From the Suggestion Box: Cheaper Fax Price

This week's suggestion box submission requests a cheaper price for sending faxes from the library.

As public library services evolved from the traditional core service of lending books, value-added services that met community needs expanded the library's offerings. First came manual typewriters for the public. Those became electric typewriters, then gave way to word processors and PCs. In the same vein, there were mimeograph machines that gave way to photocopiers, faxes and scanners. That evolution changed public libraries. But as budgets tighten, libraries find ways to offer these additional services while focusing resources on core services.

To do that, your library investigates cost-effective options for those additional services to help balance the budget. For fax services, as our population skyrocketed and demand for service followed, it became clear that faxing for the public was taking staff away from core services. At $2.00 for the first page and $1.00 a page for the remainder, the fee didn't cover the cost of the service. Some neighboring libraries recommended outside vendors that offered self-service fax kiosks. The library provides the fax line for the fax machine. The vendor provides the machine, credit card processing and customer support. For each fax sent, the library receives a percentage from the vendor. The cost is $1.50 for the first page and $1.00 per page for each additional page. The decision to outsource this service was a win-win: the price was lower with the vendor and staff time was freed for core services.

The short answer: fax prices are set by the outside contractor and lower than when public faxing was done in-house by staff. This vendor was selected because they offered the best package of services that met the library's needs.

Question of the Day: Can you create a "no cell phone zone" in the Library?

Thank you to the resident who took the time to request this via our Suggestion Box (upstairs near the Welcome Desk in case you haven't seen it). This individual commented on noise in the Original Library Room and made the suggestion that we create a "no cell phone zone."

The Library Code of Conduct states: "Be aware of noise levels and do not disturb others. When using headphones, set the volume so others cannot hear it. Turn cell phone ringers off." Please let Library staff know if someone is not abiding by the Code of Conduct.

The space constraints of this Library building, the volume of use it supports and collection it houses necessitates that each space in the Library serve multiple functions. For this reason, it is not practical to enforce a cell-phone free zone at this time. The Original Library Room houses the Local History and magazine collections and acts as a small group study area. As the location of the majority of group study tables available on the upper level, it is not a quiet space.

There are two options available for those seeking quiet space in the Library: the Study Room and the bay window area on the upper level. The Study Room, across from the Welcome Desk, is available on a first-come first-served basis. You may request to use this room by stopping at the Welcome Desk. It is the only quiet study room available but is also used as a staff meeting space. The bay window area, which now contains the last remaining study carrels in the Library, tends to be one of the quieter areas of the Library, particularly during the day on weekdays. However, it is open to the main areas of the Library and quiet cannot be guaranteed.

This suggestion will be used to inform planning process for the Board of Trustees as they look to the future of our Library.

Misinformation on Plainfield TV this week

Well, having just watched Bill Alstrom's commentary on the library referendum on Plainfield TV, I would like to correct some misinformation included in his statements. Mr. Alstrom says "The library seemed surprised by this as a survey done last summer showed strong support for a spending spree on a new fancy building and added staff positions." And continues "The library folks want to do another, more extensive survey of the residents to gauge future expansion. This might be a better idea than just making a few phone calls to library regulars in order to get the results they wanted." He also goes on to say that the library should have a web site that would allow residents to leave comments on the plans for future expansion.

The facts:

The library held two telephone town hall meetings with polls, one in July 2008 and one in January 2009. Constituent Town Hall Services, a non-partisan, approved vendor for both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, created the phone number list and conducted the telephone town hall meetings. The calls were placed to all households of registered voters in the library district, using the latest available registered voter list from Will County. The Library Board used a reputable vendor and accepted practices for conducting such meetings. Transcripts of the meetings are available on the library's website and here on my blog. The January poll returned 62% support (with a +/-5% margin of error) for a library expansion referendum on the spring 2009 ballot.

The library also conducted a random sample poll of registered voters in the Library District in December 2008. A statistically significant sample of 500 registered voters reporting that they were likely to vote in the spring election returned 68% support (with a +/-4% margin of error) for a library expansion referendum on the spring 2009 ballot. Victory Enterprises, the largest polling company in the Midwest whose clients include the Illinois Republican Party, updated the July phone list of registered voters and conducted the poll. The Library Board used a reputable vendor and accepted practices for conducting this poll.

The combined cost for these polls was less than half of the cost of the comprehensive survey done in 2006 that led to the expansion planning process.

The Library Board of Trustees decided to place the referendum on the ballot on January 26, 2009 in order to meet the statutory election deadline for placing a question on the April 7, 2009 ballot.

You can contact us by phone at 815-436-6639 or my direct line at 815-439-2874; in writing by mail or submissions to the suggestion box located at the Registration Desk in the library; by texting askppl to 66746; or via our website at www.plainfield.lib.il.us where you can contact us by IM or email. Your comments and suggestions are encouraged and always welcome.

On hiatus

Well, blogfans, I am taking some vacation time. Director's Desk will be on hiatus until next week.

While I am away, I will be thinking about how to get a few more stacks into the building while still being ADA-compliant.

Don't forget - I want to hear from you, too! Send me your ideas, drop them in the suggestion box at the library, leave me a voicemail, whatever works for you. All commentary and suggestions are welcome.

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.