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4626 N Knox Ave • Chicago IL 60630 • 773/282-7035 • Fax 773/282-0380 • Email

The Library

The official grand opening of the Irish American Heritage Center’s Library opened its doors to the public was January 2006. The library houses books that deal with every aspect of Irish and Irish American life. Patrons may access reference books, history, literature, novels, plays, poetry and the An T-Athair Liam MacGabhann collection of Irish language books.

Other media includes Irish and Irish American periodicals and newspapers, CDs, DVDs, videos, cassettes, and phonographic albums. Center members and non-members are welcome to visit and use the library materials but only members may check out items. Volunteer professional librarians, clerks and pages will staff the library. Separate adult and children’s reading rooms are available.

The library will host lectures and literary functions, such as author signings, book releases, and a “Great Irish Books” reading discussion groups. Children can attend story sessions and other age-appropriate events.

One of the physical highlights of the library is the literary border, designed and hand painted by artist Edward Cox, This border, which wraps around the ceiling, includes the names of well-known Irish and Irish American literature icons: Brendan Behan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sean O’Casey, Flannery O’Connor, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, C. S. Lewis, Henry James, Joyce Kilmer, Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle, John Steinbeck and Veronica Guerin.

The border serves as an invaluable way of learning about Irish and Irish American leaders who established academic institutions, founded movements, and spread ideas that have impacted Irish American culture forever

The library receives donations of books on an ongoing basis. Special collections include a facsimile edition of the world's most famous illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells, which has been described as the "work of angels, not of men," a complete edition of the Annals of Ireland commonly known as the Annals of the Four Masters; facsimiles of the Book of Lindisfarne and the Book of Dimma; and first editions of Francis O'Neill's music books.

READING PROGRAMS
Great Irish American Books and Authors.

The Irish American Heritage Center continues its book discussion group this fall. It runs from September 2007-May 2008 in the IAHC Library on the second Sunday of the month at 2pm. The discussion is free and open to the public.

The discussion is led by moderator, Virginia Gibbons, a teacher at Oakton Community College. Gibbons has taught at Oakton Community College since 1989, as a writing and ESL teacher. She has also taught Modern Irish Literature and Chicago literature. Gibbons is a member of the Geneva Writers’ Group and holds a B.A. from Loyola University and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Northeastern Illinois University. The 2007-2008 schedule is below.

October 14 . . . . All Will Be Well. . . . . . John McGahern
November 11 . .Chicago May . . . . . . . ..Nuala O’Faolain
December 9 . . .Dubliners . . . . . . . . . . . . James Joyce
January 13 . . . .Chicago Stories . . . . . . . James T. Farrell
February 10 . . .Donegal Woman . . . . . . John Throne
March 9 . . . . . .Ironweed . . . . . . . . . . . . William Kennedy
April 13 . . . . . .Looking for Jimmy. . . . . .Peter Quinn
May 4 . . . . . .Irish Fairy and Folktales . W.B. Yeats, ed.

For more information on the Great Irish American Books and Authors discussion group, call the IAHC at 773-282-7035, ext. 19.

LIBRARY hours are:
Mondays-Thursdays 4:00 pm-8:00 pm,
Fridays CLOSED
Saturdays 9:00 a.m.– 3:00 pm
Sundays, CLOSED

Open the second Sunday of each month for the Irish Book Discussion Group
Open the last Sunday of each month for the Genealogy Discussion Group
Sunday hours are 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for these two Sundays only

"The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man; nothing else that he builds ever lasts... Monuments fall, nations perish, civilizations grow old and die out. After an era of darkness, new races build others; but in the world of books are volumes that live on still as young and fresh as the day they were written—still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead...."

—Clarence Day

The Book of Kells

The Irish American Heritage Center Library will provide the general public, including both adults and children, the scholar and persons with special interests access to information available in all formats relating to the Irish experience world wide. The Library will provide the positive aspects of both the Public and the Private Library.

Access to persons, libraries, heritage centers, museums, genealogical and business databases world wide
Access to current and retrospective collections with both scope and depth published world wide
Access to current Irish academic research as well as industrial and business opportunities
Access to Irish learning facilities
Acess to current enriching programs and discussions that will introduce our patrons to authors, playwrights, historians, musicians, composers, directors and other featured speakers
Access to an Adult Reading Room designed for scholars as well as for the general public
Access to a Children's Reading Room designed for children of all ages

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