Miss Nancy's Dedication Ceremony and Open House

 

5-17-2024

On September 18, 2023 the East Troy community and the East Troy Lions Public Library in particular suffered a great loss. That is the day children’s librarian Nancy O’Connell passed away. At the library we felt the loss of Nancy’s guidance and roots. I called her the consummate hostess. Nancy knew everyone’s name, made them welcome, and stopped anything she was doing to provide excellent service to patrons.

Judging by the attendance at her service, tears there and at the library, and flood of donations, the community appreciated that dedication. Thanks to the family’s request for donations to the library in lieu of flowers, the ETLPL and the Friends of the ETLPL received a total of $5,928. The majority of those funds were spent on a bronze bench/statue and landscaping that will surround it under our flagpole. The children’s programming area in our Lower Level will also be dedicated to her. For that reason, additional funds were used to give the lower level its recent facelift: paint and additional shelving.

Putting all of the pieces together has taken quite some time; however, we are finally at the place to arrange for a dedication ceremony and celebrate our friend.

That celebration will be on June 8^th beginning at 11:00. Speeches regarding the dedication will begin at 11:15 first from me, Director Bartoli, followed by Nancy’s daughter Jenny. Her sons will also be present until 1:00.

Preparing the Lower Level was definitely an example of when it takes a Village (of East Troy) all of whom need to be thanked beginning with all the patrons, family and friends who made donation in Nancy’s name. The Friends of the ETLPL who added their donations and pledged their own funds to replace furniture (fingers crossed this will arrive before June 8^th. Friends member Mike Zei who doesn’t attend meetings but thankfully does read the minutes. Mike volunteered his time and that of his family, Marge and Jeff Fornear, to do the painting.  

The East Troy Lions Club made an unrelated donation last fall, but deserve thanks in this article as part of that donation went to shelves and will be used for an area rug once we have furniture to match. Jim Gitz and Cole Marcinkevic gave their time to help with the shelf madness. Employees of the Village’s DPW provided muscle and mounted the shelves for safety’s sake. Martin’s Hardware gave us a deal on the paint.

Daniel K, a 2^nd grade patron, assembled an 814-piece Lego flower arrangement in Nancy’s honor that will be displayed in our Lego area. Scott Iloncaie of Dynamic Awards, who never wants to see another Lego, made certain the flower arrangement will remain intact and created a shadow box in which to display it as well as dedication plaques. Outside, Benchmark donated paving stones and labor for the bench and landscaping around it.

Summer programming kicks off Monday, June 10^th, so we wanted to take a day of remembrance before the chaos begins.

 Reading Now: Dona Barbara by Romulo Gallegos (Fingers crossed the last week. Made it past the slow start in about four weeks and read 200 pages this week; 200 to go.)

Listening to now: Captive on the Fens by Joy Ellis (Book #6 in the DI Nikki Galena series)

Meeting of the Tri-Troy Boards

 

5-10-2024

Many moons ago when I was a simple high school English teacher and ETCSD librarian, I held the school district’s seat on the Library Board of Trustees. Enough moons that I served under three different directors: Jackie Gotz (who now serves on the board), Alison Senkevitch, and Jeff Gartman. Each of those directors made efforts toward a new library building.

During Alison’s tenure, the Board sat through months of interviews of architects before selecting one to conduct a Needs Assessment the results of which I had removed from our website during the redesign in February. At this point so much time has passed, it’s out of date. At the time, we were looking to incorporate a community center and senior living facility. A steering committee was formed and meetings were held.

Many meetings. Until finally Martha Bressler and Lloyd Sineni left the committee and just formed a community center on their own in 2019. Additional meetings followed regarding both the senior living facility and expanded library.

Talk around the library switched gears and focused on created a joint library. Currently, the East Troy Lions Public Library is an asset of the Village of East Troy. Residents of the Village pay library taxes to the Village that directly support us. Communities such as the Towns of East Troy and Troy which do not contain a public library also collect library tax. However, those monies are paid to the county and is then distributed to the libraries their citizens use. A joint library would see those tax dollars paid directly to a specific library.

About two weeks ago I attended a meeting of the Tri-Troy Boards, Village of East Troy, Town of East Troy, and Town of Troy. One of the main topics of discussion was the joint library. Those earlier talks actually resulted in an agreement to make a library one of the services the three communities jointly supported. Director Gartman resigned believing the agreement would be signed in time for the 2023 budgeting cycle.

Then the shoe dropped. Since the money would no longer be part of county taxes for the Towns, it would transfer to being part of their tax levy, a situation that would require a referendum. Taxes wouldn’t really increase as they were only shifting recipients; however, the majority of voters weren’t likely to understand that as most people don’t study library funding.

Since the shoe fell, the library and the Tri-Troy Boards have been working with Walworth County Administrator Mark Luberda to find a solution. Luberda’s advise was a slight change in the wording of Wisconsin statues that directly address public libraries. That wording would label the library taxes collected by the Towns a “transfer of services” or something to that effect meaning it wouldn’t impact the levy. He gave a status report and I presented the community survey results so each Board would know what their communities had to say.

Meetings and work will continue for at least a year before we can expect results as it involves a lot of politicians. The State Assembly won’t meet again until January. In the meanwhile, know we are looking towards a name change.

Reading now: Dona Barbara by Romulo Gallegos (Back to it from the PBS list. I'll try to actually finish it this time.)

Listening to now: Besieged by Kevin Hearne (Book 9 in the Iron Druid Chronicles)

School Connections

 

5-3-2024

Today’s lead is a library program next week. The FFA will be helping us with the One Seed, One Wisconsin program again this year. The program is running for the second year. Last year it kicked off with the Wisconsin 55 tomato. This year the seed is for Pride of Wisconsin melons. On Wednesday, May 8^th, right around the corner, at 5:30 the FFA will begin helping people plant seeds. All materials will be supplied.

Timing for the program was determined by two factors. I’m told that melons should be started later than tomatoes as they don’t do as well indoors. This way we’ll start them later so that outside gardening will be an option sooner. The other factor was the FFA flower sale which runs this weekend. I’ll be over there before this article arrives in the library mailbox. Miss Nancy used to plant nearly 100 geraniums along her front porch every year. I’ll be picking up some for outside the library to plant in her memory.

Any seeds remaining after the program will be handed out at the circulation desk in the days following the program.

One of the big surprises revealed by the Community Survey was in the priority for changes to library services question which listed increase coordination with local schools as the #1. This was surprising given that for the past two years, librarians from the East Troy Lions Public Library have been the librarians for the East Troy Community Schools. Anna and I are in and out of school buildings on a regular basis providing services in the form of storytime, library instruction, Battle of the Books, and class field trips to the public library. Last year ETLPL formed a partnership with the FFA to provide an outlet for them to deliver programs to the community, hosted a room during CoOperation Learn at Little Prairie Primary, and participated in the PTO’s End of Year Bash.

This is the one area in which the timing of the survey and our plans don’t align as Anna and I just resigned our position with the school district. We were simply spread too thin. In our letter we did vow to continue providing/supporting all but the daily classes and material purchases. Once they have a new school librarian in place, we will reach out and discuss how the two institutions can continue to partner. In the meanwhile, this week we were at this year’s CoOperation Learn and next weekend we will be at the End of Year Bash.

As always, we are open to suggestions on what else to add.

Reading Now: The Book Of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate (Book Club)

Listening to Now: Beseiged by Kevin Hearne (Book 9 of the Iron Druid Chronicles)

Community Survey Results - Part 2 Social Media

 

4-26-2024

Last week I focused on the community survey responses of respondents who infrequently or never use the library. This week I’ll shift to a little comparison. The question that allows that the easiest is regarding how users find out about community events and activities. The responses are essentially in exact opposition.

Over 50% of regular users of the library learn about our activities through signage at the library (61%) itself and the library’s website (56%). Also ranked highly are word of mouth (43%) and the local newspaper (41%). The last three sources, library social media, East Troy Park and Rec guide and community signage all received 32% or less responses. This makes absolute sense. Fliers for each program we run are located in multiple spots throughout the library: community board in the entryway, bulletin board on the ladies’ bathroom, book display immediately inside the library, circulation desk. We also make an effort to mention programs to patrons they seem to fit. Although we are not as good about doing so as Nancy was.

We were really happy to see the number of people that use the website as Lisa in particular has put in a great deal of work on the redesign. The new site has less clutter, which I always prefer, and is updated weekly providing the most current information immediately. One problem we discovered right after it launched was the reliance on graphics. At a director’s meeting, a service was brought up that increases a websites accessibility by allowing the user to change fonts and colors and also reads the script aloud. Script, not pictures. There will be more verbiage added in future.

Responders who don’t frequent the library list social media as their primary channel for learning about community events to the tune of 70% - higher than any means for either group. That is followed by the local newspaper at 52%, word of mouth at 43%, and community signage at 30%.

Comparing the two it was pleasing to see both indicate the newspaper as a source of information. Perhaps, this column needs to include weekly schedules/program reminders. It is also transferred to a blog which my mother reads from our website. Since creating the blog and seeing the survey results, I’ve been sharing the blog with Facebook. The other day I created an Instagram for the library in order to further broaden our reach.

Third on each list was word of mouth so please talk about us.

Reading Now: Dona Barbara by Romulo Gallegos (PBS's 100 Great American Reads), The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate (May book club)

Listening to Now: Crime on the Fens by Joy Ellis (Nikki Galena series book 1 - this series was actually written before the Jackman & Evan series I discovered last July. Time to catch up.)

 

Community Survey Results Part 1 Hours

 

4-19-2024

This month the Strategic Planning Committee is meeting several times to pour over the results of our community survey from February as has the Library Board of Trustees. For the next few weeks, I will be responding to those results. We are very pleased with the results of the survey for many reasons.

The first being the number of participants. In early meetings, the organization leading the process gave us somewhere around 40 responses as the number we should look to receive. I challenged our community to a minimum of 100. With the help of fliers at our local Do It Best hardware store (Which appears to still be called Martin’s? The new owners are very nice by the way and love libraries.), East Troy Pharmacy, Gus’s, IGET (East Troy Area Intergenerational Community Center), and Hanson’s IGA (which also stuffed fliers in grocery bags) we received 106 responses.

Of those respondents, 24% described themselves as Infrequent and Never Library Users. To have that many people who are not already invested in the library participate felt like the biggest win. About 40% of those respondents were honest in stating they aren’t likely to ever become library users. That is a challenge I leave for another day. In the meanwhile, the most frequently selected motivators for using the library were better hours and more programming of personal interest. I’ll come back to the programming issue in a later article.

Hours are an issue the Library Board is interested in exploring. At this point in the year, we aren’t able to make significant changes to our schedule. Adding hours to our schedule has a financial impact on our budget most notably due to hourly wages. More hours require more staff time. The Library Board passes our Operational Budget in August. It is then passed on to the Village of East Troy to be added to their overall budget process. Ultimately the final budget is passed by the Village Board usually in November.

This summer the Board will look at ways we can to make changes. With the size of our staff, I think it unlikely we will be open on Sundays. Saturdays are difficult enough. Expanded hours on days we are already open may be a possibility. My question for East Troy is, what hours would be most helpful? Monday nights? Saturday afternoon? Before 10:00 am. If you have an opinion, let us know. We have contact information available on our website for phone, email and Facebook accounts.

Thank you to everyone who completed the survey and the local business that helped up promote it.

Reading Now: James by Percival Everett, Dona Barbara by Romulo Gallegos (PBS 100 Great American Reads list)

Listing to Now: Shattered by Kevin Hearne (Book 7 of the Iron Druid Chronicles)

Summer Preview

 

4-12-2024

This is the end of National Library Week. To celebrate we answered 71 phone calls on Monday explaining either yes we had limited number of eclipse glasses available or no the library was out but more would be available at the eclipse event at Sunset Park in Elkhorn. The switch from yes to no took 34 minutes. Every single one of our reoccurring programs took place this week including the Library Board and Strategic Planning Committee meetings. O’Leary routed out our sewer line. DPW installed the last book shelf in the lower level and removed two incredibly heavy unused file cabinets. If you need anything, we’ll be dozing at our desks.

In between programs we’ve been preparing for this year’s summer reading program. The last of our 1:30 Monday programs have been booked. In June alone we will have TnZ Magic, Snake Discovery, and Mad Science. The first two have been here before. The magic show was a big hit last year. Snake Discovery is always a favorite while Mad Science is new. In July we have musicians Fox & Branch, rocket launching, FFA petting zoo, and the pizza party.

New this year will also be a kid’s parade. Miss Maria will provide crafting materials to decorate bikes, strollers, or wagons. The parade route will begin in our parking lot, pass in front of the high school, cross the street to the middle school, and end at Playmore Park. The plan is to keep it on the sidewalk so little ones remain safe. The parade will take place on July 1^st which is the Monday we don’t normally hold programs thinking families like to travel over the 4^th of July. This year the timing is a bit odd with the Lion’s carnival and parade in June, so we’ll keep the celebration going into July.

Among the programs that met this week were both the 2^nd Tuesday and 2^nd Friday Adult Book Clubs, or as I like to call them Tuesdays with Books and 2^nd Friday’s Book Club. That means May books are available. We’ll be reading The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. The book tells the story of three women searching for family in the post-Civil War South. Wingate is also known for Before We Were Yours which told the tale of impoverished children stolen from their parents and sent to a Tennessee Children’s Society orphanage. Both books reveal their historical stories through the investigation of a modern character. I’ll make certain to have a tissue handy.

 Reading Now: On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US by LaRue, Last Friends by Jane Gardam (3rd book in the Old Filth trilogy: first was a book club book), Little Sister by Gytha Lodge 4th book in Jonah Sheens series)

Listening to Now:  Shattered by Kevin Hearne (7th book in the Iron Druid Chronicles)

Meet Maria

 

4-5-2024

Last week’s article was for our smartphone using patrons. This week’s article introduces our new non-smartphone sympathizing children’s librarian Maria Hinners.

Maria doesn’t object to technology. Smartphones simply don’t fit into her life or, more specifically, her pocket. Harking back to her days of hiking with the Boys Scouts, Maria has preferred a more practical option. While those days are over, flips phones still work better for biking.

Touring the library on her first day was really a trip down memory lane. Once upon a time, she was Maria Kehoe. When she was a student at ETHS, the district ran a late bus for students with after school activities. Maria would come to the library after her band lessons to wait for the bus. She became Maria Hinners later when she married David, the boy not next door but across the street.

College took Maria to Milwaukee afterward David’s job took them disturbingly close to becoming Illinois residents. (Summer residents shouldn’t be offended. After all, you have the good sense to have a home in Wisconsin too.) Stubbornness kept their home on this side of the boarder however. Family ties brought them back to the area.

Maria’s library career began as an elementary school library aide volunteer for the Mukwonago Area School District. From there she moved to Waukesha Public Library before landing at Alice Baker Memorial Public Library in Eagle where she worked for just over seventeen years. At Alice Baker, Maria began as bookkeeper but moved on to be Head of Youth Services.

In 2021 Maria left Alice Baker to care for family members. Her commitment to libraries continued. Today she is a board member of FABLE (Friends of Alice Baker Library, Eagle) and leader of their Teen Library Council. Now ETLPL will be benefitting from all those years of experience with the added benefit of a hometown girl returning home.

Maria’s first official Preschool Storytime was the day this article was published. She will also be taking over the Tuesday morning Preschool Play Group and providing it a bit more structure. Program schedules will remain the same while Maria learns the ropes of this library. However, once summer begins, we will be making some changes to most and adding a few for summer. Storytime is the one program likely to remain firmly rooted in its current day/time slot so look for further information in May. It will also be posted in the East Troy Park & Recreations Summer Activity Guide.

Reading Now: The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom (April Adult Book Club), Lie Beside Me by Gytha Lodge (Book 3 of the Jonah Sheen series), On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US by James LaRue

Listening to Now: Hunted by Kevin Hearne (Book 6 in the Iron Druid series)