The City of Kenosha's mask mandate expires this Thursday May 27th. Masks for patrons will be optional. Vaccinated staff can choose not to wear a mask starting Thursday. Unvaccinated staff should strongly consider wearing a mask, especially if working with young children who are unprotected. If you have any concerns about your own protection or the protection of others, please continue to wear a mask. There is no shame in it!! Appleton Public Library staff have agreed that if someone approaches a service point wearing a mask, it is an act of courtesy to put yours on while helping that patron. I think that's a lovely gesture and ask that you consider to do the same.
2022 Budget Hard to believe it's just about time to start developing next year's budget. June/July/August is our window to pull together a plan for how much we'll ask for and how we'll spend it. Our first draft is always a little more ambitious than we can really afford, but a progressive, innovative library needs to be ambitious. So we will once again compile a draft budget that gets the core work done very efficiently, freeing up funds for that creative top layer that makes KPL so exceptional.
Here are some things we'll include in that first draft:
- A cost of living adjustment (COLA) that reflects the current government sector estimate for wage increases in 2022
- A staff classification and compensation study to follow up on our 2018 study. This places us in a 3 year cycle. We may accomplish this as part of the city's study or conduct a separate study.
- A consultant to analyze how we can upgrade our spaces to serve a post-COVID world.
To coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month, KPL’s Northside branch will host the traveling exhibit Immigrant Journeys from the Wisconsin Humanities Council. Congratulations to Jennifer for her successful grant application!
Congratulations to Megan Nigh for completing her MLIS degree!
Beginning June 1st, the public can once again make their own meeting room reservations. Building and room capacity has been raised to 50%.
Beginning June 1st, the teen Read it Off program begins. Here's an overview from Alejandria:
Kenosha Public Library system is starting a new program called Read It Off (RIO) as a way to help teens ages 12-19 years old eliminate their fines through the simple act of checking out items and returning them on time. This program seeks to help teenage patrons who do not have the financial means to pay their library fines. A secondary goal of this program is to instill healthy library borrowing habits.
How does Read It Off work?
When a staff member signs a teen patron up for Read It Off, the patron is only able to have one library item checked out on their card at a time. When the patron returns the item, $5.00 will be removed from their fine total.
Their library account will stay on the Read It Off program until they completely eliminate their fines or until they request to no longer be enrolled. There is no set time limit for when the teen needs to complete Read It Off. This is because some teens may take longer, depending on their accrued fines and ability to visit the library.
Once a teen patron has completed Read It Off or asks to be unenrolled, they cannot sign up again for another six months.
Who is eligible? In order to be eligible to sign up for Read It Off, the patron must:
Be a Kenosha Public Library card holder between the ages of 12-19
Have $10.01 or over in fines on their card
Have no items currently checked out on their library card
Have not participated in Read It Off in the last six months
How to sign a patron up for Read It Off:
- Check to make sure the patron is eligible. Remember to check their ‘Notes’ to see if they have participated in Read It Off in the last six months.
- Under ‘Modify User’, change the patron’s profile name to KPLRIO.
- Under the ‘Extended Info’ tab, put a note in the patron’s account that says, “Signed up for RIO, Month/Day/Year”
- They are now signed up! Make sure to explain the program to the patron so they understand they are limited to checking out one item at a time from a Kenosha Public Library collection. The $5.00 off of their total fine will be waived automatically when the patron returns the item on time.
- How to unenroll a patron from Read It Off:
- A teen patron will automatically be unenrolled from Read It Off when they reach $0.00 in fines. Alternatively, they may choose to end enrollment before they’ve reached $0.00 in fines. If a Read It Off patron chooses to end their enrollment before they reach $0.00 in fines:
- Make sure they understand that they will not be able to sign up for Read It Off for another six months. If they unenroll and run up fines again, they will either need to pay their fines to get them under $10.01 or wait until they are eligible for RIO again.
- Under ‘Modify User’, change the patron’s profile name to the correct code: for teens ages 15 & under, return it to the Juvenile. For teens ages 16 & older, return it to General.
- Under the ‘Extended Info’ tab, change the note in the patron’s account from ‘Signed up for RIO, Month/Day/Year’ to ‘Ended RIO, Month/Day/Year’.
At this point they are un-enrolled and, if they are under $10.01 in fines, they may resume checking out multiple items at one.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can a Read It Off patron check out items from any SHARE library?
No. During the time they are enrolled in the Read It Off program, they are only able to check out items from the Kenosha Public Library.
How long do they have to complete the Read It Off program?
There is no set time for teens to complete the Read It Off program once they’ve been enrolled in it. Some teens may take longer to complete the program and that is okay.
If a teens is enrolled in Read It Off and incurs more fines because they don’t return their item on time, can they read off those fines?
If they are still enrolled in Read It Off, yes, they can.
Can they renew the item they have checked out?
Yes, just like any other patron, if they find they need more time with the item they have checked out, they are able to renew the item if it is possible.
Should I discourage a teen patron from un-enrolling in Read It Off if they haven’t reached $0.00 in fines on their account?
Teen patrons may have many reasons for ending their enrollment in Read It Off before hitting $0.00 in fines. Perhaps they have a deal with their parent, where if the teen ‘reads off’ a certain amount of the fine, the parent will pay the rest. Or they’ve gotten their total fines under $10.01 and are eager to be able to check out multiple items again. Either way, this is their decision.
Please make certain they understand that they are not able to begin Read It Off for another six month if their fines go above $10.01 again. You may gently tell them something along the lines of, “Oh hey, you only have $9.00 in fines left. That means if you check out a book and return it on time just two more times, you can get all the way down to zero”, but do not judge them if they decline.
"I nominate Gina Williamson for a Bright Spot this week for asking to replenish the supply of Summer Reading Program sign up sheets three times this week. Gina has averaged 20 sign ups every time she worked the desk since the sign up started. Thank you Gina for setting the pace!"
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