iREAD Committee

News

Member Spotlight - Ellen Fitzgerald
March 25, 2024
This week's member spotlight is on Ellen Fitzgerald. Ellen is the Children's Services Supervisor at the Nichols branch of the Naperville Public Library. Ellen is the current chair of the iREAD Committee and previously served on the ILA…
Member Spotlight - Donna Block
September 11, 2023
This week's member spotlight is on Donna Block. Donna is the youth services coordinator at the Bensenville Community Public Library. She is a long-time member of the iREAD Committee and currently serves as its chair.  We asked Donna to…
Committee Spotlight - iREAD Committee
April 16, 2021
Read on the Wild Side. Reading by Design. Dig Deeper: Read, Investigate, Discover. These are just a few examples of some excellent summer reading program themes created by ILA's very own iREAD team.  The chances are that your library, along with…

More news »

Committee Charge

The Illinois Reading Enrichment and Development (iREAD) program is a coordinated, self-supporting effort to develop and provide high quality, low cost resources, and products to enable local library staff to promote reading.  The program’s primary audience is kindergarten through grade eight, but provides supplemental materials for preschoolers, teens, and adults.

The program’s goals are:

• to provide a program that supports local library efforts to promote literacy and lifelong learning;

• to provide a forum for grassroots involvement across the state;

• to encourage statewide participation in and use of the iREAD theme;

• to encourage efficient use of local staff time by networking resources across the state;

• to provide high-quality, low-cost products through volume purchase; and

• to provide resources and projects suitable for all sizes of libraries; rural, urban, and suburban.

Committee Composition

The committee is composed of up to twenty ILA members: three chairs (chair, developing chair, and future chair); an ambassador, who is the immediate past chair; and sixteen coordinators with specifically assigned roles and responsibilities: two Resource Guide Coordinators (one Adult Services and one Youth Services) for upcoming Resource Guide Development and two Resource Guide Coordinators (one Adult Services and one Youth Services) assisting and learning the process for the following development year; two Showcase Coordinators - upcoming themed year and the following themed year; two Publicity coordinators - upcoming themed year and the following themed year; six Liaisons & RG Chapter Lead Coordinators - two Adult, two Young Adult, and two Youth Services.

Chairs will serve a three year term as chairs and one year term as ambassador. The Resource Guide Coordinators will serve a three-year staggered term. The rest of the coordinators will serve a two-year staggered term. The chairs select the incoming chair, subject to approval by the ILA Vice President/President-Elect.

About iREAD: History, Past Chairs and Themes

Committee Reports

  1. Maisie Iven Maisie Iven, Chair Teen Librarian at Naperville Public Library

    Chair Term ends 06/30/2025
    Member Term ends 06/30/2026
  2. Jessica Banko Jessica Banko, Member Adult Services Librarian at Plainfield Area Public Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2025
  3. Nicole H Camp Nicole H Camp, Member Programs and Exhibits Coordinator at Arlington Heights Memorial Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2026
  4. Kara M DeCarlo Kara M DeCarlo, Member School Liaison at Orland Park Public Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2028
  5. Erin M Emerick Erin M Emerick, Member Elmhurst Public LIbrary

    Member Term ends 06/30/2027
  6. John Sebastian Ferrari John Sebastian Ferrari, Member Asst. Dept. Head - Youth Services at Lisle Library District

    Member Term ends 06/30/2026
  7. Ellen Fitzgerald Ellen Fitzgerald, Member Children's Services Supervisor at Naperville Public Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2027
  8. Chelsea Lord Chelsea Lord, Member Adult Programming Librarian at Mount Prospect Public Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2026
  9. Kaitlin Mathers Kaitlin Mathers, Member Adult Services Librarian at Palatine Public Library District

    Member Term ends 06/30/2026
  10. Katie Parfitt Katie Parfitt, Member Teen Services Librarian at Naperville Public Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2025
  11. Terri Purcell Terri Purcell, Member Youth Services Assistant Manager at Joliet Public Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2025
  12. Samantha Ralston Samantha Ralston, Member Director at Dongola Public Library District

    Member Term ends 06/30/2026
  13. Cody Roecker Cody Roecker, Member Naperville Public Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2026
  14. Genevieve Stevens Genevieve Stevens, Member Librarian at Thomas Ford Memorial Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2027
  15. Aimee A. Villet Aimee A. Villet, Member Youth Services Director at Glen Carbon Centennial Library

    Member Term ends 06/30/2025
  16. Monica Tapia Boyer Monica Tapia Boyer, Board liaison Senior Manager of Children's Services at Aurora Public Library District

    Board liaison Term ends 06/30/2025
  17. Gretchen Schulz Gretchen Schulz, Past Chair Assistant Manager/Early Literacy Specialist at Aurora Public Library District

    Past Chair Term ends 06/30/2025
  18. Becca Boland Becca Boland, Staff liaison iREAD Content and Development Manager at Illinois Library Association

    Staff liaison Term ends 06/30/2025
  19. Cyndi Robinson Cyndi Robinson, Staff liaison Executive Director at Illinois Library Association

    Staff liaison Term ends 06/30/2028
iREAD Summer Reading Programs

Since 1981, iREAD provides high quality, low-cost resources and products that enable local library staff to motivate children, young adults, and adults to read.

Visit the iREAD website »