10 Years at the Plainfield Public Library!

This month marks my ten year anniversary as the Library Director at the Plainfield Public Library. That ten years have held some of my biggest professional challenges and opportunities. When I interviewed for the job in late summer of 2000, the official population of the library district was tallied at 18,882. Today, it's 66,139! During my tenure, the Library has grown to one of the busiest in our area with over 3/4 of a million items circulated last year. Though the expansion referendum failed, the need continues to grow.

While this Library may be a challenge in terms of funding and space, I am honored to work with all of the individuals who care about this Library and community. The fantastic staff meet the needs of the community to the best of their ability every day. The Board of Trustees set the policies, budgets and goals while being mindful to act as good stewards of the taxpayers' dollars. The Friends of the Library and Library Foundation volunteer their time and energy in support of the good work the Library does. There are too many others who dedicate themselves to serving our community to list here, but I am grateful for each of them.

Thank you, Plainfield, for ten amazing years! I can't wait to see what the next ten will bring.

Question of the Day: What does the other 44% pay?

This question was fairly long and complex:
"In the Special Edition newsletter, it says that the Village of Plainfield comprises56% of the Library District. In the referendum cost chart, the cost for the average homeowner in the Village of Plainfield is listed. What is the cost to the other 44% of the Library District?"

The proposed $0.3301 tax rate per $100 of valuation is the same for all residents in the Library District. Even those in the ever-confusing double tax, tax code 612 area would pay this rate, though it look a bit different their tax bills. The average home in the Village of Plainfield is used purely as an example, since that is majority of the Library District. Besides, including the average home value for Village of Bolingbrook, Village of Romeoville, unincorporated Wheatland Township and unincorporated Plainfield Township, made the chart too big to fit on the page with the rest of the information :-)