Tuesdays at Ten | Women’s Baseball in Illinois

Join us at the library for coffee, socializing, and learning something new.

This summer, we'll celebrate our library’s 150th anniversary during Tuesdays at Ten with a dive into library and local history. We have a lineup of experts ready to share stories, old and new.

This presentation offers an exciting opportunity to explore how Illinois played a significant role in the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Anna will trace the evolution of women’s baseball from its 19th-century beginnings to the establishment of the league in 1943. She will discuss how the league’s unique rules developed over time and highlight the teams that made history—particularly the Illinois teams: the Rockford Peaches, Springfield Sallies, Peoria Redwings, and Chicago Colleens.

About the Presenter: Anna Sielaff serves as the Local History Librarian for the Lincoln Library’s Sangamon Valley Collection in Springfield, Illinois. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Concordia University Chicago and a Master of Science in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Anna is an Illinois Road Scholar traveling throughout Illinois giving historical presentations about local history and women's baseball in Illinois.

Tuesdays at Ten | Summer 2026

• June 2, Libraries: Global Reach - Local Touch
• June 9, The History of Children's Literature
• June 16, Women’s Baseball in Illinois and the Midwest
• June 23, Historic Buildings and Businesses of Champaign
• June 30, Learn Your Story: Researching and Resources
  
  
• July 7, The Egyptian Trail: Early Roadways in Champaign County
• July 14, History of Libraries in the CU Area
• July 21, From Urbana to Hollywood in the 1920s
• July 28, Historic Buildings and Businesses of Urbana

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