FY27-FY29 Long Range Plan

During the last year, the library staff and board worked together to develop our next long range plan. Some of you attended a focus group and others completed a survey. Community input was essential in the planning process, and we appreciated the support of both our users and non-users.

I’ve been the director now for fifteen years, and this is the fifth time I’ve done long range planning in Princeville. It was one of the first things that the board asked me to do when I got here, and that is because it is so important.

Superior library service doesn’t just happen. To achieve excellence, you need a plan. The LME Library uses community input to regularly to test assumptions, revisit choices, and align our goals. Since every community is different, excellence must be defined locally—it results when library services match community needs, interests, and priorities.

The FY27-FY29 plan has been adopted, and we look forward to implementing it. We have also updated our mission statement which helps us direct our services and programs. It appears at the top of every plan, but I’ll share it here: “The mission of the Lillie M. Evans Library District is to connect people to resources and services, inspire life-long learning, and help our community thrive.”

Thank you to all who assisted in the process as we continue to seek new and better ways to serve our community.

Survey - March 2026

During the month of March, the LME Library is surveying the members of our library district. This survey will assist us with the development of our next long range plan. We are looking for input from library and non-library users so that we can find out how we can improve our library and services to better meet your needs. Your input is very valuable to us, and all responses will be kept anonymous. If you could take a few minutes to respond to the survey, it would assist in our planning efforts. The online survey is available at: https://bit.ly/LMESurvey61559  

Thank you very much for participating in our survey!

2025 Kindle Tablet Giveaway from Mid Century Fiber

Congratulations to Avigail Y., winner of our Kindle Tablet Giveaway!

Avigail was randomly selected from 81 amazing readers who logged 500+ minutes during our Summer Reading Program! Way to go, Avigail!

A huge thank you to Mid Century Fiber for generously donating the Kindle Tablet and supporting our community’s love of reading. 

Music in the Square - our 8th year!

The Lillie M. Evans Library District will be hosting our free concert series on three Fridays in June 2025. This is our 8th year providing these family-friendly concerts in Princeville’s Stevens Square. Please bring your own lawn chairs for your seating comfort or feel free to stay in your vehicle. This year, we’ll have food vendors at all events starting at 5pm. Music starts at 7pm so there is plenty of time to enjoy dinner and a show!

Music in the Square will lead off with the Roundstone Buskers on June 6th. This small Irish ensemble—consisting of Shannan Sullivan (fiddle, vocals), Tom Jones (bodhran, percussion, whistle, vocals) and Bruce Burton (guitar, bouzouki, vocals)—hails from the Peoria area. The trio has been pleasing crowds with its untraditional Celtic music since 2007. Top That and Tropical Sno will be serving in the Square from 5-8pm.

On June 13th, we will be hosting the Aristocrats. The Aristocrats are an eight piece band playing all of the "Big Band" favorites of yesterday and today. They perform arrangements made famous by the big bands of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s supplemented with contemporary jazz and popular tunes. At 5pm, the Station House and Kona Ice will start serving in the Square, and food will be available through 8pm.

For our final concert, we are pleased to welcome “Kelvis” on June 27th. Kevin Breitbarth, a winner of many regional and national Elvis impersonator competitions, will perform his Elvis tribute act. This is sure to be a fun night with great entertainment. In addition, the Princeville Aquatic Center will have pulled pork dinners in the Square from 5-8pm. This is a fundraiser for the ‘Save the Pool!’ fund, so come out and support this community organization!

Steven’s Square is located on the corner of West Evans Street and IL-91 in Princeville. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be moved to the Lillie M. Evans Library at 207 N. Walnut in Princeville. More information about this and other library programs can be found on the Lillie M. Evans Library website at lmelibrary.org.