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Albany Park Branch Features Early Learning Space
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
By: Veronica Brown

Sponsored by the Cindy Pritzker Fund, the new children's area at Albany Park inspires kids to talk, sing, read, write and play.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel opened the renovated Albany Park Branch Library on September 13th to an excited community, eager to reconnect with their local library and see what new features were in store. 

Branded as the city’s “new gold standard” for libraries by Mayor Emanuel, the Albany Park branch includes several innovative spaces, including the early literacy and learning space for kids zero to 5 years. This new children’s area is funded by the Cindy Pritzker Fund at the Chicago Public Library Foundation. 

In 2013, Cindy Pritzker, who along with other civic-minded leaders founded the Chicago Public Library Foundation in 1986, celebrated her 90th birthday. This occasion spurred many generous donations to the Library Foundation in her honor. With Cindy’s guidance, proceeds from the Cindy Pritzker Fund will be used to support cutting edge, early literacy and learning spaces for kids in several Chicago Public Library branch locations. 

At the Albany Park branch, youngsters could be seen playing with building blocks, hand puppets and a mini-kitchen set, whispering into a "talk tube" or just clambering onto mushroom-shaped seats.

"Play has a cognitive effect at that age," said John Glynn, Albany Park branch manager. "It's a brain builder for when they're ready to read." Play enhances every aspect of children’s development and learning – it is a building block to learning.

By bringing a play environment into the library, the Library makes possible more opportunities for kids to develop the intellectual, social, physical, and emotional skills necessary for success in school and in life.

The early literacy and learning spaces include child-friendly components that combine play and learning for maximum creativity, such as:

• Flexible furniture and arrangements
• Different levels and heights of displays 
• Nooks in which to read or work
• Open-ended activities and tools that can be transformed by a child’s interest
• "Creation" area for encouraging design, exploration and creativity
• Areas and toys for constructive, dramatic and creative play
• Appealing signage and parent tips to support family learning

We thank everyone who gave so generously to the Cindy Pritzker Fund for making the early literacy and learning spaces possible. Thank you for your support!