KPL STAFF BLOG FINAL EDITION

Thanks to Jason Rimkus for taking four hours of Opening Day footage and crafting a lovely 10 minute video. Bravo!

This week's Bright Spot nominations are extra special to me, as they are symbolic of what a wonderful staff KPL has and how lucky I have been to work with you all these past ten years. Don't ever lose sight of your true purpose or the extraordinary joy you bring to your community. I am so proud to have been part of this team and I wish you all the very best in your personal and professional lives. 

This week's Bright Spots:

 From Patty with an enthusiastic second from Jennifer K:

"I would like to nominate Donna Hermann for a "Bright Spot Award". Her dedication and commitment to everything she does as an Inventory Control Specialist at KPL are readily apparent. Watching her in action in the workroom makes me think of the Energizer Bunny. Donna contributes to making the Northside neighborhood library attractive and collections well organized for patrons. Her attention to detail is demonstrated by noticing occasional irregularities with labels and making inquiries, in case corrections are necessary. Donna also readily shares knowledge and IC tips and tricks with her team members and staff from other departments. We appreciate what she does for everyone!"

From Jennifer :
"I received a voicemail last week from a patron about Daisy's exceptional assistance and I think it needs to be shared. I had intended to pull out a few quotes to share, as the voicemail was over 2 minutes long, but I just couldn't do it. We so rarely get to hear about how much our service means to individuals in our community. So here is the text from her message:

Hi, my name is ---------------- and I was at the library and you have a young lady there named Daisy and you have a couple of ladies that's at the desk. I work more, Daisy work more with me than with them but they are great ladies. The reason why I call to tell you that is because, ma 'am, I have disability and I don't always know the computers and stuff, and this young lady got more patience than my own children to help me. She's such a beautiful, beautiful young lady, I just want to cry, because I never had a people like her and some of the rest of them up in there. Nobody took the time to show me that much favor, but she did. And I'm going to thank God for her and I want to thank you all for her for this being such a great blessing to me. When you realize that you got somebody who will help you and don't take advantage of you, it means the world to me. It means been struggling for a while but every time she stopped what she doing and she come and help me and some of the rest of them as well but I've worked more with Daisy so I just wanted to know her and her was the greatest greatest thing you could have did for some of us who have challenges and she tried to teach me how to do stuff so that I can learn myself. Even though I get it wrong, she helped me correct it and challenged me to try to do stuff myself and don't just rely on her all the time to do it for me. But she does it and she has patience to do it for me. So it warms my heart and I want you to know she's a jewel. She's such a jewel and thank you for hiring her. God bless you."

So that's all from me.

I wish you all the very best in whatever you choose to do. 

And whenever you face adversity, Stand Tall and Do the Next Right Thing!

With great affection, 

Barb

GRAND OPENING SATURDAY!

We did it! We built a children's library! Now we get to show all the children what we've created for them. Opening Day this Saturday July 13th from 12-4pm. Address is 6204 22nd Ave. in case anyone asks. Parking is mostly in the back lot and it's ok to park in the KELA parking lot, as well. Entrance through the front (22nd Ave) south door. 

This new location is open 7 days a week starting Saturday. 

M-F 9am-6pm

Sat and Sun 12-4pm

The first kids to try it out gave us rave reviews. Staff kids are the best kids!

This week's Bright Spot nominations:

From Emily: 

"I got to Pride Fest on Saturday just as the bookmobile pulled up and saw the KPL crew save the day! The organizer ran up in a panic because the performers had forgotten their books for Drag Queen Storytime! Zander, Elliott, Aliyah and Kristen quickly pulled some fabulous titles for them and the show went on. Great job team!"

Colorado Bound this September

I have a little announcement- something you might have already heard. My post-retirement is going to be more like a semi-retirement. It's a good way for this high-wired gal to slow down but still stay involved in a profession I truly love. And it's a way for me to go home to the mountains.

I'm moving back to Colorado, back to the San Juan Mountains where I spent eight years before coming to KPL. I've taken a job as the director of a tiny library in a mountain town called Pagosa Springs where they are adding two wings to their small library- one for a program room and one for a children's room. There are only eight employees, only a couple full time. I'll be a jack of all trades- a tech person, the HR person, a CSS and an ICS. I'll help weed the children's garden and probably even help clear snow.

Pagosa is surrounded by national forest and sits on top of geothermal hot springs. In fact, the library is heated by geothermal. It's a place where elk and deer are everywhere and bears lumber through town at will. The Wolf Creek ski resort just north gets 400+ inches of snow and the New Mexico desert is just 35 miles to the south. In fact, the kids just over the border come to school in Pagosa.

I hope if you ever get to the Pagosa area you'll stop in and say hello. I'll be glad to see you! 

Barb

A Party to Remember

Our Donors and Dignitaries event at the new kids library was a great party with rousing applause at the idea of better funding for libraries and more than 100 people grinning from ear to ear as they toured what will surely be known across the county as the premier place for kids to be. So many of you worked so hard to make this a reality. Some of you were there at the very beginning when we sat down with a skeptical mayor and sketched out what the space would look like. Some of you came in later when you brainstormed the programs and services a new space could support. Some of you asked your friends and family to donate, some of you donated yourselves. Hours were spent reviewing key locks and electrical outlets, fabrics and countertops.  Hundreds of books were selected, processed, and delivered to the new library.  When the space came together and the shelves needed filled, a few of you came out on a holiday to do just that. And on the day of the party, everyone had a dust cloth or a mop in hand.
This is all to say that every one of you is part of this amazing success. Each one of you contributed something to this new library and we ALL can be proud of the results. If you haven't been out lately, make sure you schedule some time to see the finished product before opening day- check with Heather about when staff will be on site.
July 13th will be here before you know it! Here's to the newest addition to KPL!

This week's Bright Spot nomination comes from Brandi:

"Elliott is consistently offering support wherever it is needed and often without anyone prompting them. I love watching them solve problems, meet our teens with compassion and guidance, and delve deeper into their love of libraries. Today especially, Elliott was amazingly helpful. I had given a group a task that would have been done in the garage. They realized that with the high temps we were experiencing the garage would be a poor workplace and decided to move the project into the teen space so that the team could work comfortably and efficiently. I was relieved when their email came through with instructions for the team - especially for a problem I hadn't anticipated. Thanks for being a rockstar, Elliott!"

I'm heading out west for a couple of days. I'll be back in the office next Thursday. Happy week ahead!

Barb

Almost ready for opening day!

 It's been a long road from this

To this

but Opening Day is coming up quick! Ribbon cutting with dignitaries and donors on June 20th at 1pm. 

Bright Spot Nominations this week:

From Lisa Langsdorf:

I would like to nominate Aaron Gundersen.
No matter what I request, no matter how short the turn around time, or how many tiny (important only to me) changes I request, Aaron is always cheerfully willing to try his best to help us out. Being in OPE I never need the same thing twice, but everything needs to be tweaked for the specific school/grade/audience. Aaron has always been there to support us. I often tell him he is a "rock star", because he makes my job easier, knowing he won't say "NO", but cheerfully says, "no problem".

AND

I would like to nominate Dan Sommerfeld for a bright spot. Dan is always willing to lend a hand and help out wherever needed. During the OPE shutdown, Dan has been busy supporting the Youth OPE programming. From making sure the new technology for storytimes is going to work, cutting endless amounts of circles, rolling hundreds of newspaper tubes, bringing along the best "play" choices for the events, and fearlessly driving the bkm and bk truck down the narrow car lined streets to events. (sometimes I just close my eyes...) He is always a joy to work with.


From Kristen S:
"Patty, Cathy, and Daisy went above and beyond last night (6/12) for one of my Home Delivery patrons. The patron selects her own holds and is new to the program, so she did not have any items on hold to deliver today. When she called in with requests last night, she was worried about not receiving anything, so the NS closing crew scrambled in the last half hour to pull items for her and get them over to me in OPE. It is much appreciated that they did this because I didn't need to search first thing in the morning while preparing to leave for my deliveries. And I know my patron appreciated the effort too. THANK YOU! - Kristen"

Reminder that we are closed June 19th in honor of Juneteenth. It is sobering to think that not long ago so many of us would have been in bondage.  Read the fascinating history behind this important holiday and take a moment or two to give thanks for the freedom we should never take for granted.

Baby Bunny Rescue, AI, and the reopening of SImmons on Saturday

SIMMONS REOPENS SATURDAY NORMAL HOURS

The bed bug scare at Simmons turned out to be very minor. The exterminator found 2 dead bugs in the kids area, nowhere else. We had the entire building treated and will follow up with a second treatment in a couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone for their flexibility and for welcoming SI staff at other branches during the closure. Special thanks to Jason who coordinated everything in Dan's absence.

City sponsored shredding events at NS and SW parking lots are scheduled on Saturday June 22nd,  9am-1pm

We have a regular board meeting at Southwest on Tuesday evening at 5:30pm. Rob and Zander will be presenting on Artificial Intelligence to prep the board for a future AI policy they are writing. If you can come, please do. If not, I'll ask them to present the same program for the staff sometime in the near future.

We'll start stocking the shelves at the new kids library this coming Tuesday. We'll also host UW Madison's Literacy Lab staff to talk to us about how they detect learning disabilities in young children and how those early disabilities can be offset through parent education.

This weeks Bright Spot nominations come from Patty:

Brent and Max, our amazing Network Administrators
Members of our Sister Cities Association and I would like to express appreciation to Brent and Max for working their "IT magic" by bringing in equipment and creating a 24/7 slideshow presentation (of at least 100 still images) inside the Northside lobby display case. The colorful and informative June exhibit celebrates the City of Kenosha's over 50 year relationship with Wolfenbüttel, Germany. Their project certainly enhances the impact of the installation.

Cathy, Customer Service Specialist
Throughout a recent evening at Northside, Cathy periodically worked with an older gentleman who was learning about, and navigating through, an onboarding platform. He had a smartphone, but was unfamiliar with using a mouse and had not previously received basic computer skills training. With patience, empathy, and humor she checked on his progress, helped guide him through the arduous process, and he accomplished the task as a new employee.


Jeff, Building Maintenance
While leaving Northside one evening, I saw an isolated and disoriented baby cottontail sitting in the parking lot near the driveway entrance. It had fur but its eyes were closed (7-10 days old?) and had difficulty moving toward the lawn. Several patrons saw me guarding it; one scooped it up (cradled in grass) and set it down, out of sight, under a nearby shrub (no nest was located). The next morning before opening, Jeff found it on the lawn, brought it inside, dried it with a towel and placed it in a box, called a local organization for guidance, and gave it some milk & cream, and a bit of honey, which appeared to revive it. Sadly, this little kit did not survive but it spent its last hours in a warm, safe, and quiet place, away from vehicles or predators. Jeff went above and beyond to help local wildlife. His actions exemplify the compassion and care with which he takes care of us and performs his maintenance responsibilities.

Thank you, Mrs. Long

 As I near my retirement, I'm cleaning out old files. Several years ago I came upon this poem, a thank you note to Mrs. Long, the librarian who nurtured a child's imagination. 

This poem reminds us that despite being a symbol of intellectual freedom, the public library has its own checkered past and it hasn't been that long since a black child could not attend a white library.  I hope it also inspires you to be brave when people are counting on you to stand up for the right to read.

Enjoy.

A POEM FOR MY LIBRARIAN, MRS. LONG
(You never know what troubled little girl needs a book)

At a time when there was not tv before 3:00 P.M.
And on Sunday none until 5:00
We sat on the front porches watching
The jfg sign go on and off greeting

The neighbors, discussion the political
Situation congratulating the preacher
On his sermon
There was always the radio which brought us

Songs from wlac in nashville and what we would now call
Easy listening or smooth jazz but when I listened
Late at night with my portable (that I was so proud of)
Tucked under my pillow

I heard nat king cole and matt dennis, june christy and ella fitzgerald
And sometimes sarah vaughan sing black coffee
Which I now drink
It was just called music There was a bookstore uptown on gay street Which I visited and inhaled that wonderful odor Of new books Even today I read hardcover as a preference paperback only

As a last resort
And up the hill on vine street
(The main black corridor) sat our carnegie library
Mrs. Long always glad to see you

The stereoscope always ready to show you faraway
Places to dream about
Mrs. Long asking what are you looking for today
When I wanted Leaves of Grass or alfred north whitehead

She would go to the big library uptown and I now know
Hat in hand to ask to borrow so that I might borrow
Probably they said something humiliating since southern
Whites like to humiliate southern blacks

But she nonetheless brought the books
Back and I held them to my chest
Close to my heart
And happily skipped back to grandmother’s house

Where I would sit on the front porch
In a gray glider and dream of a world
Far away
I love the world where I was

I was safe and warm and grandmother gave me neck kissed
When I was on my way to bed
But there was a world
Somewhere
Out there
And Mrs. Long opened that wardrobe
But no lions or witches scared me
I went through

Knowing there would be
Spring

It just keeps getting cuter

 

The furniture is installed! The car is here! 

Tomorrow we will get 15+ volunteers to stuff backpacks for the grand opening and property mark all those little pieces and parts in the toy collections. 

Amid all this happy news, we had some tragic news. Our hearts go out to Dan who lost his father this week. Many thanks, as always, to Jason for filling in as the department lead during Dan's absence.

I'll be out of the library on Monday. Brandi will be in, so she is in charge. Have a lovely sunny weekend, everyone!

News for the week

Here's what's happening:

Many of you know Atifa Robinson, our Library Board Vice President. Atifa has been hired as the first Director for the Kenosha Emerging Leaders Academy, our neighbor at the new kids library. We'll be working closely with Atifa to make sure kids of multiple ages get the most from both of our facilities.

The furniture has arrived for the new kids library and there is so much of it that it will take the installers till the end of next week to assemble it all. Furniture includes the car structure kids can play on, learning panels, a learning desk, the tree branches, and the flying geese mobile.

Shelving is also being installed and we'll welcome a United Way volunteer team to load the shelves with the books we've purchased on Saturday, June 1st.

The job ad for a new Director is now live! We will be accepting applications through July 7th and interviews will be scheduled late summer. Brandi will be your Interim Director after my last day, August 2nd.

We didn't get a quorum for out previously scheduled May board meeting, so we've scheduled a make-up meeting this coming Tuesday at SW in the story time room, 5:30pm. Everyone is welcome.

The KPL Summer  Program kickoff event is next Friday in the SW parking lot , 6-9pm with a pop-up book sale included. Should be a great time!

New Bright Spots

From Jennifer:

First and foremost, I want to thank the Northside team who stretched every which way for two maternity leaves. 3 months can feel like ages when things feel off-kilter, and they've done such a wonderful job. I also want to especially call out Patty and Janet, as I've heard now from multiple people about how they stepped up their leadership in my absence.

Secondly, I want to thank everyone who helped support the Northside team in my absence! It can be a lot to ask someone to switch up their schedules in weird ways, especially when it also includes going into a space with people they aren't used to working so closely with and in a space they are less familiar with. 

Thank you to Michelle who has been flexing those HR muscles! Both in helping me to navigate the craziness of FMLA, and in taking the time to be a presence for my team in my absence. 

Thank you to Tessa and Hilary! I'm typically unable to attend Storytimes because they are scheduled during my work hours, but it was such a joy to be able to see you both in your element when I had the opportunity to bring Parker to attend. Not to mention you both tuckered him out and gave me some excellent baby naps to enjoy!

Thank you also to Marcia, who led such a kind welcome back and offered so much support this week while I have navigated the anxieties of leaving a fresh little one with other caregivers. 

Words of encouragement and Lots of team love

What happened yesterday at Simmons was terrifying. I have witnessed fights between gangs with baseball bats in staff parking lots, intentional fires, constant gang-related graffiti tagging of library property, and dozens of angry unreasonable patrons in my long career. I've had guys with long bowie knives on their belts corner me in my office. I have been personally threatened and so have my children.  I had a man tell me he killed his father and would be pleased to do the same to me. But I have never seen a patron physically attack a staff member. 

Mental illness is a big problem and as public servants we see evidence of it everyday. I cannot tell you that we won't ever be threatened again, but I can promise you that we will do everything we can to keep you safe while keeping the library open and accessible to the community. Sometimes that's a difficult balance. Everyone has the right to use the library as a publically funded institution. Until they break the rules, we can't keep them out and even if they do break the rules, we need to be very careful about responding in a legally reasonable manner. In this case, the law is clear.

The man who attacked us yesterday has been charged with a felony. Battery is not always a felony  charge, but attacking a public employee is an automatic felony. That means he will serve time and he will get mental illness treatment. And the judge will ban him from visiting us for a very long time. 

I know many of you are rattled by this incident, and I can't blame you. You signed up to help people, not be hurt by them. I can't tell you what's right for you, but I hope you'll stay and have a long career in public libraries the way I have. Because for all the stories I can tell you about the people who were scary, I can tell you a thousand about the people whose lives I changed for the better by the work I've done in public libraries. You all have good hearts and that's why you chose public service. You want to help people. Stay. Help them. We'll do our very, very best to make your decision the best one you ever made.

Bright spot nomination from Zander: "I'd like to nominate Michaela in OPE and Aaron in the Marketing team for a Bright Spot.
Jason Rimkus with KCM asked if he could do a film program/presentation for May the Fourth last week. I said it sounded like a good idea and I'll see what we can do. I talked with Michaela who loved the idea and let me know exactly what information she needs to create and promote an event with a short turnaround time. Aaron also jumped in and was able to create a great image for the event on short notice. Event link is below.

Star Wars: How Did They Film That?

From Barb:
I nominate Phillip for his willingness to fill shifts at Simmons in support of their staffing needs. Thanks for always being so helpful!

From Karen:

"Thank you YFS staff!! You are the best!! I appreciate each of you for all the different talents you bring to our team! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

Thank you Hilary for the book recommendation for my grandson. He is a reluctant reader and it's hard to find him something that he wants to read. Thank you so much!!

Thank you Lisa Rivers for your storytime book and music suggestions. The families really loved everything. Thank you so much!!!

Thank you Shawn for your help with the Sheep to Sweater program. The kids loved carding the wool and making beads. Thank you!!

Thank you Amy Rae for taking time out of your busy day to create a Star Wars scavenger hunt for me to put up on May 4th. Looking forward to kids and adults participating in this one. Thank you!!

Thank you Jessica for bringing in your spinning wheel to the Sheep to Sweater program. The kids really thought it was great to see and they loved being able to ask you questions. Thank you!!

Looks like it's finally going to get warm tomorrow! Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

Barb

Kids Library Updated Schedule

First off, best of luck to the KPL Book Jockeys tonight at the Battle of the Bookworms! I know you will make us proud and Nancy, Atifa and I will be there to cheer you on!

Second, I talked with a staff member at Carthage who simply gushed over our libraries. He kept talking and talking with an animated expression about the layout changes, the obvious way we are attracting people you didn't see in our libraries 5 years ago, the staff picks displays that have him reading the most delightful graphic novels he would never have considered, but most of all he talked about YOU. Our libraries are warm, he says, because you make him feel so welcome. How lucky I am to work with all of you!

The Kids Library is really coming along, and by the end of next week it's going to be much closer to ready for furniture and shelving.  Here's what happens next week:

• carpeting in the staff offices
• anti-static floor treatments in the electrical and data rooms
• rubber flooring in the public areas
• cabinetry installed
• countertops installed
• backsplashes installed
• temporary lighting (selected fixtures will take a few more weeks to arrive
• data cabling installed
• washer and dryer installed

With the flooring installed, we'll be ready for the staff furniture to arrive first. Then comes shelving and furniture for the rest of the spaces. Rob will be able to set up and test our tech equipment. Then the AMH and security gates can be installed.

Construction is officially over  and inspected by June 1, which means we get a certificate of occupancy, allowing staff to work inside the space. Hiring for additional staff is going well.  There will be 6 total new faces. They will in just a few weeks to be sure they receive all the training they need to do a great job on opening day. OPENING DAY REMAINS JULY 13th noon-4pm.

Fundraising is going well. We're close to $1.8 million with a $32,000 gain this week. On May 16th we will hold a special event in the new space to hopefully entice a few more donations.

This announcement through WLA: Great Lakes, Great Read - Big Announcement Coming Soon!

Books Announcement & Website Launch Earth Day – April 22, 2024   The Great Lakes, Great Read program will officially launch with the announcement of our selected titles on Earth Day, April 22, 2024.    Two books, one for adults and one for children, with themes related to the Great Lakes watershed will be announced. All Wisconsinites are encouraged to read these titles, and we also encourage our library colleagues around the state to engage your residents through book discussions and related activities.   Watch your email inbox and the WLA website for a special Earth Day announcement - or sign up for our email list to be the first to hear the good news! This week's Bright Spots: The entire YFS team for all the work they are doing to plan for the new Uptown Children's Library! Megan for her efforts to expand the Great Stories Club for teens to our middle schools. Outreach for always finding a way to squeeze one more community event into their schedule. Northside for their team effort making things work with two staff members on maternity leave. Justin for confidently leading the Simmons staff through multiple encounters with challenging patrons. Rob for leading us through the complicated tech decisions in the new kids library construction. Phillip for splitting his time between admin and Outreach. The KPL Book Jockeys for their immense courage Michelle for finding us new talent for YFS and constructing an excellent training plan. Jeremy for getting those banners hung! To the maintenance team for hauling the new appliances to the construction site. Katie S. for learning something new every day and quickly mastering it. Brandi for inspiring community members to give $30,000 gifts. For the appetizer cooks- thanks for treating us! Keep those nominations coming! I know there are dozens of superstars every day. Please tell us about them! Have a great weekend, everyone! Barb

Happy National Library Week!

Our assistant state superintendent of education, Dr. Darrell Williams, wrote a lovely letter expressing his admiration and gratitude for school and public librarians in honor of National Library Week. It's always nice to be recognized as a public servant. Sometimes I know you feel like your work isn't important or all your efforts don't make much difference. You would be wrong on both counts. Your work is important and none of your efforts are wasted. You change lives for the better every single day! Know how important each of you are to everyone else at KPL and to everyone who walks through our doors. You are the reason KPL is a great library. Never forget it!

This week's Bright Spot nominations:

From Emily:
"I'd like to nominate Kristen from Outreach for a bright spot this week. During Call-In Book Club, one of my regulars Sue, who lives at an assisted living facility Outreach visits and a big film buff, had this to say:

"Your home delivery system for DVDs is so great! I love seeing Kristen every time she comes! Last time she even put eclipse glasses in with my movies. She is so thoughtful!"
All my seniors in book club love Kristen and the Outreach team! They tell me every month. Way to go!!!"

National Library Week 2024!

Happy National Library Week April 7-13! Our staff celebration team has some lovely surprises in store for you on National Library Workers Day, April 9th. April 8th is Right to Read day, encouraging people to try a banned book, and April 10th is National Library Outreach Day, a special day to celebrate the tremendous impact our OPE team makes on the Kenosha community all year. April 11th is Take Action for Libraries Day, encouraging us all to speak out on behalf of adequate funding and intellectual freedom.

April is also Citizen Science Month, and we at KPL love citizen science! If the weather cooperates, we'll all have a chance to experience a true solar eclipse this weekend. Look for Heather and Shannon's messages about distribution of solar glasses on Saturday at all locations.

The FCC is winding down the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) which subsidized internet plans for low income people during the pandemic. The last month of ACP subsidies is April 2024. We promoted this program with our community, so you may get questions about this. 

Bright Spot from Luiza:

"I would like to nominate Jason for a Bright Spot for taking the time to help us make the Southwest desk more comfortable to work at and for replacing the wheels on the chairs with roller skating wheels. They now silently and effortlessly glide around the desk as we work and I'm very excited about them. It's greatly appreciated, thanks Jason!!

And from Phillip:

"I wanted to give a secret shout-out to Rob for all his support! He's absolutely awesome! Rob has an answer for everything, and today, he really came through with the stats for the Board packet. He is like a quiet resource we all can rely on, but whose absence can really be felt. I'm really grateful to work with him, and thought you should know!"

We've got Tree Tops and many, many Bright Spots

 

New Bright Spots from Karen:

Thank you DJ! I really appreciate that you have put up the wall in the activities room the last few weeks when I had programs in there. Thank you so much!! 

Thank you Alex!! You have been a great help to me the last month or more with computer issues, copy and printing issues with some of our patrons. I know they have appreciated your help and so have I. Thank you!!

Thank you Ben!!! You have helped me with some language barriers that  I have had with patrons lately. Thank you for the computer and printer help too!

Thank you Elliott!! I asked them for help to change a date on a document I want to use for this year's solar eclipse. They had it done the day I asked. So amazing! Thank you!!

Thank you Jason! You are amazing and so fast with requests. I asked you today (Monday, April 1st about 11:00am) about a cleaner and you had it on my desk within an hour. Thank you so much!! 

And from Barb, thanks to everyone who covered for me while the grandkids were in town. It was really restful to step away from email for a few days!

Opening Day Moved to July

Color, Color Everywhere! The kids library is really taking shape. Next week we'll have leaves on the column trees and glassed in activity and art rooms. Thanks to Aaron for these great pics.

We had eyeballed June 8th as a grand opening day, but our architect has provided sage advice, warning us that simple things like missing parts in boxes might set us back a couple of weeks and leave us unprepared for that date.  So we're giving ourselves a little more time. Our new opening day for the children's library has been pushed back a month to Saturday, July 13th.

You will see ads go out soon for new staffing. All YFS staff at KPL and CL will be attending Playmaker University  through a grant from DPI. This training is designed for early childhood educators of children experiencing trauma and focuses on creating joyful spaces as an antidote to the stresses children in poverty and unsafe households experience. Our YFS staff are some of the kindest people on earth. We want to give them all the tools to nurture every child walking through our doors.

Our fundraising has us over the $1.7 million mark on our way to $3 million. Thanks to BMO Bank for their $25,000 gift that purchases naming rights for the community partner meeting space. WE Energies has purchased the toy collection with their $50,000 gift. The Andrea family has claimed the magnet wall with their $75,000 gift. Do you know any area businesses that can help? Please tell them about our fabulous project and how this children's library is going to give kids a great head start and move our literacy scores higher.

This week's Bright Spots are all from me:

Gina deserves a bright spot every week, but this week in particular for juggling a lot of people all at once at the SW service desk this week with grace and expertise. She loves that doorbell! Thanks to all the staff who answer!

I also want to give Jason some kudos for always stepping in to take charge in Dan's absence. Thanks for all you do!

You've probably noticed that Marcia is really good at writing grant applications. Well, she's done it again! Here's the official notice: "On behalf of the Kenosha Community Foundation, congratulations on the $1,000 CBK Small Grant awarded to the Kenosha Public Library and ArtSpace for your efforts to build a community OFRENDA and offer multi-generation programs at Northside Library to recognize Día de Los Muertos."  Way to go, Marcia! Thanks for all the good work you are doing!

And thanks to Jessica for coming over Thursday morning to see the new kids space under construction. Jessica immediately took some video to create another fun post on Instagram. If you haven't looked at our Instagram feed lately, you are missing awesome entertainment. You are among some of the best actors and dancers in the library world. Give them a like!  instagram.com/mykpl 

I'll be taking a few days off next week to spend time with the grandkids. I'll be available by phone, if needed. Enjoy the snow!

Sharing Our Good Work and lots of Bright Spots

Congratulations to lots of staff members who are sharing Kenosha's great ideas and projects with the library community at-large! Here are a few mentions from the YFS team that Heather included in her March board report:

"Congratulations to Youth Librarians Amy Rae Weaver, Jessica Hodges, and Megan Nigh who recently had presentation proposals accepted for the Wisconsin Association for Public Libraries (WAPL) Conference in May! Megan Nigh will also be presenting at the ALA Annual Conference in San Diego, CA in June. Early Literacy Specialist Shawn Wolf will be presenting at UW-Whitewater’s Early Childhood Education Conference in April. Youth Librarians Tessa Fox-Pawlaczyk and Heather Thompson will be presenting at the Public Library Association’s Virtual Conference in April. Teen Services Specialist Elliott Walcroft received a scholarship to attend the Public Library Association Conference in person in Columbus, OH. We are so proud of our team!"

Shannon will be presenting at the October "Back in Circulation" conference in Madison on how we've rearranged our collections for better use. Here's her program description.

"Over the past decade, Kenosha Public Library envisioned space renovation and improved collection development. Despite facing the challenges of the pandemic, civil unrest, and the loss of our administration office building in 2020, we persevered, earning recognition as the Wisconsin Library Association’s Library of the Year in 2020 and an IMLS National Medal Finalist in 2021. In 2022, an unexpected opportunity allowed us to launch a design plan that propelled us three years ahead of our strategic plan, integrating innovative collection development goals. We genrefied our fiction collection, started the transition away from the Dewey Decimal System in non-fiction, and established a hybrid Pop Asia collection. Join us to dive into the details of our transformation, discover our process for deciding difficult taxonomy, explore the methods used for reshaping our collections, and learn about the significant outcomes observed a year later."

It's so great to see our staff sharing our successes (and failures, too!) with library staff across the country. We've made a huge effort to test new ways to engage the public with the value of their libraries and information sharing like this helps all libraries everywhere.

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This week's Bright Spot nominations:

From Shannon: "Last week I was helping a patron who told me, several times, "those tall fellas at the desk are really great." Those tall fellas, Alex and DJ, have also gotten several compliments from staff who close with them on Tuesday nights. Thank you both for your stand-out performance with patrons and staff, it is deeply appreciated."

From Hillary S:
"I would like to recognize Dan Sommerfeld for Bright Spot Recognition. Dan works as one of our OPE Bookmobile drivers and balances OPE school and community stops. Dan is hardworking, reliable and punctual. Dan is always smiling and quick to offer a passing hello. Dan goes above and beyond by taking initiative to do tasks that are much needed, but often fall by the wayside; such as tackling the missing list and cleaning, vacuuming and washing the Bookmobile and Book Truck. I really appreciate Dan's help on Fridays during our busy stop at St. Joseph. While I am often tied up with checking out students' books, Dan can be found milling around groups of students. Dan fields questions, locates materials, makes reading recommendations and places a number of items on hold. Dan makes sure we always have enough Dogman and Taylor Swift books to go around! We appreciate you, Dan! "

Have a great week, everyone!

Reading Recommendations in Biblio

BiblioCommons has started to enable reading recommendations in the catalog. LibraryThing powers these recommendations and will appear in 3 areas: 

While You Wait
This new feature will appear under a title if recommendations are found for a title and they are available in the catalog. An example can be found under Chaos Kings.

You May Also Like
This section can be found on the page for the item and will provide a list of reading recommendations for the title. An example can be found on Missing Persons. 

My Library Dashboard
For patrons that have enabled checkout history, a section will appear under the "Available Now from My For Later Shelf" that will provide a recommendation based on a recently completed title. It will look like this.

New Kids Library Pics and Bright Spots

 New pics from the Kids Library! Every time we visit there's so much progress! Grand opening June 8th! Right around the corner!

Is it just your imagination or is the library really busy these days?

It's not your imagination.  Visits and circulation are way up. 2024 is starting out strong with a 16% increase in visitors and 8% increase in circulation! Digital collection use is also increasing, as is use of our public computers and wireless services. Program attendance is up 14%, which is quite significant after a record breaking 2023. Even our subscription database sessions, a service that has lost popularity over the years, went up 29% in February. Wow! Thanks to everyone who is working so hard. The community likes what you're doing!

Bright Spots this week:

From Karen:
"Thank you Alex for all your help last week with printing and copying. You are awesome!!
Thank you Elliott for taking time out of your day to create a pencil topper pattern in Canva for the Kung Fu Panda program. The pattern can be used for future programs. Yeah, Elliott!! "

From DJ:

"I'd like to give Alex S a bright spot. 

While Gina was out I was working on ILLs and ended up dropping a 4 compartment CD case (not that I don't handle ILLs with care, I'm just a little clumsy sometimes--that part is for Gina in case she is reading). I thought this rare--some might even say exotic--CD case was broken and unfixable. Alex immediately ran to the back with his cape billowing behind him and found a backup of the exact case and pieced everything together, keeping all the owning library's tags and markings in place! 

The superhero allusion might have been slightly dramatic, but I'm very grateful to have helpful coworkers like Alex. Thank you Alex!"