Happy National Library Week!

National Library Week events

Monday, April 24: Right to Read Day, a day for readers, advocates, and library lovers to take action to protect, defend, and celebrate the right to read. State of America's Libraries Report released.
Tuesday, April 25: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators, and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
Wednesday, April 26: National Library Outreach Day (formerly National Bookmobile Day), a day to celebrate library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are.
Thursday, April 27: Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to rally advocates to support libraries.

This past Monday at the Kenosha Common Council, they passed a Resolution by Principal Sponsor Alderperson Brandi Ferree to Declare April 17, 2023 as Library Workers and Librarians Day. Co-Sponsors to the resolution were added - Alderpersons Michalski, Wilson, Siel, Kangas, LaMacchia and Kennedy. Please reach out to your alderperson to thank them for recognizing the importance of the work you do!

Welcome back to Katie Meeker! It's great to have you back !

Congratulations to Megan on her appointment to the virtual YALSA Hub Advisory Committee! This is a great honor and we are so proud of you! 

Congratulations also to Linda who was selected as Co-Chair of the PLA Committee on Family Engagement! What a terrific honor! I know you'll do amazing work!

I noticed on Wednesday that a person came into the SW library with a small dog on a leash. The dog was not marked as a service dog. This reminds me that we haven't talked about service animals for a while, and some of you may not be aware of what we can and cannot ask. Here's what the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will allow:

When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.

More info here.

We've collected 72 gifts toward our 100 Extraordinary Women goal! Looks like we'll reach our target and then some. Thanks to everyone who has committed to supporting the new children's library! We are grateful for your support.

Today we had a chance to tour the shell of the new library with Joe and Kristin, our two architects from Engberg Anderson. There isn't much there yet- they were framing in the front windows and a little plumbing was already installed. In the meantime, we're hashing out the design of the inside so we can get the engineers a framework to consider. 

The Simmons air conditioner work continues next week as they install the new unit upstairs. So far, no interruption to public service.

A nod to our work from Common Council

Congrats to Shannon and Jessica on their poster sessions at ALA! Having your poster session get accepted at a national conference is a a really big deal and we are so proud of you both!

Congratulations to Luiza for landing a GIS internship with the city's Community Development department!

Alderperson Brandi Ferree has sponsored a resolution to declare April 17th Library Worker Day in Kenosha. When I reached out to thank her, she replied this way:
You're very welcome! The resolution also recognizes Librarian Day as well. I appreciate you and your staff's dedication to making reading accessible to all, and also for all the resources that are offered to the community through the Libraries!

Best regards,
Brandi

If you read the April board packet, you're up to speed on our building projects. Here's a recap:

• On Monday we begin the air conditioner replacement at Simmons. There will be no interruption to patron service. The back terrace and the east side of the terrace will be closed off for safety purposes. We don't expect the noise to be disruptive. This project involves removing and replacing an historical window, so the project is expected to last 6 weeks.
• Our grant application to the National Endowment for the Humanities has been drafted and reviewed positively by NEH. The final version will be submitted mid-May.
• Our children's library is coming along. The architect is meeting with the YFS team once a week to brainstorm the design of the interior. 
• Our fundraising efforts for the new library are going very well. We're over halfway to our goal for the 100 Extraordinary Women campaign. 

Joe Huberty from Engberg Anderson, our architect for the Children's Library, will be on site next Friday. He and another architect will tour NS, the new UPT space, and SW. 

We had hoped to work with an additional vendor on children's museum- type interactive displays at the new library but the city's procurement rules don't align with their business model. That's disappointing, but not to worry- our architect is quite good at building these things, too.

We're hiring a summer intern for YFS to help over the busy summer program months while Tessa is on maternity leave. We're also hiring for an Enrollment Guide to help people sign up for reduced cost Internet plans. That position is funded through DPI. A third position is an internship also funded through DPI to inspire high school students from diverse backgrounds to consider librarianship as a profession.

This week's Bright Spot nominations come from Heather, Elliott, and Linda:

"Amy Rae and Justin are not just bright spots to us, but also to the kids they serve! Two weeks ago, a tween looking for AR said that "Miss Amy Rae is my good friend," and today, a young boy wanted to say hi to Justin because "Justin is my best friend. He helped me check out books." Thank you to AR and Justin for being so approachable and kind with our young patrons! You're clearly making a lasting impact." Heather

"I just want to brag about Jessica a little bit - Big congrats to her on getting her poster accepted to ALA Annual! All of her amazing work on these reels has been really paying off both in terms of our own library marketing and now in terms of professional development. So proud of her for this and fingers crossed that her other presentation applications go just as well!" Elliott

"Although I was only at NS this week for a handful of hours, I was impressed by their preserving teamwork. As each team member did their tasks (whether weeding, packing or shifting for the up and coming reno, attending to delivery, or helping patrons) they supported each other. NS continues to be a place that I always feel welcome and look forward to returning to each week. Thank you NS team for being you!" Linda

Presidential Ribbon Cutting?

Quote of the week:  “Our nation was founded on the free exchange of ideas, and banning books you disagree with is a direct attack on our most basic liberties.” (attributed to attorney who won a case in Texas to restore banned books to the shelves.)

The Big Read kicked off this week with back to back blow-you-away programs. The UW Parkside clinical psych department started us off by analyzing Homegoing from a trauma perspective. This chart is not only a great guide to the characters in the book, but the traumas suffered by each character. For those of you attempting to navigate the multiple character relationships or for those of  you(like me) that need a refresher to a who's who or if you're leading a book talk, this chart is a great tool. 

Mayor Antaramian went to Washington last week and invited President Biden to the ribbon cutting for our new Children's Library. No word on whether he will attend, but hey- it's pretty cool to think about, eh?

And speaking of the new library, fundraising is going very well. We've already received 49 pledges to the 100 Extraordinary Women campaign and the Steering Committee for the capital campaign now sits at 11 members! Our architect's contract has passed the city attorney's scrutiny and will be signed by the Board on Tuesday. The contract will also need to be signed by Common Council and is scheduled on the April 17th agenda.

Simmons book drop update: New shipping date to Simmons in April 17th. Please continue to assure people that it will be replaced by early summer.

A couple summers back we had a man living in his car at SW with a small dog. He wouldn't go to shelter because he wouldn't leave the dog. We have a new contact for such situations. Noah's Rest in Zion will foster pets for people experiencing homelessness or people experiencing domestic violence until the person is back on their feet.

This week's Bright Spot goes to the YFS team for bringing their enthusiasm and brilliance to the table as we design the extraordinary new Children's Library!

Happy Easter, and chag sameach! Enjoy the festivities!

Barb

Northside Carpeting Update

There is a small scope change with the Northside Library Carpet Replacement project; we are now doing all of the adult stacks section. This will give a nice refresh to the library and keep the carpet more uniform throughout. Below is an image to help identify the sections that will be worked on, and a timeline of the happenings.  

May 1 to 3: The carpet will be replaced in Section 1

May 4: Computers and other equipment will be moved from Section 2 to Section 1

May 5: The stacks in Section 3 will be moved to Sections 1 and 2

May 8 to 11: The carpet in Section 3 will be replaced

May 12: The stacks in Section 4 will be moved to Section 3

May 15 to 17: The carpet in Section 4 will be replaced

May 18 & 19: The stacks in Sections 1, 2, and 3 will be moved to their new locations

May 22 to 25: The Laminate flooring (LVD) will be installed in Section 2

May 26: Final stack moves, new service desk install, and removal of the old service desk

A couple of things to remember: 

• The library will open to the public at 3 pm.
• No curbside service will be available during the closed time. 
• Brandi will provide signs to be used during the construction with the hours.
• Even though we should be finished by May 26, we will be telling patrons by the end of the month. Unforeseen circumstances can delay the project, and it's better to re-open to the public ahead of schedule than later.