First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan Book Signing and Talk On Saturday, July 28th Illinois at 1:00 p.m. First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan will appear live at the Kankakee Public Library, 201 East Merchant Street in Kankakee, to sign the book she penned with Dan Monroe, At Home With Illinois Governors: A Social History of the Illinois Executive Mansion. The event is co-sponsored by the Kankakee County Museum, the Junior League of Kankakee County, and the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago. Visitors will be given the rare opportunity to acquire copies of Mrs. Ryan's book signed by three Illinois governors – Governor George Ryan (of Kankakee), Governor Jim Thompson, and Governor Dan Walker. In At Home With Illinois Governors Ryan and Monroe relate the history of the Executive Mansion through the lives of the governors who lived there, and their families. Since 1855 the house has been the scene of spectacular marriages, and tragic deaths. Power politics, both on the state and national level, have been played out in the parlor and across the dinner table. Presidents from Abraham Lincoln to George W. Bush have called upon Illinois' chief magistrates here. Artist Kay Smith illustrated the handsome large-format volume with beautiful original water color paintings. The gardens, facades, and interiors of the mansion are all illuminated by Smith’s gifted hand. The lovely book should make a fine collectors item. "Collectors of historical books and documents have always relished opportunities to obtain an important set of signatures on an attractive palette," commented Daniel Weinberg, renowned Lincoln expert and proprietor of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop. "Volumes signed by the three governors and the first lady were recently available at the Printers Row Book Fair in Chicago, but the Kankakee signing will be the only other event where this particular book with these signatures will be available," added Weinberg. Kankakee is a natural location for an event such as this. The city has produced three Illinois governors, Len Small, Samuel H. Shapiro, and George Ryan. For more information please call the Kankakee Public Library at 815-939-4564. Community Outreach Computer Classes The Kankakee Public Library has been awarded a Bridging the Digital Divide grant by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Ecomonic Development to provide community-wide on-site basic computer instruction. This grant has allowed for a purchase of 11 laptop computers and the money to have staff teach computer classes out in the Kankakee community. If you are involved in a group or organization that may be interested, or know someone who would benefit from hands-on computer classes, please call the Kankakee Public Library at 815-939-4564 and ask for Stephen Bertrand or email at sbertrand@lions-online.org Closed on Sundays Sunday, May 20, 2007 is the last Sunday that the library will be open before the summer. The library will re-open on Sundays starting on September 9, 2007. Home