Library Naming Contest Winner

 Libraries Can Unite a Lonely, Divided Nation reminds us of our critical role as "social infrastructure."

Marcia has returned from the ABOS (bookmobile and outreach services) conference with good news- there are some options for a hybrid vehicle for our replacement bookmobile. It would be wonderful to deliver the same service while reducing emissions and depending less on a generator.

It's official- the Lakeshores Library System (Racine and Walworth Counties) and the Arrowhead Library System (Rock County) are merging to form the Prairie Lakes Library System, effective January 1, 2023. Racine PL will continue to be the sorting hub for the system. 

Children's Library Updates:

• Uptown Lofts will include 70 apartments, all deemed "affordable housing." Kenosha News had previously indicated 160+ apartments, but they were probably counting a second apartment building that has been dropped from the plan.
• The project has been accelerated. According to the developer, the building shell will be completed by July 2023 and we'll be able to begin construction on the interior space.
• Heather, Linda, and I met with Joe Huberty last week to talk about design. His architecture firm is the same one that built the Kenosha Public Museum.
• I am working on a request for proposal (rfp) for a capital campaign manager to guide us through the fundraising process and track our success.
• We have a winner in the Name the Children's Library contest. Marcia created this beautiful branding for the space based on our existing KPL Kids brand. Can't you just see this gorgeous logo on the big storefront windows beckoning kids to come inside?

KPL K.I.D.S @Uptown Library

Knowledge. Imagination. Discovery. Success!

Updates from Shannon on SW space planning progress:
The non-fiction weeding is done and shifting should be finished next week. We should also be moved over to the new desk by the end of next week and Rob is going to talk to the electricians about removing the power from the old desk base unit so maintenance can remove that as well.
Rob is also waiting on a quote from the carpenters and stack movers. Once we have that I expect him to give me a timeline on that part of the project so I can work with maintenance to set a timeline for swapping the shelving and other equipment around.
The display furniture is also on hold because of using main street to park shelving units during the carpeting project.
In the interim, we will continue to move non-fiction to the back and start sorting the fiction by genre so the collection improvements will be completed simultaneously with the flooring and merchandising.

This week's Bright Spot nominations:

From Linda:
"I'd like to thank Brandi for giving me the opportunity to lead a team of PS team members in another successful larger event: Haunted Simmons 2022. Thank you to Kahlil for saying yes to co-leading the Haunted Simmons Committee and to the leaders that worked endlessly and creatively on the details to bring it all together: Jessica (Slightly Spooky Simmons), Amanda (Haunted Simmons Tours), and Amy (Decor)! Thank you to Ed and Laura for being superstars that provided crowd pleasing performances, to Joel for being the KPl bartender, to Amanda, Elliott, and Kimmy for being clever to choose costumes/characters that are well loved, and for Emily for helping out in decor and in enthusiasm! Thank you to those who jumped in to fill the planned gaps and to those who hustled in to fill the spontaneous gaps! Thank you to Aaron and Brandi for getting the word out about the event and for being open to printing more when the crowd for Haunted Simmons Tours grew! Please know that it takes everyone to make a larger program successful. Back to Kahlil, today is the day I am passing the Haunted Simmons baton to you for 2023. Good luck!"

Survey for Public Services Staff

Now that the ARPA grant focusing on Whole Person Librarianship has concluded, our data specialist is wrapping up data pieces and is doing the Staff Post-Test at the 11th hour in hopes to have given everyone enough time to percolate on what they did as part of this experience both through the WPL training, as well as local library projects and capture how you are feeling about your work. If you are a staff member who meets the public on a regular basis, and if you have sometimes been asked about what social services are available or if you have experienced difficult behavior from patrons, please help our project by answering a few questions on this anonymous survey. I will only know the overall results of our team's answers, not what you individually reported, so please answer honestly without concern about any judgment. 

Thank you for your help and for your willingness to try these new methods to improve our skills when working with people in need.

Barb

Architects and Bright Spots

We had an initial meeting  this morning with Joe Huberty from Engberg Anderson about creating a magical space for our kids in the Uptown neighborhood and we're excited about getting started. I also met with the developer this week and we have a timeline that has us opening to the public closer to January 2024. Our federal funding is about $1.5 million, $750,000 for the space and $750,000 for the interior buildout, and we have some exciting additional funding opportunities we'll be pursuing to enhance the furnishing budget even further and hopefully even set up a Foundation fund to support the operating budget into the future. I'll keep you posted as we move forward and Brandi has started a section of for the website that will engage the public with the project, as well. Here's the link to our video announcement about the project that KABA helped us create.

This week's Bright Spot Nominations:

From Emily: "I'd like to nominate Debbie and Dina for Bright Spots this week for their amazing job cleaning up the breakroom at Southwest last night! It looks so much more organized, and they were even able to do something about that weird stain on one of the chairs. Great job Debbie and Dina!"

Fundraising Success and a Couple of Bright Spots

Brandi and I enjoyed our time this morning at the KABA Inspire leadership event. The KBA Foundation pledged $2,000, one of the speakers announced a $2,000 match and a third speaker announced a $5,000 match, so we walked away with $9,000 toward the new Uptown Children's Library! Plus a really inspiring promo video of the project is now in our toolkit, thanks to KABA. I'll share that short video as soon as we get a copy. All of the glory goes to Brandi who arranged for the library project to be announced at the event and worked hard to line up all the pieces that made our morning so successful. Brandi, you're a Bright Spot every week, but this week you hit it out of the ballpark!

More Bright Spot nominations from Marcia: "I would like to nominate Heather and Jessica from YFS and planning and executing an absolutely delightful family program 'Novels & Nosh' last night at Somers Elementary. It was so lovely to see families interacting together and to see such excitement over the books chosen for each. I went along to do circulation duties and issue cards, we had 155 checkouts and 9 new cards."

NEA Big Read Controversy

Dear KPL Staff,

Many of you may be wondering how to think about the recent publicity we've received about the choice of Homegoing for the NEA Big Read. I've heard a few curious comments from staff that make me want to clear up some misconceptions so we can all talk about the challenges with the same information.

To clarify the book selection process:

The National Endowment for the Arts provides grants annually to libraries and other cultural institutions that might want to host a community discussion based on themes highlighted in literature. Each year NEA presents a list of books for grant applicants to choose from. KPL staff chose Homegoing from that list. So, to be clear, it is a book recommended by NEA, but there were other books to choose from. KPL staff chose Homegoing from the NEA list and that is the book we will read and discuss in 2023.

The second misconception by challengers is that the Big Read is the same thing as the Summer Reading Program. Naturally, SRP is aimed mostly at kids. So the challengers expressed concern that kids were going to read Homegoing. I've worked hard to clear up that misconception, and we have purposefully rescheduled the timing of the Big Read to earlier in the year to make it crystal clear that they are not the same program and do not have the same audience. Kids won't be reading the book unless their parents give it to them to read and no kids programming is planned for the Big Read.

Most book bans across the country are happening in schools where the challenged book is part of the curriculum and is required reading. It's important to note two very distinct differences between those challenges and the Big Read: The Big Read is an adult level reading program and engages with adult level themes commonly found in adult level literature. It is a voluntary program- you can participate or not based on your opinion or interest in the book, just like every other program we offer. And it is fully funded through the NEA federal grant and private donations, not local tax dollars.

Now, I know that the majority of you are Real Color blue people, meaning you care a lot for others and may personally be feeling the attacks on the library. You may be very uncomfortable with conflict and a few of you might be worried about me and the personal attacks I've been facing. I appreciate your support so much, and a thumbs up when you see me totally makes my day. But remember this- I'm a "green." I'm analytical. Immersion in debate surrounding principles like the freedom to read are my wheelhouse. I dislike conflict as much as anyone else, but I see the value in challenges like this to activate our community's understanding of the critical role of the public library- to defend everyone's right to access to information and ideas, even the ones I don't like. The Public Library is the cornerstone of democracy. It doesn't matter what political persuasion you identify with. In the words of  a community supporter, "I'll be damned if someone tells me what I can and cannot read." That's an American principle. We serve people from all backgrounds and beliefs and walks of life. So our collections represent a broad spectrum of ideas and interests. That's our job, no matter how difficult it gets.

Homegoing brings up a lot of uncomfortable questions about our past and our present. It is not surprising that people will refuse to participate. But I hope they do.  Unless we try to see the world through the lens of experiences other than our own, how will we reach the level of understanding necessary for a peaceful world? 

If you have any questions about our NEA Big Read, Brandi or I will be happy to talk with you. Remember that the community loves you and supports you. Thanks for the good work you do!

Barb

Fast Facts and other tidbits

Fast facts:

1. The new service desk at SW arrived with missing hardware. Oh, surprise! The hardware has finally arrived and the maintenance crew will assemble the second half early next week.

2. NS is getting ready to extend their vinyl flooring down "main street" to the back windows. As soon as we can get that scheduled, we'll move ahead. The plan is to also replace the carpet on the side where the AV collection is currently housed.

3. The FOL Book Sale continues through the weekend. Sales are robust! Thanks to everyone who has volunteered so far!

4. The foundation has been gradually sinking where the new building meets the old at SW. Our structural engineer did a thorough assessment and assures us the building is safe. You'll notice the YFS floor is becoming more sloped. There's also a couple cracks in the drywall along the outside walls in adult NF. The architects are proposing to monitor the movement to determine the cause. The insurance company has been notified and will visit to assess the problem. Once we fix the floor in YFS we'll replace the flooring throughout the space.

From Michelle:
Two COVID updates for you:
1. I have updated and attached the KPL COVID process map for your review. Please make sure you have this document available to you if you have a COVID situation arise while out of the office and you need it for reference. If you have any questions about what you should do, please do not hesitate to reach out to your supervisor, your department head, or to me.
2. Vaccines for children 6 months and older are now readily available. Because parents may make the choice to vaccinate or not vaccinate, we are lifting the mask requirement for YFS staff and anyone working in the youth areas. If you are under COVID protocol, you must wear a mask per the protocol in any and all work related situations, in or outside of our buildings.

We still recommend social distancing and good hygiene to stop the spread of germs at work (hand washing, covering sneezes etc.) (Guidance attached)
And you may continue to mask at any time in any place while at work.
Thank you for your attention to this continuously evolving situation. 

___________________________

Next week is super busy!

Monday we begin participation in the Wisconsin Science Festival by passing out Science in a Bag kits at SW. Monday is also our Kenosha County Library System regular board meeting (5pm virtual)

Tuesday evening at 5:30pm at NS we'll hold our next regular Library Board meeting. Staff are always welcome and encouraged to attend. We'll be talking about the Foundation's fundraising decisions for the new children's library.

Friday we're at the Inspire event at Journey Church and the children's library project will be announced on stage with the opportunity for participants, largely from the business community, to make a contribution.

Rob is out on vacation all week.

This week's Bright Spot nominations:

From Brandi: "I'd like to give a super special bright spot nomination to Brent, Max, Dan, Jason, Jeff, and Eric. These guys all jumped in and helped me problem solve in many ways - before 7:30 am and before I had had adequate caffeine. They are always willing to help - even when it pulls them away from the task they were trying to accomplish, and I appreciate how much they do to support all of us (often behind the scenes and without recognition).
We're lucky to have these fellas on our team! "

From Barb:

Thanks to Nate for taking me along on the Horizon Park bookmobile stop. I had a blast and learned a lot about what we should be shopping for in the next bookmobile!