About ARRT

Founded in 1984, the Adult Reading Round Table is dedicated to developing readers' advisory skills and promoting reading for pleasure through public libraries.

Led by a steering committee of Chicago-area librarians, we plan and present RA training, in-depth genre studies, book discussion training, and other professional development opportunities for librarians and library staff.

Our steering committee also crafts the ARRT Popular Fiction List, a self-evaluative training tool testing RA knowledge. The latest edition of the list is available to subscribers of NoveList Plus in their Readers' Advisory Toolbox.

We Believe That Black Lives Matter
We believe that Black Lives Matter and we stand in solidarity with Black Americans and especially with our Black colleagues. We see you.

As members of a profoundly White profession and as people who curate collections of books and put those titles into the hands of our communities, we acknowledge our privilege and commit to using our privilege to amplify the voices of Black authors.

We acknowledge that the time to say something was long ago and we recognize that this is not enough. We commit to doing the work to be an anti-racist organization.

Current Steering Committee Members

Karen Toonen, Chair
Naperville Public Library

Layne Arens
Chicago Public Library

Jennifer Asimakopoulos
Wheaton Public Library

Mary Constance Back
Rolling Meadows Public Library

Becca Bolan
Skokie Public Library

Natalie DeJonghe
Westmont Public Library

Kelly Griffin
Chicago Public Library

Christi Hawn
Naperville Public Library

Mike Hominick
Northbrook Public Library

Elizabeth Hopkins
Lisle Library District

Eddie Kristan
Warren-Newport Public Library

Jez Layman
Elmhurst Public Library

Margita Lidaka
Oak Park Public Library

Matthew Matkowski
Palos Heights Public Library

Loretta Murray
Chicago Public Library

Stacey Peterson
Batavia Public Library

Karen Petroski-Sienko
Oak Brook Public Library

Sonia Reppe, Secretary
Stickney-Forest View Public Library

Bill Stephens
Bensenville Public Library

Mary Kay Stiff
Niles-Maine District Library

Melissa Stoeger
Deerfield Public Library

Carrie Straka
Itasca Community Library

Mary Sustar
Downers Grove Public Library

Emily Vinci
Schaumburg Township District Library

Debbie Walsh, Treasurer
West Chicago Public Library