Bright Spot and Other News

Happy July! You just received a 1.9% increase in your wages. Thanks to our board of trustees for recognizing the need for this increase.

Here's more news:

• Thanks to those of who who cheerfully greeted our consultant from Carlson Dettman this week. CD is conducting a broad wage study for the whole KPL organization. They will be comparing the wages of private and public institutions in the area to determine where our wages fall, how we can adjust them toward a more fair wage, and how we can remain competitive in our recruitment efforts. We hope to have a proposed revised wage scale back from CD in time to craft a 2019 budget. There is a strong possibility that proposed changes in our wages will necessitate a multi-year phase-in period. We won't know much more till August.
• This week's Bright Spot Award goes to Sandy Bear. If you've spent any time at the administration office, you know we get an interesting collection of delightful and challenging people who wander in off the street, mostly looking for the courthouse, but sometimes stranded in Kenosha with very little bearings. As their first contact wandering in, they are lucky enough to meet up with Sandy, who has brought her compassionate service philosophy from the branches to administration. Sandy doesn't just turn people away, she counsels them and sets them up for success before they leave the office. Her patience and gentle respect for everyone is inspiring, and we award her the Bright Spot Award this week to recognize her service to KPL and the community.
• Thanks to everyone who signed up to walk in the 4th of July parade this Sunday! I love the cheers from the crowd as they see us passing on the route. KPL is much loved, and it's because of You!
• We have a new board member in July. Ellen Kupfer has ended her time on the board and will be replaced by Pastor Carlos Flores from St. Mark's church. Please welcome him into this new role.
• Thanks to Dan, Scott, and Jim for getting so much good work done on our lawns and gardens, despite the incessant rain. Simmons looks beautiful for the parade with the flag bunting and flower boxes!
• Proud to see the "Cooling Center" signs in our yards again this year and proud that we are open at SW on Sundays this summer. I am hearing praise from the community for both. Although our Sunday attendance isn't as high as it is when school's in session, being open is important to a lot of people, and this weekend, it will be good to know that those without the means to afford air conditioning will have somewhere safe and welcoming to get temporary relief.  Thanks for your service to the community on so many levels. It's no wonder your community adores you.

Summer is finally here! Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Barb

Why We Don't Read

Interesting article from New Yorker magazine.

Bright Spot Award Winners

I just read through the draft of the fall programs calendar and can't stop smiling. The creative concepts and ingenious titles are so much fun! Sip and Swipe Cafe? Moon Over Kenosha? How Not to Live in Your Parent's Basement? How do you guys come up with this stuff?  I want to attend everything!
Congratulations and thanks to all of you who are involved in planning, designing, setting up, delivering, performing, cleaning up, purchasing materials, contracting speakers, advertising, promoting, everything it takes to deliver the best library programming anywhere! I'm so very proud of all of you! You are this week's KPL Bright Spots!

Fond Farewell to our Bright Spot Barbara Fulton!

With great fondness (and a little jealousy) we say bon voyage to our trusted friend Barbara Fulton. What a legacy of leadership you leave behind! We hope you visit KPL often and share all the fun you'll be having now that you're free to do anything you want anytime you want!

Best wishes, continued good health, and heartfelt thanks!

Wage Study Begins

Hello, Everyone

We've been talking for a few years now about conducting a wage study for KPL and we are finally making that happen. Carlson-Dettman will be evaluating each of our updated job descriptions and a few new job descriptions, measuring them against the Wisconsin and northern Illinois job markets to determine a fair wage for each position.

We want to do this for several reasons. The primary reason is, we want to be sure we are paying fairly for the work you are doing. Your work is always changing. We need to periodically re-evaluate your compensation to make sure your wages are in line with the work you do.

The second reason we are conducting this wage study is because we've created a number of new job descriptions such as Reference and Technology Guide, Communications Assistant, Communications Specialist, and Accounting Assistant. We placed those positions within current ranges with an educated guess, but without a professional wage study to tell us what the position should really be paid. It would be good to have a professional opinion. 

Along the same lines, library automation has changed what many of you do. Positions like Aide, Clerk, and Page were created before it was necessary to have computer skills. We are asking a lot more of you than we did when some of you were hired into your position.  It's time to evaluate the work really being done after AMH, and create job descriptions that accurately reflect the work. 

My observations tell me that circulation work post-AMH is divided into two areas: Inventory Control and Customer Service.

So we're sending two job descriptions to the wage consultants, a Customer Service Specialist, and an Inventory Control Specialist. Inventory Control Specialists will work on AMH, shelving, processing deliveries, processing holds, all the components of keeping the collections in order. This position combines Page and Aide. It's the perfect position for someone who's task-oriented, loves to move all day, and enjoys tackling a constant workload. If your favorite part of the day is the back room work, this is the position for you.

Customer Service Specialists will work directly with the customer, in person or on the phone. Clerks who have demonstrated good customer service skills will be eligible for these positions. Staff who are outgoing and love the people part of the job will be interested in this position. CSS will need basic reference skills to deliver the best service, and will be paid at the RTG level.

At the smaller branches where there is no AMH, staff will share customer service and inventory control duties.

No position will be paid less than $11.01 per hour, per board mandate. This has been determined as the "living wage" for Kenosha County, and our KPL Board has adopted this wage as the starting wage for this organization as soon as the wage study recommendations are implemented.

Once we have the recommended wages from our consultant, we will be able to determine the timeline for implementation. We may find that we can afford all the changes in 2019. Or we may have to phase in the changes. I promise you my very best effort in implementing the changes as quickly as the budget allows.

I'm sure all this information in an email leaves you with plenty of questions. We will be scheduling sessions soon for you to ask me questions about this process directly. Stay tuned for that announcement.

On June 25th, I will be hosting a consultant from Carlson Dettman to see your work in action. Please feel free to say hello to our guest and be prepared to answer questions he might have about the work you do each day.

I'm excited about getting this study underway. I look forward to sharing the results with you early August.

Barb