Big Awards, Ugly Sweaters, Bright Spots and Inspiration for the New Year

Congratulations to Brandi Cummings who will receive the 2023 Susan B. Anthony Women to Watch Under 40 Award from the Kenosha Women's Network! Wowsa! That's an incredible achievement! We are so proud of you, Brandi!

Congratulations to Rob, Shannon and Linda for all being selected as WLA Mentors!

Congratulations from Linda:
"Thank you to those who entered the 2022 KPL Staff Ugly Sweater Contest! The winners are:

SI/UP: Diane

SW: Betsy

NS: Elliott

Special thanks to the judges: Michaela, Amy K., and Katy."

Inspirational Reading for the New Year

 "Why Public Spaces Are Our Best Hope for Community and Democracy," from Reimagining the Civic Commons. Makes you want to come to work every day!

The Planet Word Museum in Washington, D.C. is a fully digital museum, but look what AI can do when it's employed for good! Spend a couple minutes on the video tour and I'll bet you can't help but gasp. I can't wait to visit! One of the architects who designed this museum is working on the concept for an ADA accessible Simmons Library. 

Overwhelming majority of voters oppose book bans (From EveryLibrary). "It appears that voters want to make their own choices about what to read. The survey shows that they oppose banning books on the grounds of race, sexuality, and other concerns. They are also opposed to legislators who create legislation that bans books, a clear violation of the First Amendment. They are willing to take that opposition to the polls."

Several school districts in Florida have implemented new systems that require parental opt-out or parental opt-in to accessing material in schools–including the ability to borrow materials from school libraries. But less than 1% of parents opted to restrict their children's access to books in Florida schools when given the option. 

This week's Bright Spot nominations come from Brandi and Heather:

From Brandi: "I wanted to drop a note of appreciation for Phillip and Rob, who helped me get the KPLF annual solicitation letter out last week. With their help, I cut the task time in half and ensured the letters were in the mail before the holiday!"

From Heather: "A big shout out to the Southwest team! Everybody has been especially helpful and supportive of their coworkers lately. Just a few personal examples include Rosa covering the YFS desk one night when we had a gap, Katie E. covering the YFS desk during a morning gap, DJ noticing that the play area was a total mess and coming to help me clean up before closing, and Michaela jumping in to cover a family art program due to an emergency. Thank you for your kindness and helpfulness! Also, a special thank you to Shannon and Brandi who are flexible with scheduling staff to assist with coverages, and who consistently model kindness and helpfulness when leading their teams."

Our Heroine Jennifer

A KPL Christmas story to warm your heart, starring Jennifer K, the Bright Spot of the Year! Jennifer, Eric, Jason, Jeff, and Janet, thank you for your compassion and for embracing all the values of the public library and helping another human being in crisis. 

From today's building log:

At about 7:30am, Jennifer arrived at Northside for work. She noticed recent regular patron Chris
Levandowski (subject of recent building log from 12/17, white, approx 30s, wearing a black snowsuit, and black bags, also has a bike) in a sleeping bag under the overhang. Upon entering the building, she spoke with maintenance staff Jason, Jeff and Eric, noting that he was out there and she was worried about him in the cold. Jason, Jeff and Eric went out to say good morning and ask if he was alright, if he needed any help, and if he would like to come into the lobby to warm up and use the restroom before the library opened. Jennifer set down her things while they spoke to Chris and then swapped out with them in the lobby. Jason and Jeff waited inside near the self-checks while Jennifer spoke with Chris for a few minutes. It was learned that Chris has been experiencing homelessness for about 5 years now, and
doesn't have any friends or family in the area for help. He was unaware about the incoming snowstorm or further drop in temperatures. He also expressed that he has worked with "all the agencies" in the area
(naming several), but that ultimately, even when he qualified for services, landlords wouldn't accept the
program. Jennifer asked if she could reach out to some agencies on his behalf, to try to find a warm, safe place for him to stay the next few days and Chris accepted. At about 8am, Jennifer called the KHDS Crisis line and asked who to best reach out to on this issue currently, and they suggested she call back after 9am and ask for the Housing department. Between 8 and 9am, Janet offered Chris a cup of coffee or tea to warm up, which he accepted. At 9am, Jennifer did this and after a bit of phone tag, got
connected with Toni. After speaking with Chris, Toni was able to connect him with a voucher for a motel, starting tomorrow midday through Tuesday. After he hung up, Jennifer also offered him a bus token, either to help get him to the motel or for another place to warm up in the meantime.

Join the Green Team!

Did you know?

• We purchase 100% wind power to electrify out buildings.
• We have converted every light fixture in our buildings to LED, drastically reducing our electric consumption.
• Our maintenance team collects our recycling and takes it out to the county recycling center.
• We recycle our printer cartridges.
• We don't use fertilizer, herbicides or pesticides on our lawns. We have learned to love the dandelions that the rabbits love.
• We're actively working on installing electric vehicle charging stations in our parking lots.

Love what you just read? Would you like to join a Green Team at the library? Our Green Team has been inactive for a while, but there's so much more to do! If you're interested in joining a newly formed team, check with your supervisor to see if they can spare you an hour per month to brainstorm how KPL can be better environmental stewards. If the answer is yes, let me know and we'll get started! Thanks!

Our license to CreativeBug will expire June 2023 and there's no intention of renewing- just an FYI.

Here's an interesting way to embed social workers from Everett, Washington- within the police department, fire department and library, all 3 because the same people tend to be seen by all 3. We are finding that our own social work student Savannah is making a great impact. Savanah will be with us until May 2023 and we've already told Carthage that we'll be grateful for another student when Savannah graduates. 

Many state legislatures are proposing legislation to control the collections of school and/or public libraries and it's more widespread than you think. Here's a list  from EveryLibrary, a nonprofit organization that works to provide referendum and marketing support for public libraries. In Wisconsin it seems to be critical race theory that is the point of contention. Locally, we continue to receive complaints from a small group of people who are opposed to our Big Read selection, Homegoing, characterizing it as "pornography."

This week's Bright Spot awards:

From Barb: The Southwest team for their fantastic displays! Truly, the tables and shelves we have going right now are a model to the library (and book retail) world of really enticing, creative ways to remind the public that they love books and movies and all the things the library has to take home. Outstanding job, everyone! Way to shine!

From Phillip: As the end of the year approaches, I wanted to acknowledge the staff that have been extra supportive of me during my transition into my new role.
Gina Williamson and Katie Engle:
In 3 months, Gina and Katie are two of the most supportive staff members I have ever had the pleasure of working with. The norm in which they operate is to offer unconditional support to whoever they are working with, patrons and staff alike, and their day-to-day humility when interacting with others is truly commendable. During the week that I was quarantined, I did not have access to my notary logbook, but had to submit notary stats for the Board packet. After trying to figure out how I could submit the stats from home, in the end, it was Katie and Gina who were willing to help me, and actually brought my logbook to me via curbside pickup, so that I could submit my statistics. It is ironic how a situation that was so stressful to me could be resolved with such empathy, that I was actually grateful for the experience. Their willingness to support their staff members in any way possible only speaks to their brilliance as individuals. What an honor it is to work with you!

Brandi Cummings, Betsy Leach, and Michaela Beltran:
December 5th was the first official time I had the chance to organize any type of event for a large number of people. When it comes to the planning aspect, none of it would be possible without the support of Brandi. There is not enough room on the page to describe how helpful Brandi is in all capacities of my role; all I can do is try to learn from her, I am very grateful. Michaela and Betsy, on the other hand, were the heroes when it came to helping me put all the various moving pieces together. Not only did they offer their assistance when it came to putting the packages together, but they were also a huge support in helping brainstorm designs for cards, and verify logistics like how many staff members KPL has, and which locations they typically work at, so I could deliver the packages to their rightful places.

Tara, Dina, Katy W, DJ, Amanda, Justin, Kimmy, Janice, Elliot, Susannah, and Janet all deserve recognition as well. They have all supported me in putting on this event at some point, or offered to be of assistance if needed, and in many ways it was thanks to them that the food deliveries were signed for and set up at each location. I hope I did not forget anyone! Thank you all!

Jeremy:
Can be an honorable mention, because I appreciate all the guidance I received from him in the short time we worked together.

Happy weekend, everyone!