As I posted back in December, 2011 will be a planning year for the Library. The key component that all of our planning processes have in common is YOU! We need community input and participation to guide us, so that your library service continues to fulfill your needs. With your input, the Board of Trustees, staff and I can ensure that the Library's services and priorities reflect what you want and need from your library.
The first focus group session for the Strategic Planning process included 12 participants from around the community. Their opinions and thoughts will be used in the development of a plan that will guide the service and budget decisions for the Library for the next 3-5 years. You can still participate - on Thursday, February 24 at 7:00pm or Saturday, February 26 at 1:00pm, in the Large Meeting Room. You only need to attend one session. Childcare will be offered by volunteers in the Storytime Room during the Thursday evening session only.
In reviewing and revising expansion plans to go on the ballot in 2012, the Library is seeking volunteers to participate on a committee to provide feedback on the revisions early in the process. Later this year, this committee will assist by giving opinions on expansion options, from size to location to cost, to ensure that the final expansion plan package reflects today's community need and challenges.
Your willingness to help gives your Library an invaluable resource for planning: your opinions! Join us for a focus group. Volunteer for the expansion planning committee. Give us your ideas for the future of the Library in an email, phone call, text or letter. Tell us what you think!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Library Closed, Programs Cancelled through February 3
The Plainfield Public Library District is closed today, February 2 and will be closed tomorrow, Thursday, February 3. All programs are cancelled for both days, including the Strategic Plan Focus Group, which will be rescheuled.
My apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. The Library's policy is to follow the extreme weather closings of the school districts it serves. Closings are posted on the Emergency Closings Center web site, the Cancellations web site, Library web site, Library Facebook page and on the front doors of the Library building. The Library's automated phone system also includes closing information.
My apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. The Library's policy is to follow the extreme weather closings of the school districts it serves. Closings are posted on the Emergency Closings Center web site, the Cancellations web site, Library web site, Library Facebook page and on the front doors of the Library building. The Library's automated phone system also includes closing information.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Focus Groups to Help the Library Plan for the Future
The Plainfield Public Library District wants your input on the future of the Library. Using a streamlined planning process outlined in the American Library Association’s publication, “Planning for Results”, four focus groups will gather information from residents on community needs. Your opinions and ideas will help the Library Board of Trustees and staff make decisions about budgets and services for the next 3-5 years. All it takes to join the conversation is a willingness to participate and a commitment to attend one Strategic Planning session.
Focus group sessions will be held on:
• Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 7:00pm
• Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 10:00am
• Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 7:00pm
• Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 1:00pm
All sessions will take place in the Library’s Large Meeting Room with a volunteer facilitator. The focus groups are open to all residents of the Library District. Refreshments will be served. Visit our web site at www.plainfield.lib.il.us to register for one of the Strategic Plan Focus Groups. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required.
Childcare will be available during the Thursday, February 3 and Thursday, February 24 focus group sessions for the Plainfield Public Library. Volunteers will supervise age-appropriate crafts, stories and games with the kids in the Storytime Room from 7-8pm to allow parents and caregivers to attend the focus group session. Childcare will not be available for the Saturday sessions.
Come share your thoughts, opinions and ideas for the future of library service in Plainfield!
Focus group sessions will be held on:
• Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 7:00pm
• Saturday, February 5, 2011 at 10:00am
• Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 7:00pm
• Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 1:00pm
All sessions will take place in the Library’s Large Meeting Room with a volunteer facilitator. The focus groups are open to all residents of the Library District. Refreshments will be served. Visit our web site at www.plainfield.lib.il.us to register for one of the Strategic Plan Focus Groups. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required.
Childcare will be available during the Thursday, February 3 and Thursday, February 24 focus group sessions for the Plainfield Public Library. Volunteers will supervise age-appropriate crafts, stories and games with the kids in the Storytime Room from 7-8pm to allow parents and caregivers to attend the focus group session. Childcare will not be available for the Saturday sessions.
Come share your thoughts, opinions and ideas for the future of library service in Plainfield!
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Enterprise Asked "How Does the Library Compete?"
In case you missed it, the Enterprise newspaper's recap of 2010 issue included an editorial that asked about how the Library competes in today's technology-driven world. Below is my response, also printed in this week's newspaper:
The “Happy New Year?” editorial asked “How does the library compete in an ever increasingly [sic] technological market?”
Technology is a tool. Books may have been the first tool used by public libraries to provide access to information, but they are not the only tool. Technology has reshaped the way libraries deliver information, but the basic mission of providing access to information continues. Plainfield Public Library District uses technology to keep up with the needs of the Plainfield community in a time when demand for service is greater than ever.
In 2010, you checked out over 756,000 items from the Plainfield Public Library, an increase of 24% over 2009. Those check outs include a wide variety of formats beyond books: ebooks, downloadable audiobooks, video games, CD audiobooks, DVDs, music CDs, Blu-Ray DVDs, downloadable videos, software on CD and more. Not included in that figure is your access to dozens of databases and online services like Ancestry.com and Homework Help Now that would not be available without today’s technology.
Computers and Internet for the public are core services at your Library, never dreamt of when public libraries were invented. You can get access to your Library’s resources and collections with a Library computer or your own, in the Library or from anywhere in the world, using the Library’s wired connection, free Wi-Fi or your own Internet access to connect to the wide range of services and collections available to you from the Library’s 24/7 branch: the Library website www.plainfield.lib.il.us. At Plainfield Public Library, you can find both computers and help using them - from getting your resume printed out to a computer class for learning new skills, from a quick answer to a “how do I…” question to Book a Librarian one-on-one training. In December alone, users logged onto Library computers for over 6,200 sessions, more than 18 public computers used every minute the Plainfield Public Library was open in December. Demand for Library computers has swelled from 3,700 sessions in 2004 to nearly 50,000 in 2010. Whether you type a paper, check your email or fill out an online application for a job, this service is essential to many who cannot afford or choose not to have a computer or high-speed Internet access at home.
Beyond offering more formats than ever before and computers for public use, Plainfield Public Library is keeping up with the latest technology you want to use. E-readers were the must-have gift this Christmas. Your Library was ready with the MyMediaMall downloadable collection of ebooks and downloadable audiobooks. So many library users went on the MyMediaMall site in the first few days after Christmas, the site crashed. Upon its revival, you checked out nearly the entire Plainfield Public Library ebook collection, prompting your Library staff to make increasing the ebook and downloadable collections a priority. One of only 17 libraries selected from throughout the United States to pilot the Sony Reader Library Program, your Library is partnering with Sony and local businesses to market e-readers, downloadable collections and how to use them. Starting with e-readers donated by Sony, you can now check out e-readers, adding one more way technology is changing how you use your Library.
Today’s question is not how libraries compete, but how does your Library keep up with your needs as technology changes? Plainfield Public Library District uses technology as a tool in its mission to Educate - Captivate - Connect.
The “Happy New Year?” editorial asked “How does the library compete in an ever increasingly [sic] technological market?”
Technology is a tool. Books may have been the first tool used by public libraries to provide access to information, but they are not the only tool. Technology has reshaped the way libraries deliver information, but the basic mission of providing access to information continues. Plainfield Public Library District uses technology to keep up with the needs of the Plainfield community in a time when demand for service is greater than ever.
In 2010, you checked out over 756,000 items from the Plainfield Public Library, an increase of 24% over 2009. Those check outs include a wide variety of formats beyond books: ebooks, downloadable audiobooks, video games, CD audiobooks, DVDs, music CDs, Blu-Ray DVDs, downloadable videos, software on CD and more. Not included in that figure is your access to dozens of databases and online services like Ancestry.com and Homework Help Now that would not be available without today’s technology.
Computers and Internet for the public are core services at your Library, never dreamt of when public libraries were invented. You can get access to your Library’s resources and collections with a Library computer or your own, in the Library or from anywhere in the world, using the Library’s wired connection, free Wi-Fi or your own Internet access to connect to the wide range of services and collections available to you from the Library’s 24/7 branch: the Library website www.plainfield.lib.il.us. At Plainfield Public Library, you can find both computers and help using them - from getting your resume printed out to a computer class for learning new skills, from a quick answer to a “how do I…” question to Book a Librarian one-on-one training. In December alone, users logged onto Library computers for over 6,200 sessions, more than 18 public computers used every minute the Plainfield Public Library was open in December. Demand for Library computers has swelled from 3,700 sessions in 2004 to nearly 50,000 in 2010. Whether you type a paper, check your email or fill out an online application for a job, this service is essential to many who cannot afford or choose not to have a computer or high-speed Internet access at home.
Beyond offering more formats than ever before and computers for public use, Plainfield Public Library is keeping up with the latest technology you want to use. E-readers were the must-have gift this Christmas. Your Library was ready with the MyMediaMall downloadable collection of ebooks and downloadable audiobooks. So many library users went on the MyMediaMall site in the first few days after Christmas, the site crashed. Upon its revival, you checked out nearly the entire Plainfield Public Library ebook collection, prompting your Library staff to make increasing the ebook and downloadable collections a priority. One of only 17 libraries selected from throughout the United States to pilot the Sony Reader Library Program, your Library is partnering with Sony and local businesses to market e-readers, downloadable collections and how to use them. Starting with e-readers donated by Sony, you can now check out e-readers, adding one more way technology is changing how you use your Library.
Today’s question is not how libraries compete, but how does your Library keep up with your needs as technology changes? Plainfield Public Library District uses technology as a tool in its mission to Educate - Captivate - Connect.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Spreading Christmas Cheer at the Library
I thought this was fun and entertaining! A flash mob rang bells and sang Jingle Bells at a library in Kansas.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Engaging Our Community
I had an opportunity to sit down with a former employee, now PhD student to talk about community engagement and what that means to the Plainfield Library. In subsequent letter to the Library Board of Trustees, she quoted me:
“A successful library lives beyond its walls. It engages people in ways that are meaningful in their lives.”
This concept has driven the development of services at our Library. You can see it in the programming and Outreach to the community. As the Library enters into a strategic planning process to set goals and objectives for the next several years, engaging you, our community members, in a dialogue about services and what is meaningful and useful to you, is imperative to ensure responsive service.
As a part of the strategic planning process, the Library will be seeking community input, to engage you in a dialogue about what you want and need from your Library. Look for those coming up in the new year, as we plan some focus groups to inform the planning process!
“A successful library lives beyond its walls. It engages people in ways that are meaningful in their lives.”
This concept has driven the development of services at our Library. You can see it in the programming and Outreach to the community. As the Library enters into a strategic planning process to set goals and objectives for the next several years, engaging you, our community members, in a dialogue about services and what is meaningful and useful to you, is imperative to ensure responsive service.
As a part of the strategic planning process, the Library will be seeking community input, to engage you in a dialogue about what you want and need from your Library. Look for those coming up in the new year, as we plan some focus groups to inform the planning process!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Plans, Plans and More Plans!
Whew! Lots going on with our Library and the regional library systems!
The merging of the five northern Illinois regional library systems and the four southern Illinois library systems is proceeding apace. If you're interested in this process, you can follow along at the web sites: Merger 2011 and Cooperation Today. I am serving on the Future of Systems Sub-Committee for the northern Illinois merger group. This sub-committee is working toward a vision and plan of action to guide the evolution of regional library systems. It is building on the work of the Illinois Library Association's Future of Illinois Library Cooperation Task Force.
Meanwhile, back in Plainfield, we have three big planning projects going on simultaneously: strategic, expansion and internal space. The new Strategic Planning process will update the long range plan for our Library, setting goals for the next 4-5 years. The expansion planning process will examine options for a future expansion referendum, for approval by the voters no sooner than 2012. The internal space planning is yet one more look at space use within the current building and possible reallocation of space in order to allow collection and service growth over the next 4-5 years. Through a "design-on-a-dime" concept, the Library's architect will help the Library Board and staff determine if there are any remaining options for allocation of space that would net additional collection shelving and workstations.
As we continue in these planning processes, I'm sure I will be blogging more about them. For now, we are gearing up for planning, gathering and reviewing background information and making decisions on the planning processes and timelines.
The merging of the five northern Illinois regional library systems and the four southern Illinois library systems is proceeding apace. If you're interested in this process, you can follow along at the web sites: Merger 2011 and Cooperation Today. I am serving on the Future of Systems Sub-Committee for the northern Illinois merger group. This sub-committee is working toward a vision and plan of action to guide the evolution of regional library systems. It is building on the work of the Illinois Library Association's Future of Illinois Library Cooperation Task Force.
Meanwhile, back in Plainfield, we have three big planning projects going on simultaneously: strategic, expansion and internal space. The new Strategic Planning process will update the long range plan for our Library, setting goals for the next 4-5 years. The expansion planning process will examine options for a future expansion referendum, for approval by the voters no sooner than 2012. The internal space planning is yet one more look at space use within the current building and possible reallocation of space in order to allow collection and service growth over the next 4-5 years. Through a "design-on-a-dime" concept, the Library's architect will help the Library Board and staff determine if there are any remaining options for allocation of space that would net additional collection shelving and workstations.
As we continue in these planning processes, I'm sure I will be blogging more about them. For now, we are gearing up for planning, gathering and reviewing background information and making decisions on the planning processes and timelines.
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