- Last summer, in the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting, Mayor Antaramian and Police Chief Miskinis held listening sessions to hear from residents what went wrong and how to move forward. This month, the results of those sessions were posted along with "next steps." The library is likely to be involved in at least one of the proposed teams to develop plans for improvement in areas of concern. I invite you to consider playing an active role yourself if you are a city resident and have ideas to bring to the table. I'll let you know when the call for volunteers begins.
- City administration reports that government employees are scheduled to receive the vaccine in phase 4 of the vaccine rollout. In other words, the library staff as a group does not have special designation as essential workers. (I beg to differ- see page 6 of the current WLA newsletter for my take on libraries as essential services.) Your personal health challenges or age may place you in a higher category, meaning you may get the vaccine by summer. The rest of us have a while to wait. Please know that whether you have received the vaccine or not, or whether you have natural temporary immunity due to surviving a bout of COVID-19, you must continue to follow mask and social distancing protocol to keep your coworkers safe. We have done a tremendous job so far. Not one of our staff have become sick due to exposure at work. You have been amazing at following the guidelines! Not a day goes by when I don't think about how lucky I am to work with such thoughtful, caring people. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
- Wondering where our active borrowers live in town? Wondering where we haven't connected? View this interactive map showing activity by census tract. Brandi and I will be brainstorming ways to connect with neighborhoods with low library use. If you have great ideas, send them my way!
- From the Kenosha County Health Department: Kenosha Community Health Center, Inc. has officially moved the COVID-19 Testing Site to a new downtown location at 5506 – 7th Avenue (formerly Chase Bank Drive Thru). The new site will be operational Wednesday, December 30, 2020. Hours of operation will remain unchanged: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays from 8am-4pm. o Testing will be conducted by appointment. A new online registration and scheduling process has been added. Registration and scheduling can be accessed by visiting the KCHC website or using the following link: https://www.kenoshachc.org/covid-19-resource-center/ • Other new COVID-19 testing will be available in the next two weeks. Stay tuned to the County’s COVID Hub Website for up-to-the-moment details as we once again increase testing capacity.
- If you're looking for something to read over the holidays, Library Journal has released its annual list of best books. If you love beautiful architecture, you can virtually visit 8 magnificent libraries. Or you can reorganize your home collections the librarian way. So many books, so little time!
This week's Bright Spot goes to the maintenance team, Dan, Jeff, Scott and Jason, for tackling the first big snow of the season with their signature good humor and can-do spirit! We appreciate you guys so much!
Enjoy this snowy weekend and Happy New Year to you all!
Barb
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