popular UIS Friday Night Star Parties resume

The University of Illinois Springfield’s popular Friday Night Star Parties will resume the Friday after Labor Day and run through the end of October. Those dates include: September 7, 14, 21, and 28 and October 5, 12, 19, and 26. Friday Night Star Parties are held from 8 to 10 p.m., weather permitting, at the UIS observatory on the roof of Brookens Library.

Star Parties are hosted by John Martin, assistant professor of Astronomy/Physics. The observatory’s telescopes will be used to view a number of celestial objects, including the Moon, when visible; the Ring Nebula; globular star clusters M13 and M15; and other double stars and star clusters.

A typical Star Party begins with a presentation as visitors ascend the stairs to the observatory, learning about galaxies, the sun and stars along the way. On the roof observation deck visitors are invited to view the skies through telescopes and ask questions. Participants are welcome to arrive and leave as they wish between 8 and 10 p.m.

Friday Night Star Parties are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required and groups are encouraged to attend. The entrance to the campus observatory is located outside Brookens Library on the southeast corner of the building.

Star Parties may be canceled for cloudy weather. Questions about whether the weather is suitable for viewing should be directed to 217/206-8342 at 7 p.m. on the evening of the Star Party. For more information on Star Parties, email John Martin at jmart5@uis.edu or visit www.uis.edu/astronomy/about/starparties.html.

Rebecca Skloot, the bestselling author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to speak at UIS

WHAT: Rebecca Skloot, the author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, is coming to the University of Illinois Springfield this fall.

WHEN: Wed., Nov. 9, 2011 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Sangamon Auditorium, UIS

DETAILS: In her bestselling book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010), Skloot tells the story of a young black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951—and left behind an inexplicably immortal line of cells known as HeLa. Skloot spent more than ten years researching Henrietta Lacks, whose cells—harvested without her knowledge or consent—contributed to scientific advancements as varied as the polio vaccine, treatments for cancers and viruses, in-vitro fertilization and the impact of space travel on human cells. Part detective story, part scientific odyssey, and part family saga, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks raises fascinating questions about race, class and bioethics in America.

The book, currently being made into an HBO movie by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball, is a The New York Times bestseller and is the winner of numerous awards. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was featured on over 60 critics’ best of the year lists and was chosen by Amazon as its book of the year for 2010.

Skloot’s Sangamon Auditorium presentation is FREE and open to the public. Tickets will be issued through the Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office by calling 217/206-6160. A book signing will follow the lecture.

The appearance is sponsored by The Friends of Brookens Library, Memorial Medical Center, The Illinois Humanities Council, and the UIS Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series.

For more information, contact Janelle Gurnsey, UIS Brookens Library at 217/206-8451 or email jawillia@uis.edu.

Earth Day speaker aims to end the "Age of Waste"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield is proud to welcome Dan Knapp, founder of the company Urban Ore and former Sangamon State University (now UIS) professor as the 2011 Earth Day speaker.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library, with overflow seating available in conference rooms PAC C/D. A free public reception will follow the event in the PAC restaurant.

DETAILS: Knapp’s company, Urban Ore, has a unique business model that involves salvaging items from the dump for reuse, selling the merchandise in retail sales, and recycling as a last resort.

Today, sprawling across three acres in Berkeley, California, Urban Ore is a huge thrift store that sells about 7,000 tons of reused and recycled goods per year. Dan and his wife, Mary Lou Van Deventer, pride themselves on only sending 120 tons — 2 percent of their inventory — to the landfill annually.

Knapp received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Oregon, before coming to teach at Sangamon State University in the early 1970s. Dan taught a course at SSU called ―20th-Century Homesteading. For this course his students scavenged in alleys and redistributed the goods they found. This persuaded Dan that recycling could provide ―enough high-value stuff to support a substantial small business.

When Knapp moved back to Oregon he faced opposition to his plans for starting a recycling business. In September 1979 he hitchhiked to Berkeley and began working on landfills four days later. The following year, Urban Ore was founded.

Urban Ore is based on environmentally sustainable disposal by reuse and recycling and zero waste design. The company has developed methods that are being adapted in the United Stated, Australia and New Zealand.

This event is being sponsored by the UIS Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series, Friends of Brookens Library (John Holtz Memorial Lecture) and Students Allied for a Greener Earth (SAGE).

For more information, contact Janelle Gurnsey, Brookens Library Multi-Media Communications Specialist at 217/206-8451 or email gurnsey.janelle@uis.edu.

Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen meets with UIS students

Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen, delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, met with students at the University of Illinois Springfield before delivering a keynote address on issues of race, class and ethics in health care on March 28, 2011.

“It’s amazing that in 2011 we still have people of color and rural residents dying from preventable causes and high numbers,” said Christensen.

Christensen is the first female physician in the history of the U.S. Congress, the first woman to represent an offshore territory, and the first woman delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“It shows me there is no limits. I can become a physician (an anesthesiologist). I can also be in congress,” said Jinger Sanders, sophomore biology major.

Delegate Christensen is the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, which oversees and advocates minority health issues nationally and internationally. She has been quoted as saying, “Health care is the civil rights issue of the 21st century.”

“I think it’s a big issue for all of us, because it affects everybody. Whether you are young, old, black, white. It doesn’t matter, everyone needs health care at some point,” said Ryan Roth, senior political science major.

Christensen says she enjoys traveling and meeting with college students. She takes the concerns and ideas expressed by the people she talks to back to Washington.

“It was awesome that she was able to come here. I don’t know where else I would have the opportunity to meet with a U.S. congressman from the Virgin Islands,” said Matt Van Vossen, senior political science major.

UIS, the SIU School of Medicine, and the Illinois Humanities Council sponsored the congresswoman’s visit.

UIS hosts Illinois State Library initiative on using technology to create positive change

The University of Illinois Springfield hosted the ILEAD U (Illinois Libraries Explore, Apply and Discover) Initiative, which met Feb. 28-March 3, 2011 on campus. The initiative is part of the Illinois State Library’s effort to use web technologies that foster community participation to create innovation and positive change

“It’s really a program about leadership more than anything, but they come together in this team effort to craft a solution that meets this need,” said Anne Craig, director of the Illinois State Library.

UIS has hosted the event before and the university also has a number of librarians who have taken part in the initiative. Four staff members from Brookens Library participated last year and visiting instructional librarian Sarah Sagmoen was selected to serve as an instructor this year.

“We have a lot of things to show off and we get a chance to say what we’re doing and then people can take that back to their libraries and see if it will work for them,” said Sagmoen.

University Librarian and Dean Jane Treadwell says the experience the UIS librarians gain from the initiative is invaluable.

“I think it’s wonderful to be able to work with the state library and to capitalize on the fact that we’re both in the state capitol here. It’s a really good partnership,” said Treadwell.

The Big Read in Central Illinois is looking for your stories, poems, videos and artwork

Area libraries and cultural institutions participating in The Big Read in Central Illinois are sponsoring a community-wide contest that asks individuals to share a story, poem, video, or piece of artwork or mixed media that expresses the influence of music in their lives. The contest is inspired by Carson McCullers’ The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, the book selection for The Big Read in Central Illinois. Throughout history music has been a prominent outlet for the expression of personal identity. For the novel’s main character Mick Kelly, music is a dream and a refuge, and offers her hope for a better future.

The “Under the Influence: Music that Inspires Expression Contest” is open to individuals ages 13 and older. Contest entries will be accepted online through Friday, January 7, 2011 and will be narrowed down to the top 12 finalists by a panel of judges from the various libraries. Once the 12 finalists are selected, the public will have the opportunity to vote for their favorites. Finalists can direct friends and family to the contest website to vote for them. Public votes will determine the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place contest winners. Prizes include: 1st place – Flip Video camera; 2nd place – iPod Nano; and 3rd place – iPod Shuffle. All of the 12 finalists will be invited to the kickoff event for The Big Read in Central Illinois at the University of Illinois Springfield on February 15, 2011 to accept their prizes. Entries from the top 12 finalists will be on display at the event.

For contestants who would like to produce a video entry, four of the participating libraries have flip video cameras that can be checked out by library members. Interested individuals or groups should visit the official contest website and click on HOW TOS for further details: www.influencecontest.org.

If you are interested in publicizing this contest please refer to Press on the official contest website: www.influencecontest.org. A full list of events planned for The Big Read in Central Illinois throughout the months of February and March 2011 can be found on the Big Read website: www.neabigread.net. If you have any questions regarding the contest please contact Amanda Binder at University of Illinois Springfield at influencecontest@gmail.com.

The Big Read in Central Illinois is made possible by a grant issued to the Illinois State Library, a Division of the Office of the Secretary of State, by the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support for the contest is provided by a grant issued to the Illinois State Library by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Progam: ILEAD U (Illinois Libraries Explore, Apply and Discover).

Participating libraries in The Big Read in Central Illinois:

• Benedictine University, Becker Library
• Chatham Area Public Library
• Illinois Center for the Book
• Illinois State Library
• Illinois State Library Talking Book & Braille Service
• Jacksonville Public Library
• Lincoln Library, The Public Library of Springfield, Illinois
• Prairie Skies Public Library District
• Quiddity, International Literary Journal and Public-Radio Program
• Rochester Public Library
• Sherman Public Library District
• University of Illinois Springfield, Brookens Library
• Williamsville High School Library
• Williamsville Public Library

Speakers Series presents "1970: What We Were Reading"

WHAT: In celebration of the University of Illinois Springfield’s 40th anniversary the Friends of Brookens Library and the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents “1970: What We Were Reading”. The panel discussion will feature UIS Emeritus faculty members Cullom Davis, Judy Everson and Marcellus Leonard.

WHEN: Thursday, November 4, 2010 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: The year 1970 was a banner year for American publishing—books that would help to shape the consciousness of an entire generation were published that year and are still being read and discussed. Our panel of distinguished UIS emeritus professors have chosen to reflect on three important books from that year: Studs Terkel’s Hard Times, an oral history of the Great Depression; Kurt Vonnegut’s absurdist classic Slaughterhouse Five; and Maya Angelou’s moving memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the first book by a black woman to appear on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list.

The discussion will be moderated by Cecelia Cornell, associate professor of History at UIS. Friends of Brookens Library will be sponsoring a dessert reception after the book panel discussion in the PAC Restaurant.

The ECCE Speakers Series at UIS is a campus-sponsored lecture series that aims to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university’s effort to foster appreciation for the practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world. All events are free and open to the public.

For more information contact Marcia Rossi, library administration at 217/206-6597 or email Rossi.Marcia@uis.edu.

UIS hosts grant and proposal writing workshops for local non-profit groups

The Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center (CINRC) at the University of Illinois Springfield is pleased to announce the launch of a new workshop series on grant seeking and proposal writing. Kristin Olson, a well-established grant writing professional in central Illinois will serve as the guest instructor.

All workshops will take place on select Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to Noon at Brookens Library on the UIS campus.

The first workshop on September 22, 2010, is entitled “Grant Writing 101”. The workshop will share some of the secrets of the grant writing trade and teach participants how to write a successful proposal.

On October 6, 2010, the topic is “Budgeting Basics”. This workshop will help participants create a basic budget that can be included in a grant proposal when the funder doesn't provide a form. The class will also discuss what information to include in a budget narrative and how to demonstrate in-kind support.

“Developing a Need Statement” will be the focus of an October 20, 2010, workshop. The class will discuss how to find and use comparative data to demonstrate the need for a project.
On November 11, 2010, the workshop will take participants through “Federal Grants Step-By-Step”. This class will walk participants through the steps needed to submit a competitive federal proposal. Beginning with registering organizations with Grants.gov, the class will discuss the requirements for submitting an online application.

On October 13 and November 10 the CINRC will also offer its standard complimentary workshop in “Locating Private Foundation Funding”. In addition, the class will discuss private foundations and how to approach them.

Registration is required for all of the classes and seating is limited. Please register online at http://url.uis.edu/CINRCCalendar. The cost of the workshops is $25 per session, except for the complimentary October 13 and November 10 events. Participants can pay through credit or debit card through the registration web site.

For more information contact Pamela Salela, coordinator of the Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center at 217/206-6783 or email psale2@uis.edu.

Speakers Series presents "Some Say the World Will End in Fire: Stories That May Save Us"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents “Some Say the World Will End in Fire: Stories That May Save Us” featuring Thomas King, an award-winning novelist, short story writer, scriptwriter, and photographer.

WHEN: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: King is the creator of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s hit radio show, "The Dead Dog Café" as well as one of the performers. In 2003, he gave the prestigious Massey Lectures which were published as The Truth About Stories. King holds a Ph.D. from the University of Utah in English/American Studies and has worked in Native Studies programs as a teacher and administrator for the past forty years. This talk is an examination of the stories we tell and the ways in which stories and our imagination and provide us with identity, strength, and purpose.

The ECCE Speakers Series at UIS is a campus-sponsored lecture series that aims to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university’s effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world. All events are free and open to the public.

This event is being co-sponsored by the Capital Scholars Honors Program, UIS Provost’s Office, Friends of Brookens Library, College of Public Affairs & Administration, and Student Affairs.

For more information and a list of other speakers series events visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries or contact Kimberly Craig at 217/206-6245 or craig.kimberly@uis.edu.

UIS professor emeritus to give ECCE presentation

The University of Illinois at Springfield’s Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series will present UIS professor emeritus of History Cullom Davis for a lecture titled “Prisoners of Conscience in the Modern Era” on April 16 at 7 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus. The event is free and open to the public.

During his presentation, Davis will reflect on the lives of modern and contemporary prisoners of conscience, such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (Burma), who has been under house arrest for much of the time since 1988 for opposing the repressive national government.

Davis served for fifteen years as founding director of Sangamon State University’s Oral History Office and helped found the university’s master’s program in Public History. From 1988 to 2000, he was also director and senior editor of The Lincoln Legal Papers. In 2008, Davis was one of thirty citizens world-wide to receive the special bicentennial edition of The Order of Lincoln, the state’s highest honor.

A dessert reception will follow the lecture in the Public Affairs Center Restaurant. The event is sponsored by the Friends of Brookens Library.

The complete schedule of ECCE speakers and topics for the 2009 Spring Semester is available at http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries. For information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or e-mail speakerseries@uis.edu.

Brookens to host "An Evening with Ray Bradbury"

Brookens Library will host an evening with legendary author Ray Bradbury, via a live satellite interview, beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 19, in Brookens Auditorium. The program and a reception in the PAC restaurant immediately following are free and open to the public.

Bradbury is the author of such classics as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. From his home in Los Angeles, he will discuss his life and work in a conversation with Dr. Loren Logsdon, professor emeritus of English and Western Civilization & Culture at Eureka College. Logsdon, a friend of Bradbury and an expert on his writing, will open the evening with a short address.

Bradbury is a native of Waukegan, Illinois, and one of 35 Illinois authors whose names are engraved on the fourth floor frieze of the Illinois State Library. Fahrenheit 451 is a cautionary tale about a media-obsessed society where citizens have stopped reading. Some of its themes are censorship, freedom of expression, and the effects of television and technology on society.

The program is part of The Big Read in West Central Illinois. For more information about the program at UIS, contact the office of the dean of Library Instructional Services at 6-6597.

Reception honoring Caryl Moy

The Friends of Brookens Library will host a reception with Dr. Caryl Towsley Moy, SSU Professor Emerita of Child, Family, and Community Services

7 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 28, in the PAC Restaurant

to celebrate the publication of her new book, Naperville's Genevieve: A Daughter's Memoir.

For more information, contact the Development Office at 6-6058.

Friends of Brookens Library Book Sale

9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday, October 3, in front of the library

Friends members preview sale - 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, in the Bibliographic Services area

Presented in conjunction with Homecoming Week

For details, contact Marci Rossi at 6-6597.

Director of Harvard University Press to speak

Dr. William P. Sisler (at left), director of Harvard University Press, will present a guest lecture titled "The End of Reading, the Future of Scholarly Publishing" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 9, in Brookens Auditorium at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Brookens Auditorium is located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Sisler will address themes raised in the National Endowment for the Arts' 2004 report "Reading at Risk" as well as in Ray Bradbury's classic novel Fahrenheit 451.

Sisler's lecture is part of the University of Illinois Press’ 90th anniversary celebration and The Big Read Campaign, an NEA initiative designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. A reception hosted by event co-sponsor The Friends of Brookens Library will immediately follow in UIS' Public Affairs Center Restaurant.

More information

UIS to co-sponsor workshops on nonprofit fundraising

Two workshops designed to help nonprofit organizations focus on giving trends within Illinois and more effectively raise money in difficult economic times will be presented from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, July 31, at the Wedeberg conference facility, Memorial Medical Center, in Springfield. The program is open to the public, however advance reservations are required.

Sikich and the Donors Forum are sponsoring the event in conjunction with the Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Sangamon County Community Foundation, and United Way of Central Illinois.

The session "Understanding and Getting Your Slice of the Pie" will include a presentation of the Donors Forum publication Individual Giving in Illinois. Participants will also see how charitable giving in the state compares nationally and will learn what characteristics define donors locally.

"Foolproof Funding for Hard Times: What Works Now?" will examine where to find local sources of unrestricted funding and will share techniques for raising money during an economic downturn.

Cost to attend the event is $35 per person, which includes lunch.

Sikich is a leading provider of professional services in the Midwest. The Chicago-based Donors Forum serves as a resource for networking, education, information, and leadership on behalf of philanthropy in Illinois.

The Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center, housed in Brookens Library at UIS, is a cooperating collection of the Foundation Center, a national authority on philanthropy dedicated to serving grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public. As a member of their nationwide network of libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit agencies, the CINRC provides free public access to various materials and databases.

The Sangamon County Community Foundation acts as a vehicle to link donors at all levels with appropriate agencies. Funds raised during annual United Way campaigns are invested in local programs to create lasting changes in individual lives and in the community.

For more information or to register, call the Donors Forum at 888-578-0090 or contact Pamela Salela, coordinator of the Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center at UIS, at 217-206-6633.

Library to screen documentary on writers' colony

The Friends of Brookens Library will host a showing of the documentary Inside the Handy Writers' Colony on Tuesday, June 24, at 5:30 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The event is free and open to the public.

Writer, director, producer Dawn Shapiro drew heavily on materials housed in the Brookens Library Archives to make this film about the Marshall, Illinois, writers' colony whose most famous member was James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity.

Founded in 1950 by Lowney and Harry Handy, the colony in its heyday supported numerous young writers, many of whose works were published. The colony dissolved after Lowney Handy died in 1964.

Shapiro will attend the screening, which will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

For more information, contact Jane Treadwell, UIS dean of library instructional services, at 206-6597.

See more information about the Handy Writers' Colony materials housed in Brookens Archives

The James Jones Literary Society

More about Friends of Brookens Library