Category Archives: Director’s Desk

Librarians have a strange hobby. Well, I should say that librarians have at least one strange hobby. Some of us, when we go on vacation, seek out local libraries. We can’t help ourselves. We are simply fans of the public library. We know how hard it is to keep one afloat, make it relevant, and connect it to its community.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to take a family vacation to Maine, and indulged this hobby just one time as we walked through the small village of Southwest Harbor. I had noticed the most of the villages we drove through had libraries – they were everywhere. Some were small New England style frame buildings; some were brick Carnegie style libraries. The front of the Southwest Library is probably about as wide as my garage, and I was prepared for the stereotypical “one room country library.” But what I saw when I walked through the door was astounding. The building was much bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside (much like Lewis’ wardrobe!).

The main reading room had comfy chairs, and a beautiful fireplace, and a very respectable selection of periodicals. The library fit beautifully into the community it served. The local history, architecture, and natural beauty were all reflected in the glossy woodwork, sculptures, and beauty of the facility. The circulation desk was topped with a stained glass panel of sea and sailboats, a polished boat hull beautifully and creatively honored foundation donors, and local history items accented each room. The public computers (I saw about six, but there may have been more) were filled with locals checking their email and chatting amiably about local politics. They have optimized their square footage with separate areas for children, teens, and adults, and fun upcoming events were advertised including a Contra Dance (I still need to look up what that is!).

According to their website, the Southwest Harbor library serves a community with 2000 year round residents and boasts 75,000 visits per year. Wow. Even if some of those are tourist librarians like me, it is still impressive.

Library success comes in all shapes and sizes, and even though we are a much larger library I think we need to pay attention to libraries who are providing a level of services far above what their tax revenue would allow. I imagine that Southwest Harbor has had to do this all along with such a small tax base – whereas we have been lulled into complacency, believing property taxes would always provide what we need. The library in Greenwood started small, too, but saw exponential growth in the 70’s and 80’s. We built bigger and bigger as the community grew but failed to react when that growth was bottlenecked by our boundaries. If we listen to the trends in our economy and community, the goal must now be to provide excellent service in spite of reduced tax dollars. If we are to succeed in this endeavor, we need our community to take ownership in helping our institution to succeed – not just for them, but for their neighbors, their children, and their grandchildren. It is an altruistic community who saves a library not only for themselves but for others. The crisis we have had in Greenwood has helped us begin to make this shift, and our community has stepped up.

Tax support is decreasing for libraries in Indiana and across the country – but the Southwest Harbor library must annually raise 80% of their support – only 20% comes to them via tax revenue. It’s hard for me to imagine us in this extreme situation. And yet, maybe we should imagine it.

Here’s what I saw on my brief trip through the largely privately funded Southwest Harbor Library:

• It is efficient – you didn’t see waste or excess. It is elegant in its function, and space is well used. When you raise almost every dollar, you care deeply how it is spent.
• It communicates clearly – The webpage has a prominent button that said “Give now” and there’s an informative page that effectively explains “Why we ask you for money.”
• It is alive and growing – no dust settles here. The diverse collection (print and electronic) caters to the community and innovative programs draw in the already connected community.
• Smiles greet you from patrons and staff. People are happy to be there.
• The library is seen as an asset to the community of Southwest Harbor. Local craftsmen created their sculptures and stained glass. Volunteers give their time. Donors give gifts so that the resources of the library remain relevant and FREE to the rest of the community.

This, then, is what a privately funded public library looks like. It is possible, and it is a hopeful future.

*Thanks to Southwest Harbor Library Director Candy Emlen for information for this article. Several of the photos were pulled from the library website.

You would think we’d have had enough of change at GPL. And yet a public library is a living, breathing, growing organism that is hard to hold back. In fact, it always has been that way. It is only the rate of change that has increased.

I am 50 years old (yikes!), and in that half century libraries have moved from stamped checkouts and drawers full of cards to self-checkout kiosks and automated catalog systems. When I sold library automation systems in the late 80’s, librarians didn’t yet trust computers. For years they operated with duplicate systems: Card catalogs AND automated systems side by side. They were slow to adapt to change. It was a cautious approach that had worked well for libraries to that point – little did we all know that this was just the beginning. Change would soon become the norm.

Today, the library is both the same as and very different than your parents library. Technology has been woven into everything we do. Programs, events, and education are much bigger parts of the library’s mission, and our buildings function more as community hubs than depositories. Through all of this change, the original form of library technology – the book – is still an important part of what we do.

In order to keep up with this ever-increasing rate of change, the public library must be agile. Agility is measured by our ability to respond to the changing needs of our community at just the right moment. Sometimes this means finding funding for a brand new technology. Sometimes it means saying goodbye to an outdated one. And once in a while it means making a change to our facility to be flexible in meeting our patron’s needs.

We recently initiated such a change in our building. The problem was that our teen department had outgrown its designated area. In the last year, Emily Ellis’ success with teens meant greater numbers of teens hanging out in the teen room to do homework, talk, read, and play video games. This is what we had hoped for! But unfortunately that success conflicted with the desire of our adult patrons to have a reasonably quiet study area nearby, especially since the teen room does not have doors to enclose it. We did not want to discourage our sometimes boisterous but well-behaved teens from using the library, but something needed to give. Fortunately, we realized that we had the solution right in front of us. Moving the teen room downstairs to the multimedia area would give them plenty of space, a reference desk, and most importantly, doors that closed! Movies and audio books could be integrated into the adult and children’s collections, allowing easier browsing of similar items. We also moved new books upstairs to join the other adult materials.

Any time a change is introduced, there will be a period of chaos as all the players adjust to the new environment. So we don’t make changes lightly – but we are excited because we believe this change will result in increased traffic through formerly underused areas of the building and a better use of our facility as a result.

Better service for teens, better service for adults. Our patrons (of all ages) are the reason change is worth the work – whether it is saving our library or merely changing our floorplan.

I have a confession to make: I’m not from around here. I grew up in Southern California in the 1960’s. It was beautiful (if smoggy) all year round and growth was everywhere. Orange groves and strawberry fields disappeared as acre upon acre of tract homes were built. It was suburbia at its best. And yet the privacy fenced, back to back neighborhoods that stretched seamlessly through Orange County and Los Angeles county to the ocean were undifferentiated. Only a few quaint city centers tucked in amid the mini malls were left to remind you that these were once towns with unique identities. We did not have a public library close-by. I was in my teens before I even knew where “my” public library was –  miles away. There was no sense of community that I remember.

And so it is that Greenwood has surprised me. From the first day I drove into the GPL parking lot for my interview in 2004, I was charmed by the older homes on Madison and the Main Street full of old style brick buildings that had stories to tell and goods to sell. Kids played in the park next to the library, and the library parking lot was full. A few short blocks away, Greenwood also offered a mall with retailers of every description and any restaurant you can think of: The best of both worlds. What I didn’t know back in 2004 – and may not really have known until now – is that this charming Midwest town doesn’t just look like a community, it is the essence of community.

When I tell people about the work we do at GPL, I often say, “A community is only as strong as its weakest member.” It is a concept I believe to be true and I am honored to be part of an organization that daily improves the lives of our community members. But this year, it was the library itself that was in trouble. This time we were the weakest member, and we needed help. The last three months have been a whirlwind of white knuckled hard work, communication, and new connections with our community. When people understood our situation and what was at risk, they stepped up. Individuals of all ages, patrons present and past, corporations, small businesses, local entrepreneurs, and even the city government itself wanted to help. We find ourselves on the receiving end of a community rallying to our aid. It has been a humbling experience.  I can’t help but think back to my days in Southern California. I don’t ever remember feeling this kind of connection in a community there. Don’t get me wrong, So Cal is a great place to live – but so often I hear Hoosiers idolize warmer climes and bigger cities. I promise you, those places have nothing on Greenwood.

In this small town we have an awesome Chamber of Commerce. Service clubs like Rotary, Kiwanis, and Sertoma perform amazing acts of service for our community. Pro-Greenwood organizations like Old Town Greenwood and Restore Old Town Greenwood work diligently for no other purpose than to improve life and help Greenwood succeed. We even have the Greater Greenwood Arts Council and the Southside Art League which enrich our lives through the arts. These wonderful assets are the result of a city with a distinct identity, great family appeal, and a wealth of civic-minded citizens.

Many of our largest fundraisers for this year were conceived of by our friends at the city, past patrons, ex-employees, and neighbors. We’ve had restaurant fundraisers this week, and the phone has been ringing with more restaurants wanting to help and with exciting ideas for us. Again, we are humbled by the outpouring of support. How can we not succeed in this city? And how can this outpouring not result in a better, more connected, more vital Greenwood? The Greenwood Public Library is being saved by its own community and when revived, will be knit more firmly into that community than ever. We will be able to continue to give back, to strengthen, and to enrich our city.

I don’t know if other cities could have done it. But Greenwood is doing it.

Long time GPL patron Bernice Coffman passed away Friday at the age of 99.

I first remember meeting Bernice when her granddaughter Jaime would bring her in to check out books and for library programs. This picture is of Jaime and Bernice at a library tea. For many of our older patrons, a trip to the library is the highlight of their week. Bernice was fortunate to have attentive family nearby who assisted her in continuing to live at home and making trips to the library well after her 90th birthday.

Bernice absolutely loved to read, and passed that love on to her children, and then to grandchildren and great grandchildren.  The legacy of reading is so much more than the sharing of a hobby. Instilling a love of reading in young children sets them up for success in school and that success follows them into higher learning and adulthood.

One of the very best things about being a community library is the chance to get to know not just individuals, but their parents, grandparents, and children. When you see very young parents taking the time to sit on the floor of the children’s room and read books together, you can be pretty sure there is a Bernice somewhere in their family. Summer reading especially brings out the families and is a tradition with generations – it isn’t unusual to see grandparents, parents, and children all reading together through the program. The newspaper clipping on the right is Bernice’s granddaughters Debbie and Jaime, learning all about summer reading in 1967.

We’ll miss seeing Bernice’s smiling face, but we are so glad that her story will continue through the legacy she leaves her family and the community of Greenwood. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family.

I had heard about John Stelljes before I met him. Our children’s department knows him well, since he is a frequent  visitor at our storytimes with his wife and young children. I won’t say that our staff have favorites, but who can resist a dad reading books on the floor with his kids?

I met John briefly for the first time in late December when we were just beginning to plan our recovery. That day, I had been meeting with Jim Corridan, the Deputy State Librarian for Indiana, and was giving him the grand tour of the library. As we walked, Jim praised our children’s department, saying that he had heard really good things about their work. We walked by John who was sitting with his one year old daughter on his lap (she was wearing his hat), and John reached out to Jim to offer his praise of our library and our children’s department. Little did I know from that first meeting that within a few short months, John would volunteer with the City Council as their appointed trustee. John Stelljes is a person who puts action behind his words.

I asked John to tell you a little about himself –

Tell us about your family and what brought you to Greenwood

My wife Angela and I have been married for seven years. We have two children, Jonah (5yrs) and Miriam (1yr). I have been a pastor in the Lutheran Church for six years. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre and Music and did some professional acting prior to deciding to become a pastor. After six years of Seminary training, I received a Master’s of Divinity from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, WI. Prior to moving to Greenwood 3 years ago, I was a pastor for a church in Orlando, FL. I came to Greenwood at the request of my church denomination’s mission board to start a new Lutheran Church in Greenwood.

From the very first day we arrived in Greenwood, my wife and I fell in love with this community. We found it to be very friendly (what we now understand is “Hoosier hospitality”) and immediately began to find ways to become involved in our new community. I regularly coach soccer for the Greenwood Parks and Rec department. I am also a member of the City’s Economic Development Commission, and now a Library Board member!  I also try to be active with the Greater Greenwood Chamber of Commerce. My wife is on the Executive Council for the Greater Greenwood Arts Council, which is doing some amazing things to help improve the quality of life here in Greenwood.

How did you become involved with the library?

Initially, I came to the library to use the internet until we were able to get it installed at our new home! Getting our library cards was one of the very first priorities for us when we came into town. Both my wife and I grew up spending lots of time at libraries and desire to instill the love of reading in our children. We began bringing our son to storytimes almost immediately. We also began attending other programs such as the Greenwood Aglow. Our church also initially booked the community rooms for Bible Studies until we found a ministry space of our own.

That being said, our “involvement” with the library has less to do with our stepping through the doors than it does with the staff that works within the libraries walls. The library staff, from the very start, has sought to get to know our family and to involve us in the programs the library offers. Through this personal connection, the library staff has made us feel as important to the library as the library is to us. So we get involved!

What library services do you use the most?

As a family, we come to the children’s area most often. Storytimes are huge for us–and LEGO storytime is HUGE for my son. We also like to use the play area and the computers.

I also use the adult fiction section quite a bit, and we enjoy checking out DVD’s.

 What kinds of things do you like to read – both to your children and for yourself?

Of course, as a pastor, the Bible is my “go to” book. But I also like to read suspense thrillers such as Dean Koontz novels and anything that has to do with Christmas. My son like Star Wars and LEGO books. We also like Sandra Boynten books and Berenstain Bears books.

Why were you motivated to volunteer as a library trustee?

Because I love the library and want to see it continue to succeed as the valuable asset to our community it is. I take a very personal interest in our library. As the library serves my family, I want to serve the library.