ROCKFORD — When Jean Lythgoe was a child, learning about the existence of the Rockford Public Library was a magical discovery.
It was shortly after her family came to Rockford from outside of rural Bettendorf, Iowa, in August 1953, when her dad got a job with the Rockford Morning Star newspaper. A visitor from the library came to speak to her elementary class at St. Patrick’s Catholic School.
“By then I’m already loving to read, and I come home and say to my folks, ‘Rockford has something called a public library and you can check out books for free if you bring them back on time,’” Lythgoe said. “To me that was great magic.”…