Question of the Day: Why was the Museum Pass checked out when I tried to get it?

This question was asked at the Check Out Desk recently: “Why was the Museum Pass checked out when I tried to get it? I was the first person at the Check Out Desk!”

Yes, you may have made it to the Check Out Desk first, but you were not the first in line. What you did not notice or were too late to see was the physically challenged woman who was waiting at the front doors well before the Library opened. She stopped Maintenance Assistant Jayne O outside to ask for help. This customer knew that she could not be first to the desk if she had to wait for the elevator, even though she was the first person waiting for opening time. So Jayne went to the Circulation staff on this customer’s behalf and brought her the passes for which she’d been waiting. 

The first customer received the passes, she just needed a little help to get them.

This story is just one more example of the deficiencies of the current building in providing library service to our community.

What is a Public Library?

Assistant Library Director Lisa Pappas shared this blog post from BookRiot: Libraries Are Not a "Netflix for Books". The author's words resonated with both of us. The role a public library plays in its community cannot be reduced to comparison with a for-profit company. The core philosophy of public libraries, open and equitable access for all, is diametrically opposed to profit motive. A public library provides an environment where people can improve their lives. It is more than any set of services, more than books, more than the staff. Ms Jensen states it clearly:
"The library is the center and the heart of community."

Celebrate National Library Week with Us!

The Plainfield Public Library District is facing many of the same issues that libraries across the country are facing today: a perception that public libraries are irrelevant, just warehouses for books. However, the role of the public library is evolving, not becoming irrelevant, as shown in Libraries are Dying? Think Again on CNN today. A strong library is able to not only withstand change, but thrive within it. The internet was seen as a threat to libraries, but people are learning that getting thousands of results for a search was not as useful (or quick!) as having a professional sort through that information to provide needed answers. The library’s role as a gathering and collaboration space has grown as people seek connection to the community beyond home and work. Embracing this evolving role requires looking at things differently and getting people to experience the reality of today’s library. 

Celebrate National Library Week with us and experience how we can connect you to information, to fun and to your community! 

My Neglected Blog and a Front-Page Article

Apologies for the quiet here on the blog! There are half a dozen unfinished posts for this blog that I really should have finished and posted.

Well, 2014 is a new year and things are hopping at the Library. But our perennial issues remain. Check out yesterday's Joliet Herald News front page article on the Library and our space issues:
Librarians Look for Elbow Room

We're doing our best with what we've got - and kudos to our staff for staying positive and finding creative solutions for our most pressing needs.

Parking Lot Project Underway!

It would be impossible not to notice the construction being done on parking lots around the Library if you have visited the Library or driven by on Route 59! The pavement has been removed from the Village's Illinois Street lot and the lot beside the Library. The Library's vacant lot fronting Route 59 has been cleared and leveled in preparation for paving. The redesign and expansion of parking around the Library is a cooperative project with the Village of Plainfield. It will result in a continuous parking lot with wider spaces and aisles for public parking to serve both the Library and the downtown area. Features of the new lot will include landscape barriers, a new location for the Library's dumpsters for trash and recycling, and a walkway to Lockport Street along the access drive beside the former Baci building.

Residents have expressed two main concerns regarding the project:

To achieve the most functional and efficient design, trees on the Library's vacant lot fronting Route 59 were removed. As many as possible were saved along the northern side of the lot. While the removal of existing trees was necessary, improvements to the adjacent landscaping are planned for the Library property in addition to the landscape barriers included in the parking lot design. In the Spring, the Library will undertake a project to address both the issues of drainage on the southeast corner of its property, a need identified in the 2012 Library Building Evaluation, and the aesthetic improvement of its grounds.

Concern about cars cutting through the redesigned lot from Illinois Street to Route 59 has been expressed in social media. The design of the new lot will not have direct access from Illinois Street to Route 59, to deter its use as a cut through. Should this still become an issue, measures to slow through traffic, such as speed bumps, would be installed.

Though the construction and lot closures are an inconvenience at this time, the end result will be a larger, functional public parking lot to serve the Plainfield community. The Library Board of Trustees and staff appreciate your patience  as this project moves toward completion.

Question of the Day: Is there anywhere quiet in the Library where I can study?

With an average of 1,500 visitors per day to our 27,000 sq ft facility, finding a quite time and space in the Library is challenging at best. At just over 1/3 the size it should be to serve today’s population of 75,000 residents (according to Illinois Public Library Standards), the Library building just is not large enough to provide all of space our residents want and need. 

There is a single Study Room, available on a first-come, first-served basis. But that room is also regularly scheduled for staff use and for our literacy volunteers to meet with their students. The Study Room is also adjacent to the Youth Services area, which can be noisy during times when lots of classes and programs are being held. The Original Library Room is available, but quiet cannot be assured, since tables there are frequently used by tutors and newspapers and magazines are shelved there. 

Making do with the building we have requires compromise on all sides. The constraints of our current space are apparent everywhere in the building, from using top and bottom shelves on the 90” shelving units in the Adult collections to the tight aisles that just meet ADA accessibility requirements to the lack of quiet study space. With your support, the Library will address these space needs in the future.

As you may notice, this is a variation on the same theme as the last Question of the Day. It is feedback we hear frequently. Unfortunately, there simply isn't anywhere in the Library to put another Study Room or designate as a quiet area because every room, every area in the Library is multi-purpose to the point of excluding those options.

Question of the Day: Why is it so loud in the Library?

Summer Reading in particular, with the additional foot traffic and programming for children, is a very noisy time in the library. Checking the events calendar before visiting can help you target times for visiting when fewer programs are offered. For example, Fridays are often one of the quietest days in the library.

There are two additional options available for seeking quiet space in the Library: the Study Room and the bay window area on the upper level. The Study Room, along the hallway to the Youth Services Area on the lower level, is available on a first-come first-served basis. You may request to use this room by stopping at the Youth Services or Check Out Desks. It is the only quiet study room available, and is also used as a staff meeting space. The upper level bay window area, which contains the last remaining study carrels in the Library, is generally one of the quietest areas of the Library, particularly during the day on weekdays. However, with an average of 145 visitors per hour the library is open, quiet cannot be guaranteed in any open area of the Library.

Limited space makes separation of noisy and quiet uses of the library impossible. The space constraints of the Library's building, the volume of use it supports and collection it houses necessitates that each space in the Library serve multiple functions. The building is approximately 1/3 the size necessary to serve the current population of the library district, which severely limits its functionality in providing space for all of the services offered.

Community support will be needed to correct the deficiencies of the library facility. Following the failed referendum for library expansion in 2009 (which included additional quiet reading and group study rooms as well as improved program spaces), a revised plan for addressing facility deficiencies through a 2012 referendum did not garner enough community support to be placed on the ballot. The support of users, especially those who have experienced the issues of an undersized facility, will be needed in the future if these deficiencies are to be corrected.