Going to Springfield, Promoting the Library

On March 1, 563 people showed up at the Illinois State Library to meet with lawmakers about library concerns. They attended a rally in front of the State Capitol, with a number of speakers; the highlight of the rally was Richard Norton Smith. He is a historian and biographer, and is best known in Illinois as the first Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a four building complex in Springfield. Sara Essig, President of the Board of Trustees of the Homer Library, and Chris Reel, Homer Librarian, were among the more than three dozen from the Lincoln Trail Libraries System who attended.