Where Do I Go?

The new overhead signs in the Library are being installed this morning! The new signage is a flexible system that can be easily and economically changed to reflect the shifting collections of the Library. Unlike the existing signs, which are a custom color and imprinted, the new signs were selected from a local vendor in a standard color and popular overhead sign design with printed inserts that can be removed and updated.

The custom imprinted signs had become outdated. Since they were made, the Library has added collections like Foreign Language, Books on CD, DVDs, and Graphic Novels. The Youth Services Computer Area was created. Rooms have been repurposed like the Computer Classroom and Original Library Room.

New signs reflect the changes being made in the the Library's use of space and collections. Like the existing furnishings and shelving, the overhead signs can be easily incorporated for use in a renovation or expansion in the future. I hope the new signs help you find what you need more easily!

Installation Complete! Shifting Continues...

All of our shelving ranges have reached their new locations. The end panels are on and look good. Today’s focus will be getting the rented carts cleared so that Hallett Movers can pick them up. Shifting will be ongoing for a while, as the collections are moved into their new permanent homes. It will take some time to complete all of the projects. When complete:

• Local History, Genealogy, maps/atlases, newspapers and magazines will all be housed in the Original Library.
• Foreign Language will spread out, with separations between Spanish, Hindi, and Polish collections and face-out display for each.
• Holiday and Parenting collections will be housed on the new shelving in the aisle on the Youth Services Easy/J Fiction side.
• J Graphic Novels and J Reference will be housed on the new shelving in the aisle of the J Non-Fiction/YA/Teen side.
• Non-Fiction, Fiction, Books on CD, Large Print, YA Fiction, Y Non-Fiction, Teen, Teen Graphic Novels, Easy Non-Fiction, J Non-Fiction, Easy and J Fiction will all shift with their new shelf space to allow for easier browsing, reshelving of books and additions to the collection.

Now we beginning the final planning for the backroom changes that were included in the Next Steps Plan, the plan devised by Board, staff, and community input to get the Library through the next 3-5 years while continuing to provide the best service possible to the community with what we have. The backroom changes include repurposing the Local History Room for a Study Room, repurposing the Study Room on the lower level for an office/workroom, moving the telephone reception workstation, and creating a larger area for carts in the Circulation workroom.

Into the Home Stretch!

The project is on schedule! View the progress on Flickr!

The moving of existing shelving ranges is done. The final two 60” ranges were placed in YA/Teen and the existing ranges reconfigured and moved. The remainder of YA Fiction has moved onto its new taller shelves in its previous location.

Other collections in temporary locations are:

• Books on CD are on the tops of the Reference shelves.
• Y Non-Fiction is on the new shelves near the Big Cozy Book seating area.
• Teen Graphic Novels are sharing space with J Graphic Novels on their shelving unit.
• Teen Fiction is on newly relocated shelves in the aisle of the YA/J Non-Fiction side of Youth Services.
• J Reference is on the ledge around the Bay Window Area.
• Large Print is on 42” shelving in the Original Library.
• Fiction (the end of the collection) is on Hallett carts near the hexagonal display.

*Apologies for my mistake yesterday, reporting that it was the beginning of the Fiction collection on the carts. It is actually the end.

The final two ranges of 90” shelving will be constructed tomorrow morning. The end panels will be installed last. Then the final shifting of collections from temporary locations onto their new shelving ranges will be done, time and workload permitting.

More Moves for More Shelves!

Today, two more of the 90" shelving ranges were installed. The first of the 60" shelving ranges being replaced upstairs was relocated to the YA/Teen area. The 60" YA/Teen shelving range shifted forward and the 42" range was relocated. The YA Fiction collection is, as I type, being moved to allow for tomorrow's moves. Any drilling/construction/assembly noise was over by 9:30am.

Other collections in temporary locations are:

• Books on CD are on the tops of the Reference shelves.
• Y Non-Fiction is on the new shelves near the Big Cozy Book seating area.
• Teen Graphic Novels are sharing space with J Graphic Novels on their shelving unit.
• Teen Fiction is on newly relocated shelves in the aisle of the YA/J Non-Fiction side of Youth Services.
• J Reference is on the ledge around the Bay Window Area.
• Large Print is on the relocated 42” shelving in the Original Library.
• Fiction (the beginning of the collection) is on carts near the Circulation Desk.

Tomorrow, the 60" shelving ranges will all be relocated to the YA/Teen area. The last of the 42" shelving ranges in that area will be relocated.

The project is on schedule for installation and relocation of shelving to be complete on Thursday morning. It will take a little longer to get the collection shifted from their temporary locations to their new homes.

Pardon the Noise!

This morning, bright and early, the shelving installation crew arrived and began moving cleared shelving ranges to their new locations. Two 42" shelving ranges went into the Original Library. One 60" range now sits in front of the Foreign Language collection just outside the Original Library.

What did not occur as expected was the installation of the first two ranges of new shelving. We believed that the installation would be done by the time the library opened at 9am. That was not the case. With the help of our Head of Maintenance armed with Caution tape, we were able to cordon off the area where the crew then finished assembling the first two 90" ranges of shelving. Unfortunately, the assembly did include some noisy drilling. The good news is that the assembly for the first part of the project was done by about 10:30am.

Staff is now working on the shifting and staging for the next part of the project. This means that tomorrow's storytime parents may find things a bit more crowded than usual, as the Young Adult collection is temporarily housed on carts for the next few days. All YA and Teen collections, J Reference, Large Print, Books on CD and the beginning of the Non-Fiction collection are all moving or are in a temporary location. Ask staff for help if you can't find something.

We've already had our first compliant about the project from a patron who said that its always too noisy in the Library. While our Library may generally be noisier than the Library of decades past, drilling is unusual even for us. But I warn you now, its likely to be noisy again tomorrow. The installation crew and their drills are coming back. The drilling/assembly alert is on through Wednesday. We should quiet down to our normal "low roar" by Thursday.

Tomorrow, the Young Adult shelving begins the relocation process, as we make way for more!

Making Way for More!

It has begun! Books on CD are on top of the Reference shelves. Part of the Non-Fiction collection is housed on carts. Y Non-Fiction has moved to temporary location near the Easy books. Teen Graphic Novels are now packed in beside J Graphic Novels, covering the top of the shelving unit. Teen Fiction is on its way to its temporary location as I type this...

What's going on at the Library? We're making way for more! Maintenance crew Jayne, Ruth and Chuck jump-started the project by relocating two existing shelving ranges and some furniture in anticipation of the larger moves to come. This allowed Pages Lisa and Sheilah to begin the preparation for this project, moving all of those collections to their temporary homes. The shelving relocation and installation gets into full swing at 6am Monday, September 14. By the end of this complex, domino-effect project, the changes will include the relocation of 8 existing shelving ranges (some as long as 18 feet) and the installation of 6 new 90" tall shelving ranges.

I will be making daily entries here, starting Monday, to document our progress. Check out the Library's Flickr photostream for the latest pictures.

Please be careful in the Library during this project! The book carts being used for temporary housing of the collections are not as sturdy as permanent shelving, so please do not try to move them or allow children to play on them. If you can't find something, just ask! Different collections may be relocated several times in this project on their way to a new home, so don't be shy.

Caution: Changes Ahead!

Don't say we didn't warn you! The Library will be undergoing some significant changes this fall.

Overall, shelving will be taller - and there will be more of it. Some aisles will be narrower (Americans with Disabilities Act minimum 36" rather than the preferred 42"). Tables and seating will be closer together. Local History and genealogy collections will be housed in the Original Library, along with newspapers and magazines. One Study Room will still be available for public use, but it will be the former Local History Room on the upper level. The changes will be phased in throughout the fall, with a target of November for completion of all phases.

Today, the Youth Services Desk reconfiguration began. The last piece will be remade and delivered Monday. Already, the space has a new feel. The Desk has moved forward and is narrower. The openings are on the sides, allowing staff to come and go more freely.

For the next step, the new shelving is ordered and scheduled for delivery. The plan is being finalized for the relocation of the existing shelving and furniture. It's tentatively scheduled to begin September 14. The Library will be open during the process, though the actual installation and physical moving of existing shelves is slated to occur in the early AM before the library opens to the public. The process is anticipated to take a week for the actual installation and relocation.

Shifting of collections to new locations and onto new shelving will require a little more time, since all of that work will be done by Library staff while still conducting business as usual. Our fabulous Pages, led by Lisa and Sheilah, are the ones performing the bulk of that work.

The final piece of the project will be the relocation of the Study Room and changes to staff spaces that will take place once the shelving installation and relocation. Stay tuned for more on that!

Change is coming!

Over 4,200 signed up for Summer Reading so far. Over 20% more use of the library this year than last year. How is the Plainfield Library going to keep up with the demand?

Well, the Library Board of Trustees approved a plan in June that will move things around, streamline some operations and generally allow the Library to continue meeting the community's needs as best we can with what we have. This spring, the Trustees and I challenged the staff: give us ideas that will improve our services to the community but will not cost a lot of money to implement. We asked for your suggestions too - here, on the Library's web site, and in the local press. From those ideas, the management team crafted the plan that was presented in June. Housing additional materials was the #1 priority in the development of this plan. With more demand than ever, the Library cannot meet the needs of the community without shelves to hold more stuff!

With a $50,000 project budget approved for the upcoming fiscal year from the Special Reserve Fund (the Library's sole fund for capital and emergency monies), the Library will add six additional ranges of shelving that is 90" tall. Those are the tall ones upstairs. Currently there are six shorter ranges of shelving in the center of the Adult collections - 4 on the Fiction side and 2 on the Non-Fiction side. The replacement of those shorter shelving ranges with the taller ones will not only provide additional shelf space in the Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction areas, they begin a domino effect of moves for the collections that will result in:

1. Relocation of the Local History and Genealogy collections to the Original Library (formerly called the Adult Quiet Room), as well as the newspapers, dictionaries and atlas stands.
2. An additional shelving range for the Foreign Language collections, allowing for the growth of the Spanish, Polish, and Hindi collections.
3. Replacement and relocation of the Young Adult & Teen collection shelving, increasing the height of the ranges to 66" for all, for a net increase in shelf space.
4. The former Local History Room will become a group study room.
5. The former Study Room will become an office for the Youth Services Department.
6. Telephone reception and some other Circulation duties will move from the Registration Desk to the Circulation Workroom.
7. Holiday books for kids will get a new home using one of the shorter shelving ranges being replaced elsewhere.
8. YS Reference books will move to the center aisle of the YS Non-Fiction side.
9. Two shelving ranges being replaced on the YA/Teen side will be relocated to the center aisle of the YS Fiction side for additional shelf space.
10. All tables for the YS department will be relocated to the Bay Window Area behind the YS Desk.
11. The YS Desk will be reconfigured to better serve the department.

Overall, the shelving will be taller and closer together, but still meets ADA requirements. Tables will be closer together, clustered, and fewer of them. The one remaining "quiet" area will be the Study Room.

So when will all of this happen? We are targeting a fall date, possibly September, for the shelving shift. The Library will remain open during he project, so staff will need your understanding as the collections, furnishings, etc. shift. The shelving/relocation proposals will go before the Board on July 15. Exact dates of the internal shifting will be determined by the delivery of the shelving - something notorious for taking longer than the vendor initially promises.

Help us decide what's next

Have you got a great idea for the library about services or space use? Let us know! I am open to all suggestions! You can give us your ideas in a variety of ways:

1. Write it down and drop it in the Suggestion Box near the Registration Desk.

2. Email it to me at the email address on the right or through the contact form on our web site.

3. Call me at 815-439-2874. Leave a voicemail if I'm not available.

I want to hear your ideas. The library is here to fulfill your needs. Tell me what we can do to improve.

Brainstorming!

How do you fit five gallons into a three gallon bucket?

That is the question facing library staff today. They are brainstorming yet again on how to use the space we have more effectively. Of course, there are major budget constraints on the brainstorming.

The same Special Reserve Fund that is used for capital expenditures like renovations, purchase of property and new computers, is also the only source of emergency funds (like for last year's replacement of an HVAC unit). The library is contracted to purchase the Route 59 parking lot from the Village of Plainfield in 2010, so some of it is earmarked for that purpose. The main source of revenue for this fund is impact fees from developers - of which there have been very few in the past year so it is not being replenished. In the past, the Board was able to transfer the remaining general fund balance into the Special Reserve Fund at the end of each year. However, double-digit cost increases in mandated funds like the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund and liability insurance fund outstripping revenues, that general fund balance is now transferred to those funds to prevent deficits.

Staff is watching the bottom-line carefully as they discuss changes that would free up space and maintain or improve service.

Feel free to make suggestions - we're open to all ideas during this process.

Stay tuned for announcements of changes ahead!