Blog

Theater's Approach to Decision Making

By Patrick Villanueva, Media Lab Assistant The GOTE Technique is a practice from Theater and is a strong complement to Design Thinking. When used practically, it can help with a more focused process. How Theater is Practical While taking some business classes many years ago, it ...

What to read next after "American Overdose"

Two public health emergencies The opioid epidemic was declared a public health emergency in 2017. Between 2017 and 2018, prescription-related opioid overdose deaths dropped 13.5 percent according to the CDC. Since then, the isolation, shutdowns, social distancing, and joblessness resulting from t...

Making a Creative Collage in Pixlr

July 27, 2020 By Kristin Ashley
Media Lab Assistant As a creative person, I’ve been enjoying using the Pixlr app for a few years now. I use it for editing and customizing my images, but my favorite thing to do with this app is to get creativ...

Hints of Herbs: in the Kitchen with Kate

Summer is a great time to explore new ways of using the fresh produce so readily available. Adding herbs is an easy way to perk up a salad, a main course or a starter. Fresh herbs are available at your local Farmer's Market (Lake Bluff on Friday morning), in your local grocery store and at your...

Applied Design Thinking

By Patrick Villanueva, Media Lab Assistant From experience, you could say I know a thing or two about the whole creative process. That is another way to describe design thinking. Design thinking is more than something art-related, and that's important to understand. It's a un...

How and why to read more diversely

What does "reading diversely" mean? Reading Diversely means making an intentional decision to include works from BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) and LGBTQ authors as a part of your normal reading throughout the year, in addition to occasionally picking a book from outside your com...

10 Anti-racist Podcasts

Whether you already have read or are interested in reading How to be an Anti-Racist, and perhaps also White Fragility or Me and White Supremacy, we have a list of 10 podcasts below to help you continue learning about social justice issues and about race in America. How to lis...

Lake Forest Library Lite

Welcome to Lake Forest Library Lite: many of the Library services and resources you love, with quick and speedy service for limited numbers of patrons throughout the day. Although the Library is not yet going back to "business as usual," you can still have an enjoyable visit. Simply follow the NEW P...

Taking Great Photos with Your iPhone

By Kristin Ashley With the warm weather finally here, I’m taking more photos outside–and I’ll bet you are, too. With the improvement in cameras in the newer smartphones, you no longer need a cumbersome DSLR to get great iPhone photos. In fact, you don’t even need a computer to share, store and ed...

Outdoor Public Art in Lake Forest

We will showcase five pieces of public outdoor art in Lake Forest. Ex Libris by Michael B. Croydon The sculpture entitled Ex Libris, designed by Michael B. Croydon and fabricated by Daniel T. Blue, was commissioned by the Deer Path Art League for the Library’s Centennial. The title of th...

Bullet Journaling in 15 minutes

By Michelle Doshi What is Bullet Journaling? A bullet journal is an analog system for planning your life. It is a planner that you customize yourself to suit your needs and goals, and a system for organizing your thoughts, tasks, meetings, events, goals, and more, to help you keep up and to ke...

Kate Recommends Books for the Beach

Summertime... and the reading is easy. Be sure to sign-up for our Lake Forest Library summer reading program; prizes and raffles all add up to a summer of fun. Below are some of Kate’s favorite reads to start your summer. Romance, thrillers and behind the scenes, all...

GIMP: The Free Photoshop Alternative

By Patrick Villanueva, Media Lab Assistant Adobe Photoshop is known as the best program to edit images, and it's something we were taught to master in art school for creative industry practice. There are plenty of powerful features right out of the box, and it's more than just adding f...

(Offer closed) Request a "We are Library Lovers" Yard Sign

Thank you to everyone who requested a yard sign. We love seeing them on display around Lake Forest. We are no longer offering yard sign delivery, but you can download, print, and color the PDF version to display your Lake Forest Library love anywhere! Download a coloring page...

Analyze news with media literacy

By Michelle Doshi, Adult Services Librarian You may have heard of a topic called media literacy, or even seen quizzes online testing your ability to tell real from fake. Media literacy is a set of skills you can learn and use and share that can help. Definitions to know ...