Nine Reasons to Save Public Libraries

I just have to share Emmily Bristol's take on today's public libraries and why they matter:
Nine Reasons to Save Public Libraries

Here in Plainfield, we wish we had enough space to do #8 effectively, but the others are all applicable to your Library. Over 4,000 participated in Summer Reading this year alone and 1,00 attended the Grand Finale event. Your Library is so much more than books on a shelf.

Public Library Construction Grant Denied as Library Infrastructure Issues Continue

The Plainfield Public Library District received official notification that its application for an Illinois Public Library Construction Grant was denied. The grant program offered $50 million in funding for libraries across the state. Applications from Illinois public libraries exceeded $112 million in total requests. With grant scores based primarily on building age and date of last major renovation, the main library’s 1991 construction and 1996 addition placed it in the middle range for these grant scoring elements.

In the meantime, the historic heat wave gripping the area exacerbated the Library’s ongoing issues with its HVAC system. Repeated failures have plagued the system since major components passed their 15-20 year life expectancy, from roof top units to the antiquated, DOS-based controls. In recent years, annual repair costs have ballooned to tens of thousands to keep the system functioning. A building evaluation completed by KJWW Engineering in February place capital needs for the buildings infrastructure at over $400,000 for the most immediate replacements needed: HVAC system, shingled roof and windows in the Bay Window area.

When the library was expanded in the early 1990s, the operating rate referendum to properly fund the operations and maintenance of the building failed. Drastic cuts to operating hours were made in 1993, reducing hours open to 48 per week. Due to the housing boom that began at about that time, the Library was able to reinstate operating hours to 64 per week and 68 during the school year with the addition of Sunday operating hours during the school year to meet demand. In 1997, the Library was able to implement a small fee to developers annexing and subdividing property in the district through an intergovernmental agreement with the Village of Plainfield. Collection of these fees allowed the Library make internal changes to the building necessary to serve the growing community, such as removing built-in service desks, adding shelving and replacing carpet. As the collection of those fees dwindled with the housing bust, external sources of funding for capital replacement needs, such as the Illinois Public Library Construction Grant were pursued. A 2009 State of Illinois Capital Bill Grant from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, through Rep. Tom Cross, was funded to reimburse the Library for its 2010 purchase of the parking lot on Route 59. Those funds have not yet been released by the State of Illinois.

The escalating issues with the HVAC system made its replacement the top priority for the Library Board of Trustee this fiscal year. Currently, KJWW Engineering is creating the specifications and bid package for the HVAC replacement project. The anticipated timeline places posting of the bid notice in August, bid opening and contract award in September and project construction in late October to early November. Project construction will be dependent on factors such as lead time for obtaining replacement roof top units and weather. The Library will be closed at time during the construction phase. Residents are encouraged to check our web site, Facebook or call ahead when planning to visit the Library this fall. Replacement of the shingled roof and windows in the Bay Window Area are also slated for fall 2012.

Congratulations, White Oak Library District on their New Romeoville Library

If you haven't seen the newly renovated Romeoville branch of the White Oak Library District, you should!

Thanks to the Romeoville Patch, you can take a photo tour here.

The 46,000 sq ft library had its ribbon cutting ceremony last week. For anyone who had visited this library previously, be prepared to be amazed at the difference!

Our neighbors in the White Oak Library District approved a $23 million building bond referendum in  February 2010 to purchase and renovate the Romeoville library building, renovate and add a 5,000 sq ft to the Lockport library building and build a new library in Crest Hill. Congratulations to all who are working hard to improve the White Oak Library District's facilities!

Top Ten Reasons for the Whole Family to Register for Summer Reading!

1. Excitement! Summer Reading can be an exciting time for kids to learn about something new that interests them - and their excitement is contagious.
2. New Books! Whether its a bestselling author's latest or a debut novel, all the print summer blockbusters have arrived.
3. Motivation! Setting reading goals for the summer will motivate the whole family to read.
4. Friends! Connect with friends at Summer Reading special events like Family Bingo.
5. Maintain Your Brain! Reading is exercise for the mind, keeping your skills sharp all summer long.
6. Learning! Whatever your interests, you can learn more through reading. Kids especially won't even realize how much they are learning.
7. Connecting! Pick a book or topic and have your own family book discussion to keep that dinner table conversation flowing.
8. Sharing! Check out your favorite book from when you were a kid or pick up your child's new favorite to share each other's interests.
9. Encouragement! When the whole family participates, you can encourage each other to reach your goals.
10. Ice Cream! "Reading is So Delicious" this summer, culminating in the Grand Finale with ice cream sundaes for all!

Apologies for Registration Snafu

Our sincerest apologies for any trouble you may have experienced yesterday when attempting to register for Summer Reading or a special event. Evanced, the vendor that provides our hosted software for Summer Reading and events registration, did not notify its customers that a server upgrade would be done during business hours. This caused a service outage and extreme slowness in response time for the software throughout the day Monday. Occurring on the first day of Summer Reading registration and the first day to register for summer special events, this could not have come at a worse time for our community, on the Library's busiest day of the year.

The library staff has expressed our deep dissatisfaction with this vendor's service and shared with them the negative feedback the library received from the community due to this service interruption. The vendor posted this apology on their blog:

"We are continuing to work with our hosting provider to fix the speed issues experienced by our hosted customers.  Our hosting provider is working to install a load balancer today which we hope will be working by the morning of Tuesday, June 5.

We understand that the speed issue is an inconvenience to your staff and your community and we sincerely apologize.  We will continue to update the blog with additional information as it becomes available.

Thank you,
Evanced Solutions Support Team"

From the Suggestion Box: How bout a drive up book deposit? (like Naperville)

Great idea - and one the Library has included in the various expansion plans over the years. Unfortunately, none of those plans received funding, so we're stuck with the current design, which does not accommodate a drive up book return. With the rising cost of just keeping the building functioning, making major changes to put in a drive up book return is pretty far down on the list.

Interestingly, the original plans for this building included a drive up book drop near the front doors with a curb cut to allow drivers to use it. The Village of Plainfield nixed the plan for the drive up in 1990, citing fear that the drive up book return would block traffic on Lockport Street. The result is the bumped out curb in front of the Library's front doors and no drive up book drop.

HVAC Down Again!

It’s warm again in the Library. Yet again, our 20+ year old HVAC rooftop units have broken down. This time, its 2 of the 4 units that are down and will be until the parts can be found to make a repair. With the age of the units, availability of parts continues to be an issue when repairs are needed.

The Library has applied for an Illinois Public Library Construction Act Grant with a project proposal that includes replacement of the HVAC rooftop units and control system. However, announcement of whether or not the Library receives that grant is in August. If received, the grant contract would not be available to be signed before September. Any work done prior to the signing of the grant contract CANNOT be included in the grant project. That puts us in a bind, having to pay again for costly repairs to try to keep these units functioning in anticipation of possibly receiving this grant. Funding these very costly replacements will be very difficult if the grant is not received.

So things are warm in here. Be prepared if you are planning to visit the Library this weekend.