Lots of Projects and 2 Bright Spots

Lots and lots of congratulations are flowing in from all over the country. Here are some links to the national, regional, and local news about our status as a Finalist for the IMLS National Medal for Museum and Library Services.

IMLS Announcement that includes the list of all 15 libraries and 15 museums that are finalists.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction blog
City of Kenosha press release

As we announce our finalist status to the world, we're asking people to share their library stories. Here's one we received that will surely warm your heart.

"It would seem KPL has been my trusted shadow throughout my life. Their outreach and resources were pivotal to a financially struggling single mother trying to provide entertainment and guidance to a young child. And later, beautiful bags full of books and reading enjoyment for a more secure and growing family. All my life they have been at my side. Throughout my career, KPL offered excellent resources, mini classes, and ALWAYS more books. KPL is partially responsible for not only voracious readers in my family, but generations of readers in our community. To walk through the doors of our libraries is a feeling of coming home. KPL is engaged and dedicated to this Kenosha community. They are one of the strongest advocates of doing good in our town. In short, they are the very best mentors this community could ever have."



Other news (We are busy!)

Libraries will receive money through the American Rescue Plan. $200 million will come though IMLS to state government to use for grants to local libraries. Wisconsin expects $3 million to hand out to us. This is in addition to the $27.8 million the City of Kenosha will receive. Here's a fact sheet from ALA about the library aid. DPI is talking with system directors about what libraries are looking for. I am advocating for 2 pools of money, one for grants to make us more resilient, another for grants to help us help our community recover. Strategic Plan teams are preparing possible plans for us to have ready for grant applications.
Broadband is a big concern nationwide. Wisconsin is considering a $50 monthly credit for Internet access in the SNAP program.
Election coming April 6th. We'll be open expanded hours to accommodate at SW.
We're working on the design for a new air conditioning system at Simmons that incorporates geothermal technology. This is a capital project funded through the city.
We're talking with the city's Community Development team about the site map for the children's story garden on the west side of the SW building. This is the next step in getting started. The plan has to be approved by the city's plan commission before we can bid out the hardscaping.
YFS has plans to offer outdoor children's programs at all four locations this summer.
City Legal is working with us to create the framework for Kenosha Community Media to become a unit of the library. We're excited about the expanded programming possibilities such an arrangement would bring.
We are investigating a more robust library app for KPL that would offer more than BookMyne and include events, locations, hours, and so much more.
We've been asked to participate in a UW Madison project to collect Latinx local history.
We've been asked to serve as an anchor institution for UW Extension to serve kids at risk after school.
Do you have a way with both words and technology? Would you be interested in a part time position working with Brandi and Aaron to promote our programs and services? Stay tuned- we'll be recruiting soon.

We have 2 Bright Spot nominations this week

From Stephanie:
"I'd like to nominate Michaela Beltran as a bright spot for last week. We had a patron call that was having issues with her hold disappearing. However, when we went into workflows to look at her account, she didn't exist! Unfortunately, the patron had to leave for class, so we told her we'd call her back with an update. We searched every which way to find her, but it was becoming a mystery so I sent her an email asking for more information. Michaela loves a good mystery, so she took a crack at it and saw that the patron had a Virginia area code, so she Googled "Northside Library in Virginia" and saw that they had one. She contacted the patron and sure enough- the patron had called the wrong number! Michaela talked her through how to access her account on their website and the mystery was solved. The patron was so impressed she sent me an email reply with the following message."
"Hi Stephanie,
Thank you so much for all the time you put in to help! I am so sorry to cause all of this just with a wrong number! I apologize for making you go through all this and am very impressed by your exceptional customer service quality. Thanks and sorry again!"

From Barb:
Brandi is always great at her job, but she's has been a true champion crafting press releases and Facebook posts that reflect our joy over being named a Finalist for the IMLS National Medal. Thanks for all the energy and enthusiasm you convey to the public every day, Brandi! You make us shine!