On plaque:
Elliott Balter
”Swans”
In honor of Hester King
In memory of Armond D. King
made possible by gifts of Armond D. King, Inc.
The King Family
First National Bank of Skokie
Skokie Federal Savings and Loan Association
and a grant from
Illinois Arts Council
Elliott Balter (1926-2006) studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was one of the founders of the Skokie Sculpture Park and he taught art at Niles North High School in Skokie. In 1985, Balter opened his backyard Skokie Sculpture Garden to the public. His work has been exhibited at various locations around the United States and in Paris, Barcelona, and London.

Located in the Water Court on the First Floor.]]>
Read more about this sculpture on the library's blog.]]> http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/]]>

The bench was purchased and placed in the courtyard in 1999 as a memorial to Library staff member Steve Oserman. Steve began working in the Library as a shelver while in high school and continued during the summers while attending college and graduate school. Preferring library work to writing and teaching, he accepted a position as Reference Librarian. During the recession years of the 1980s, Steve and a colleague created an Employment Resource Center at the Library and he became widely known as the “job man,” was interviewed by local and national media, and spearheaded a national movement to encourage all libraries to develop services for those seeking employment. Later, with colleague Frances Roehm, Steve wrote the first book on Internet job searching. His death in 1998 prompted an outpouring of contributions to the Library, and it was decided to honor him with a lecture series and a piece of art. The Zen Bench was chosen because of Steve’s interest in Eastern thought and religion, and his love of the outdoors.

The Zen Bench is not currently on display.]]>