Participate in the Library's Upcoming Community Engagement Process!

As a Lisle Library District (LLD) Trustee, I want to encourage every resident in the District to participate in the library’s upcoming community engagement process. We’re looking forward to hearing from residents of all ages and from every part of our service area.

Our last full-scale community engagement study was conducted more than 20 years ago, and of course, libraries have changed dramatically since then. It’s time for fresh input from the community. How can today's library best meet your needs? What do you like about the library? What do you think we should improve? Do you want more of certain programs and services? Do you need services we don’t yet provide? This is your chance to let us know! Your input will help the library improve its services, resources, and programs, and help the Board of Trustees develop a new strategic plan.

The Board has contracted with Millennia Consulting to ensure that the community engagement process is as unbiased and comprehensive as possible. Our contract with Millennia is the result of an 8-month public process dating back to May 2016, when a discussion about hiring an independent consultant to facilitate the engagement process was an agenda item at a special Board meeting. The allocation of funds for the consultant was included on the agenda for the September 2016 Board meeting, and was approved at that time. The Library Director updated the Board on the progress of the selection process at the June, August, October, and November 2016 Board meetings, as noted in meeting minutes on the LLD website. The process culminated in a public meeting in December 2016 to hear presentations from three finalist firms. After reviewing the final proposals from these firms, the Board chose Millennia for the project, approving a $54,450 contract for their services, along with funds of up to $5,500 for additional project expenses.

The library’s space issues have been mentioned on the Patch, so you may be wondering if they'll be a topic of discussion during the community engagement process. I can assure you that the library does have some significant space constraints. These include:

· shelf space so tight that we have to remove books from the collection in order to add new ones;

· limited meeting room and small group space, which makes it difficult to accommodate the growing demand for library programming, the needs of library users, and requests from community organizations;

· behind the scenes, we’ve maxed out our available office space, storage space, workspace for processing and repairing materials, and space for equipment such as servers;

· the building’s aging infrastructure makes it difficult to add new technology; and

· the building’s awkward footprint forces the library to accommodate inefficiencies such as the need for two circulation desks, one on the main floor and one upstairs in Youth Services.

The Board has started to gather information on the options for addressing these issues, which include improving and reconfiguring the current space, adding an addition, and building a new facility. However, we’ll need to collect a lot more information - and share a lot more information with residents - before any final decision are reached. The Board certainly doesn't have a hidden agenda to build a $20 million building! This unfounded rumor was started as part of a deliberate attempt to undermine public trust in the current Board.

The community engagement process is an opportunity to begin gathering resident input on space issues, but it won’t be the only time we ask for input on these issues, and it's just a small part of the feedback we hope to gather during the upcoming engagement process. Watch for more information about community engagement meetings and surveys in the coming weeks. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

I'm on the ballot for re-election April 4. Please check out my candidate Facebook page and my Daily Herald candidate profile to learn more about my accomplishments as an LLD Trustee, and my commitment to the responsible stewardship of your tax dollars. I also encourage you to check out the Facebook pages of my colleagues, John Gardner Huff and Emily Swistak,.along with their Daily Herald profiles. John and Emily are both committed to maximizing the impact of your tax dollars while ensuring that we continue to have a great library. I'm proud to be running alongside them. Please vote on April 4!