Joliet library clerk creates 14-foot replica of Big Ben for summer reading program

Joliet residents need to take a only short drive and use their imaginations to see Big Ben this year.

Big Ben is the name often associated with the tower clock in London. A 14-foot foam board replica of Big Ben now stands in the Black Road branch of the Joliet Public Library.

Jan Stack, a youth services clerk at the library and crafter, created “Big Ben” to inspire patrons to read this summer. Stack said she also hollowed out a book to resemble a train tunnel, made a cover that says, “Travel Through the Pages” and added a real HO-scale train.

“Travel Through the Pages” is the theme for the Joliet Public Library’s summer reading program. Mallory Hewlett, communications manager for the Joliet Public Library, said many of the library’s programs this summer will reflect that theme.

Stack said she also made several 2-foot “hot air balloons” for both the Black Road and Ottawa Street branches.

“The whole idea of having kinds read over the summer is so they don’t lose any ground,” she said. “Well, it [the displays] just calls attention to the reading program. They come in and say, ‘Oooh, look at that!’ And we say, ‘Did you sign up for summer reading?’”

Stack said her “partner in craft crime” is Laura Harper, youth services manager. Harper’s creations for the program include a 5-foot “hot air balloon” from pink Styrofoam, a mural and various landmarks using colored paper and a Cricut machine.

Harper also updated the plastic dinosaurs display. For the summer reading program, the dinosaurs are “traveling” in a Barbie airplane and a Barbie car, Harper said. The changing dinosaurs scene sparks children’s interest in the library.

“We’ve also had a lot of parents stop to look and say, “Oh, gee, what is the dinosaur doing?’” Harper said. “It promotes literary conversation and that sort of thing.”

Hewlett said staff at the Ottawa Street branch also created “Travel Through the Pages” decor, including a replica of an airport terminal.

“The whole idea of having kinds read over the summer is so they don’t lose any ground,” Stack. Well, it [the displays] just calls attention to the reading program. They come in and say, ‘Oooh, look at that!’ And we say, ‘Did you sign up for summer reading?’”

—  Jan Stack, youth services clerk at Joliet Public Library

She said people of all ages can earn prizes through the summer reading program simply by logging the number of pages they read. People can read on their own, as a family or with a team.

“The staff here, we compete against each other for who can get the most pages,” Hewlett said. When people read to others, both readers and listeners may log the pages, she said.

Prizes include library merchandise, toys and coupons from local businesses. Prizes are given after reading 200, 400, 600 800 and 1,000 pages.

For 200, 400, 800 and 1,000 pages, readers can pick a small prize from among library merchandise, coupons (one per sponsor), toys and more. For 600 pages, the can pick a free book. Participants can pick up prizes July 1 to Aug. 3 at the Black Road branch or the Ottawa Street branch.

Participants can track their pages on paper or through the Beanstack Tracker mobile app, available on the library’s website, Hewlett said.

“We try to make it as simple as possible,” Hewlett said.

Stack said she’s created “a lot of neat displays for the library,” including a replica of the Black Road branch, using brown foam board and royal icing to resemble gingerbread.

She made a winter display that resembled her living room, down to the fireplace and bookshelves holding miniature books and plants, Stack said.

“The theme for that was stay at home in the bad weather and read, play board games, and enjoy your family,” Stack said. “I had Beanie babies reading, having hot chocolate and toasting marshmallows, and playing a board game. All of this challenged my creative abilities, but it also brought enjoyment to everyone who saw it.”

Stack said she enjoys the challenge of crafting elaborate displays.

“And it isn’t just the challenge,” Stack added. “It’s making something that will bring people joy, especially when it’s beyond what they expected.”

Stack’s creativity isn’t limited to crafts. She’s worked as a church organist for 55 years and she’s a former cake decorator.

“In the cake business, we had so many people blown away by our creations because we put love into them along with our skill,” Stack said. “Borders were perfect. Flowers looked real. Character cakes looked exactly like the characters. Plus everything tasted good – and if there was a problem, we wanted to know why so we could do better.”

Stack called her creativity a “gift from God.”

“And I feel that I need to share that gift, whether it’s crafting, playing the organ in church, writing music,” Stack said, “or just being a pleasant person to our patrons and the staff at the library.”