She Said/He Said:Kankakee Public Library Blog

Dual Roles

2009-10-22T07:45:00.001-07:00

Over the summer I finally decided to do something useful with my off time and joined the brand new local chapter of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.) The chapter was so new, I ended up being treasurer at the first meeting I attended! I'm proud to say our little chapter is growing by leaps and bounds. We started with six regular attendees gathering each month in the basement of a local church. Now we average thirty or more. My problem is balancing my role as an officer of PFLAG with that of Director of the Library. The first issue came up with the local Labor Day Parade. I wondered if I was overstepping an invisible line by appearing in the parade representing an organization considered controversial by some. I recall in college an education professor telling us that teachers can not be seen coming out of bars. He said they have an image to uphold in the community. At the time, I thought he was terribly old fashioned. Then, as I drove in the parade, I suddenly realized what it was actually like to be a "public figure", to represent more than just oneself. I didn't imagine spectators thinking, "Hey there is Steve with the PFLAG folks." I imagined them thinking, "There is the Library Director with the PFLAG folks." Now this enters my mind when PFLAG asks me if they can use our meeting room to host a speaker on gay issues, or if they can put up an informational display. What responsibility does a director have to his/her Library's neutrality when off the job?

Grace(less) Under Fire

2009-09-08T11:52:00.000-07:00

Queens's "Under Pressure" could be my theme song these past few months, maybe even year...or two. I have a tendency to take on more than I probably should both at the library, in the community, and at home. I blame this on my mother, who whenever any of the my siblings or I had down time she'd give us a sock drawer to organize. But I digress....Back to the pressure. One of the things that I took on this past year was helping out with the City of Kankakee Labor Day Parade. My job was to coordinate the library's entry in the parade and also generally help with the parade publicity, printing of signs, etc...This was my second year doing this and I know well that the day of the parade is stressful. It is a myriad of walkie-talkie transmissions, deciphering of hand-written parade entry descriptions, dealing with sweaty volunteers who have been suckered into wearing large animal costumes, parking 80 oversized vehicles, floats, and various sundry other things that people think are good ideas to enter into a parade. It is imperative that you keep cool under pressure when you are helping out with events like this. I know this. I teach this to my staff. This is the most important rule of event planning. Remain calm. Zen.

So, of course, you know this is part of my story where I tell you that I completely threw all that out the window for a flyer. A flyer.

A young lady approached the parade registration table with genuine enthusiasm holding a small flyer with some writing on it. The table at this point was in a bit of shambles with some confused and slightly irritated entrants, and the Queen song is blaring loudly in my head. The enthusiastic young lady held out the flyer in front of me and said that she wanted to tell me about an event. I assumed that this was part of the parade and that she wanted to give me her description for the emcee to read. She looked confused - "no, I just want you to know about this basketball event we have coming up." Now, why I didn't just take the flyer and thank her for it so she could be on her way - I have no idea. No, this is the point where I said, "I can't deal with this right now. We are trying to register people for the parade. Show this to someone who's not working." The young lady mumbled an apology to me and walked away I'm sure embarrassed and upset. Vicki leaned over and whispered to me, "Way to represent the library." She was right. That was no way to deal with anyone and I knew it. It's not easy for me to admit that I still make freshman mistakes with events, but I do.

The parade was a success. The library got second place for the amazing entry that Yvonne Croswell, Dantaya Robertson, and Steve Bauman all decorated. And I wish I could enjoy a little more of the success had it not been for that darn flyer.

Allison Beasley
Head of Adult Services

Writing the Music

2009-07-13T08:20:00.000-07:00

I never quite understood exactly what was meant by “It’s lonely at the top.” I’m finding out. This or that issue will come up, so I go get advice from my five supervisors. Of course, I get five different opinions. I try to take the best elements from each person’s ideas to come up with a workable solution, but in the end the outcome is on me. It was a lot easier being a member of the choir than it is being the conductor.

What This Library Is All About

2009-06-17T12:52:00.001-07:00

I've been basking in an afterglow that has lasted an entire two weeks. What could give such a long lasting warm feeling you ask. Rock the Stacks. Rock the Stacks was a two day musical extravaganza featuring 17 bands, some still together, some reunited just for this event after acrimonious break-ups. Thanks to an anti-trust class action suit, our Library received money to be used for "musical" purposes. Rather than spend all of it on new CDs and such, we set aside some to fulfill a different mission. I'm a strong believer that a public library should be more than a location where citizens get to experience the work of people from long ago or far away, important as that purpose is. This is after all the "KANKAKEE" Public Library. Shouldn't some of the content here be by the people of Kankakee themselves? Of course, some old grumps complained about Rock the Stacks when they saw the posters. To them Libraries are places where ideas go to die. Our target audience is the young and young at heart who want a place where they can see what is vital about this community. We weren't wrong. For days Twitter, and Facebook, and Flickr and YouTube were alive with content about how exciting and forward thinking Kankakee is, not just the Library, but the entire City of Kankakee. When's the last time you heard a 20 year-old in your area say, "My town is awesome"? That is an afterglow that can last generations.

Support Your Local Farmers! (And "Market" at the Market)

2009-04-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not in the "market" of making endorsements (I am in the market of making bad puns), but I am so moved by my local farmers' market that I feel compelled to blog about it. Today was the first day of the spring Kankakee Farmers' Market, where about 15 farmers and vendors from the community and outlying areas came to sell their potted plants, herbs, meats, fresh baked goods, cheeses, and even organic dog biscuits! The summer market starts later in May where there will be about twice the amount of vendors in full swing with produce and much more. These are truly the most amazing people who frequent the market - both the farmers and the customers! If ever I'm feeling down about anything, the local farmers' market is like comfort food for the soul. The kindness and generousity of the vendors is enough to make anyone want to move to the community. And the customers' loyalty to their favorite vendors and their desire to keep their hard-earned dollars in the community is in a word....wonderful. You may be wondering what this has to do with the library and the answer is EVERYTHING! Public libraries should be as much a part of the community as a local farmers' market is. This morning I spent a few hours helping out and passing out market flyers (with strategically placed advertisement on the back promoting a library program for next week). Knowing the local vendors and customers has been tremendously helpful to me in getting the word out about our library programming....not to mention, it's just plain fun. My experience has taught me that the dedication of the farmers' market customers is the same dedication that library patrons have - and they are often the same target audience. So please support your local farmers and shop locally at your farmers' market - and then head to your library (preferably mine) and put your tax dollars to work.

Allison Beasley
Head of Adult Services

Busy busy busy

2009-04-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

I've made several attempts at blogging over the past few months, but the start of every post comes to a rather abrupt end when my phone buzzes, someone comes in my office, or I suddenly remember a whole slew of things I've forgotten to do that day. The point is...it's busy here at KPL. Within the last 4 months, our director has gone on to greener pastures (well, they are likely snowier pastures right now like most of Northern Illinois), our city has instituted a hiring freeze due to the recession, and we've elected Kankakee's first female mayor, Nina Epstein! Steve Bertrand, our assistant director, has been named director now and KPL continues its quest to be fabulous in all ways! Once again, my phone is buzzing and I'm remembering about 15 things that didn't get done today. Until next time....

Allison Beasley
Head of Adult Services

Lost Upstairs

2009-02-15T14:45:00.001-08:00

No. I've not fallen off the face of the Earth. As you might have guessed, I've gotten a bit overwhelmed by my duties as Acting Director. Whereas the days used to go by at a leisurely stroll, now they roar by at the speed of a drag racer. I have every intention of reviving "She Said/He Said" when everything returns to something like normal. I've even asked Adult Services Supervisor Allison Beasley to be the new "She" advertised in our blog title. Of course, I think the only person busier than I am in this library is Allison! Oh well, the Kankakee Public Library is known for one thing above all else, optimism. So do not lose faith loyal readers (both of you), we will be back with more to say about all things library and anything else that enters our odd noggins. Until then, keep your circs high and your fines low.

Steve Bertrand
Acting Director

Acting Happy to be Acting Director

2008-12-04T14:03:00.000-08:00

As most of our readers probably already know, our Library is about to undergo a huge, and might I add scary, change. Our director and my co-conspirator here on She Said, He Said is leaving our library. Our Library Board, in what I hope is an act of wisdom, has named me Acting Director until a permanent successor can be named. I feel a lot like Commander Riker. In several episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, he had command of the Enterprise either offered to him or forced on him. In every case he either turned it down or the heroic Captain Picard returned at the end of the hour to take back his familiar duties. Sadly, real life isn't like TV. Change is far more permanent. I won't go through all of Cindy's accomplishments and what she has meant to our library and to Kankakee at large. That has been covered extensively other places, as it should be. For me, it is as simple as this: my friend, my partner, and my mentor is moving away. It's time for her "Number One" to take the big chair, for a while anyway. Fortunately I have the best crew in Library Land to keep me from crashing into any planets.

Steve Bertrand
Soon to be Acting Director

Stop Reading!

2008-10-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

I caught myself saying something to my seven year old son that I never thought I would utter: "Stop Reading!" It was followed by, "Go to sleep!" It was going on 9:30pm, his bedtime was 8:30pm and he had school the next day. It just doesn't seem right for a librarian to say, "Stop Reading!" The next morning my son was up before the sun was rising ....reading. I had to coax him away from his book to eat breakfast, to get dressed, to go to school. He triple checked his backpack to make sure the book was really in there before leaving the house. He finished the 225 page book in two days. My son has always enjoyed books, but this was his first time experiencing the almost magical connection of reading a really, really great book - all by himself. He preferred reading this book over TV and even video games. If you are lucky, you have come across such books, and you know the joy they bring. What is the title of the "best book ever written"? According to my son, it is: "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney.

Happy Reading
Cindy

Brother Can You Spare a Dime

2008-10-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

As I write this, on October 15, 2008, CNN is reporting the DOW down 733 points after a week of losing 1,000 points. Americans are worrying about their homes, jobs and retirement funds. What about Libraries? Libraries in Illinois are funded by property taxes, and, as all the news-watchers out there know, the eye of this current economic hurricane is the mortgage crash and plummet of home values. A concurrent fall of income into our Libraries seems almost inevitable. In a way, I feel lucky. My job is safer than most. After all, the Library isn't likely to go out of business. Cindy did a little research and found that the mighty Kankakee Public Library was open throughout the decade of the Great Depression, but we can't find evidence of what cutbacks may have been made. Indeed, statistics show that during economic downturns, greater demand is put upon public services such as Libraries as people come in looking for free entertainment, job search resources and so on. Whether this is just another recession, such as the one in the late 70's, or folks are headed back to the soup lines, certainly Libraries are going to be asked to do more with less.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

Hey...you...get offa' my cloud!

2008-09-11T15:04:00.001-07:00

Computing may be heading for the clouds. The latest buzz word in tech circles is "cloud computing". In fact you may already be doing some cloud computing without even knowing it. Do you use G-mail, Blogger, Facebook, or Google Aps? If so, you are cloud computing. In short, cloud computing is the use of software directly on the web, without anything other than a browser and operating system needed on your local machine. Ultimately, we could end up with computers in our homes that have nothing on them other than lots of RAM and communication software to connect to the web. In our library we used to call these machines "dumb terminals." Even your data would be stored remotely. Here are a few advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing:

Advantages
1. Software is cheaper because there is no CD or DVD to produce. Users will subscribe to software on line and log-in for access.
2. Pirating is reduced because there is no CD or DVD to be copied.
3. Viruses disappear because there is little software on the home computer to become infected.
4. The servers that house your data would be backed up by the storage site, so you wouldn't have to worry about it.
5. Users would have access to all their software anywhere in the world on a computer with internet access, making for the ultimate in portability.
6. Data and software would be stored on highly secured servers, making hacking for personal information much more difficult.
7. Home computers would be cheaper and simpler because they would require less internal hardware to run software locally.

Disadvantages
1. No more sharing software between friends
2. If your internet connection is lost, you have absolutely no access to software or data.
3. Users are at the mercy of the software companies to buy updates to software, since the companies would be able to shut off old versions and require upgrades. There'd be no more holding on to ten-year-old software that still works fine.
4. Users would be required to trust companies with their personal data, assuming it would not be sold, lost or given to investigators. This type of computing is not for the paranoid.
5. Users would be completely subject to all the terms of service of the software companies. How many users follow all the fine print on the installation click-through? I know I don't.

It's yet to be seen if cloud computing will bring sunshine or storms.

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

Birds of a feather....

2008-08-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

If I had to describe Kankakee in one word, it would be "diverse." It is truly a vibrant, interesting, and eclectic community. That fact was made crystal clear when I met my newest neighbor..... a wild turkey. I did a double take when I saw this huge bird (it is more than three feet tall) grazing in my neighbor's front yard! It brought to mind one of my favorite library stories:

One day, many years ago, I was a new librarian working the Circulation desk, and not familiar with some of the more unusual library patrons. A giant chicken came in, looked me in the eye and clucked, "b-b-b-book!" I was so shocked to see a six foot chicken in the library, that I gave him the book. He left. Afterwards, I convinced myself that I must have imagined the whole thing.

The next day, I looked up from the desk, and was surprised to see the giant chicken silently standing right in front of me, staring at me. I blinked, rubbed my eyes. He was still there, and on the counter was the book he had borrowed the day before. "May I help you?" I asked tentatively. "B-b-b-book, book!" He clucked abruptly and loudly. I was flabbergasted and a little frightened by his giant beak. I handed him two books. I watched stunned as he left the building.

On the third day the giant chicken came back, both books in tow. "B-b-b-book, book, BOOK!" He clucked. I handed him three books. ... But this time I followed him. Out the door, down the block, and headed toward the Kankakee River just two blocks away. Was he going to throw the books into the river!?!?! I snuck up on him and watched as he carefully laid the three books on a log near the banks of the river. He sat there quietly watching the river for a long time. I was startled when a large frog hopped out of the river and said, "Read-it, read-it, read-it."

My son, a seven year old, loves this joke. May all the giant birds you encounter by kind, and nice to librarians.

Happy Reading,
Cindy

You - Get the AED! You - Call 911!

2008-07-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last week, when our Library was closed for tiling, Cindy smartly thought to use one day to get our CPR training updated. A few years ago the Mayor decided he wanted all City employees CPR trained and equipped with an AED (automated external defibrillator, the machine that shocks the heart back to a normal rhythm in an emergency). After the training, some of the staff started talking about who they would, or wouldn't, perform CPR on. Everyone could think of several patrons that they'd rather not go mouth-to-mouth with. Fortunately, our Library has a mask with a filter and one-way valve that goes over the victim's face that the rescuer blows into, keeping the two separated. Others wondered about what responsibility a staffer is undertaking by performing CPR on a patron. I looked up "Good Samaritan Law Illinois" on Google and found the following in Illinois Annotated Statutes. Looks like we are pretty safe.

(745 ILCS 49/10)
Sec. 10. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; exemption from civil liability for emergency care. Any person currently certified in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation who complies with generally recognized standards, and who in good faith, not for compensation, provides emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a person who is an apparent victim of acute cardiopulmonary insufficiency shall not, as the result of his or her acts or omissions in providing resuscitation, be liable for civil damages, unless the acts or omissions constitute willful and wanton misconduct.
(Source: P.A. 89-607, eff. 1-1-97; 90-742, eff. 8-13-98.)

(745 ILCS 49/12)
Sec. 12. Use of an automated external defibrillator; exemption from civil liability for emergency care. As provided in Section 30 of the Automated External Defibrillator Act, any automated external defibrillator user who in good faith and without fee or compensation renders emergency medical care involving the use of an automated external defibrillator in accordance with his or her training is not liable for any civil damages as a result of any act or omission, except for willful and wanton misconduct, by that person in rendering that care.
(Source: P.A. 95-447, eff. 8-27-07.)

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

Enough Already

2008-07-09T07:25:00.001-07:00

The trend may be to down size, go green, and to lower your carbon foot print, but today I am pondering going bigger, adding more, and using even more energy.

Up until six months ago, it was rare when someone actually had to wait to use a public computer at our library. Then last fall we started noticing that the public computers started filling up earlier in the day, and wait times during our peak hours were becoming a regular occurrence. In January we began setting up a "temporary" teen laptop lab - making 10 more computers available for public use during our peak hours. We were meeting the demand, wait times were near extinction..... until a month ago.

Because of construction, we have had to take 20% of our public computers for adults out of service (three computers) but I am fretting that even with these computers back in service it won't be enough. Today we have wait times of 50 minutes. I am coming to conclusion that when it comes to technology, it is never going to be enough.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

I'm a Taxpayer!!!

2008-07-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a Taxpayer!!

We get scores of complaints from non-taxpayers about having to pay for cards. One peeved patron want-to-be actually put his "thoughts" into writing. This is a good example of how these exchanges normally go. Grammatical and spelling errors were left in place.

==============================

I went to your Library a few days ago hoping to get cards for my family. I was told I would have to pay a extravagant fee. I find this insulting I pay taxes to kankakee. My mailing address is kankakee. My children attend Kankakee school. I pay taxes to kankakee county. we shop in kankakee and I work in kankakee . but because my family live in rural area we are not able to receive your services . This is insulting to me. Especially when probably 70 percent or better of your members don't pay any kind of tax to support the library. I didn't think a public library was a institution for only those who can pay but I guess I am wrong. As a working member of society I do work for the state of illinois at shapiro center. I guess this is just another education for me only Filthy Rich or Dirt Poor Matter in this sick society while working class will have to carry them on there backs.

==============================

Dear Mr. ----------,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us about your concerns about the Kankakee Public Library fees. Unfortunately, you are suffering from a very common misperception about how our library is funded and how the fees are determined for cards. Let me outline for you our funding sources. We are a department of the City of Kankakee, just as is the Police Department, Fire Department and Department of Public Works. As a City department, our funding comes almost exclusively from the property taxes of people who live inside the City limits. The post office causes untold amount of confusion by assigning Kankakee addresses to individuals such as you who do not live in the City of Kankakee. This is done for the efficient delivery of mail, not for the determination of who pays property taxes. The remaining small portion of our funding comes from various grants, fees, fines and donations. The other taxing bodies you mentioned, Kankakee School District 111, Kankakee County, and Illinois state sales taxes contribute nothing monetarily to the running of the library.

Another misconception is that the people who live in the City of Kankakee get a "free" library card. This is completely untrue. Citizens within the city limits are forced to pay an average of $150 on their property tax bill for library service each year, whether they actually come into the library to get their card or not. A person living outside the City, having paid nothing for library service, has the option of paying the $150 fee to get service or declining library service and paying nothing. Either way, the service must be paid for. The $150 you were asked to pay is set by Illinois law, being the average amount a Kankakee tax payer pays for library support. This number was not arrived at arbitrarily.

As for your assertion that 70% of our members do not pay any kind of tax, I can assure you that 100% of our library card holders pay property taxes either directly on a home or business they own in the City, or as a renter of an apartment or home where tax costs are passed on to them via higher rents. You may believe that the poor and homeless who you see in the library have cards and don't pay taxes. Again, this is wrong. We do have Salvation Army residents and other poor or homeless in our library reading our materials, but unless they can show a permanent address where they receive mail, (the Salvation Army address does not satisfy this requirement), these individuals do not have a library card and so can not check out materials. Anyone is welcome to come in the library and use our collection. However, being in the library does not equal having a library card.

The hard working people of the City of Kankakee struggle to pay ever increasing property taxes in difficult economic times so that they can support one of the premier public libraries in the State of Illinois. The least we can do is require outside visitors to pay an equal amount for the same privileges.

If you have any more questions please feel free to contact me,

Stephen J. Bertrand
Assistant Director
Kankakee Public Library
201 East Merchant Street
Kankakee IL 60901
815-939-4564

Be Careful What You Wish For

2008-06-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

Five years ago this summer, we were in the final stages of converting the lower three floors of an office building into what is now our current library. That summer, each week a few of us would walk over to the new building, meander around the construction site with our mouths agape, marveling at how quickly the crews were completing the project, how smoothly construction was going, and taking photos. I was so excited I wished that I could share the experience with everyone.

This summer we are in the final stages of converting the fourth floor of the building into "The Illuminariam" a place where dreams and ideas are illuminated and come to life. It includes an auditorium, gallery space, a multimedia lab, computer lab, and more. This summer, each day, every single one of us, are experiencing the "joys" of living with construction. Construction is actually running ahead of schedule, but it can't be finished soon enough.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

What's a Board For?

2008-05-19T12:37:00.001-07:00

I was invited to be a guest panelist by our library system last week to field questions by newly minted library directors and assistant directors. One of the concerns discussed was what to do when your Board of Trustees gets "out of control." Examples of this were such delights as board members sitting in staff offices "looking for dirt", board members trying to influence hiring and firing of lower staff, or board members making inappropriate procedural decisions without a vote from the board at large. Clearly, these libraries have this problem because no one took the time to inform new board members about what they are for when they took office. I used this analogy in the group discussion: a Board of Trustees is like congress; they pass the law saying speeding is illegal, but they don't hop in their cars and pull people over. Board members are the representatives of the people, whether appointed by a mayor in a municipal library or elected in a library district. Their job is to ask the questions of the Library Director that the people would want asked, to provide the transparency that any government agency must have to survive with credibility. Being a public overseer does not constitute "playing librarian". I'm proud to say that the Kankakee Public Library Board of Trustees clearly understands that distinction. I wish more boards would learn from their example.

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

My Life's Work

2008-04-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while someone will comment to me that it must be nice to have a job where you can sit around and read all day…Those old stereotypes are hard to put to rest. This past month has been a whirlwind for me. April means the close of our fiscal year, National Library Week, a Poetry Slam, an Author Fair, a countywide Library Dinner, and Legislation Day in Springfield. This year, preparing and presenting a speech at a neighboring library system and writing a column for a library publication were thrown into the mix. It’s been very busy and terribly exciting.

One of our talented staff members, Mitchell Haug, prepared this video which pokes some fun at those old library stereotypes. If you work at a library or if you are a frequent library user, I think you may enjoy watching it.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Creators or Processors

2008-04-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

A very bright person (and I can't remember who it was for the life of me) once said that the world is made of two types of people: creators and processors. Creators actually add to the substance of the universe: painters, writers, movie makers, architects and so forth. While processors just move stuff around, without really creating much: accountants, sales people, stock brokers, store clerks and such. What are librarians? On the surface we seem to be classic processors. We move the information created by someone else through the system into the patron's hands. Our library is working hard to break that mold. Clearly we do a lot of processing, but we also are doing ever more creating. For example, a staff member is working on a documentary about Kankakee WWII veterans. I created a promotional video about Kankakee. We are also making ourselves a venue for others to create. Tonight is a teen poetry slam that will be podcast. Our Project Next Generation puts cutting edge software in front of young people to learn web design, music production, and video editing. When professionals ask, "What will libraries do in the info saturated future?" I think the answer is clear. Produce the info!

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

Standing on the edge...

2008-03-18T15:01:00.001-07:00

Our library is about to take a (another) leap of faith into the world of online social networking. I've had a plan for months to create a wiki for our city to act as a sort of encyclopedia of Kankakee. Often, our reference and genealogy staff uncover some fascinating tidbit of information, only to have it sent off to the questioner, never to be seen again. I thought this an incredible waste of our talents: hence KanWiki. The question is how wiki should our wiki be. The coward's way would be to try to lock down and control every article, lest some online vandal write something unflattering in an alderman's article. I explained the concept at our recent supervisor's meeting and was met with some skepticism. "What if someone tears up the Mayor's article," they asked. I replied that anyone can go in and fix it. Our experience of graffiti of the paint variety is that if you remove it fast, the vandals are not interested in hitting you again. The supervisors seemed unconvinced, but willing to try. I suppose that is the most I can ask. Now we either leap the chasm...or plummet.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

4-Real

2008-02-25T11:45:00.001-08:00

This February marks our fourth anniversary of our grand opening of our new facility. It seems hard to believe, but it is for real.

This February we are on track to have more "virtual visitors" (people who visit our website), than actual visitors who walk through our doors. It may seem hard to believe since the number of actual visitors who walked through our doors has gone up by 195% since our first year here, but it is for real.

This February we added not one, but two T-1 lines to increase our bandwidth for Internet access. It may seem hard to believe that we maxed out a T-1 line, but it is for real.

This February we broke our all time high record for program attendance - we had approximately 350 people to hear Elizabeth Eckford speak at our Library. Ms. Eckford was one of the "Little Rock Nine" that helped to desegregate Little Rock High School in 1957. It seems hard to believe that after four years we are breaking records, but it is for real.

This February our City Council approved a plan to expand our Library. We are in a private-public office building where the first three (soon to be four) floors are the Library, and the top four (soon to be three) floors are private office space. The fourth floor, which will add over 12,000 square feet to our Library, will primarily be an auditorium. We also have plans to have an art gallery, computer lab, and conference rooms. It passed by a unanimous vote, and the only comments by the aldermen were praise for what the Library is doing. No one could have imagined the success and support that we continue to receive for our community, but it is for real.

Happy Reading,
Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

My Brother's Keeper

2008-02-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

A few years ago a man came up to the reference desk and said to me, "What water is under the table?" For a moment I thought I'd misheard him. I said, "Excuse me?" He replied, with an annoyed expression like I'd missed a rather obvious point, "If the after affects of radio news on one's clothes is forgotten, how are we to carpet the bear's house?" Later, a friend who knows about these things said this affectation is called "word salad" and is a common symptom of schizophrenia. I couldn't help but wonder at the time, and now, how this man could be walking about unassisted. How does he survive? The answer lies in the Supreme Court case O'Connor v. Donaldson that secured freedom to everyone not a "danger" to themselves or others, thus largely emptying the mental institutions across the United States. I have personally witnessed individuals in my library eating french-fries out of the garbage, wearing clothes soiled in their own waste, and with grossly untreated wounds. Are these people "enjoying" liberty as the rest of us are doing? Are they able? We can easily dismiss the mentally ill as a bother in our library, or after Virginia Tech and NIU, as evil. But they don't make me angry; they make me sad. When their allies force them to live on the streets uncared for, I wonder if their enemies could do worse.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

A Rose With Any Other Nomenclature

2008-02-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

I received my shiny new copy of the annual University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science alumni newsletter this weekend. Paging through it, I happened up on a word I'd not heard before. Informatics. It appeared in the professional histories of several new faculty members. I hurried to the best resource for identifying unfamiliar concepts, Wikipedia! Turns out informatics is the study of, you guessed it, information. That seems to be a better description of what my colleagues and I do than the word "librarian," what with its root word libre, referring to books. Like it or not, books are becoming less and less the central focus of the 21st century library. Now if it were just possible to teach a four-year-old to pronounce informatician...

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

Death of a Patron

2008-01-17T18:41:00.001-08:00

It was with mix emotions this week that I read the obituary of a longtime patron of our library. While we hate to admit it, we all have our favorites. Those people who are generous with their compliments, and appreciative of our efforts.... he was not one of those patrons.

I have a great staff; they excel at customer service. There are very few problems that are bumped up to me, and in the fourteen years that I have been here, there have only been two times that disgruntled patrons have appeared before our library board. He was involved in both instances.

He was intelligent, and studious, and eccentric. He was not afraid to question a policy or point out a mistake. We all took a deep breath when he came walking through our doors. He kept us on our toes. His actions helped us hone our people skills and forced us reevaluate policies and procedures, and so our library is a better library because of him.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Questions 2.0

2008-01-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

I was browsing Michael Stephens blog "Tame the Web" today (something I advise every librarian to do) and came upon this post. He sites questions by David Armano that he recommends are posed to perspective ad/PR agency executive. Michael thinks they are good ones for Librarians as well. I thought you might be interested how we at the Kankakee Public Library do:
1. Do you read blogs. Yes Which ones? Everything from "Tame the Web" to "TVshows on DVD."
2. Do you have a personal blog? Yes What's it about? You are reading it!
3. Do you participate in at least one social network? Yes Which one? The KPL is on Flickr and has a MySpace page for Youth Services.
4. Have you ever uploaded a video online? Yes What did you use to do it? Several videos have been uploaded for our Vodcast. We also have a Kankakee promotional video.
5. What's your favorite search engine. Google Why? Uhhhhh. Everyone uses it?
6. Have you ever used an online classified service like craigslist? I haven't used Craigslist but I know that other staffers have. I have bought and sold on eBay.
7. Besides making phone calls-how else do you use your mobile phone? For throwing at walls. I'm not a big fan of cell phones. However, I'm about to buy a smart phone to replace a lost PDA.
8. Have you ever registered a domain name? Many. About a dozen for my web business and the domain name lions-online.org for the Library.
9. Do you use social bookmarks or tagging? I've tagged all my pictures in my personal Flickr account.
10. Do you use a feed reader of some sort? Yes Which one? Bloglines Why? Because it is easier than visiting a trillion blog sites one by one.

And here are some questions by Michael himself:
11. Have you ever watched a YouTube video? Um...more than I care to name! Have you posted one? Yes. One of your staff members posted this comedic look at libraries.
12 Have you listened to a podcast? Scores. Do you subscribe to any podcasts? Dozens (We even produce one!)
13. Have you ever edited or added an article to wikipedia? No. That we haven't done. But I am addicted to wikipedia.
14. Do you play games? Our Youth Services department has video game days. Video games? See previous. Online games? No
15. Have you ever commented on another person's blog? Yes
16. Do you own an MP3 player? Yes, I refer to it as "my right arm."
17. Have you used Flickr or another image sharing sites? You bet. The Library has an account and several staff members including myself have accounts.
18. If you were going to make a video about your library what would you focus on? We made one about our city, does that count?
19. What 2.0 tool could you teach a class about? Blogging, Social Networking, Wikis, Podcast Production (and I have done a seminar on that.)
20. What emerging technology excites you? Online Video (Stop giggling! That's not what I mean!!)
21. What type of collaboration tools have you used online? I'm not sure what that means exactly.
22. How do you communicate internally at your library? Right now I IM and email a lot. We are about to launch an internal Wiki.
23. What role if any could open source software play at your library? We are looking at open source software for our Wiki and for our blogs.
24. Does your library offer tools for content creation to patrons? No, not really.

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

New Years

2007-12-27T13:04:00.000-08:00

This time of year always fills me with a mixture of optimism and a touch of sadness. Our Library had a great year. We were a finalist in an international competition sponsored by SIRSIDYNIX, our website won a "Best In Show" award from the American Library Association, and our Youth Services Librarian, Camille Rose, won the Illinois Library Association's Golden Ticket Award. Our library was also cited as an example in several different professional publications this year. How could I feel a touch of sadness with a year like that?

The sadness comes when I think about our former Board Member and Friends of the Library President, Mary Jo Johnston, who passed away in August. Mary Jo was an amazing library advocate, and we miss her. It may seem ironic that my optimism also comes when I think of Mary Jo. Our Friends of the Library have decided to dedicate their Spring Author Program in memory of Mary Jo. In March, Christopher Paul Curtis, winner of both the Newbery Award and the Coretta Scott King Medal, and one of the most important voices in children's literature today will be speaking at our Library.

I think that Mary Jo would be very pleased to see that our staff and our Friends group are working together to make the Library a vital and exciting part of our community. We are working together to make the seemingly impossible possible for the children of Kankakee.

Happy New Years,
Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

The BookPod

2007-12-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

I have a burning need. I want a device that will change my reading habits the way the iPod changed my listening habits. Like most modern consumers, I want what I want when I want it. Now! As you probably know, Amazon made a pass at such a device last week with the release of their Kindle book reader. Many "in the know" tech reviewers wasted no time turning the Kindle into kindling. In particular, reviewer Robert Scoble recorded a video challenging his own record for the most uses of the word "sucks" in a single review. These reviewers don't seem to understand they are looking at a first generation product. Is the Kindle too expensive? Yes. But the first generation iPod cost $400 too, and didn't have any video or podcast capability. Its screen was black and green. It only worked with a Mac. It had 6gb of memory. In comparison, the newest iPod has 160gb of storage, podcast capability, full video, a full color screen, and works fine on a PC. That first generation iPod was introduced in 2001. What will the Kindle look like in six years? I can't wait to find out!

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

Library Elves

2007-12-03T14:52:00.000-08:00

I always struggle with how much a public library, or any government building for that matter, should decorate for the holidays. In my first few years as a director I felt somewhat Grinch like. I didn’t forbid holiday decorations at our Library (as long as they were politically correct) but I certainly didn’t do anything to encourage them either. This year Santa’s elves invaded our Library. Every time I walk through the building, more decorations seem to magically appear. There are snowmen, little lighted houses, sparkly faux snow, movable lighted deer, poinsettias, garland, stockings, and not one, not two, not three, not four, but five decorated trees – including a ten foot tall one in the café area. It’s very festive around here, and truth be told, I am feeling rather jolly about it.

Our Library is right down town, and the City’s Christmas tree is a block away, visible from our parking lot. This year we were asked to be part of the City’s tree lighting festivities. So along with Santa, there was Clifford the Bid Red Dog and Library Elves. There was the switching on of the lights for the City’s tree, and there was the “wreathing” of the Library’s lions. This year Kankakeeans began their holiday season by visiting the Library. I think that is something worth decking the halls for, and to be very jolly about.

Happy Holidays,
Cynthia Fuerst
Library Director

Thankful

2007-11-20T11:39:00.001-08:00

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? I am thankful that November is almost over. The month started with me serving a short stint of jury duty, and followed by every member of my household (including our dog, Melvil Dewey) visiting the doctor at least once. Life at the Library went on without me, which gives me forty-three other reasons to be thankful. I am thankful for our Library's staff. They are dependable, and level headed. They are self directed, and dedicated to providing the best library services possible to the people of Kankakee. I am truly blessed to work with such an amazing (and thankfully healthy) team!

Happy Thanksgiving,
Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Thank You...No

2007-11-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

Our Library has a public relations problem. It isn't a rude staff; ours is great. It certainly isn't incompetence; our people have won state and national awards. Moreover, we are known far and wide for our outstanding marketing. Our problem is this: how do we tell our generous patrons that we have no use for the moldy contents of their attics. Folks come in, beaming with pride, carting boxes full of bound National Geographics, dating back decades, or granny's artistic efforts, or some such thing. When they are met with, "thanks but no thanks," they are mystified and moreover miffed. "Oh, you have enough money now!" they will say. We've tried a variety of strategies, including accepting donations with a warning that they may be added to the collection, sold, or discarded. Even with that, donors often show up some days later and want to be directed to their donated treasures on the shelf. No one wants to tell them their gift was dumpster bound. I think we need to let people know there is a difference between an archive and a library. Folks are shocked when I tell them a library's collection is a consumable. It is purchased, used up, and then discarded. There seems to be a widely held belief that the local public library is where old books go to retire. If our collection was full of such items, the Library would be as forgotten as the attic from whence they came.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

Golden Ticket

2007-11-01T08:28:00.001-07:00

Our Youth Services Supervisor, Camille Rose, was the winner of this year's Golden Ticket Award. The award is given by the Illinois Library Association and recognizes "her outstanding local contribution in library services to young people in her community by creating and implementing library programs that promote a love of literature and instill positive feelings about libraries." In the twenty years that I have been working in public libraries, I have never seen anything that matches the creative energy and enthusiasm of Camille - she is just phenomenal.

Camille was recognized in Springfield during the recent Illinois Library Association Conference, and then locally at a recent City Council meeting. I attended both, and while the event is Springfield was very nice, the event in Kankakee was truly exceptional. Staff, board members, Friends of the Library, and library patrons attended the meeting. A group of about twenty children from the Library began the meeting by leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Our Assistant Director, Steve, presented a wonderful media program featuring photos of youth services events, played to "A Kind of Magic" by Queen. Camille received a standing ovation. The Mayor read a proclamation which was unanimously approved by City Council. The Mayor and Aldermen made several positive heartfelt comments about Camille, the youth in our community, the entire Library staff, and the importance of education and our Library.

Our Evening Supervisor and Project Next Generation Coordinator, Roland Johnson, really summed it up best. It makes you feel proud to live in a community that celebrates Camille and our Library in such a positive and heartfelt way.

I am so proud of Camille, and proud to be a Kankakeean.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Good Faith

2007-10-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

Cindy's most recent blog drew a reaction from our readers at safelibraries.org. Safelibraries' response set me thinking, as usual. Their comment linked to an article form the Washington Times (a newspaper founded by cult leader Rev. Sung Myung Moon, of "Moonies" fame, but let's leave that for another blog.) In the op-ed piece linked from their comment, writer Thomas Sowell rants about "Banned Book Week" being another skirmish in the culture war, arguing that we librarians, especially school librarians, are either sinister mind washers or idiotic dupes of liberal overlords. Ummmmm....I don't know where this culture war is going on, but it isn't in this library. I am a conservative's worst nightmare, a gay, lefty, government employee. However, our director is a centrist married to a life-long proud Republican. Our Board of Trusties is entirely made up of members appointed by our Republican mayor finishing up his fourth term in office next year. (If you doubt my opinion of Mayor Green, read this blog.) Under these circumstances, how am I to wield the unchecked power to further my "ideological crusade?" This arrangement works well because everyone believes that we are all operating in good faith to advance the needs of the people of Kankakee. Don't you think our patrons prefer that over war?

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

Free People Read Freely

2007-10-02T09:37:00.001-07:00

"Free People Read Freely" is the theme of this year's Banned Books Week (September 29 - October 6, 2007). Librarians tend to fall into two categories when it comes to celebrating banned books. The Activists: those outspoken soles who aggressively defend our freedom to read anything and everything. And The Avoiders: those who would rather not draw attention to the banned books sitting on the shelves of the library. Chances are that you have read a couple of Banned Books in your lifetime. According to the American Library Association, these are "Ten Most Challenged Books of 2006."
* "And Tango Makes Three" by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family, and unsuited to age group;
* "Gossip Girls" series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language;
* "Alice" series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language;
* "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things" by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
* "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group;
* "Scary Stories" series by Alvin Schwartz for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence, and insensitivity;
* "Athletic Shorts" by Chris Crutcher for homosexuality and offensive language.
* "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, and unsuited to age group
* "Beloved" by Toni Morrison for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group;
* "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier for sexual content, offensive language, and violence.
Off the list this year, but on for several years past, are the "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain.
The best way to celebrate Banned Books Week is to just read. Go ahead; make my day, read irresponsibly.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Books "they" want us to buy

2007-09-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

I envy the staff that buys our fiction books. Her purchasing criteria are whether the book is wanted or not wanted; whether it is a best seller or not a best seller. Sure, she may haggle over the quality of a title, but in the end, there can be no question that if our public wants something, it's a good thing for us to buy. I don't have it so easy. I buy non-fiction. The classification itself suggests some level of truth, a characteristic that isn't so easy to establish. For example, there are a collection of books out there promoted by a late night infomercial huckster. He suggests that "they" don't want you to have the information in his books. A little research reveals that this author has an extensive criminal history involving fraud. In fact, the first edition of his book, which we own, was primarily an advertisement for his website where even more information "they" don't want you to have can be gotten, at an additional price of course. When the request from patrons came poring in for this title, I couldn't help but feel like an accessory after the fact for this schmuck. In another case, a few years back, a semi-famous historian was found to be a holocaust denier in a British civil suit. Some of his books were cited as having inaccurate or misleading information in them that contributed to the idea that the horror of the holocaust is vastly overstated and more-over that Hitler didn't know it was happening. Lo and behold, we own one of those titles. Do I remove it from our collection? What about all the other stuff we own in "non-fiction" that is also misleading or just plain wrong? I can't find it all. I wonder if they have this problem in the kid's department.

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

9-11

2007-09-11T12:46:00.001-07:00

Last night I tried to explain Al-Qaeda to my 6 year old son. We were picking out his clothes for school. I suggested that he wear his t-shirt with the American flag in honor of September 11th, and the conversation turned to what happened that day.

It was a Tuesday, and he was 9 months old. Some of the things that I remember: that his day care was on "lock down" so I was late getting to work. When I got there, the staff asked permission to listen to the radio - we had no TV. As the days events unfolded, we didn't know what to make of what we were hearing: our State capital closed, the local mall closed. The staff asked me if we should close. So I called our Mayor, Mayor Green, who wisely said no. The best thing we could do was to stay open.

That entire day people came to our Library not so much to check out a book, but to talk to us; to be with other people; to gather with their neighbors; to get information. I truly realized that day the importance of our role as a community center. In the days, weeks, and months after this event they continued to look to us for answers; for information about the Middle East, Muslims, Islam, and Al-Qaeda.

While I have donned a red, white, and blue outfit today, and displayed our American flag in front of our house, probably the most patriotic thing that I am doing is going to work. The Library is open, providing access to information, a forum for differing opinions, and a common meeting place for all.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Book Barbeque

2007-09-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

There is nothing unusual about barbequing over a long holiday weekend ... unless you use books as charcoal briquettes. A Kansas City bookstore decided to burn all of the books they couldn't sell over the Labor Day weekend. This is the second time they have done this; the first time was over Memorial Day weekend. Tom Wayne the owner of Prospero's Books said he is protesting "what he sees as society's diminishing support for the printed word." He said he had over 20,000 books which he could not give away to thrift stores or local libraries. See for Yourself: Tom Wayne on YouTube . If someone called our library and asked us to pick up 20,000 used books, I would have to politely decline the offer. Twenty-thousand books is A LOT of books, and there would be considerable costs involved in hauling, storing, sorting, and processing those "free" books. Unfortunately if no one wanted to buy them, there is a high probability that no one would want to check them out from the library.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

In the Green

2007-08-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

Something scary is going to happen to our library next year. Something that hasn't happened in the ten years I've worked here. It has the potential of profoundly changing my working situation. Kankakee will be choosing a new mayor. Mayor Don Green has held office for four terms, 16 years by the time he finishes up next year. In that time, he has helped lift our Library out of a 105 year old building into an impressive new facility. He's lead the revitalization of our downtown, oversaw economic growth, pulled the City out of dept, eased racial tensions, and become a beloved story time reader in our Youth Services Department. Over all, Don Green has been the bomb. How many city mayors can not only say they have left their city better than they found, but VASTLY better? Mayor Green can. Soon, we'll be traveling into the great unknown, Kankakee under new management. I have my fingers (and my toes) crossed.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

Keep the Light Burning

2007-08-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago our Library and community experienced a great loss. Mary Jo Johnston, the person who has been responsible for many of our Library's impressive programs unexpectedly passed away. She was an avid reader, a Library trustee, a former President of the Friends of the Library, as well as the Program Chair for our Friends group the past two years.

It was hard, if not impossible, to say "no" to Mary, as many major authors such as Stuart Dybeck, Lois Lowry, Richard Peck, and Elizabeth Berg discovered. In a recent email, Pulitzer Prize Nominated author, Luis Urrea, described Mary as being a "great light." How true. We miss her. And truthfully things are indeed a little cloudy here at our Library.

No one can possibly fill her shoes, but we need to move forward. The Library staff and the Friends of the Library are committed to keeping her light burning brightly by continuing her efforts to bring the best programs possible, and to have the best library possible for the people of Kankakee.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Dis-ing Dewey

2007-08-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

Somehow, when I wasn't looking I became an old unhip woman. I know this because I am in awe of the Dewey Decimal System. I love it so much that I named my dog after the man who created this classification system, Melvil Dewey. Melvil even has a dog collar with a Dewey Decimal number. I am coveting a t-shirt that says, "What Would Dewey Do." I think Dewey is dandy.

Recently two different libraries in Arizona ditched Dewey in favor of a classification system used by bookstores. They love it, and many librarians are applauding their decision, and some even have been wearing buttons with slash marks through Dewey's name. (I am clutching my old lady librarian's heart as I write this entry).

We can learn a lot from bookstores, especially regarding marketing, displays, and signage. But I am skeptical that their organizational system is superior to Dewey. The relationship of the subjects and their placement in the store is a mystery to me. I don't get why my local chain bookstore shelves "Anime" next to "Cookbooks." (Are teenage boys into Paula Deen?) It also seems that a book's location is not set in stone; my local chain bookstore likes to move things around. I usually go into a bookstore looking for a specific title and I am seldom able to find it; and by the way, it drives me crazy that there is no public catalog.

I will admit that Dewey is not perfect, but I am not convinced that this classification system is a dog.

Dewey Disciple,
Cindy Fuerst
Library Director (021.5)

Time = Hope

2007-07-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

I have now experienced something twice in my life that I hope never happens to any of my readers. I have been nearby when someone I care about has suffered a stroke. The first time was two years ago when my father, already suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, was stricken; then again, last week, when one of our board members fell ill while attending a library public program. There was one major difference between these two instances. In the first, our family delayed, not sure what the odd symptoms meant. In the second, our board president was talking to her colleague when she immediately recognized the tell-tale signs. Our board president demanded, not requested, that her friend go with her to the hospital immediately, and so they went. My father died two weeks after his stroke. Our board member has been given absolutely every chance of recovery because of the calm decisive action of our president. I urge everyone reading this to review the symptoms of a stroke, and not be concerned with petty embarrassment if you suspect a stroke may be occurring. Time = Hope.

Signs of a stroke from the National Stroke Association

Anti-Anonymous

2007-07-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

I attended my first SirsiDynix Webinar last week; the topic was writing for the library profession. One of the tips given by the presenters was "SIGN IT. If you can't, don't write it." I thought that was very good advice, but at the end of the hour program, that idea was challenged.
Apparently there are librarians who feel that if they speak up, their jobs will be jeopardized. My mind races.... to insecure administrators who are so controlling that the employees can't say "boo" without repercussions ....to gossipy employees telling tall tales that breech patron confidentiality.
I've read anonymous comments posted on numerous library blogs. They are often negative and sometimes even mean spirited. I always wonder about the person's credibility. There is no way of following up with them to clarify a point, or to correct the problem. To me when someone makes an anonymous comment, they are not interested in finding a solution or in improving their library or the library profession, they are interested in complaining.
You know who I am; who are you?

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Bonding Through Baseball

2007-07-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

No matter how good a staff is people will get on each other's nerves eventually. People focus on the pettiest gripes. Don't deny it, you do it too! Left unattended, these pressures can break down an otherwise efficient team. That's why it is vitally important to do something away from work to rebuild the spirit of cooperation. Baseball has done the trick for us. Last week was "Library Appreciation Day" at U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, so some Library staff and kids from Project Next Generation took a chartered bus to the game. Though the Sox are not living up to the joyous days of the 2005 championship season, they managed to polish off the Baltimore Orioles by a score of 11-6. Even better, our Library's name appeared on the scoreboard! If work is getting too heavy, get out and have some fun. All work and no play makes Johnny a dull librarian.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

The Conference Buzz

2007-06-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

I just returned from the annual American Library Association's Conference in Washington D.C. With 27,000 attendees and nearly 900 exhibitors this was one of the largest ALA conferences ever! I came away inspired and with a suitcase full of samples from the vendors, and examples from award winning libraries across North America.
So here are a few random thoughts from the conference:
* Radical Trust. People just loved to use this term. Trust your staff, your students, let people make anonymous comments on your blogs, etc..... Interesting, but I keep thinking it would be wise to radically trust only trustworthy people. ;-)
* It is perfectly fine to be imperfect. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, libraries need to move forward - quickly. Don't be paralyzed by fear of making an error.
* Library 2.0 is so 5.0 minutes ago. Here I thought we were ahead of the game, but big technological advances are on the horizon.
* OPACs Suck. Mostly librarians under 30 expressed this sentiment - LOUDLY. I guess they are too young to remember filing those little cards in the card catalog drawers. I'll take my imperfect online catalog over those card catalog drawers any day.... err, except the days when the power is down, or we are having problems with our phone lines, or the server is down.....
* Librarians need to play. We need to have time to play around with new technologies so that we can explore how we can adopt them to improve library services.
* The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Rock. There are so many libraries doing so many fabulous things, but PLCM name seemed to pop up everywhere during the conference. I want to learn more about them, what they are doing, and how they are doing it.

My hat is off to ALA for planning and implanting such a wonderful conference.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Careful What You Blog About

2007-06-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

Not two hours after blogging about fire safety in the Library, I peered out our third floor window to see the above image in our parking lot! A "bucket truck" owned by the city had burst into flames. Fortunately no one was injured, but the city is going to need a new truck.

Steve Bertand
Assistant Director

Let the Good Time Roll

2007-06-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

In our one hundred plus year history we've had our share of bad times and good times. I would definitely say that we are in a good time era right now. This week, our Library is being recognized at the American Library Association's annual conference with a "Best in Show" award for our website. We are also one of 15 finalists for the SirsiDynix "Building Better Communities" award. Some of the other finalists include the Smithsonian in Washington DC, the Shanghai Library in China, and The World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
If you are not familiar with Kankakee, IL you may think that we are a large metropolitan library serving a well educated and economically affluent community. While the latest census figures tell a different story, you may soon be right. A public library is a reflection of its community. Our community celebrates diversity and innovation; it values hard work and education. That's a recipe for prosperity.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

In the event of an emergency...

2007-06-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

At our last Library supervisor meeting, a representative of the Kankakee City Fire Department visited with us to discuss evacuation procedures. As many of you may know, we have an odd situation here, since we share our building with four floors of office suites above us. Consequently, as we try to leave via our emergency stairs, the upstairs renters are doing so as well. Still, that isn't our biggest evacuation challenge. That would be patrons who simply refuse to leave or delay leaving while they collect their belongings. This may be a case of "the boy who cried wolf". People assume if they don't see flames or smoke, it must a drill. But last month, we had one alarm caused by a sprinkler malfunction that was not a drill. For all the staff knew, some other part of the building was in flames. Still we got those who wanted to close Windows and save their documents as they casually pack up their laptops or run to other rooms to collect purses. We're approaching the point where we are thinking of enacting penalties for such behavior, including a temporary banning from the Library. Such measures will be for our Library Board to decide. I'm at a loss as to what else to do about his small minority that selfishly insists on putting the majority at risk.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

Nancy Drew Rules

2007-06-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Some people just seem to age well. There's a new Nancy Drew movie coming out next week and she's looking better than ever, especially for someone who has been around for over 75 years. I remember reading hand me down copies of Nancy Drew books growing up. I would carefully write and illustrate reviews of my favorite ones. I looked forward to watching the too short lived "Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" staring Shaun Cassidy, the dreamy Parker Stevenson, and of course Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew. So what's Nancy's secret to staying hip and popular? I did a little sleuthing of my own and this is what I found out.

While Nancy Drew mysteries have continually been in print since 1930, over the years the books have been reedited and revised. Not just the cover art, but the text itself. Nancy has gone from driving a Roadster to a Mustang, and later editions contain fewer chapters and are quicker paced. Despites the changes, Nancy Drew remains true to herself; she is inquisitive, smart, resourceful, forever young, and helpful. Nancy Drew just might have discovered the clues to being a successful librarian in the 21st Century.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Keeping the Customer Satisfied

2007-05-30T14:24:00.000-07:00

Reading a post on another blog the other day, I was put in mind of an incident that happened to me more than ten years ago. At that time, I worked in a community college library. We had a regular patron who was clearly mentally ill. Each day he'd come in declaring he'd received another prestigious degree from some Ivy League university. We dubbed him The Reverend Father Doctor International Attorney at Law. One day he came in and asked me to get the Constitution for the Planet Jupiter for him. He knew I would come through for him because I was famous campus wide for my crack interlibrary loan skills. Well, I'll confess this one had me stumped. No matter how hard I tried to convince him that Jupiter had no life, let alone a formalized government, he just kept insisting. Finally, in desperation, I went to the law department and copied a few random pages of the Supreme Court Reporter, then put them in an I.L.L bin with his name on it. The next time he came in asking if Jupiter's Constitution had come in for him, I pulled the pages out with a flourish and handed them over. Thrilled to pieces, he retired to a table and poured over the pages. He was clearly very happy and I never heard a complaint from him. When I related this story to my reference classmates in library school, some thought what I did was unethical. Was it? After all, I kept my customer satisfied. What do you think?

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

Educating or Lobbying

2007-05-16T13:23:00.001-07:00

There was a great deal of concern in Libraryland when HB1727 (Internet filtering) narrowly passed the Illinois House. So the Illinois Library Association called for a "Library Day of Unity." They suggested calling or faxing your local state senator, distributing flyers, posting signs, and even turning off public access to the internet for that one day. The goal was for everyone in the Illinois library community to do SOMETHING.

The "something" that we seemed to do the most here at KPL, was discuss what we as public servants could legally and ethically do while on the clock and with public funds and property. As library workers, we know first hand what is actually going on in our libraries. We have an intimate knowledge of our budgets and what we can afford, of our community's standards and expectations for library services; and thanks to persistent sales people, knowledge about the technological products available to the library market. We have a valuable perspective. Shouldn't that perspective be shared with our legislators and patrons? Shouldn't our patrons be informed about how a proposed state law could negatively impact their library and the services they have come to expect? We are doing our duty, educating the public.... or have we crossed the line and begun lobbying our own agenda?

As much as I personally and professionally think that filters are not a good option for our library, I recognize that there are tax payers in our community who just as adamantly believe that filters are the only option. I don't believe that the pro-filter folks want to hurt public libraries, and I certainly hope they believe that libraries are just as concerned about online safety. The facts, information, and education are the key - they also happen to be our job.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

How Much is a Nickel Worth?

2007-05-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

My favorite Aunt loved to say that the Lutherans lost her for a nickel. Every Sunday my Grandmother would send her off, with little sister in tow, to the neighborhood Lutheran Church. One Sunday they were serving some sort of ice cream treat. My Aunt went to take one for herself and her sister, but was stopped by a church lady. She didn't have the required nickel; she was so embarrassed and hurt that she never went back.

The next Sunday, when my Grandmother sent her daughters off to church, my Aunt took her sister across the street, to the neighborhood Catholic Church. My Aunt passed away last year. She was a devoted and active Catholic her entire life, as are her children and grandchildren. Imagine how my family history would have changed if that church lady had been empowered to waive the nickel fee for the ice cream treat.

It amazes me how the incidental acts of others can snowball to impact the course of our lives. Is it possible that a smile, a friendly greeting by name, a phone call, a grace period on overdue materials could create generations of library supporters? I think my Aunt would have said yes.

Make it a great day for yourself, and someone else.

Cindy
Library Director

The Right NOT to Read

2007-05-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. I am not in love with books. Unlike the librarian's stereotype; I do not thrill to the crack of new binding; I do not sniff the odor of old pages; and I certainly don't stay up all night under the spell of a "page turner." Don't get me wrong. Reading is fun. I do as much of it as I can find time for (all non-fiction for me). But I'm not addicted to reading. I'm more a binge reader, not reading anything for up to a year, and then reading three books in a month. For centuries, most Libraries' only strategy for confronting the non-reader was to devise ways to seduce them to start reading. Those who refused were marked up as "lost souls" and ignored. I have to ask myself, would I frequent the Kankakee Public Library if I didn't work here. I can honestly say yes. I say yes because KPL has faced up to the problem of what to do for people for which reading has not been, nor ever will be a part of their lifestyle. Through podcasts, internet service, public programming, DVD/CD circulation and online streaming of programming we've reached out to those who steadfastly resist the printed text. Libraries must understand that non-readers are a tax paying part of our service group who deserve some kind return on their dollar, without having librarians look down there nose at them. As scary as it may sound, people do have a right NOT to read.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

Emmett Till

2007-04-30T09:29:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while you read a book that is so well written, so powerful, and so thought provoking that it stays with you long after you have read the last page. The Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America by Mamie Till-Mobley and Christopher Benson is such a book. It is Emmett Till's story told by his mother, about his life, his tragic death, and his immeasurable legacy.

I can't stop thinking about it, processing it and marveling in one thought about how far civil rights and our nation have come since 1955, to being disheartened by my next thought that racism still exists in 2007. From feeling fortunate that I live in a diverse community, to worrying if people in my community feel threatened by me because of the color of my skin. I contemplate if our nation will ever be able to truly heal such deep wounds. Does time heal all wounds, or is there something we can do?

I had the opportunity to hear Christopher Benson speak at a Diversity Forum hosted by the Lincoln Trail Library System. He said his goal was to go to bed exhausted, to do all that he could do every single day. He was inspirational. It is imperative that libraries do all they can do to respect and celebrate the diversity in the communities they serve.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Gutted

2007-04-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

It's funny how we attach the emotions of our pasts to physical objects and places. As most of you probably know, we moved out of a 105 year old building into our new space about four years ago, a move that was decades overdue. Since then, the city of Kankakee has been gathering the money required to rehab the old library into a public facility that will house the Mayor's office, aldermanic offices and other municipal governmental agencies. Saturday, the architect working on our former home gave some of us an opportunity to see what has been accomplished so far. What we saw was...well...shocking. The old Library has been gutted down to its exterior walls in most places. Walls, ceilings, even floors are gone. Photos I was stunned at how a place I'd spent every work day of seven years could be rendered nearly unrecognizable to me. For months after we moved, I made pilgrimages to the old vacated Library to get this or that item we'd left behind. Since the space still looked exactly as it did when we left, I could still hear the ghostly voices of those long gone librarians and patrons who had occupied that space for more than a century. Indiana Ave. Tour It was satisfying to have all the comfort and excitement of our new building, but to know that the old one was still there, like a mausoleum interring my past. Now, those ghosts have been completely and thoroughly chased out. And I know this is a good thing. The old building will have a new and vital purpose in our city, and the spirit of our Library has taken its last step into its current beautiful location. Library Tour But, I can't help feeling just a little sad.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

The High Cost of Filters

2007-04-02T10:52:00.000-07:00

We have been discussing Illinois HB 1727 A LOT around here lately. This is yet another unfunded mandate requiring all public and school libraries to install filters on their public computers. Of course it requires that the filters to be turned off at the drop of a hat by a library employee who is over 21 who then needs to monitor the unfiltered session. Libraries and librarians who do not comply face fines of up to $100 per day, and possibly imprisonment. I think orange jumpsuits are a fashion faux pas for women over a certain age. I really don’t want to wear one.

The dark side of the Internet has been widely hyped in the media. Even I am amazed at some of the explicit sites that can be accessed for free on the net. Most reasonable people, including our legislators, want to protect our kids and think filters are a good thing. It is hard to argue against them; but the Illinois Library Association has a list of excellent talking points on why they oppose HB 1727.

If HB 1727 passes and becomes law, our Library’s cost for providing free public computer access will more than quadruple. The staffing alone will cost more than $60,000 a year. I’m basing this on minimum wage ($8.25 an hour in Illinois), having two people here all the hours we are open (69 each week), for 52 weeks a year. I have yet to factor in the actual cost of the software, and as I mentioned before, this is an unfunded mandate. If this passes, the liability and the costs will just be too high for some libraries; they may be forced to discontinue providing public internet access. Now that would really be a crime.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

The Mission Transition

2007-03-22T11:23:00.001-07:00

Cindy and I were pondering the history of our storied library the other day, and wondering when exactly we jumped on the participatory technology train. We both could point to the implementation of various technologies over the past couple of years, but that doesn't explain why we started in the first place. In the olden days, say the 1990's, we were still ruled by the old paradigm of literacy support. When did the "Mission Transition" happen? Then I recalled, back in early 2005, our city called on us to create a new mission to reflect the mission of the city as a whole. Cindy dug it out of her files for me and the very first item read, "Commons: A library that provides a Commons environment helps address the need of people to meet and interact with others in their community and to participate in public discourse about community issues." I was amazed. It may not use the buzz words, but it certainly lays the foundation for everything we've tried to do with those technologies. We were 2.0 before 2.0 was cool!

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

The Kiss

2007-03-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

This week my blogging counterpart, Steve, our Evening Supervisor, Roland Johnson, and I trekked up to the Thompson Center in Chicago to meet with Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White, and Director of the State Library Anne Craig. I contacted Anne Craig a few months ago about the possibility of interviewing her for a podcast. We hit the jackpot! Not only did Anne Craig agree, but she invited Secretary White to participate in the podcast. The podcast opened the door for us to spend about an hour and half with Anne Craig, and about forty-five minutes with Secretary White, time focused on our Library and community.

It was a surreal experience for me. We are not a big library; we don’t have any special clout or inside connections, yet here were these two extremely important and influential people taking time from their busy schedules for us. We were truly honored and I was pretty much left speechless.

Not very many elected officials have the courage to publicly say they don’t think filters are a good idea, but Secretary White did. I could have kissed him. To my surprise, when we left, he kissed me on the check. I may never wash my face again.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Don't Tread on Us

2007-03-06T08:50:00.000-08:00

Like most other librarians in the state of Illinois these days, my hair has been put on end by the proposed "Social Networking Website Prohibition Act" wending it's way through the Illinois General Assembly. If enacted, the law will do exactly what the title suggests. The Illinois Library Association has released an excellent set of talking points. However, I think they have left out one that would be particularly appealing to conservatives. Conservatives assert that the people are best represented by the elected officials closest to their communities. City government is more representative than state government, which is more representative than the federal government. Every public library in this state is governed by a board of trustees, either elected by the people of a public library district or appointed by the mayor of a city served by a municipal library. In every case, these boards have decided what internet policies best represent the communities that their libraries serve. What I ask the promoters of the "Social Networking Website Prohibition Act" is this: what is your evidence that these citizen overseers are making such wrong decisions that they must be overruled by a higher authority?

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

Does Size Matter?

2007-02-22T13:34:00.000-08:00

When I learned that two librarians from the Netherlands were coming to visit the Kankakee Public Library I felt a mixture of disbelief, excitement, and ... well, I guess - trepidation. We are use to being a big fish in a little pond. We are the largest public library in the county, and one of the larger libraries in the Prairie Area Library System. But compared to the innovative Delft Public Library and the impressive Gail Borden and Schaumburg public libraries (which serve communities four times larger, and have budgets more than ten times larger than ours) I feared we would look pretty darn puny.

Despite our size, that I nearly spat on them in my lame attempt to say "good morning" in Dutch, and that we took them to Poor Boys for American hot dogs; I think we looked okay. Our guests were quick to point out that the best libraries are the ones that effectively reach their users. I agree. It is not about size, it is about creatively connecting with all segments of the community. Waiting at the circulation desk for people to come to us is just not going to cut it in the 21st Century.

Around these parts Erik and Jaap, like the legendary rock stars Bono and Sting, need no last names. We were impressed by their enthusiasm and passion for libraries, and inspired by the lengths they are going to seek out the very best library practices to effectively reach their users. With librarians like these, it is easy to see why the Delft Public Library is known across the globe for their innovative library services.

Cindy Fuerst – Library Director

The Dutch Invasion

2007-02-12T12:20:00.000-08:00

The Dutch have invaded northern Illinois and we are theirs. For those of you who have not already heard of Erik and Jaap on Michael Stephens' blog Tame the Web, they are two Dutch librarians from Delft Public Library in The Netherlands. They were in the area to do a video documentary about libraries that are using gaming to draw teen users. Jenny Levine at ALA recommended our humble (no really!) little library as one of the few they should visit while they were here. To call them simply charming is to damn with faint praise. I was amazed, no flabbergasted, that our library worldviews were in such perfect sync, ours being developed here in Kankakee and theirs in the far off Netherlands. I've struggled as of late for a firm conceptual framework for all this library 2.0 stuff. Erik stated it neatly. Libraries are story tellers. We keep the stories, share the stories and make the stories. Such a concept frees us from any one medium. Stories can be kept in books, on cd or dvd, in podcasts or vodcasts. It won't matter if any of those media are lost and replaced by something else, the stories will remain and thus our purpose. Thanks to Erik and Jaap for reminding me why I went into this nutty business. WOW I have a great job!

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

Love Goes Out the Window

2007-01-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

My grandma use to say, "Love goes out the window, when bills come in the door." She was a wise woman. Apparently her wisdom can be applied not only to personal relationships, but to our profession as well. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal discussed the fact that MLS librarians are leaving public libraries in favor of higher paying jobs in the private sector. I have heard a wide variety of reasons why people decided to pursue a Masters degree in library science - a love of reading and learning, and wanting to make a difference are the two I hear most frequently. Librarians know that information is vital, it is power, it is life changing, and it can be life saving. We know that the people at the greatest risk, with the most disadvantages are the ones that truly need great public libraries and librarians. People don't pursue an MLS to get rich quick. While money may not be a motivator, it is a necessity. Our Library has lost several excellent staff members to other jobs which pay more, offer better benefits, better hours, etc...These people loved working here, hated to go, and I hated to see them go. I wish them well, but more than anything, I wish we could have afforded to keep them.

Cindy Fuerst
Kankakee Public Library Director

Green with Envy

2007-01-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, it's official. I have the coolest job around. Last week our set up to do green screen chroma-keying arrived. Chroma-keying is the process by which a background can be inserted into a video digitally. It's the basic method that everyone from the weather guy to George Lucas uses. Believe it or not, we got the entire setup for around $300. Thanks to Jesse White, Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian, we got cool video editing software through the Project Next Generation grant; that was the high ticket item. We just had to buy the stuff to make our little mobile studio. The picture above shows Youth Services Supervisor Camille Rose and me ready for our close ups. Our first use of the technology will be to create a welcome video for our soon to be released Teenzone website. Camille and I are going to be inserted right into the home page. You can be certain I'll be blogging on that when it's done. The possibilities for promotional videos make me dizzy!

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

No Senior Citizen Left Behind

2007-01-16T11:24:00.000-08:00

Before there was "Ask.com" there was "Ask Uncle Don." I started Library School in 1989 - in the dark days before the Internet was even a shadow of what it is today. In those days, all library students took a basic Reference class where the instructor would give us a list of ten to twenty esoteric questions and we would try to find the answers before the next week's class. Whenever I was completely stumped, I could rattle off the question to my Uncle Don and inevitably he would know enough about the topic that he would steer me in the right direction of where to look for the complete answer. He is not a librarian, but he would have been an awesome one. He is the smartest person I know, the reason why I am a librarian, and why I am the Director of the Kankakee Public Library.

You probably know my Uncle, or someone just like him. He is an avid reader and life long library users. He's meticulous about returning his books on time and has been known to challenge a library policy or two. To him a card catalog means real paper cards filed in wooden drawers, and the print version of Encyclopedia Britannica still rules as the supreme source of knowledge. He understands the value of the web, but doesn't really trust it. He typifies many of our core library patrons.

Every time our Library produces a new newsletter, like a little kid bringing home a report card, I bring a copy of it to my Uncle for his approval. In our latest addition of the Mane Event, we have a brief blurb about Library 2.0 and all of our Library's techie initiatives. My Uncle questioned me about all of them.

At more than one library meeting I have heard colleagues make statements that their patrons are not tech savvy, that their users barely know how to use a computer. Why invest the time and energy into Library 2.0 initiatives when their patrons are struggling with using a mouse? For two reasons: 1) To reach new users. 2) To educate our traditional users in new technologies. We need to offer services that appeal to the next generation of library users who have never known a world without the web. Our podcasts and vodcasts, rss feeds, online catalog and general presence on the web allow us to meet Generation Y in their virtual neighborhood. But the second reason is maybe even more important. We are educating our community, heightening awareness, assisting individuals to bravely take baby steps into this new digital world. Being a life long learner is no longer an optional scholarly pursuit, it is a matter of survival. I want the people that the Kankakee Public Library serves to do more than survive; I want our community to thrive!

Cindy Fuerst
Kankakee Public Library Director

Podcasting: What's it for?

2007-01-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

Surveying other Libraries recently who do podcasting (there still aren't very many) or other streaming audio or video, I noticed that the preponderance of them use the technology as an advertising tool. In my last post, I moaned about how libraries don't advertise enough, so I'm not going to fault them for trying to get their message out to as many people as possible. Still, when I set up our podcast, it never occurred to me to use it as a support system for other library activities. The KPL Podcasts stand on their own, like author talks or Circulation functions or Reference. Since our podcast goes out not just to our service area, but to the entire world, they provide an opportunity to create a positive image for our city in ways none of our other outreach methods can. Consequently, we want to create content that folks in Atlanta or San Diego or even London might be interested in hearing. It reminds me of a John Lennon quote, "Think globally, act locally."

We've Come A Long Way Baby

2007-01-05T08:01:00.000-08:00

January 5th marks our third anniversary in our new Merchant Street home. The last three years have been extraordinary. We have received national and international attention for our unique private/public building partnership, as well as for our innovative services and programs. While our library and staff have been recognized for their efforts, very little kudos has gone to the real stars behind our success - the people of Kankakee.

A public library mirrors the community it serves. Kankakeeans have a long history of supporting public libraries. Our Library was established in 1897 and like the City we serve, we have had our ups and downs. Less than ten years ago, Kankakee ranked dead last by the Places Rated Almanac. Our City was in serious debt; we had a high crime rate, high unemployment, and no public transportation. During this same time our Library was located in a sadly rundown 100 year old building which we had long ago out grown. We had no meeting rooms; duct tape held the carpet together; out of order signs were everywhere, tarps covered the reference books to protect them from the leaking roof, and not surprisingly dismal user statistics. One library professional who was working with our Library Board around this time called our Library "a dump." Ouch.

Our City and our Library have come along way since those dark days. In many ways it feels like I have been the director of two completely different libraries. In the old building, we were always reactive, now our Library is proactive. Where once we spent a considerable amount of time addressing building maintenance issues and mishaps; we now spend time planning for our Library's future and the role it will play in our community. We are exploring new technologies, implementing new programs and services to better meet the needs of our current and potential new users.

The new Library was a piece in the puzzle to revitalizing downtown Kankakee. Over the last three years we have been able to attract droves of new library users to downtown; the perception that downtown Kankakee is not safe has been shattered - repeatedly. As I look out the shiny windows of our Library, I see a bustling downtown with new streetlights, new sidewalks, new shops, banks, office buildings, a satellite college campus and . . . buses. The view looks good from here. Our future looks bright.

So here is to the people of Kankakee! It has been my privilege to be your library director these past eleven years. I have learned so much and have worked with so many extraordinary people. The biggest lesson that I learned is that when a community pulls together, anything is possible.

Cindy Fuerst, Kankakee Library Director

Humility is Overrated

2007-01-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

In talks I've had and articles I've read recently, I've noticed an odd characteristic in librarians. They seem to have developed an embarrassment, almost a shame, about using marketing strategies to promote their services. For example, Jessamyn West posted on her blog Librarian.net an entry titled "I believe there are times when self-promotion is helpful". Why the timidity? I believe the time when self-promotion is helpful is ALL the time. I'm not paid by the people of Kankakee to be humble. I'm paid to talk about how great our library is to everyone, everywhere, in every media. Some have called the "Library 2.0" catch phrase empty and useless. Maybe it is empty and useless, like "fly the friendly skies", "have it your way" or "just do it". But these empty phrases sold millions of airline tickets, hamburgers and sneakers respectively. We librarians like to associate ourselves with the academia that places itself above the unclean world of advertising. However, college professors are not competing with MTV, PS3 and YouTube for the attention of their audience. As Michael Porter pointed out in BiblioTech episode #2 (self-promotion intended) a catchphrase is simply shiny wrapping paper, without exciting content you have nothing. He's right. However, I think he'd agree, if you have great content and don't push it out to the public using smart publicity strategies, your services will go the way of beta video recorders, a great product that got its brains bashed in by the brasher competition.

Stephen Bertrand
Assistant Director

Library Confidential: Part 2

2006-12-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago a young man had his bike stolen from out front of our Library. The bike was left unlocked near our entrance. We are now discussing having bike locks at our circulation desk. Why should a library provide locks for their patrons' bicycles? Because our patrons hold us responsible for what happens here - good or bad.

Growing up I was told that you don't want to tempt a good person to do something bad. I locked my bicycle, didn't flash my allowance around, avoided dark alleys, and walked with a friend to school. I was taught to avoid being an easy mark. As a library director, I do everything I can to make our Library safe. We have good sightlines, cameras, a well lit parking lot, and an evening monitor. We also have policies. A few weeks ago Steve posted, "Too Young for the Library." Our Library's Unattended Children Policy, which requires children under the age of 13 to be accompanied by an adult, struck a sour note with some of our readers. Many people, including myself, have fond memories of visiting the local library alone as a child. Was the world really safer place back when I was a kid? Or were we all just blissfully unaware? Last week Chicago's CBS 2 News aired another installment of "Library Confidential." This one was entitled, "How Safe Are Our Kids In Public Libraries?" My answer: They are as safe, and no safer, as they are in any public place.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Reference is Dead, Long Live Reference

2006-12-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

I'm a recovering Reference Librarian. I spent seven years doing reference before being "kicked upstairs" two years ago. Last week our current Head of Adult Services and I got into a conversation about the value of our print Reference collection. She said very nearly nobody uses it anymore. And that includes staff, who is now married to the internet. Only a handful of the thousands of titles ever make it off the shelf. We budget something like $20,000 a year on Reference materials. The trends suggest that money is wasted. So I recommended to our Adult Services supervisor that we should dump the print collection all together and spend that money on online databases with home access. We can count the stats from the database home use as Reference interactions. A bank of computers for the databases would fit nicely into the spot occupied by Reference shelves. I worry this may spread the "digital divide" even wider, but the time is coming when we will need to get even more radical about finding ways to deliver the services our patrons want in the format they want it. More and more that is going to be online. Another of Cindy's sacred cows teeters on the brink.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

Kankakee Public Library's Incredible, Amazing, Super-duper, Tight, Groovy, Cool, Bee's Knees Top Ten List for 2006

2006-12-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

It is December, the time of year when just about everybody is coming up with their picks of "the best" of the previous year. So, here's my list of the best things that happened at the Kankakee Public Library in 2006.

#10 - Blogs and Flickr - In November our Library launched two different Blogs - An administrative blog , "She Said, He Said," and a staff blog, "Library Musings;" as well as a Flickr.com account. We hoped that they would be well received, but the response has really been incredible. Two of the most positive repercussions of these initiatives have been the discussions and the excitement that they have generated among our staff.

#9 - Presidential Royalty - Across the pond they have a Queen; here we have a President. Over 200 people came to hear Clifton Truman Daniels, author and grandson of President Harry Truman. Mr. Daniels was witty, entertaining, interesting, personable; in short, wonderful. It was a great program and a great evening at our Library.

#8 - Cool School Groves - We love collaborating with Kankakee School District #111! We usually register around 200 new library users a month, but in August this year more than 400 people registered for public library cards in a single day during school registration. Whew! This year we also collaborated on Family Reading Night programs with most of the schools in the District - attracting crowds of 200-300 students plus their families at each event.

#7 - Project Next Generation - We were surprised and delighted when we received a call last Spring about this state initiative. This grant program from Secretary of State and State Librarian Jessie White and the Illinois State Library enables us to mentor at risk teens using the latest technologies. It has been an inspiring program which is allowing our Library to make a real difference in these young lives.

#6 - ALA Says Were #1 - We were very proud that American Library Association awarded our Library with the 2006 Swap & Shop Best of Show for our Teen Reading Program. We received our award in June in New Orleans at the ALA's Annual Conference.

# 5 - Newbery Author, Lois Lowry Visit - Ms. Lowry is to children's literature, what the Beatles are to popular music. She is a prolific writer, and just about everyone connected with libraries, or books is a fan of her work. We had over 300 people hear her speak at our Library in March. Many, Many thanks to our Friends of the Library group who arranged and paid for her visit to our community. Other groups that helped cover the expenses were our Regional Office of Education, and the Two Rivers Reading Council.

# 4 - Vodcasts and Podcasts - Technically we started podcasting in December 2005 when Arlo Guthrie visited our Library, but that was our first attempt. Since then we have learned a lot and the quality of our recordings has greatly improved. We have received international recognition for our podcasts and vodcasts - which alone is enough to make any library's "Top Ten" list, but I think the real value of producing the podcasts and vodcasts is that they allow us to contribute content to the vast array of information available on the web. Libraries are about sharing, which means giving as well as taking. We're giving back, and giving our Library, and more importantly our community, a voice on the web.

# 3 - The Community Connection - As a city library, we have an entire network of people that help us make the impossible, possible. The best example of this is our Family Fun Day at the Farmer's Market. The vendors of our fabulous Farmer's Market along with our local Kiwanis group pay for the entertainment at this Summer Reading Program Celebration. Over 500 children plus their parents saw the Jessie White Tumblers defy gravity. Along with the entertainment, there was a dunk tank filled by our Fire Department (they also debuted their brand new Fire Safety House). The Mayor and City Clerk serving snow cones, the City's IT Guru offered free computer advice, the Junior High Principal did face painting and got in the dunk tank, our State Representative was on hand to help pass out prize bags, the Friends of the Library sold books, the local Semi-Pro Football Team helped with games. All year long, the support we receive from the City's departments and the community is AWESOME! They are the wind beneath our wings.

# 2 - The Luis Urea Experience - When our Friends of the Library group asked Pulitzer Prize nominated author Luis Urea to speak at a program, I don't think that they, or anyone else had any idea of the repercussions. Over 300 people came out on a cold January night to hear Mr. Urea give a wonderful program. Our Mayor presented Mr. Urea with a key to the city. Mr. Urea was very impressed by our community and Library and blogged, "Kankakee Rocks!" It caused quite a flurry, was in the local newspaper, passed out at City Council and made us all really proud. In June Mr. Urea wrote a column for the New York Times, again speaking very favorably about Kankakee and our Library. All I can say is, Luis Urea Rocks! We have gotten calls from all over the country about what our Library is doing to revitalize our community. Luis Urea is not only our favorite author, but a legendary hero around these parts.

# 1 - Increase Library Usage - This is what is all about. For the third year in a row our Library has broken records for computer usage, visitors/attendance, number of items circulated. All the technology, all the programs, all the accolades pale in comparison. When all is said and done, our goal is to inform, enrich, and empower the people of Kankakee and we are getting better at it every year.

It has been a GREAT year for our Library and we are working on 2007 to be even better! I sincerely hope that 2006 has been great for you too! Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year from all of us at the Kankakee Public Library.

Cynthia Fuerst
Kankakee Public Library Director

My Hypocritic Oath

2006-12-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

I had an unusual experience recently, at least unusual for me. I was called a hypocrite. Well, not personally, but a group I clearly belong to was called hypocritical by its nature. That group consists of people who work for a municipal library but do not live in that library's home city. In my case, I work for the Kankakee Public Library but live in Bourbonnais. In case your not familiar with our county's geography, Kankakee, Bourbonnais, and Bradley, Illinois are conjoined cities, not neighboring, but actually bordering in a way that makes it impossible to tell when you leave one and enter the other without reading the "Welcome to..." signs. Still, each has its own government and its own municipal property taxes, and it's true that the property taxes of the apartment building I live in go to Bourbonnais Public Library District, not to Kankakee Public Library. I have lots of rationalizations for why I am not a hypocrite: my pay is fair compensation for the work I do, so I have the right to spend it any place I want; my commitment to my employer could not be greater even if I lived next door to it; I am in complete compliance with all library and city laws and policies; my elderly mother lives only a mile from me in Bourbonnais. But still it niggles at me. Am I not showing confidence in my library's community? Why did the accusation sting if I didn't feel a bit guilty about it?

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director
Kankakee Public Library

Walk the Talk

2006-12-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Librarians are very proud of the role they play in society. Libraries and librarians are the great equalizer in this digital information age. We are the ones that help bridge the gap between the information "haves" and "have nots." We pride ourselves on being open minded, liberal, and most of all inclusive. Librarians have been known to boycott vendors, reschedule national conferences to different venues, and even lose their jobs in our zeal to protect civil rights and the freedom of information. While we are all proud to be part of this noble profession, I sometimes wonder if the majority of us only talk a good talk, but don't do the walk. Is there is a disparity between our words and our actions?

As a white woman, I am not qualified to write about this topic; but perhaps it is because I am white that educated colleagues have said to me, "Black people don't read." "Black people are not library users." "We can't have this program at night in Kankakee because it is not safe." They make these comments without blinking an eye, stating them as fact. To prove their point, public libraries that serve primarily white middle to upper-middle class populations often have dramatically higher statistics than public libraries serving similar sized diverse communities.

The American Library Association reports that 80% of library workers and 90% of MLS librarians are white. I think we do a great job of selecting materials that we like, providing services that work for us, offering programs that interest us... us being white, middle-class, women. I think most libraries are not doing a very good job of reaching out to non-traditional users. Non-traditional users being people of color, men, the disabled, etc...

The Kankakee Public Library is doing its best to serve our diverse community, and has had some great successes. We started an African-American book discussion group, Soul Collections, at our Library more than a year ago. It is our most popular book group, attracting 15 to 30 readers each month. As we do with our other book groups, we interlibrary loan copies of the title to be discussed each month from other libraries. We have great difficulty finding enough copies for our African-American book group. Now, I know that there are people of color living outside of Kankakee, but few libraries in the Prairie Area Library System, which encompasses most of the top third of the State of Illinois, seem to purchase materials aimed at this audience. If libraries are going to remain vital in the 21st Century, we all need to think about how our collections, services, and programs are going to be relevant to all of the people that live in our community today, tomorrow, and ten years from today - and I guarantee you they are not all going to be white middle-class women.

Cindy Fuerst
Kankakee Public Library Director

Too Young for the Library

2006-12-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

Last week a well experienced library professional, currently an administrator in a library school, questioned our "under 13" policy. The policy states that anyone under 13 years of age must be accompanied by an adult over 18 while in the library. The guest librarian argued that we are cutting off many needy patrons from our library by enforcing this rule, characterizing the policy as "staff centered" rather than "patron centered." On its face, the policy appears to function only to make the library environment more comfortable for the staff. However, it was put in place when a child was injured in the library and a parent could not be found to deal with the emergency medical personnel. Moreover, we were concerned with the possibility that a child could be snatched from the library from an adult stranger. The public often confuses libraries with schools. School employees have all sorts of powers relating to minors that libraries don't. We are very aware that we are cutting off our services from some young patrons because they can't get an adult to come to the library with them. Still, how do we manage this loss with the delicate balance of child safety? Why is it ok to leave your 10 year old in the library alone, but unwise to drop them off at Walmart or the local shopping mall? Maybe people have an overly romantic view of the library, that is ultimately just another public place.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director
Kankakee Public Library

To be (an MLS) or not to be (an MLS).... Is that the question?

2006-12-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

The prevailing wisdom in Library Land is the more MLS (Masters in Library Science) librarians a library has, the better the library. It might surprise some people that our Library has only two MLS librarians who are part of our team. Today's public libraries are complex multifaceted organizations. Techno gurus, youth advocates, media aficionados, community activists, avid readers, former educators - people with different educational backgrounds and different work experiences bring different skills and different perspectives to our Library. The diversity of our management team makes our Library a better, stronger, and more relevant place to our community.

While I do believe that there is no substitute for a formal library education, be it the mighty MLS from an American Library Association accredited institution or the powerful LTA (Library Technical Assistant) certificate from a respected community college; I also believe that there is no substitute for enthusiasm, great people skills, creativity, ties to the community, and good old fashion experience. I would much rather have a non-degreed person with library experience, who was innovative and willing to do back flips for the good of our Library and community, than a professional MLS librarian who has no people skills and no interest in our Library or community - other than collecting a pay check.

I would encourage anyone who is seriously interested in making libraries their career to pursue the MLS, and if pursuing the MLS is a little too daunting at this stage of life, go for the LTA. This is an extremely exciting time to be a librarian. We are in the process of redefining library services for a new generation of library users. Librarians are the pioneers, the astronauts of cyberspace. You could help determine the fate of libraries, influence the availability of books and information, empower the masses. Is this your destiny? It is up to you to decide.

Cindy Fuerst
Kankakee Public Library Director

With Great Power, Also Comes Great Snobbery

2006-12-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight our Library is hosting a talk by comic book artist Don Kramer, current penciler on DC's Detective Comics. Don's visit set me thinking about libraries' and that venerable art form, the comic book. It's true, lately; comics have crept their way into public libraries, but only under their high minded secret identities, "The Graphic Novel." I personally don't know any libraries that subscribe to a monthly comics title. The attitude still remains that comics are for the simple minded and that they don't constitute real productive reading. Let's consider for a moment the impact comics creator Stan Lee has had on our culture. For starters, he co-created Spider-Man, The Hulk, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, Daredevil and legions more. I'd like to know what other writer has had more of his characters featured in their own movies. If movies are not high minded enough, a Spider-Man quote written by Lee is on a plaque outside the Rhode Island Attorney General's office, "With great power, also comes great responsibility." I sure want my Attorney General to keep that in mind! I'll admit, I loved and still love comics. I think their impact on me was all positive. By the time I was twelve years old I knew what "doppelganger" and "verisimilitude" meant. Do you? I learned those words in "simple minded" comics. In primary school I was in the advanced reading class because of comics, though my teacher wouldn't acknowledge it. Reading and vocabulary isn't the only positive impact comics have had on me. Because, of Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, and John Byrne, I taught myself how to do this:

I'm not sure who I'd be without comics; though I am sure I don't want to know.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director

Santa or Scrooge?

2006-11-27T07:37:00.000-08:00

I am very proud that our library has not been timid about exploring emerging library technologies; but I can not take credit for any of our technological accomplishments. It is not that I am anti-technology; it is that like many other library directors I find myself in the role of "Scrooge" far more often than "Santa."

A big part of my job is dealing with numbers: budgets, statistics, demographics, costs... (yawn). When a tech savvy staffer comes up with some cool new thing that he/she thinks we should try my Scrooge like reaction is to ask, "How much does this cost? Who is going to do/maintain this? What impact is this going to have on our Library?" I do manage to refrain from asking them if they want the WHOLE day off to celebrate Christmas.

Many libraries will blame cost, and/or staff limitations for not implementing new technologies. But I think the real reason is that it is almost impossible to measure the impact these cool new techy things will have on the Library. Most emerging technologies were not designed with libraries in mind; getting accurate user stats is somewhat difficult. If the Director knew and could give hard numbers to the library board that this new fangled-thingamajig was going to be more popular than story hour, I bet the library would find the money and the staff. Even without hard data, the Kankakee Public Library's motto is, "Informing, Enriching, and Empowering." When we implement new technologies that is exactly what we are doing.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Race by the Numbers

2006-11-21T09:58:00.000-08:00

Race is an illusion. Ok, ok, I know what everyone will say. Race impacts employment, housing, social situations, education and on and on and on. It is true. But the only reason it has an affect is because race is an illusion we all believe in. I'm proud to say that we at the Kankakee Public Library don't believe in race. What does that mean? It means that when a candidate for a job enters our library, they are guaranteed to be judged on the content of their character, not on the color of their skin, to paraphrase Dr. King. We believe that if we simply hire people based on their talents, the staff will reflect the community. So, how has this "color blind" attitude in hiring panned out? Let's have a look:

According to the United States Census of 2000, the City of Kankakee is made up of 50% White, 41% Black, and 9% Latino.

As of today, the Kankakee Public Library is made up of 38% White, 52% Black, and 10% Latino.

Within the various Library ranks, 57% of the Library supervisors are White and 43% of the supervisors are Black. 45% of the clerks are White, 41% are Black, and 14% are Latino. And among the pages, 86% are black, 14% are Latino, and none are White.

That's how believing in ability turned out, by the numbers.

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director
Kankakee Public Library

Miss Information

2006-11-19T13:12:00.000-08:00

My husband gave me the nickname "Miss Information" back when we were dating. Little did he know that years later he would be portraying "Miss Information" in front of hundreds of children and their parents at our Library. Miss Information personifies everything that we hope we are not. She is loud; she is always throwing her credentials around yelling, "Q.U.I.E.T." (Quincy University Intellectual Educational Teacher). She is out of date and out of touch.

We came up with this idea of "Miss Information" in 2005 when our Kennedy Middle School approached us about hosting a Family Reading Night at our Library. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth graders can be a tough audience. We wanted to convey the Library's rules in a fun and entertaining manner. We thought that a man in drag with big hairy knees peeping out from between his nylon knee-highs and polyester skirt, stating ridiculous rules such as that the fines were $1,000.00 per day, and that you had to be 81 to use the library, would have the students howling. But the kids and many of their parents did not initially get the gag. We probably were two minutes into our act before they realized this was a put-on and that Miss Information was full of "misinformation." She was so popular that she has been requested to make other appearances.

I have asked myself why the students and parents did not immediately recognize Miss Information for what she was. Was my husband's performance as a woman worthy of an Oscar nomination? Well... he did a good job, but he wasn't as good as Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. Does Kankakee have the most polite children in all of library land? Well ....they are pretty great, but I don't think that is the reason. Could it be Miss Information was a little too real? I hope that's not the answer. It is rather frightening to think Miss Information may actually be a real librarian out there somewhere in libraryland.

Cindy Fuerst
Library Director

Talent 2.0

2006-11-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

Our library is not huge. Our library does not have a giant budget. Our library can not afford to hire a lot of people with elegant educations. You may expect me to write next, our library doesn't shine. I'm very proud to say our library does shine, and shine quite brightly. We have the metaphorical champagne on a beer budget. How do we do it?

Organizational theory talks a lot of resource management. Most administrators interpret that to mean budget management. Money pales next to the most important resource any library has, talent.

All too often, especially in larger settings, bureaucracy creates tidy little job descriptions into which staff are jailed. What this mathematically driven system does not take into account is that human beings are complex creatures with more than one ability. A person may be a whiz at answering reference questions, but what if they can also sew a very convincing Sponge Bob costume? Will the Youth Services Department go without this asset because costuming is not in the job description for reference? Maybe your cataloguer is expert at Microsoft Access. Will he/she be allowed to work on a database for the Circulation people, or will it be more important to protect one's turf?

Our library looks expensive because we have a cataloger doing an RA newsletter, a reference clerk writing music, and circulation clerks putting up displays. Does this make our organizational chart a little fuzzy? Maybe. Welcome to the human race. And I dare you to find a bored KPL staffer!

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director
Kankakee Public Library

Sacred Cows Make Good Hamburgers

2006-11-15T08:21:00.000-08:00

They have fought a brave and gallant battle, but the fight is showing signs of ending. Sacred cows are becoming an endangered species in library land. The vertical file, the paper card catalog, The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, Books In Print....can no longer be found at the Kankakee Public Library. They are gone, but not forgotten; they were replaced. Libraries can no longer afford to offer the same old services, and the same old programs the same old way just because that is the way it has always been done. Times are changing; demographics are changing, and technologies are becoming more affordable and accessible to the masses (including for us in library land). Our diverse and tech savvy patrons expect more from us. Policies, procedures, programs, and services need to be continually evaluated. They need to make as much sense today as they did a few short years ago.

Even though our numbers are way up when compared to a few years ago, we are continually evaluating what we are doing and why we are doing it. According to the 2000 Census, Kankakee is roughly 50% White, 41% African-American, and 10% Hispanic. It is important that our collection, services, and programs reflect the diversity of our community. That we are meeting the literary and information needs of everyone who resides within our service area.

We are finding that some of our tried and true core programs and services have become old and worn. For many years our Library conducted book discussion groups for children and teens. They were moderately successful, but last year, attendance dwindled to two or three participants in each group. Our Youth Services Supervisor, Camille Rose, and her team talked with the children and their parents to brain storm a new approach. Instead of discussing one book in detail, the staff does booktalks on several titles along a common pop culture type theme. The themes so far have been "Fear Factor", "Iron Chef", and "Grossology." The event also includes an age appropriate hands-on activity that goes along with the theme.

Our Youth Services team recognized that what was important about the Library's book discussion program was not analyzing the plots and character development, but getting the children connected with the right book, to get the children excited about reading, and to get the children excited about visiting the Library. If they could do that, the children would talk about the books on their own, and they would want to visit to the Library more frequently. Have they been successful? More than 70 children and teens, plus their parents, now participate in this monthly event. I am very proud of Camille and our Youth Services staff; they are right on target!

Like many of you in library land, we are doing our best to stare down those Sacred Cows. We are looking for ways to reach more people, looking at who is using our library, and who isn't and why. We are going out into the community, forming partnerships with the schools and other organizations. We are listening to parents, teachers, teens, and community leaders and addressing their needs. We are embracing new technologies and exploring new ways to offer traditional services. We are breaking down barriers, changing perceptions, and proving that public libraries are a great value to everyone.

Cindy Fuerst
Kankakee Public Library Director

Is the ALA out of touch?

2006-11-13T10:30:00.001-08:00

Imagine this scenario. You are a library staff member charged with monitoring the library's public internet computers. A known "problem patron" comes in and begins an internet session. This patron is known to have been "on the edge" of violating library policy in the past. While walking past him and shelving some material, you notice he is looking at pornographic images depicting people you believe to be under the age of 18. You nervously go to the phone and dial 911 to call the police. Noticing your nervousness, the offender ends his session and quickly leaves. The police arrive and ask for the computer user's name, address and session history. Do you give it to them?

The people of Kankakee - who pay our salaries, financed our new building and keep our doors open by patronizing our resources - would demand, I suspect, that we give the police what they want to get the creep off the street. That is certainly what our staff would do. I wonder though, would the American Library Association say the same?

This scenario is similar to the one depicted recently in a WBBM Chicago TV report called "Library Confidential". The report sparked a discussion in a library staff supervisors' meeting about what we should do if such thing were to happen on our library (which I might add NEVER has!) We concluded first that such viewing of child pornography is an egregious violation of library policy, and would result in the banning of the offender from the internet computers and most likely the library itself. However we were not sure if Illinois law requires us to demand a court order before turning over the name and viewing history of the internet user. The Illinois library law reads:

75 ILCS 70/1) (from Ch. 81, par. 1201)
Sec. 1. (a) The registration and circulation records of a library are confidential information. Except pursuant to a court order, no person shall publish or make any information contained in such records available to the public.

That doesn't seem to cover the history on computers. But what does the American Library Association have to say on the matter? Though the ALA demands that libraries follow all applicable law, it states in its privacy guidelines "General monitoring by staff of patron content or use of library materials and resources in any format is inappropriate in all instances with the exception of observation for the purposes of protecting library property." Our library monitors internet activity constantly. In fact we have positioned the computers purposefully so that staff can observer user activity. The ALA suggests a hands-off approach. "Libraries may address the concerns of unwilling viewers in a number of different ways, including the strategic placement of workstations and the use of devices such as privacy screens or recessed monitors." Using those methods I fear we'd quickly become the Kankakee Public Peepshow.

The ALA privacy guidelines has this to say about cooperating with the police: "Neither libraries, their resources, nor their staff should be used in any scheme to elicit and catch criminal behavior." I suppose I can agree that we should not engage in "sting" operations that would "elicit" criminal behavior. But what does "elicit and catch" mean? Does that mean the ALA would demand we not hand over the computer history of the suspected sex offender?

I fear the ALA has become hopelessly out of touch with the concerns of real communities that finance public libraries. I don't understand why it would be acceptable to ask a loud patron to lower her voice, but the ALA would not have us ask a patron viewing shocking pornography on a publicly viewable screen to stop.

If we follow the ALA philosophy - what we don't see we don't have to be responsible for - we will be buried in proposed filtering legislation that none of us want.

More information: ALA Privacy Page

Steve Bertrand
Assistant Director
Kankakee Public Library

Public Libraries are Public Spaces

2006-11-09T14:12:00.000-08:00

Psst.. I have a secret. If you are a frequent library user, you probably already know this secret. But apparently Chicago's CBS 2 News did not. They aired a special investigative report entitled, "Library Confidential." In a nutshell, they discovered that public libraries are indeed public places.

As public buildings and American institutions, we believe that you are innocent until proven guilty. We believe that you, as a tax payer, have a right to be in the library. We believe that your intentions are honorable until your actions indicate otherwise. We don't require you to sign-in, to go through a metal detector, or to have a back ground check before allowing you through the front doors of our buildings.

While we expect everyone to act appropriately, not everyone does. Your safety is of the foremost importance to us. We don't tolerate inappropriate behavior. Howeve, we also try to keep things in perspective. A group of teens talking loudly isn't a threat, but if the staff asks them once to settle down and the behavior continues, they will be asked to leave the Library, if they don't leave, the police are called and they risk being banned from our building for an extended period of time. I hate to tell you how many times I was kicked out of my neighborhood public library when I was a teen - I thought it was a great place to catch up with my friends. Back then it was no big deal - unless your parents found out. I guess in our post 9/11, 24-hours-a-day Cable News, Reality TV world this would now be sensationalized into a newsworthy event.

CBS 2 News knows that we like our news in glossy little snippets. Not bothering with the details and using numbers out of context made for a much more enthralling report. If anyone is interested in the truth, the vast majority of people using their public libraries do know how to act appropriately. According to the American Library Association, Americans made 1.3 billion library visits in 2004, yet less than a handful of those visits resulted in a newsworthy event. Public libraries are indeed public places and I think for the most part, they are safe places, but I guess that's not much of a story.

Cindy Fuerst
Kankakee Public Library Director