Welcome to the Sycamore Public Library

The Library is located at the corner of State and Main Streets in downtown Sycamore, Illinois.
I sat down to update this page and the first word that popped into my head was "Change." The librarian in me thought, well, before you go writing about change, you better look it up in the dictionary. So, I went to our Online resource, Encyclopedia Britannica which includes access to the unabridged Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus. I typed in the word "Change." Meaning: to make or become different; to undergo transformation, transition, or substitution; to make different in some particular. There are more ways to describe this six-letter verb, but those descriptions get my point across.
I scanned the list of fourteen choices and came across this French phrase: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. It means, the more things change, the more they stay the same. I wonder if that is true?
Two years ago, I stated that the library was busier than ever. Today the library is even busier than it was two years ago. So, while it is changing, it is the same. No matter how busy we get, how often the newspaper writes about how busy the library is, the number one question I get from people who do not use the library is "Now that everyone can find everything on the Internet, are libraries still viable?"
For the 129,776 visitors to the Sycamore Public Library in the last fiscal year, I would say, they believe libraries are still viable. For the 26,508 people who used the public computers, libraries make sense and save money. For the 7,648 people who attended the 352 children and teen programs in the last year, libraries are fun and educational. In a day and age when the Internet is so readily available, Sycamore residents borrowed 140,878 books, 59,953 movies, 17,686 audio books, and 4,751 magazines. I guess even if you can find it on the Internet, sometimes it is just nice to have it in hand. So, even as we change and grow and provide more services, some things stay the same.
The goal of the Sycamore Library is to make sure that everyone in Sycamore finds irresistible value in their local public library and gets and uses a library card. For those who want concrete evidence of the value of the Sycamore Public Library, we can offer more than 56,766 books, 121 newspaper and magazine subscriptions, more than 5,000 audio recordings including audio books and music, and over 3,000 movies on DVD and VHS. We also provide access to wireless internet and access to computers with the latest Microsoft Office Software and high speed Internet. Those are just the things available in this building. We partner with libraries around the State and beyond to get the materials that we don’t have on hand, and for those who want to get it all on the Internet, we offer library cardholders access to excellent and reliable subscription databases 24/7. And while all of these things are not really free, you have already prepaid for them so why not use them?
Welcome ladies and gentlemen and make yourself at home.
Sarah A. Tobias, Director
Sycamore Public Library