Calendar

08/18/25 @ 7:00pm - 08/18/25 @ 8:00pm Room A/B Bloomingdale Public Library Registration is required. Registration starts: 12/31/1969 @ 6:00pm Registration end: 08/18/2025 @ 7:00pm An Artist Goes to War: Leon Granacki in the South Pacific WWII, book presentation and discussion by the author, Victoria Ann Granacki

Like so many others who served in World War II, Leon Granacki was an ordinary guy from a working-class immigrant family drafted into the U.S. Army and thrust into the horrors of war in the South Pacific. But through sheer luck and pluck, he leveraged his art talents to survive and thrive, catapulting himself from private infantryman to master sergeant and mapmaker for General MacArthur in the American army division’s intelligence section. In this richly illustrated book, Leon’s story unfolds through original hand-drawn pen and ink maps, jungle watercolors, journal illustrations, scrapbook photos and heartfelt letters home to “Dear Gang” — his extended Polish American family crowded together in a Chicago apartment building.

Leon’s story reflects on his immigrant parents and his childhood growing up on a farm in Pulaski, Wisconsin. Polish was his first language at home and was taught at his school in the Catholic Parish built by Polish immigrants. Just before the Great Depression loomed, the family moved to St. Fidelis in Chicago, in the heart of Humboldt Park’s Polish neighborhood. Leon learned his art skills at Lane Tech High School, leading to a commercial art career at the old Polk Brothers furniture store where he created newspaper ads and window displays. He married and raised his family in the Old Irving Park neighborhood and was a familiar vendor at local art fairs selling his watercolor paintings of nature scenes in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

05/04/25 @ 1:00pm - 05/04/25 @ 5:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

05/05/25 @ 9:00am - 05/05/25 @ 3:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

05/06/25 @ 4:00pm - 05/06/25 @ 9:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

05/07/25 @ 3:30pm - 05/07/25 @ 9:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

05/08/25 @ 9:00am - 05/08/25 @ 9:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

05/09/25 @ 9:00am - 05/09/25 @ 5:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

05/10/25 @ 1:00pm - 05/10/25 @ 5:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

11/05/25 @ 1:00pm - 11/05/25 @ 3:30pm Room A/B Bloomingdale Public Library

M3GAN

Can't get enough of spooky season? Join us for M3GAN, a cyber-horror story.

M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a lifelike doll that's programmed to be a child's greatest companion and a parent's greatest ally. Designed by Gemma, a brilliant roboticist, M3GAN can listen, watch and learn as it plays the role of friend and teacher, playmate and protector. When Gemma becomes the unexpected caretaker of her 8-year-old niece, she decides to give the girl an M3GAN prototype, a decision that leads to unimaginable consequences.

Rated: PG-13 │ Running Time: 1 hr 42mins

11/19/25 @ 1:00pm - 11/19/25 @ 3:30pm Room A/B Bloomingdale Public Library

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS-1995

Celebrate Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday season by dropping in and watching Home for the Holidays, a film about a single woman, (Holly Hunter) who is newly unemployed, and the annual Thanksgiving visit with her loving, but overbearing family. Also starring Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, and Dylan McDermott. Directed by Jodie Foster.

Rated: PG-13 │ Running Time: 1 hr 45mins

05/15/25 @ 9:00am - 05/15/25 @ 12:00pm Room A/B Bloomingdale Public Library

Community Group

05/17/25 @ 12:00pm - 05/17/25 @ 4:00pm Room A/B Bloomingdale Public Library

Community Group

06/24/25 @ 6:00pm - 06/24/25 @ 8:45pm Room A/B Bloomingdale Public Library

Community Group

05/15/25 @ 7:00pm - 05/15/25 @ 9:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

08/04/25 @ 6:30pm - 08/04/25 @ 7:30pm Virtual Bloomingdale Public Library Registration is required. Registration starts: 12/31/1969 @ 6:00pm Registration end: 08/04/2025 @ 6:30pm

VIRTUAL - Gustave Caillebotte and the Story of Impressionism

In celebration of the new show on the life and works of Gustave Caillebotte at the Art Institute this summer, we are happy to present this Zoom presentation hosted by Jeff Mishur. 

Artist Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) was one of the founding French Impressionists. His artwork captured the spirit of modern life. His personal investment in French Impressionism helped it to persevere through difficult years of critical scorn and weak sales. His gift to the French nation of a remarkable art collection helped achieve an enduring legacy for the work of his fellow modernists. This lecture presents a number of important Caillebotte works and their art historical context. 

Art historian Jeff Mishur presents this program. Jeff is co-owner of Art Excursions, Inc., a company that provides art related lectures and tours in the United States and private guiding in Chicago. Jeff Mishur has taught art history at the university level for more than twenty years.

04/27/25 @ 1:00pm - 04/27/25 @ 5:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

04/28/25 @ 9:00am - 04/28/25 @ 6:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

04/29/25 @ 9:00am - 04/29/25 @ 1:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

04/29/25 @ 4:30pm - 04/29/25 @ 9:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room. 

04/30/25 @ 9:00am - 04/30/25 @ 4:00pm Room C Bloomingdale Public Library

The Open Study Room is available for any patrons to use without reservations during the specified time frame.

Please note that patrons cannot close the doors for personal use. If you wish to have private space for use, please see the Reference Desk to ask about the Group Study Room or Quiet Study Room.