News for the Week

 This morning the Chamber of Commerce held its annual Legislative Update. Here's what I learned:

• Pfizer's facility in Pleasant Prairie is one of three distribution sites for their CPVID-19 vaccine. That means we are geographically positioned to begin vaccinations in our area by the middle of December, ahead of many areas of the country. Health care workers are first in line. Essential workers are second. Naturally the decision about who qualifies as essential will be contentious. Certainly teachers will be on that list so children are able to return to the classroom.
• The state's biennial budget process is underway and there will be a lot of pressure on the budget with the additional costs of the pandemic. Federal support for state and local governments is pending in Congress at this time.
• Wisconsin has caught up with the backlog of unemployment claims. Those benefits have been extended. You may receive questions from patrons about this. Here is a post from DPI explaining the extended benefits. 

________________________________________

From Jennifer:

Registration for our 2021 Winter Reading Challenge is now open on Beanstack! 

Here is what you need to know:

• We are asking everyone to upsell this program to our patrons. Please be intentional about encouraging participation as you engage with the community.
• This program will run from January 1st - 31st. Registration is currently open.
• This program is virtual only. Community members can participate via Beanstack either through the Beanstack website or via the Beanstack app.
• This program is for all ages.
• Participants will be logging their reading minutes each day. The goal is 20 minutes daily for individuals. Our community goal is to reach 100,000 minutes.
• This year, Beanstack will be awarding the winning communities prizes from Simon and Schuster's Books Like Us program. Prizes will include book collections and virtual author visits. Ten (10) winning schools or libraries will each get a collection of fifty (50) books from the “Books Like Us” collection. 

Community members may be asking us questions on how to register or get started. You may find it helpful to review the videos shared from the Mind and Body Challenge about registration on both the website and the app.

Feel free to reach out to me or Heather Thompson if you have any questions about Beanstack or the challenge.

__________________________________________

Common Council approved our 2021 budget this past Tuesday. We have pretty much the same amount of money for 2021 as last year, which makes us a little luckier than most libraries in the state. If you watch our monthly stats sheet, you've noticed a gradual increase in people returning to the branches and curbside is increasing, as well. 2021 will be very interesting to watch as people get immunized and feel safe to return to public spaces. The infection rate is likely to continue to climb during the holidays but by January we may feel confident to extend our open hours into the evening. We will continue to make the best decisions we can to maintain service while keeping everyone as safe as possible.

As Library Director, I read and sign every single performance review and this year I am so pleased to read about all the ways that so many of you worked together and supported each other during this very trying year. I'm so proud of how KPL has pivoted and responded during the pandemic. And a huge thank you to everyone for sticking with the protective measures for all these months. I understand how annoying it can be to wear a mask all day, try to offer service behind plexiglas, and steer clear from others physically. Our hands are feeling the effect of all that washing and sanitizer. Yet you have diligently adhered to the health department guidelines and we have been able to keep our staff safe. THANK YOU!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Barb