Congratulations, Heather!

Heather Thompson had an especially great day today. Today she accepted the Head of Youth and Family Services position at KPL. Then she received word that the article about her Coretta Scott King book club project had been published in School Library Journal.
We all know that Heather is a superstar every day, but even superstars have exceptional days. Congratulations Heather! May all of your days be this satisfying!
Barb

Visiting the Library Makes Me a Better Parent

Lovely article to make your day brighter.
https://www.readbrightly.com/visiting-the-library-makes-me-a-better-parent/

Think Spring, Think Kingfish Staff Outing!

Right now it may seem like winter will never end, but the onset of spring is right around the corner and soon you'll be breaking out the shorts and flip flops. So we're starting to plan now for summer sun.
The Kenosha Public Library Foundation is the charity of choice for the Kingfish Game on Wednesday July 3rd. That means whatever money we raise that night will be split 50/50 with the winner. The first pitch is at 6:30pm. To celebrate all things library, KPL is reserving at least 50 tickets for staff and their family and friends. The tickets are normally $12 for admission to the game and a free Kingfish hat, but we are offering you the same ticket for $5. We'll get a block of seats together, wear our KPL shirts, and cheer for the team. You can sign up with your child or grandchild for the toilet seat races or any other crazy activity. And if it's always been your dream to throw out the first pitch, this may be the night you've been waiting for.
We'll park the new bookmobile by the back parking lot ticket office and get kids signed up for Summer Reading. We're working with the Kingfish to find a sponsor for book bags to hand out. Foundation volunteers will sell raffle tickets in the stands and host a table by the team store to promote the library, the Friends, and the Foundation.
But wait, you say. KPL is open till 9pm on Wednesday. Not everyone will be able to attend. Don't worry. We're going to ask the Board to close early that day so everyone who wants to go can go.
I hope you will join us! We took over 80 people to the ballpark last time. Let's break that record!

Look for signup sheets soon.
Barb

News for the Week

Cathy and Elkid posing for their contest entry for $1,000 in mystery titles.

Thanks to everyone for attending the Business Plan meetings. I hope you learned a little about what other departments are doing and feel very proud of the collective impact we are making in our community. We are quite the educational engine!

• The next Library Board meeting is Tuesday at Northside beginning at 5:30pm. On the agenda is a draft of a revised circulation policy that changes loan periods for DVDs to 2 weeks to accommodate TV series and to match our DVD loan rules SHARE-wide and cause less confusion to patrons.

• Rob will now be your point person in place of Lin and Anne. So whatever you would call Lin or Anne for, please call Rob. Shannon is working remotely while she fully recuperates, so feel free to contact her as needed. Rob and Shannon's cell phone numbers are on the Staff Extension/Direct Numbers list.

• We will be recruiting to replace Anne's position as soon as I get permission from the Board. We will immediately begin recruitment to replace the Digital Strategy Librarian position left vacant when Marcia moved to Circulation.

• Rob and I will be in Madison for a systems meeting on Monday and Rob will attend Library Legislative Day on Tuesday. We are always available by cell.

• Brandi, Jennifer, and I will be the featured interview on WGTD Tuesday morning, talking about the upcoming Big Read. 

• The next FOL Book Sale begins February 22nd through 24th at Southwest. You might have noticed Dan and Jason disassembling a couple of red tables in the Southwest lobby. Those tables will sit out on the front patio for warm weather enjoyment. Dan and his team are converting the cafe space to a Friends of the Library Bookstore. 

News for the Week

Look what arrived yesterday!

Stop by the Northside garage for a closer look at our beautiful new handicap-accessible mini-bookmobile. Walmart and the Bothe family have stepped forward to provide $2,000 for children's books!

If you missed any of the Wild Wisconsin Winter Web Conference presentations, you may view them here.

Don't forget to join us Monday and Tuesday for our annual Business Plan presentations. We'll have prize drawings for participants.

Thanks to the 51 staff members who responded to the short communications survey. Every one of you said we did well communicating library closures. Many of you indicated texts are a preferred method of communication. Brandi and I will create a communications plan that includes multiple ways to contact you so next time there will be no worries about getting you notice in plenty of time.

This week's Bright Spot Award goes to everyone who came to work on Thursday! Thanks for this colossal effort! It means a lot to the community.

Best Wishes, Lin!

After a long and happy career at KPL, Lin Swartz Truesdell is off to the next exciting chapter of her life. We wish her health and happiness. Thank you, Lin, for your long service to the Kenosha Community! I know we will see you often with arms full of books to fill your free time.