Leadership from Mary Dempsey

What a travesty from Fox News. In their report on Libraries Today they got it wrong. Again. As they usually do. But this time it was simply... w.r.o.n.g. I mean had the reporters never used a library effectively at any point in their life?

But as usual Mary Dempsey showed her class and leadership with a honest and effective response letter. It never fails to make me sad that we are forced to explain and defend the library institution that positively impacts and supports every citizen at each and every stage in their life.

Thank you Mary, for saying what we all wish we could express so eloquently.

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/library-taxes-closed-commissioner-reaction-letter-mary-dempsey-20100702

System Changes....and Opportunities?

I have always appreciated the support and assistance of the collective at Illinois Library Systems. I enjoyed working at a system agency at one point in my career and thrived on the collaboration and sharing of knowledge. Now through lack of timely and necessary state funding we are losing unparalleled support and talent at the system level. It is a sad time that creates many unknowns.

My hope is that opportunities will arise during this time of great change and transition. As a librarian who embraces change, I hope that we will all emerge stronger, unified, and with increased communication and collaboration. I desire this for all of the citizens who rely on Illinois libraries, and for the many libraries and staff who diligently work on their behalf.

To the many wonderful people who have provided leadership at system agencies:
Thank you for your dedication to Illinois libraries.

Your talents for advocacy, staff training and professional development, board guidance, legislation, grant development, marketing initiatives, and a host of other services too numerous to list, will be greatly missed.

The Chicks are hatching!

Visit our Webcam @ Homer Library!

Homer Township Library would like to announce our exciting live hatch program Chick-it-Out @ Homer Library. The chicks are hatching - two so far and we have two dozen eggs in the incubator!

We have a webcam to view the chicks' progress in the incubator - take a look here. Full program information is on the library's website. Pictures are posted to the library's flickr photo site. This is a very fun and exciting program for both customers and staff!

Snapshot: One Day in the Life of Illinois Libraries

We joined many libraries this past month when participating in "Snapshot: One Day in the Life of Illinois Libraries"on Wednesday, February 10.

In Homer Township our library serves as many things to many people, and a typical library day includes events for babies through seniors. This unique "snapshot" provided us with the opportunity to document usage in a fun way, with pictures and by asking people to tell us exactly what they think. And they did! The results are interesting and much of what I learned reinforces that we serve as a true social center in our community.

We have compiled Snapshot Day comments with pictures and statistics into a handy little booklet, which we will be providing to our elected officials to chronicle our library's importance to the community and how customers truly rely on us.

YOU SAID...a sampling of Homer Library's customer comments:

1. The teen section is pretty cool. I like the colors and chairs. It's a cool place to hang.

2. The Library is the most important service that Homer Glen provides. I am an ardent user of it. The entire staff is just wonderful.

3. Funding for local libraries should be increased, not cut. In today's society, the library serves as one of the few good resources for families in a time when there are far too many distractions and mischief for our kids to get into.

4. I love the libraries in this system. I rely on them for entertainment, information and books! (My favorite things!) As I cannot afford home-computer internet access I utilize this also. I do NOT know what I would do without the Library and its helpful staff.

5. We could not live without it!

6. Going to the library is a favorite regular outing with my daughter (written by a dad!)

7. I LOVE my Homer Glen Library. Great selection of materials and anything I have ever wanted was available thru the Prairie Cat System. Also ALL those that work at my Homer Glen Library are Knowledgeable, Efficient, and Super Friendly!

8. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, my library receives a 25.

9. This is the "Best Library Staff on the Southwest Side." The people who work here do an "Excellent Job"

10. Our Library is a welcoming place for our community members and families. They offer great programming and a friendly, helpful staff. We visit our library weekly, as well as, our library's bookmobile. We enjoy using the library's computers, programs, and children's area.

11. The Homer Bookmobile is awesome! They have a bunch of books and DVD's! I love my Bookmobile!

Snapshot Day, was created as a project of the Illinois Library Association, and helped us to showcase libraries in a challenging and exciting time. The vibrancy of our services and value to the communities we serve continues to grow and we are more relevant than ever today. More than 90 libraries showcased photos of this special day which can be found here.

Visit your library today and look at it with fresh eyes to truly see what we offer. Imagine even more @ your library.