Northside Book Sale, Lakeshores/ Arrowhead Merger, and a Sneak Peak at SW Furniture

We're in a bit of a space jam, so FOL will be holding a pallet-style fill-your-bag book sale in the Northside garage August 20-21. Publicity to come soon! In order to prevent this backup from happening in the future, we're going to start using a new service from Baker and Taylor called Sustainable Shelves.  In a nutshell, we send weeding lists to B&T, they send us back a subset list of what they're willing to buy back, we box it and send it, and they apply the credit to our account. 

Furniture and display units are on their way for the SW space remodel, including a beautiful double sided round service desk. It's great to see the progress we've already made. Aaron is receiving many compliments for his selection of the flooring! Here's a sneak preview of the furniture styles. Everything is moveable, so we can play with arranging the furniture until we are comfortable with the perfect placement.

As you might have read in the Kenosha News, Lakeshores Library System and Arrowhead Library System will merge by the end of the year. The newspaper article was somewhat, but not completely accurate. The cost savings is because one system director will retire. Less staff costs=  cost savings. Their merger has no affect on Kenosha County. We are all still in SHARE. We will continue to run our own one-county library system until we see a good reason not to. Because KPL staff runs the Kenosha County Library system and the system does not pay for that staff support, there are no cost savings to us if we merge, so it's not on the table at this time.

I'll be here Monday and Tuesday next week, but then will be away until Tuesday, August 9th. In my absence, Rob and Linda are in charge. 

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

Bright Spots Galore!

Hello, KPLers

The past couple of weeks have been a challenge with so many staff on vacation or out for other reasons, a flooring project at SW, and space changes here and there.  What a great thing to witness such terrific teamwork making everything work for our patrons! It has been my honor to work beside you as I attempt to help at service desks and at outreach stops and I am very grateful for your patience as I learn the ropes.  Spending time serving the public directly reminds me how much I miss it and I'm excited at the proposition of returning to that role in my future retirement.

It's no surprise that I received a lot of Bright Spot nominations this week. Thanks to all of you for being Bright Spots in our community!

This week's Bright Spot nominations are many! 
"I would love to send out a Bright Spot to all KPL staff members. I have placed an interactive passive display at NS asking patrons about their favorite thing(s) at the library. Six of the comments were about how much the patrons love the staff - and I agree! I am so happy to be working with all of you at KPL. You all make this job great!
Kimmy"

From Michelle: "My first bright spot(s) go out to Janet Frieman and Kimmy Smith who saved me from disaster due to a printing snafu. Their prompt response and intuition was so greatly appreciated. Secondly, I want to give a bright spot to Jennifer and the staff at Northside for pivoting quickly when I needed to move the pickup for the Whole Person Librarianship tours to Northside with less than 24 hours notice. Their hospitality and grace is much appreciated."

From Zander: "I'd like to nominate Rob as a brightspot. He has been putting in early morning work to make sure everything is settled for the re-flooring. He's also been available each morning to answer any questions I've had about opening, and how to direct patrons around the project. At 1:00 P.M everyday, there has been a massive crowd rush and he's out there with the public service staff, helping to make sure patrons know how they can move around the library and receive the best service possible as we are all-hands on deck for the opening rush."

Southwest RefDesk Speedrun

 

Watch the Southwest Reference Desk disappear in less than a minute.

Southwest Flooring - Day 1

Today was very productive for the Mainstreet flooring replacement. The east side of Mainstreet was removed, sanded, and leveled. The Maintenance Team cleared the Reference Desk in just a couple of hours, and a plan was put in place to prepare the Circulation Desk for its replacements. Tomorrow, we can expect the flooring to be installed, and Wednesday, there will be a team of 5 installers to work on the west side of Mainstreet. Here are a few images of today's progress: 

Congratulations, Shannon and Teen Liaisons to the Library Board

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

I am delighted to announce that Shannon Urban is officially the Branch Manager for the Southwest Neighborhood Library! Shannon will now oversee all the circulation and reference functions at that branch. If you missed last week's blog post explaining the changes in our staffing structure, please refer back for a complete overview. The Board has approved all these changes, so we're moving forward with our plans.

Also at Tuesday's board meeting, a proposal from YFS to add 2 teen liaison, non-voting members to the Library Board was approved. We'll be recruiting for these talented young people so we can hear from them about future library services of interest and help them in their leadership development.

This coming Monday, the flooring replacement along "main street" at SW is finally getting started! The project is scheduled over a 2 week period. We'll be closed to the public  @SW  the first week in the morning to keep the public safe while the workers clear out the old flooring and level the floor as needed. There will be no curbside service during those closed mornings.

Good news this week- we have an installation date for our children's book vending machines at the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA: August 9th. This is a grant funded project to get books into kids hands and improve their reading success. 

This week's Bright Spots:

From Barb: Thanks to everyone who has patiently helped me acclimate to service desks and outreach activities while I attempt to fill in scheduling gaps. I have learned so much and am so happy to witness the wonderful service we provide to our community. You are all my Bright Spots!

From Marcia:
"I would like to nominate Amy Rae for Bright Spot. OS had a furious patron call to say that he wanted a Hebrew translation of a certain bible story but he actually received the Christian version via the ILL book we delivered today. Amy Rae just happened to be in my office and she helped me find The Jewish Study Bible in the NS stacks that had the specific translated Hebrew story the man was looking for. I was so happy to be able to call the patron back and let him know we would fix the mistake right away and he was so pleased. I'm dropping off the book tonight when I go to Lincoln Park for chess."

New Branch Manager Position @SW and other positions coming soon

Hello, Everyone,

Over the past few months we've had some turnover in our staff and, as we always do when someone leaves us, we take a hard look at our current needs and decide how best to replace the position. For many, many years we worked with no branch managers and it showed- although all our staff is dedicated to our success, without someone specifically in charge at each location, little things go unnoticed. Establishing Branch Managers at SI, UPT and NS has made a very positive difference. You can feel it and you can see it when you walk through the door. So with the retirement of the Circulation Team Leader at SW, we decided it was high time to do the same for SW and establish a Branch Manager there. This full complement of Branch Managers, all with library degrees, allows us to form a system whereby staff at each location has a leader on site for direction and support. Each Branch Manager can provide training locally and service desks at all locations can be blended with staff who are trained in both circulation and general reference service. We think this is a very effective model, and so did our space planner when he created new floor plans for NS and SW, so we're moving forward with this plan.

With the Board's permission at their July meeting next week, we will eliminate the Adult and Digital Services Department at KPL, and reassign Shannon Urban as Branch Manager at SW. Shannon will oversee all circulation and former ADS staff assigned to SW. Branch managers will supervise any public service staff assigned to their branches. If you are asked to work at a different branch than normal to help out for a day, your supervisor is the Branch Manager at the location assigned. In other words, wherever you are asked to work, the Branch Manager at that location is your direct supervisor for the day. 

I know it always feels like something is changing, and I know that can be uncomfortable for some of our staff. There's nothing to fear. I have watched all of you provide exceptional service whatever your title or location or reporting structure, and I'm so, so proud of what you do. Many of the changes listed here are already tried and in place at 3 of our 4 locations and have worked really well. This change in a reporting structure won't change who you are or your dedication to your community. You'll be great!

There are a few more job descriptions changing in other departments, as well. Our Digital Media Specialist resigned a few months back, and Brandi has elected to pursue a Content Creator position instead who will do lots of writing for our online and print publications. I'm changing the duties of the Administrative Assistant to support both the Director and the Head of Administration and isolating the finance and payroll piece into a new PT position. So look for those opportunities coming soon.

Barb

Happy July 4th - Library News of Interest

Simmons HVAC is scheduled for service on Tuesday. Fans are going- hopefully the marble interior will keep things comfortable.

We now have off-site storage for discarded books and other materials waiting for the next FOL sale. Thanks to a volunteer group called Public Allies, our FOL group was granted 10 months of storage paid for at CubeSmart  across the street from SW. Our maintenance staff will monitor the garages at NS and SW and move whatever they can to the storage unit to keep our garage spaces cleared.

Rob is planning to ask the Friends for a replacement motorized scooter at SW. Hopefully we'll receive their support and have one available soon.

The SW circ and adult reference desks are now merged. Thanks to Shannon for her outstanding leadership planning that transition! Just a few more weeks until we have new flooring on "main street." Dan is working to get some bids on leveling the youth area floor at SW which seems to have sunk.

We have 3 new board members! Atifa Robinson is employed by UW Madison Extension doing nutrition counseling. Sonya Gaines is an LPN at Aurora working on her BSN. Chris Allen is Executive Director of the Kenosha History Center. We are thrilled that all three have or will be been appointed by the July Board meeting!

We also have a new member of the Foundation Board. Ben Anderson is an attorney at Anderson and Anderson Law Office, a firm started by his grandfather. Keeshia Jones was elected to be the next KPLF President at Monday night's meeting, Katie Chada will serve as VP, and Georgia Owens will serve as Treasurer.

It is possible as the city changes health care providers at the staff clinic that there will be no service available September through October. This will affect our annual HRAs. I'll keep you posted as I learn more.

Some sad news: Linda's mom passed away on Friday, July 1. We send out deepest condolences to Linda and her family. 

This week's Bright Spots:

From Amy Rae: "I'd like to nominate Katie E for a bright spot. She's taken on an absolute mountain of relabeling for YFS, and she's done such high-quality work. That might sound like faint praise - "how much work can it be, putting a sticker on a book?" - but the reality is that Katie catches mistakes and lets us know when she notices discrepancies in how things are labeled. She's helped us out immensely, and she's done it cheerfully. Katie's a KPL treasure."

A (June 23) note of thanks from Jennifer: "As I hear Southwest was also, Northside was overwhelmed with returns over Juneteenth weekend. I wanted to nominate the following people for Bright Spots, as they took significant time out of their days to help us in our shelving efforts: Nate, Alex L, and Kelly. Megan also emailed and offered to come help if we still needed it. Shawn and Sandy also helped cover the desk for an afternoon, after we had someone call in.

We are incredibly grateful for our supportive and caring coworkers!"

From Amy Rae: "Jason Holmes singlehandedly solved a problem that was stumping my colleagues and I, making it possible for us to finish a project we had to pause. He was super helpful!"

From Barb: Special thanks to Sandy for being such a great employee and the best teammate anyone could ask for. Thanks for your willingness to continuously learn, and for all your support that made the good things happen. We will all miss you very much! Hope you love your new job and come back and see us often.

Happy 4th of July, Everyone!

Barb