New Gallup Poll Indicates Public Use of Libraries High

A 2019 study was released this week on American reporting of leisure activities – with libraries leading the list. You may find the demographic breakdown interesting, especially the reported use by age group.

Library use per capita in Kenosha is just under 7, far below the Midwest average. Disappointing for sure, but we're working hard to change that! Let's hope for a really strong year!

News for the Week

Another successful grant application! Thanks to Heather's grant writing skills, we will receive $10,000 toward a shared project with KUSD called  “Kenosha Diverse Books Initiative.” This will pave the way to bring an author of young people's literature to Kenosha! Thanks, Heather!

Don't forget our staff meetings next Thursday January 30 at 8am (SW) and 5pm (NS)

Would you like to participate in planning  a Children's Story Garden @SW? Send your ideas for must-have features, pictures of gardens you love, and activities you'd like to see via this form.  It's a large space: 150 feet by 32 feet. We can make this really awesome.
After we collect all our ideas, we'll begin regular meetings to lay out the plans on paper, invite community partners to participate, and get started in the spring. 
Thanks to our great benefactor Betsy Brown for providing the seed money for this delightful project!

This week's Bright Spot Award goes to Stephanie for an outstanding first 3 weeks as Branch Manager. Her enthusiasm for her new role has already landed a grant supported jobs training program, a smooth space transition with the literacy council, a community conversation in March led by Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families, NAACP and Urban League voter registration events, and 73 people from the neighborhood on our first Friday! Way to start a new job!

Stay dry, everyone, and have a fabulous weekend!
Barb

Kristin Kornkven Nominated for I Love My Librarian Award

Another vote for a KPL librarian ! Congratulations, Kristin!

Love My Librarian Nomination:

She is always very soft spoken and impartial no matter the situation. She is knowledgeable and goes out of her way to help, even if it means working past library hours.

Shawn Wolf Nominated for I Love My Librarian Award

Another superstar in our midst- Congratulations, Shawn. Well deserved!!

Here's her nomination from the Kenosha Community:

I Love My Librarian Nomination
She plans ahead and always smiles and encourages children.  She helps them find things. She brings out something extra if there is a request. She compliments kids on their work and creativity.  She encourages them to display their work.  She's nice and never yells at kids.  She helps kids feel successful.  She helps with directions to understand what to do.  She shows the way instead of just telling the way.  She helps kids feel better when they're sad.  She sets a good example of being helpful, kind and cheerful.

Linda Potter and Lisa Langsdorf Nominated for I Love My Librarian Award

The American Library Association holds an annual I Love My Librarian Award contest. This year,  members of our community nominated Mrs. Potter, and Lisa Langsdorf, and the ALA staff thought they were such  lovely nominations that they should share it with us:

I Love My Librarian Nomination:

Linda Potter is an amazing librarian. I have had the pleasure of knowing Linda both as a former coworker, and as a parent of a child who loves the library. Linda is a caring, compassionate person who loves to see children light up when they learn something new or have a positive experience at the library. My daughter who is now 9, has been going to the library since she was quite young. She has taken part in story times, afternoon activities, and summer programs through our library system. This has been at the library that Mrs. Potter works at. Mrs. Potter takes the time to talk to the children and their parents. She genuinely cares about them. I cannot even think of the library without thinking of her. She wants to ensure that children have a positive experience. I am always amazed at how many different opportunities/experiences are offered in our children's department, many of which she helps to plan and present. When I asked my daughter Kate what she thinks of when she thinks of Mrs. Potter, her response was, "She is lots of fun." I couldn't agree more.

I Love My Librarian Nomination:

Lisa brings the STEAM program to my first graders once a month. This is a great opportunity for my students. They really look forward to Ms. Lisa’s visit every month. I really appreciate that Lisa takes the time to do this. She deserves to be recognized.

 Love My Librarian Nomination:
I would like to nominate Lisa Langsdorf for the I Love My Librarian Award. Lisa goes above and beyond her role as a librarian in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She has vision, passion and enthusiasm for bringing the library to people of all ages in our community. Lisa brings library services to our school when she participates in our Bose Morning Blend, once a month. She brings in STEAM activities to our students and ongoing library programming for our parents. Parents come into our school for resources and students gather with excitement around the activities she brings. Students and staff look forward to her visit in our school. She fosters collaboration, stimulates student vocabulary and supports personal discovery through play. She is a wonderful role model to all of us, how we can also take advantage of opportunities to be lifelong learners.

I Love My Librarian Nomination:
I wanted to take a few moments to tell you why Lisa is an amazing asset to our community and the families and children she serves.  I am a foster parent in our community who organizes a quarterly support group for foster families.  In that time spent together, foster parents are able to regroup, connect, and learn while the children from each family are kept engaged and taught by Lisa!  She uses various mediums and techniques to do an age appropriate lesson, always tailoring the activities to each child’s needs.  With the various needs represented in this setting she has captivated the children time and time again. This ignites the child’s imagination and desire to learn, and helps create a safe social setting for these children.  Meanwhile, foster parents are empowered, refreshed, and restored.  Lisa has been with us for a long time now, making lasting connections with us all and building meaningful community for these children.  She has been sensitive and understanding to the various needs and behaviors that emerge, giving space for these children to grow and learn and bond.  Lisa is organized, accountable, motivated, and committed to not only our group, but many other groups of children in our community.  I am forever grateful for her contribution to our foster care community and our whole community as a whole!

Congratulations, Lisa and Mrs. Potter! You mean so much to the parents and the children of this community, and you mean so much to us!

Libraries DO Change Lives

A couple of years ago, ALA came out with a campaign called "Libraries Change Lives." Librarians smiled, most of them knowing there's at least one story from their public service career where they know they really made a significant difference in someone's life. This week, Jonathan had two such experiences, and he was good enough to share the stories with me. 

I wanted to let you know that last Friday, January 17th, I was training Phillip and we had two patrons come in to thank us for saving their lives. The first gentleman came in the morning and said that he was going through a rough patch, was homeless and thinking about taking his own life, but Kristin was able to connect him to the Crisis Center. From there the Center managed to help him get established with a job and an apartment. 

The second man, named Rex, came in later in the afternoon and reported the same story. He reminded me that I connected him with the Crisis Center last December. It was less than 5 mins left until close and he walked in needing help because he was hungry and homeless. I called Crisis immediately and Rex said that they made him feel like he was a human being again, gave him a very nice hotel room for a couple of days, and eventually led him to a job and an apartment. Now he is back on his feet and doing very well.

I hope this story inspires you. Every job includes mundane tasks and challenging interactions that may leave you feeling unappreciated or bored with work. Jonathan's story reminds us why we're here. We are the community center that connects people with their history and their future, and sometimes their very existence. I can't think of a more noble line of work than public libraries.

Our first Friday open at Uptown saw 73 people walk through the door. Clearly there was a need to open our doors. Thanks to all of you who have worked to make that happen!

Barb

It's so nice to get these reports of excellent service. Thanks to Zander and Jonathan for making us proud!

News for the Week

Happy First Friday! to the Uptown neighborhood. Linda reports several patrons have told her they are really happy we're open!

Jason Reynolds has been named Young Person's Literature Ambassador by the Library of Congress. Watch a short interview here. Heather has written a collaborative grant application with KUSD to bring an author of young people's literature to Kenosha, and Jason is on the list of possible authors. She just learned this morning that her application scored 12 out of 12 possible points and will be funded! So let's keep our fingers crossed that Jason is available!

Thanks to Stephanie who has won a grant to deliver job readiness training to 50 Kenosha residents. Stephanie will be using ProLiteracy curriculum to teach job readiness skills at Uptown and Southwest Libraries, in partnership with the Shalom Center and ELCA.

Interesting article about why ebooks didn't take over the market as expected.

The KPL Foundation voted Wednesday night to dedicate Betsy Brown's $25,000 donation to create a children's reading garden at SW. We'll begin planning the garden in a few weeks, with a target date of late summer 2020 for completion. If you'd like to serve on the planning committee, please let me know.

Replacement of the Uptown back stairs leading to the basement will begin in April.

Congratulations to Heather for her selection to serve on the Power Up! (A leadership conference for Youth staff) planning committee!

The digital signs are being installed at SW and NS, slowly but surely. We hope to have them operational this coming week.

So much going on!
Enjoy the weekend and Go Pack, Go!

Bright Spot Special Edition

I received two Bright Spot nominations already this week, and I didn't want to delay getting well deserved recognition out in this week's blog, so here's a special edition:

This from Stephanie:
I would like to nominate Linda Noyce for the Bright Spot Award. She has been incredibly supportive not only of me, but of the Simmons and Uptown staff as we navigate many changes in a fairly short amount of time. She’s gone out of her way to be available to us and has worked multiple long days (and many split shifts) while continuing to oversee Public Services and her many other projects. Her enthusiasm and creativity has inspired me and helped me to get through a normally stressful change with the knowledge that someone has my and my team’s back. She is a true example of modeling what KPL strives for in our mission and goals.

This from Patty:

On behalf of my ADS colleagues at Southwest today, I nominate Brent and Max for their extraordinary commitment to serving patrons and staff by investigating and working to resolve an unusual challenge with our color printer.  Patrons were frustrated, and staff were diplomatically addressing these concerns while working with our wonderful IT professionals to determine the source of the problem. Multiple tests occurred; printing a Wis. DOR Form 1 was the culprit.  It worked fine with the black and white printer!  Their search for answers will continue.

Brent and Max are consistently knowledgeable, patient, and resourceful as they answer staff and patron inquiries, troubleshoot, and keep services running smoothly.  

Thanks to Stephanie and Patty for recognizing their co-workers.

And to Linda, Brent, and Max, thank you for living our KPL Staff Values every day through your collaborative spirit and compassionate professionalism! You are what makes KPL so great!

News for Snowpocalypse Weekend

Uptown opens on Fridays, 9am-6pm, beginning Friday, January 17th! What a gift to the neighborhood!

Heather reports "We now have Sensory Backpacks available at Southwest, Northside, Simmons, and Uptown Libraries. These clear backpacks include child-sized, noise-cancelling ear muffs, a weighted lap pad, fidget toys, stress balls, floating color timers, and two touch & feel books. These kits can be checked out for either in-library or take-home use.

Our hope is that having these backpacks available will make it easier and more pleasant for children with sensory issues and their families to visit our library branches."

Thanks to YFS for their awesome efforts to engage everyone with library learning.

January 18-25 is Kindness Week in Kenosha. Check the newspaper for many activities around town including a movie screening of Blindspotting at SW Library on Thursday, January 23rd at 12:30pm. (Thanks, Kristin)

Congratulations to Stephanie on writing a successful grant application to serve as a test site for a job training project funded by Pitney Bowes. 

Thanks to Heather for writing and submitting an LSTA grant proposal to fund a children's book author visit and work with KUSD to develop our youth collections with more diverse offerings.

Thanks to Zander for preparing an application to partner with Building Our Future in the Wisconsin Libraries Transforming Communities project that will train Kenosha to engage more effectively with its community in shared discussions. 

Our KPL Foundation was recently the lucky recipient of a $25,000 gift from local philanthropist Betsy Brown.

I will be participating in 2 full days of training at Carthage College with the Racial Equity Institute out of North Carolina on Monday and Tuesday. This project is funded by KABA and organized by Building Our Future. 

The city has already declared a snow emergency, meaning you can't park on the streets from 6pm Saturday to 6pm Sunday. Winter is here at last! Dan and crew will be out at KPL locations this weekend to make sure we are open for business. Stay safe, everyone!

This week's Bright Spot Award goes to Brandi and Aaron for launching a terrific new logo campaign for KPL! Thanks for making us proud!

Barb

2020 Building Projects

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are refreshed and ready for an exciting new year!
Here are the maintenance/ construction projects we'll be working on:

UPTOWN

• The back stairs at Uptown are finally being replaced. Here's what it will look like when completed. 
• Uptown will also get new front and back doors, custom made to mimic the originals. Yes, you will finally have doors that you can unlock without your Houdini powers. 
• Stephanie and I will be meeting with the Literacy Council next week to talk about space reallocation. Their new contract calls for the downstairs to be KLC territory an the upstairs to be KPL territory. 

SOUTHWEST

• Phase 1 of a three-phase project calls for a larger public programming room where the current teen space lies. The story time room will be expanded at the same time. We're hoping to begin that work in the spring. 
• Phase 2 of the plan calls for a dedicated teen center and an upgraded youth program room where the current activities rooms lie. Target date is 2021.
• Phase 3 calls for a quiet reading room with a fireplace at the back of the library under the skylight. Target date is 2022.

SIMMONS

• The Historic Structure Report is complete and we have a prioritized list of projects. A team of city folks will apply for various funding opportunities to get the work done. The city has approved $1 from city funding over the next 5 years for restoration work.

NORTHSIDE

• We'll be replacing some windows in the building this year. Something tells me Jennifer will have additional ideas !

ALL LOCATIONS:

We'll be looking at upgrading signage at all locations this year.

OTHER NEWS:

• Congratulations to Jonathan Sward on his graduation from Library School. Bravo!
• We won a Kenosha Community Foundation grant to fund Augmented Reality (AR) headsets for programming. We'll use them with teens to introduce them to experiences that build their empathy. 
• We'll be applying for a number of other grant opportunities over the next few weeks:
• PLA Inclusive Internship
• Wisconsin Libraries Transforming Communities
• Wisconsin Humanities Council 

Wish us luck!

Happy New Year, everyone!