News for the Week

• Reminder that we will again host shredding events in our NS and SW parking lots tomorrow.
• Outreach staff will be at Petrifying Springs Park tomorrow for the county's anniversary celebration. Stop by the booth to say hello if you're out there.
• Chalk it Up, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, is scheduled for Saturday August 12th at NS. It's always a treat to see our local artists in action. Stop by if you can.
• Mark your calendars for September 12th, 5:30pm at SW when Dr. Wayne Thompson from Carthage College will present the results of the community interviews and surveys we have conducted in preparation for our next strategic plan. Immediately following his presentation, Dr. Thompson will facilitate a discussion with Board, staff, and invited guests to determine the top service priorities for the library over the next three years. YOU are invited to attend and contribute your experience and ideas to this important decision.
•  Youth staff are heading to Philadelphia in March to present "Engineering Partnerships: How to Take STEAM Programs to New Heights in Your Community" to an international crowd at the Public Library Association biennial conference. Congratulations to  Jen and Heather for writing a successful application, and the whole YS team for their outstanding work!
• If you've been wondering why the sidewalks leading to NS and SW are dug up, it's because we are improving our data lines with super high speed fiber that will make our Internet much faster and our patrons much happier! The project is funded with 80% federal money and 20% city money.
• The back stairs leading the the Literacy Council offices at Uptown are caving in. So the whole area will be re-engineered this fall, complete with new steps and beautiful landscaping. There will be a few weeks when Literacy students and staff will need to enter through our front doors. I'll keep you posted on the exact timeline when it's finalized.
• The KPL Foundation has committed to funding a new Tween Space in the SW Children's area. New furniture and new computers and some brightly painted walls are underway! Thanks, KPLF!
• A new survey to evaluate our summer reading program is set to launch on paper and on our website on Monday. The survey is targeted toward adults with children in the program and is based on surveys developed through the Public Library Association's Project Outcome, which was developed to help libraries focus on the community impact of their services, not just statistics. So, our staff will be looking for stories from summer reading participants that indicate improved test scores in school, a new appreciation for storytelling, children who are discovering new interests outside of school, or who improved their understanding of different world cultures. What difference did it make to the children who participated?
• Our SW cafe vendor is having a little trouble getting approval from the Health Department to provide the menu she'd like to at SW. While we are working through these issues, she will be installing a cold beverage vending machine in the lobby. That should arrive soon.
• Hats of to Adult and Digital Services for their commitment to staff training in support of their "point of contact is point of service" philosophy. Our tech guides are integrating into desk service and melding skills with adult library assistants to become one team of Research and Technology Guides. The number of individual appointments with tech guides is dwindling as patrons are offered immediate service at our reference desks by staff committed to upping their tech games. Congratulations to the whole team for their commitment to outstanding service!

From Brandi:

As part of the strategic planning process, KPL has been holding focus groups with different community groups throughout Kenosha. We are holding two open call groups - meaning any member of the public is free to join us, no registration required next week. Below are the dates and times:

Join us:

Wednesday, August 9th from 5 PM - 7 PM at the Southwest Library.

or

Thursday, August 10th from 1 PM - 3 PM at the Northside Library. 

We are sending out an email to patrons who subscribe to our newsletter and will also push this on our Facebook. 

In case you get any questions:

• We are looking to talk to citizens about their views on Kenosha as a community and not just KPL itself. 

• No identifying information is being collected. 

• The information collected will be used to help inform us on identifying priorities for our strategic plan. 

Feel free to send any questions my way! 

Happy weekend, Everyone!

Barb