To book your room, please call the Four Points at (309) 674-2500. The conference rate is $119 + tax per night. Be sure to mention that you're attending the ILA Annual Conference.

Peoria Public Library has generously offered to open its doors to ILA Annual Conference attendees on Wednesday, October 10. 

Attendees will meet at the Main Library, 107 N.E. Monroe, for the 4:00 p.m. tour.  The tour will begin with Main Library and take a look at the transformed four-story building with its new glass entry tower, window-walled reading room, art gallery, Local History and Genealogy Room, computer lab, skylight and enchanting children's room. Learn about the technologies and procedures Peoria Public Library is now using to enhance customer experience and provide more efficient service.  You will see our self-check system, book return rooms, call centers, information desks, powered study tables, public computers and hear about roving reference. 

Next visit Lincoln Branch, a Carnegie Library that has been in continuous use for 101 years this year.  Declared a historic landmark and fully restored, the branch now includes an ultra-modern 12,000 square foot addition.  A garden wall shields the addition from the street view and frames the Carnegie building while a grand stairway takes visitors from the lower portion to the original building.  See the hot air balloon storytime room, computer lab, and more. 

Next we will cross Peoria to visit the newly constructed North Branch.  Now the city's busiest branch, it features a fireplace, outdoor reading garden with fountain, beehive storytime room, and live observation beehive in addition to all the latest in library technology.  Your tour will end at approximately 7:00 p.m. when we return to Main Library.

Space is limited, so please reserve your spot by emailing or calling Alyce Jackson, Manager of Programming at Peoria Public Library, at AlyceJackson@ppl.peoria.lib.il.us or call (309) 497-2143.

The State of Illinois has adopted a goal to increase the percentage of adults in Illinois with a postsecondary degree or credential to 60% by the year 2025.  The current rate is about 41%.  The State wants to do more to ensure more young children are in the pipeline for education beyond high school.  In addition, recent data shows that by the year 2018, 64% of the jobs in Illinois will require education beyond high school.

To that end, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and other stakeholders across the state have launched the College Changes Everything movement to make the general public more aware of the impact education beyond high school has not only on the individual, but on society in general.  Please click here to learn more.