Three finalists have been selected from the field of sixty-six Illinois authors who submitted their works of fiction for adult readers to this year's Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author contest. They are Daniel Rosenberg, The Towers Still Stand; Annie Hansen, Take the Donut; and Karen Bedore, The Bard. Librarian judges carefully read all the submissions and, after much deliberation, chose twenty semi-finalists whose submitting libraries are  listed below!  Thanks to everyone who took the time to submit their work, and we encourage you to keep writing and editing--try again next year! Congratulations to these nominating libraries of the authors moving to the second round -- Aurora Public Library (2 nominations), Fox River Grove Memorial Library, The Illinois Institute of Technology, Broadview Public Library, Bolingbrook Public Library, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Des Plaines Public Library, Big Rock Library, Steger-South Chicago Heights Library, Mount Prospect Public Library, Highland Park Public Library, Chicago Ridge Public Library, Chicago Public Library, St. Charles Public Library, Galena Public Library, Elm School, Lisle Library District, Ella Johnson Memorial Public Library and Gail Borden Public Library District.

The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) invites libraries and museums to participate in a webinar on Thursday, March 23, from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EDT, to learn about customer service tools and citizenship education resources.  Representatives from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will provide an overview of the tools and resources available and will demonstrate how to find and use them online. Please help spread the word to your members and stakeholders. To register visit the USCIS registration page. You will receive an email confirmation with details. If you have any questions, please email them to USCIS at public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov.