News

Library Seeks Help With Dino Exhibit

By Christine Byers
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Sunday, April 24, 2005

Brandon Couture wanted to make sure Elgin’s upcoming dinosaur display at the Gail Borden Library is really cool.
 

So, the 12-year-old now sits on the exhibit’s community programming committee.
 

“I just want to make sure that it’s really fun,” said Couture, who has so far suggested the library explore ways to celebrate Halloween and the holidays at the exhibit.
 

The seventh-grader from Larkin Middle School rounds out a diverse age group that has joined the library’s community programming committee for “Giants: African Dinosaurs” created by Project Foundation, which most recently was at Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory.
 

“Who knows dinosaurs better than kids?” asked Betsy Couture, Brandon’s mother and fellow committee member.
 

Seniors also have joined the group, said Denise Raleigh, the library’s spokeswoman.
 

“It makes it truly a community event,” Raleigh said. “We’re viewing this as a gift to community, not just to the library.”
 

To ensure community involvement all around, the library also has formed two additional committees to help plan for the exhibit, which should begin in September and run through December.
 

The bilingual committee is working on ways to include the Spanish-speaking community. Mostly teachers are involved with the education committee, which is working on ideas to allow children to learn from the display.
 

About 30 people representing 23 organizations are members of the committees, Raleigh said.
 

Along with the committee opportunities, the library also is seeking those interested in becoming docents for the display. For more information about docent planning call Sue Moylan at (847) 888-0056.
 

The community programming committee meets at 4 p.m. on Tuesdays at the library. The education committee meets at 3:30 p.m. Thursdays. The bilingual committee has yet to set a meeting schedule.
 

If you’d like to join a committee, or for more information, call the project coordinator, Miriam Lytle, at (847) 608-5027.
 

“We’re inside the library,” Raleigh said of the library staff. “And we want to make sure this exhibit can be as much as it can be for all different members of the community.”