News for the Week

In the news: 

Illinois Bans Book Bans from Governing Magazine.

Republican bill targets 'obscene' materials in Wisconsin school libraries | Wisconsin Public Radio

Here at KPL:

We've been talking about doing more data analysis for years to inform us on how the changes we make impact our library use, and how our services compare with libraries our size. Rob is very skilled at working with data, and he has generously agreed to dive into building us a data dashboard that answers a lot of our questions. To free up his time so he can focus on data, Facilities will come back under my wing with Dan Davis reporting directly to me. You'll see me out and about at various branches getting the lay of the land and building my understanding of our facilities challenges as we develop the 2024 budget. 

The Capital Campaign for the new library is going well. We received a $20,000 gift pledge from the Kloss Foundation and we've been contacted by several local businesses and foundations about additional gifts. If you know anyone in a position of leadership at local companies, we'd be grateful for an introduction. That's our best avenue to introducing the KL Kids @ Uptown project opportunity to potential community partners.

We have two new Board members! Victor Escobedo from Carthage College's Diversity Office and Sean McKim from KUSD will begin their terms at the July 13th meeting. We also have 3 applicants for Teen Board Liaison positions. These TBL's will not have voting rights, but will otherwise participate in Board meetings and on Board committees to hone their civic engagement skills.

We have preliminary sketches of the new children's library from the architect that we'll reveal at the 100 Extraordinary Women celebration event this coming Wednesday at Carthage College. Here's a picture of the bubble donor wall we've decided to use to list the names of everyone honored in that campaign. 

This week's Bright Spots go to:

Amy Rae, Luiza, and Alex S. for  their quick and compassionate response to a patron they found unresponsive at SW during closing. Excellent teamwork and a happy ending. You make us proud!

The entire YFS team for delivering an hour of intense happiness to hundreds of children and their caregivers at last Saturday's Bluey event. Particular praise goes to Hilary and Amy Rae who masterfully delighted their audience.