Rogers Park Library January Newsletter!
Happy New Year to all! Sorry for the delay in getting this out, the holidays kept us busy! Check out what's going on in Jan to keep warm, to celebrate the possibility of a new year!
Hello kind, supportive patrons! 2026 is here! We cannot wait to share all kinds of amazing programs to look forward to in January. Check out our cool events here & pick up flyers at the information desk.
FEATURED EVENTS
TEEN TIME: NEURODIVERSE
Tuesdays, Jan 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th - 10:30am–11:30am
Neurodiverse teens (13 and up) from PACTT (Parents Allied with Children and Teachers for Tomorrow), hang out for teen time activities, like crafts, coloring and/or painting, games and Legos.
Tiny Libraries:
Crafting Miniature Books
Friday, January 9th - 4:00pm-5:00pm
Learn how to make miniature book charms and create your own bookish earrings, pendants, key chains, and more! You will be using paper-crafting techniques to make your tiny realistic looking book charms. All supplies will be provided for this program. Jimena Hernandez is a Mexican artist and educator born in Chicago. Growing up in Mexico influenced her artistic work in many ways. Her favorite medium is watercolor, and though she specializes in drawing and painting, she also loves exploring other mediums and art disciplines. Her favorite themes are nature, magic and fantasy, portraits, and literature. Since she was little, she has been interested in painting, which led her to study for a bachelor’s degree in visual communication design at the Faculty of Arts and Design (FAD) of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Since graduating, she has taught art in Chicago and different cities across Maine and Mexico. More info/register here!
WEEGROOVE MUSIC CLASS
Thursday, January 8th - 3:00PM - 3:30PM
Join Ms. Elisa of WeeGroove for an opportunity for kids to dance, sing, play and explore using music. Come dance with us! More info available here. For ages 0 to 5 with caregivers.
40 YEARS 40 FILMS w/NICK DIGILIO! (film critic / author / podcaster)
Wednesday, January 21st - 6:00PM - 7:30PM
For more information and to reserve a seat, click here!
PRESCHOOL STORY TIME
Tuesdays, January 6th, 20th, 27th - 10:30am–11:30am
Join Ms. Tara for an enchanting preschool story time adventure! Enjoy delightful songs, playful rhymes, captivating books, and invaluable early literacy tips. It's a blend of fun and learning for your little ones!
For kids 2 to 5 and their caregivers.
Music For Self-Care:
Share A Favorite Song!
Wednesday, January 14th - 6:00PM-7:30PM
A popular program here at Rogers Park that is all about music appreciation combined with music therapy (for stress reduction, dopamine boosts, comfort and connection). Bring one favorite track to play for others. We’ll have access to YouTube so all you have to do is bring a title. We will take turns playing a piece of music to the group, then telling why it matters to us. This is a monthly event on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, so we encourage attendees to return!
Children’s Programs
WEEGROOVE MUSIC CLASS
Thursday, January 8th - 3:00PM - 3:30PM
Join Ms. Elisa of WeeGroove for an opportunity for kids to dance, sing, play and explore using music. Come dance with us! For ages 0 to 5 with caregivers.
OPEN PLAY TIME
Friday, January 9th & 23rd - 10:30am–11:30am
Drop in for open play featuring a mix of blocks, toys and other games for kids and their adults. For children 0 to 5 with their caregiver.
PRESCHOOL STORY TIME
Tuesdays, January 6th, 20th, 27th - 10:30am–11:30am
Join Ms. Tara for an enchanting preschool story time adventure! Enjoy delightful songs, playful rhymes, captivating books, and invaluable early literacy tips. It’s the perfect blend of fun and learning for your little ones! For kids 2 to 5 and their caregivers.
FAMILY FILM SCREENING!
ELIO (2025)
Sunday, January 11th - 1:30pm–3:30pm
Join us for a screening of Elio. Elio struggles to fit in until he is transported by aliens and becomes the chosen one to be Earth's galactic ambassador while his mother Olga works on the top-secret project to decode alien messages.
Adult Programs
40 YEARS, 40 FILMS (w/Nick Digilio)
Wednesday, January 21st - 6:00PM - 7:30PM
Join us for a special event celebrating the release of 40 Years, 40 Films with author in attendance! Award-winning film critic and beloved Chicago broadcaster Nick Digilio has passionately reviewed movies, championed underappreciated gems, and entertained audiences across radio, podcasts, theaters, and live events. Now, in this deeply personal collection, he reflects on 40 years of moviegoing, movie reviewing, and movie-loving — one film at a time. We’ll discuss favorite films and play short scenes from titles. If you love movies, don’t miss this!
Nick Digilio, a lifelong Chicagoan, is an award-winning broadcaster, film critic, writer, and performer who has entertained audiences for four decades. Best known for his 35-year career at WGN-AM, including over 20 years hosting the #1 rated overnight show. A sought-after moderator and speaker, he has interviewed top stars at Flashback Weekend Horror Convention for more than 20 years. Today, Nick hosts two hit podcasts: The Nick D Podcast and That Show Hasn’t Been Funny in Years: An SNL Podcast, continuing his legacy of insightful, funny, and engaging entertainment. More info/register here!
Community Cinema Classics!
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1940)
Wednesday, January 7th - 5:30PM–7:30PM
Join us for a screening of the classic film Arsenic and Old Lace! Cary Grant stars as the one sane member of a charmingly lunatic family in director Frank Capra's classic comedy. When Mortimer Brewster (Grant) brings his new bride to meet his two kindly aunts, he discovers that, among many other acts of charity, the two genteel ladies help lonely old men die happy ... by feeding them a wonderful meal before poisoning them. Now, Mortimer desperately wants to protect the two serial murderers he loves, stop them from killing anyone else and keep his bride from discovering how deranged his family really is.
GASLIGHT (1940)
Wednesday, January 28th - 5:30PM–7:30PM
Join us for a screening of the classic psychological thriller, Gaslight! A newlywed is slowly driven to the brink of madness by her deceptively charming husband at their Victorian mansion in London. Ingrid Bergman won Best Actress as the wife, while Charles Boyer received a Best Actor nod as her spouse and Angela Lansbury, in her film debut (at age 18), was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as a sassy cockney servant. Find out where the term “gaslighting” originated from with this remarkably tense and memorable film!
Music For Self-Care:
Share A Favorite Song!
Wednesday, January 14th - 6:00PM-7:30PM
A popular program here at Rogers Park that is all about music appreciation combined with music therapy (for stress reduction, dopamine boosts, comfort and connection). Bring one favorite track to play for others. We’ll have access to YouTube so all you have to do is bring a title. We will take turns playing a piece of music to the group, then telling why it matters to us. This is a monthly event on the 2nd Wednesday of every month, so we encourage attendees to return!
Adult Book Discussion
Poets Square: Memoir in Thirty Cats
Monday, January 26th - 6:00pm-7:00pm
Join us for a discussion of the delightful, award-winning 2025 memoir, Poets Square. “When Courtney Gustafson moved into a rental house in the Poets Square neighborhood of Tucson, Arizona, she didn’t know that the property came with thirty feral cats. Focused only on her own survival--in a new relationship, during a pandemic, with poor mental health and a job that didn’t pay enough--Courtney was reluctant to spend any of her own time or money caring for the wayward animals. But the cats--their pleading eyes, their ribs showing, the new kittens born in the driveway--didn’t give her a choice. She had no idea about the grief and hardship of animal rescue, the staggering size of the problem in neighborhoods across the country. And she couldn’t have imagined how that struggle--towards an ethics of care, of individuals trying their best amidst spectacularly failing systems--would help pierce a darkness she’d wrestled for with much of her life.” FYI: Adult Book Club will return to the last Weds of every month as of February.
Books are available at the Rogers Park Branch Reference Desk.
RP Mystery Group: The Sunday Philosophy Club
Saturday, January 24th - 2pm-3pm
Join the Rogers Park Branch Mystery Group as we read Alexander McCall Smith’s The Sunday Philosophy Club. Isabel Dalhousie is fond of problems, and sometimes she becomes interested in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. This may be the case when Isabel sees a young man plunge to his death from the upper circle of a concert hall in Edinburgh. Despite the advice of her housekeeper, Grace, who has been raised in the values of traditional Edinburgh, and her niece, Cat, who, if you ask Isabel, is dating the wrong man, Isabel is determined to find the truth-if indeed there is one-behind the man’s death. And then there is the unsatisfactory turn of events in Cat’s love life that must be attended to.
Books will be available at the Rogers Park Branch Reference Desk.
GRAPHIC NOVEL DISCUSSION
THE GREAT GATSBY
Monday, January 26th - 6:00pm-7:00pm
Join the Rogers Park Branch as we read and discuss K. Woodman-Maynard’s graphic adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Nick Carraway moves next door to Jay Gatsby in West Egg, Long Island. Gatsby had once loved beautiful, spoiled Daisy, then lost her to rich boy Tom Buchanan. Now, mysteriously wealthy, he is ready to risk everything to woo her back, and Nick gets caught up in the mess...
Books are available at the Rogers Park Branch Reference Desk.
Wednesday in Stitches
Wednesdays in January - 6:00pm-7:30pm
Love to knit, crochet, embroider, or enjoy another needlecraft? Join us for Wednesday in Stitches! Share your creations, pick up new skills from other crafters, and enjoy a supportive community. No experience necessary! Just bring your needles, yarn, let’s get stitching together!
Teen Programs
Tiny Libraries:
Crafting Miniature Books
Friday, January 9th - 4:00pm-5:00pm
Learn how to make miniature book charms and create your own bookish earrings, pendants, key chains, and more! You will be using paper-crafting techniques to make your tiny realistic looking book charms. All supplies will be provided for this program. Jimena Hernandez is a Mexican artist and educator born in Chicago. Growing up in Mexico influenced her artistic work in many ways. Her favorite medium is watercolor, and though she specializes in drawing and painting, she also loves exploring other mediums and art disciplines. Her favorite themes are nature, magic and fantasy, portraits, and literature. Since she was little, she has been interested in painting, which led her to study for a bachelor’s degree in visual communication design at the Faculty of Arts and Design (FAD) of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Since graduating, she has taught art in Chicago and different cities across Maine and Mexico. More info/register here!
TEEN TIME!
Fridays in January - 1:00pm-4:30pm
All teens! Come and hang out with us for some old school video gaming, silhouette vinyl cutting, 3D Printing, some photography demos, DIY crafting, embroidery, and jewelry making. For teens 13 to 19.
TEEN TIME: NEURODIVERSE
Tuesdays, Jan 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th - 10:30am–11:30am
Neurodiverse teens (13 and up) from PACTT (Parents Allied with Children and Teachers for Tomorrow), hang out for teen time activities, like crafts, coloring and/or painting, games and Legos. More info here!
See you all in February for the first open mic (a new program) at the end of the month!