Time off Policies Updated and Vacation Carryover in 2022

As promised, I brought back some warmer weather from California ! (You're welcome! :))

Don't forget tomorrow's holiday lunch! Thanks to Sandy for her generous spirit in making all the arrangements!

We had our last Library Board meeting of the year yesterday evening and there were several changes made to staff policies and to the Unattended Children Policy. Sandy and Michelle are sending out full policies for you to look over. Highlights include more bereavement leave for part time staff, a broader list of relatives that qualify for both sick leave and bereavement leave, and the option to choose someone unrelated by blood who lives with you as your special person that you can take sick leave to care for or bereavement leave in the event of their death. We hope these expansions of benefits support you and your family.

2021 was unpredictable, to say the least, especially before immunizations.  We did our very best to support you through the worst of the pandemic, including special benefits for those of you who faced very unsure child care and school schedules so you could continue to receive a paycheck if exposure required you to quarantine. And because the year was so stressful, we required everyone to use their full allotment of paid time off to maximize your rest time away from work. I'm happy to say everyone managed to do this. I know it was tricky to predict what you would need through December just in case of emergencies and I applaud you all for making it work. As you know, I asked to review all unpaid leave requests this year so I can clearly understand the limitations our policies might place on you and I learned a lot. In 2022, we'll return to the policy of allowing staff to carry forward up to 40 hours of vacation to be used in the first quarter of the following year. Hopefully that will provide enough cushion that no one needs to take unpaid time in 2022.

On January 1, 2022, all staff will receive a 4% pay raise. Many of you will also receive your annual step increase. Remember that we are also working with Carlson Dettman to conduct a wage study to be sure that you are all fairly compensated. Any increases as a result of that study will be implemented July 1, 2022, if our budget allows. We have earmarked $50,000 total in the 2022 budget to allow for recommended increases in the wage study results. If for some reason that does not turn out to be enough, we may need to phase in wage adjustments. 

David Vinjamuri reviewed the proposed space plans for NS and SW last night with the Library Board. The overall plans look a bit overwhelming, but there is much we can accomplish step by step and even enjoy ourselves along the way. We'll be developing space project plans and determining budgets early January in time for the next round of grant opportunities expected to be released through DPI.

As you know, we received all three ARPA grants we applied for through DPI, which collectively provide over $500,000 for projects. So we'll be working hard to get all our projects up and running by the June 2022 deadline including:

• Staff training for responding effectively to social service and mental health needs
• Book vending machines and book drops at the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA for after school and summer kids programs
• Meeting room upgrades to support classroom learning, telehealth, and job interviews both at KPL and Community Library
• Conversion of existing public drinking fountains to water bottle fillers at KPL and Community Library
• Public address systems at NS and SW

This week's Bright Spot Award comes from Karen

Hi. I'd like to nominate Jason Holmes for the Bright Spot of the week. Last week, he came over to look at the puppet stage (which screws and stuff needed tightening) and there was quite an extensive pencil drawing on the wall. He was able to come over the next morning and clean the entire drawing off the wall and tighten everything. He is really awesome and follows up quickly. We really appreciate all he does for us in YFS. Thank you, Jason!!

DPI Announces ARPA Grants- KPL Wins Big!

DPI has awarded ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Funds for projects from now till June 22nd. KPL applied in 3 categories and we won funding for all 3 applications!

Grant #1: 11 mid-sized libraries (Kenosha, Oshkosh, Appleton, Eau Claire, Beloit, Marathon County, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Racine, Fond Du Lac, La Crosse) will receive $143,783 (total) for staff training and implementation of Whole Person Librarianship services such as on-site social work students or practicing professionals. By increasing our de-escalation and crisis intervention training and by learning more about our county social service system, we'll be better equipped to confidently meet the challenges we face and help those in need connect with the services available. This spring, we'll host Carthage College bachelors level School of Social Work students and UWP Masters in Clinical Psychology students who will assess our training needs and help us meet our goals. They'll also advise us on what permanent social work trained staffing we should consider going forward.

Here's a recent article about social workers in the library to help you understand what's happening across the country. 

Grant #2, $101,300  : KPL will install book vending machines at the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Clubs for kids to use during after school and check out for home use. We will also place book return units at those locations.

Grant #3 Provides $125,868 for modifications to our study rooms and meeting rooms for privacy and enhanced equipment for virtual meetings, a public address system at NS and SW so we can make decent public announcements in an emergency, and furniture for displays as recommended by the space planner.

All projects must be completed by June 2022, so we'll be working hard to get everything into place. 

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We collect comments from patrons and I wanted to address one that came up recently:

A patron was visiting an out of state library and found out that they automatically renew items if there is no hold and she thinks we should do that here

This is a common practice in other states where there is no compensation to libraries for serving patrons out-of-district and no money exchanges hands based on circulation statistics. It's great for the library because it jacks up their statistics. But we can't do it here. Here's why:

In Wisconsin, counties pay for "universal service," meaning if a person from Pleasant Prairie wants to check out a book at KPL or Racine PL or Community Library, they can do that, because there is an agreement that Pleasant Prairie will compensate those libraries for that service. Reimbursement is based on checkouts, and if we automatically renew an item, that's an additional checkout Pleasant Prairie will be charged for. If the patron wants to renew, that's her choice. By automating renewals we are making the choice, and that's not fair to Pleasant Prairie. So that's why we don't do it here.

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I'll be on vacation next week with limited access to cell service. Linda is your library-wide person in charge. Happy week ahead, everyone!

Barb