Sneak Peek

Remember that new logo? Coming soon...

Kudos to Uptown!

Every branch has a suggestion box, but do you ever wonder what people say? Here's a great example of what we get in those boxes. Kudos to the Uptown staff for making Leon's day.

We're on PBS!

What a great video promo of our bookmobile service! Thanks to our Outreach crew for making us proud!

Announcing the Uptown Project

Hello, all KPLers
Over the past few months, I have been talking about our challenges serving the Uptown neighborhood. Circulation at that branch has decreased by 50% since 2011. Visits are down 37% during the same period. This year has been particularly tough. We need to make some changes. Uptown is a challenged neighborhood with too many kids who are failing in school and too many adults who are failing in life. The library can be their lifeline to a better future. I'm ready to accept that challenge and I hope you are, too.
I can sit in my office and stare at statistics and formulate what I think is a plan for improvement. Or I can bring all of you together who have worked in that neighborhood for years or lived there or know the neighborhood dynamics well, and ask you. I think the second option is the one that's more likely to get us where we need to go.
So I'm inviting you to join me at Uptown Library on Friday, December 6th for two sessions, either 9am or 1pm,  where we'll use a tool called factor analysis to determine the reasons we think Uptown library service has not been successful and strategies to turn it around. If you have experience working at Uptown or you are passionate about improving equitable service across KPL, I need you there. If you cannot attend that day, I will send out a staff survey to collect your ideas after the session. If enough people express interest but can't attend, I'll schedule an additional session.

These factor analysis sessions with staff are one tool we'll use to figure out how to serve the Uptown neighborhood better. Here are several more strategies already underway:

• Curtis Strange and Grant Elementary schools will send a survey to parents about why they do or don't visit the library and how we can become a family tradition.
• We're hiring a Branch Manager to focus on collections, staff training, and space considerations.
• We're working hard to attract more diverse staff candidates who reflect the racial makeup of the neighborhood.
• We're finalizing a new contract with the Literacy Council to gain more first floor library service space.
• We're considering ways other libraries have tailored services in challenged neighborhoods.
• We're gearing up to partner with the job center to improve our workforce development training.
• We're pursuing a grant funded Preparing Adults for the Workplace program through the ProLiteracy Education Center that we'll pilot at Shalom, then repeat at Uptown.

If you are able to join us on Friday, December 6th, or if you can't attend but are interested in participating, please add your name to this list. 

Thanks so much!

Barb

News for the Week

Here's what happened last week:

• The Friends of the Library agreed to fund $25,000 worth of library programs and projects. Here's what they funded:
• Diaper Disposal System for YFS @ SW (Yay! No more smelly diapers!)
• Dishwasher for Southwest break room, perfect for Charlie Cart cleanup
• Bookpage and Book Club in a Bag bags
• Promotional items like pencils and cups for giveaways
• Sponsorship of KPL's spelling team at the annual literacy fundraising event (go team!)
• $10,000 toward the cost of constructing a new activities room at SW

Thank you, generous FOL, for your amazing support!

• At Tuesday's Board meeting, our library board was equally generous. Here's what they agreed to:
• 1.5% increase in our wage scale. When you receive your step increase in 2020 it will be 1.5% more than expected. If you're at the top of your range, you'll get a 1.5% increase. Most of you will see that increase on January 1. If you were hired in 2019, you'll see it on your anniversary date.
• We'll lease a car in 2020 for long range travel to conferences and meetings. So instead of going through the rental car hassle, you'll drive the "company car." 
• All public programs are generously funded next year with extra money for nutrition class supplies and special events.
• Our full time employees will continue to pay no premiums for our health insurance. Deductibles will remain the same. This continues to be an amazing benefit in comparison to industry standards. Everywhere I look I see libraries charging monthly premiums and high deductibles. Let's cross our fingers that our generous benefits remain the same for years to come.
• Once again the budget for training and travel is strong. I encourage everyone to be thinking of attending the exhibits and programs at ALA in Chicago this summer. We'll lease a bus and ask our vendors for passes to get as many staff there as possible.
• We'll finally have the funds to fix the back stairs and replace the old doors on the Uptown Library this coming year.

And finally, you might get questions from the public about why our budget was cut. It does look that way, but we didn't really get cut. We've been paying rent for CCB to the city, $165,710 in 2019. The money showed up in our income and expenses, since the city provides most of our income and is also the landlord that received the rent.  Since we'll be moving out of CCB, we won't be charged rent by the city any longer, so it doesn't show up in income or expenses, which makes it look like we took a budget cut.  The city actually gave us an extra $80,000 to pay for your wage increases.

I'll be taking the board-approved budget to the Common Council Finance Committee on Tuesday, November 26th for final approval.

Other news:

• Grace Welcome Center will be collecting food for their pantry at Northside and Southwest. Linda will follow up with details on dates and logistics.
• Richard Stanford has been banned from all library locations until further notice.
• There have been reports of patrons viewing pornographic images on our computers. Our tech crew tells me the perpetrator is accessing these through allowed sites like Facebook. Not much we can do but intervene when we see it. 
• If you are on the city's health, dental, or vision insurance, or if you  wish to enroll and are eligible to do so, open enrollment notices went out Sunday. You have until December 6th to respond. You need to respond every year, even if you aren't requesting any changes. Don't miss the deadline!

This week's Bright Spot Award nominations comes from two librarians who noticed their colleagues really rising to the occasion.
Marcia writes "I would like to nominate Patty Bajabir and Lori Mohr for Bright Spot Award.  Patty & Lori have several home delivery patrons that love them so much.  But a few weeks ago, Lori couldn't reach one for delivery and it turned out she had surgery and was in rehab.  Patty is the patron's selector, and she was able to connect Lori to a family member.  Patty visited her over the weekend and picked up some of our items.  The patron was so touched that the library cares about her so much.  The home delivery relationships are so very important to our patrons receiving this service."

And Stephanie writes after an incident with a patron who needed medical help, "I'd also like to say that Phillip did a fantastic job of handling the situation and should get a Bright Spot Award for being so approachable and compassionate when Richard asked to speak with him. In fact, when we were waiting for the police to show, Richard didn't want Phillip to leave because he made him feel safe. Phillip also didn't think twice about throwing on some plastic gloves and searching through the garbage with me (which was particularly grosser than normal!)"

 It's people like Lori, Patty, and Phillip that make KPL so beloved in our community. Thank you for your amazing compassionate work!

And thanks to everyone who opened their offices, work rooms, and staff break areas to those of us at CCB who were out in the cold on Tuesday!

Barb

New Staffing Structure

Hello from Tulsa!
This week I'd like to talk about the upcoming changes to our organizational structure that will take place beginning January 2020.
First, a little background...
Over the past ten years, we've seen a dramatic drop in circulation. This reduced interest in collections is common to the majority of public libraries across America, and is countered at KPL by the dramatic increase in interest for public programming and digital products. Since my arrival, KPL has invested in staff to develop and deliver outstanding programs. We've taken our services out into the community through a robust Outreach Services program and increased Youth and Family Services staffing. We purchased a second bookmobile, expanded our digital products, and automated our processes so we could move more people into customer contact positions. We've had moments of rebound, particularly in 2016 when we merged our catalog with SHARE and our community's access to collections surged. But this year, we're back to the sad story of declining visits and collection use.
As we enter a new year, its time to take action. Like you, I believe in the value of everything we offer, including our wonderful collections and the people (You!) who connect the community with those collections. So, we're going to try something a little different to grab the attention of our community and reconnect them with all we have to offer.

Starting January 2020, we're going to hire Branch Managers, one to oversee the Northside Neighborhood Library, and one to oversee both Simmons and Uptown Neighborhood Libraries. These managers will be responsible for the success of their assigned locations. They'll support and guide branch staff, develop collections, choose the programs for their locations, and monitor the statistical data to measure the impact of their decisions. The Branch Managers will be MLS librarians, so they will also serve as the ADS staff in their branches. They won't sit in an office with a door shut. They will immerse in service, coach and train their teams to deliver the very best customer experience, join neighborhood associations, and collaborate with ADS and YFS  to tailor their facilities, programs, and services to their neighborhoods.

Cathy Jensen and Martha Coaty will continue as Circulation Team Leaders, both assigned to our Southwest location, which experiences 60% of our total use, and could frankly use the help. They are both excited (and a little relieved) to team up to support the large circulation staff at SW, and I thank them for their willingness to try this new arrangement.

Thanks to the Leadership Team for their input as we finalized this new staffing plan in preparation for Board approval this Tuesday. We are looking forward to seeing fantastic results!