Congratulations to our Amazing Staff!

We're hiring! Our library system (KCLS) received a grant from the FCC to hire an Enrollment Guide for 20 hours per week @$25 per hour (contract employee, no benefits) for one year to enroll eligible community members in reduced cost Internet access programs. The Enrollment Guide will travel throughout Kenosha County and conduct enrollment events at libraries and community centers and at community events. The job ad will go out soon, so if you know someone who loves people, is an independent self-starter, and is pretty tech savvy, please encourage them to apply.

Great read to remind us why reading is so important to our psyches: " The Importance of the Coming of Age Novel" from The Atlantic

Congratulations to Kahlil, and Amy Rae for being chosen to participate in the WLA (Wisconsin Library Assn.) Leadership Institute! You are both already wonderful leaders. We look forward to hearing about what you learn.
Congratulations to Kahlil for being chosen as the chair of WLA's Support Staff and Circulation Services Committee and to Heather for her appointment as WAPL (Wisconsin Assn. of Public Libraries) Board Chair! The Wisconsin library community is lucky to have you.

Congratulations to Linda who has been chosen to serve as a mentor to new ALA members,

Last Thursday some of us met with Baker Street Consulting to hear about the capital campaign to raise money for the new Children's Library. (watch the recording here- the sound isn't perfect, but there's lots of good info. It's 30 minutes long so you might want to watch in chunks.) Baker Street will be helping us with big gifts from wealthy individuals, foundations, and corporations. One of the components of the overall campaign is 100 Extraordinary Women which aims to raise the first $100,000 from women in honor of women. People can give to either campaign. Here are a few really important points to help you answer questions from the public:

• Checks to the campaign should be made out to the Kenosha Public Library Foundation (not the library)
• Our total goal is $1 million which will help us build a terrific facility and establish an endowment fund to be sure the library is funded well going forward.
• The new library is funded by federal pandemic relief grants and private donations. The city is not contributing to this project- no local tax money to build the library.
• The KPL Foundation is paying for the consultant services. 
• This library is a response to a literacy crisis in Kenosha. Only 27% of all our 3rd graders are reading at a 3rd grade level. This must improve if we want to have a viable economy and a safe community. The library is taking a lead on this recovery effort. 

Some video of the new space construction! Very exciting!

This week's Bright Spot goes to Jason . Here's the nomination from Brandi: "We would like to nominate Jason for a bright spot. As we know storage has been a bit tight and Jason turned an underutilized space into a dream. Both CPP and YFS are thrilled with the result!
Look how beautiful the second closet in the team space turned out! "

Happy snow/sleet weekend, everyone! Let's all hope this is the last of Old Man Winter!
Barb

Shredding, book banning, and lots of Bright Spots

 

Students across the country are voicing their opinions on removing books from libraries. This is a terrific video from a group of high school students who started their own Banned Books Club. If the majority of 16-18 year olds are this poised, thoughtful, and articulate, this world has a very promising future!

Congratulations to Zander for his new gig hosting WGTD’s Community Matters program! We look forward to lots of interesting programs! The debut edition talks about the digital divide and how Kenosha's fiber project could help.

The next city shredding event is at NS and SW on Saturday March 25th, 9am-1pm.

Please join us at SW at noon on March 16th to meet our fundraising consultant Jim Radford and hear about the children's library project and our Foundation's fundraising efforts. Bring your brown bag lunch. We'll provide cookies and drinks. We'll record the event if you can't make it, but we sure would love to see you in person and virtual cookies aren't a reality yet :) Rob is working on it!

Multiple Bright Spot nominations this week:

From Brandi:

This week, I'd like to nominate Katie and Karlie for a bright spot.
Today we had a rocky start at SW. We lost power briefly, which caused the AMH to be reset. Karlie let Michelle and me know that we were unexpectedly missing an opener, so we attempted to spring into action - thank goodness Katie came in at 8:30! Katie was able to direct us to what opening tasks were needed. At the same time, she handled the cash drawer, and Karlie took charge of the things that were intimidating to those who weren't trained in circ opening, all while answering our questions and reassuring us that we were doing the right thing. (It's been a while since I've had to pack a delivery bin - so many slips and options!) Phillip jumped in when he arrived and helped staff the circ desk. A brief 23 minutes later, you would have never known there was an issue. Katie and Karlie took another look at the AMH and worked their magic to get it up and running. What a great example of leadership and positivity as we navigated a choppy start on this snowy morning with a bunch of laughter and smiling, helpful faces."


From Kimmy,"I'd like to nominate Eric for a bright spot because he was wiping off the snow off the staff's personal cars last night right as we were closing at Northside. It was greatly appreciated and we were all able to leave fairly quickly once we got to our cars after closing the building for the night."

From Barb:

Awe inspired gratitude to the SW YFS Team for thoughtfully offering Ukranian building blocks to a young family torn from their country by a senseless war and longing for home. The joy you bring this community and all who visit is endless!

Happy snowy weekend, everyone! The tulips will be up soon!

Barb

Northside Carpeting

The hum of machines has ceased,

And the Southwest Library is at peace,

With its fresh, new carpet underfoot,

It's time to move to the next pursuit.

Now the Northside Library takes the lead,

A new project to fulfill their need,

With the same passion and dedication,

The workers start their new formation.

-Written by ChatGPT

As you can see, there will be 3 phases to the project, with the west side of the building being completed first, then the east, and finally, Main Street. The timeline is still in the works; however, here is a rough draft of what we expect.

• Now to Late April:
• Walk through with carpet and shelf mover contractors on the final details of what's going where
• Maint Team: Remove short shelving on the West side
• Maint Team: Move the teen shelving to the East
• Branch Team: Move tables & chairs
• Shipping of new desk, computer table, and print release station table
• May 1: West side gets new carpet (Phase 1)
• May 5 to 8:
• Maint Team & CNS: Move computers to new desks on the west side
• Shelf Movers: Move old "Teen stacks" to the west side
• Shelf Movers: Move stacks from the east side to the center
• May 9: East Side gets new carpet (Phase 2)
• May 16: Shelf Movers: Move stacks in the center to the east side
• May 17: Main Street laminate flooring (Phase 3)
• May 25 & 26:
• Maint Team: New circulation desk installed
• CNS: Move print release and copy stations
• Maint Team: Removal of the old service desk
• Shelf Movers: Final shelving moves

DEI Efforts at KPL Plus SI Bookdrop News

United Way of Kenosha selected our very own Kahlil Griffin as their 2022 Volunteer of the Year! Our amazing staff continues to shine! Congratulations, Kahlil! We're so proud!

Here at KPL we talk a lot about diversity, equity and inclusion. Some of our efforts are very visible, and some are not. Here's something you might not know about how we strive to contribute to a better world:
Our Amazon Business account is now configured to prioritize organizations selling on Amazon that are,in no particular order:
Located in WI;
Veteran Owned;
Women Owned;
PoC Owned;
Native American Owned;
Apart of AbilityOne; or
Have climate-friendly practices.

OTHER NEWS

I know you're getting questions from the public about when we will replace the Simmons book drop that got wiped out by the city snowplow. Looks like that unit will finally ship to us at the end of next week, just in time for the spring thaw. We'll get it installed as soon after that as we can.

Also in Simmons news, the air conditioner replacement project that we've been waiting to do for 2 years will finally happen this spring. Camosy should have that unit by the end of March. We'll try very hard to get it installed before the summer heat is upon us.

Our 100 Extraordinary Women campaign is underway! Thanks to all of you who have stepped forward with pledges to honor the women in your life. Giving is easy. For less than $18 per month over 5 years you can add the name of a remarkable woman to the wall of the new Children's Library. If you need some inspiration, take a look at the this play/learning area crafted by Luci Creative. We are talking with them about participating in the design of the new library. Can you even imagine the joy we would bring to Kenosha's kids? For a pledge form, see Brandi. And please spread the word!

Congratulations to the entire Southwest team for the remarkable carpeting project! What a makeover for our worn flooring! We're ahead of schedule, so we'll return to normal hours @SW beginning next Wednesday. Huge thank yous and loads of praise for Shannon and her wonderful team, our top-notch Maintenance crew, Rob, Aaron, Brandi, Katie E. , everybody! You all made this such a smooth and successful project. I am in awe. Bravo!

Northside is next. We'll begin the carpet replacement mid-May. Stay tuned for more details as we get closer.

Big Thanks to Aaron for our beautifully designed t-shirts! We wear them with pride. You are the master of graphic design!