Activist Toolkit

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills, experiences, and perspectives would you bring to the Library Board, and why would those contributions be valuable to the River Forest Public Library?

I am a lifelong library lover and patron. The River Forest Public Library is the heart of the community for my family. We continue to actively utilize the library’s many offerings for children and adults for education, enrichment, and enjoyment. 

I have served on the library Board for six years and am running for re-election to provide continuity during the transition to a new Director and to continue to grow the library’s service to the community. I am a critical thinker and I strive to look at decisions from a variety of angles, with an eye to the big picture. I have a BSBA in Finance and previously worked at a consulting firm specializing in risk management and regulatory compliance. I have applied this financial acumen to the Board particularly through the Finance committee, where I aided library administration in setting up a defined reserve structure and in establishing forward-looking capital improvement planning and budget processes. 

I bring my perspective as a parent of young children and an active District 90 family to the Board. The library is proud to provide offerings for all age groups and support lifelong learning, beginning with our youngest children. Supporting early literacy was the top-ranked service priority in the library’s most recent community survey. I bring that crucial viewpoint to the Board table.

2. What steps will you take to improve and expand community engagement with the Library and the Board? What is your view on how local elected officials should communicate with and respond to constituents?

The pandemic has led us into new service models. While we will all be excited to safely gather at the library again, I think that virtual programming and resources will continue to be part of the library’s offerings. It can bring flexibility and access. Blending the best of in-person and virtual offerings will serve the community. Similarly, as we are now accustomed to public meetings conducted with video-conferencing, I expect virtual access to public meetings to become the new norm. This will allow villagers to participate and engage with elected Boards with more flexibility. 

Local elected officials are liaisons and advocates of their organizations. While there are established channels for formal communication, I think that conversations about the library on an informal level are part of my service. It is important to me to hear the thoughts and needs of constituents, and I promote the library’s offerings as well.

3. Give an example of a time when you worked to understand a situation or view different from your own. What helped you to move through that process? What hindered you as you moved through the process?

I think it is difficult, but necessary, to learn to factor in the full spectrum of stakeholders to a decision. For one example, the Policy committee was reviewing the Child Safety policy that, at the time, required children under age ten to be supervised while at the library. When a librarian first mentioned lowering this age, my primary thought was that it would cause difficulties organizationally. I was considering information that the Board had, such as ongoing efforts to meet space demands in the after-school hours, and occasional problems with vandalism.

Eventually, the library staff reviewed this policy more thoroughly using an equity approach and made the case that this was a question of access. Some families are less situated to accompany or stay with their children at the library. The librarians also felt, from their experience, that children of that age were often independent and responsible while using the library. It was important to consider these additional perspectives in order to get a well-rounded view of the decision. Ultimately, we did lower the age to allow children eight and above to attend the library unsupervised.

4. Who or what is your role model for your approach to governing?

I learn from observing various local boards. I think Trustees should think strategically, make decisions using critical-thinking, consider all stakeholders, do their homework, and listen to and learn from others.

5. What do you feel are the three biggest issues facing the Library, and how do you intend to address them? How will you prioritize among competing priorities? 

The first issue is to meet patrons needs throughout the pandemic and beyond. I expect that the library will face an increased pace of change and will need to stay flexible. In order to address this, I would recommend that the library begin gathering information on the community’s needs in order to set priorities for a new strategic plan.

A second issue is how best to utilize and maintain our historic building. The library is constantly working to use space creatively, and I think a revised space analysis should be part of the next strategic planning process. Managing an aging building is also increasingly expensive, and the library needs to factor that in to its long-range fiscal planning, while seeking grants to enhance its capital projects where appropriate. 

A third issue is to effectively partner with other community organizations. River Forest is stronger when taxing bodies and other groups are working together. Actively reaching out to other groups can allow us to reach more people, determine their needs, and establish services that meet those needs.

6. What do you believe has been the most significant action taken by the Library in recent years, and why? Do you believe the Board acted appropriately?

Governance of the library is primarily is a series of regular discussions and small decisions that, collectively, provide steady oversight for the library to best serve our community. I think the library’s most notable recent action has been to stay flexible and continually reinvent offerings to reach the community during these difficult times. While the Board supported this, the planning was conceived and executed by our dedicated front-line staff, to whom we are grateful. 

The most significant Board action recently was the search and hiring of a new library Director. Hiring and managing a Director is one of the Board’s key duties, and was complicated in this case by the difficult public circumstances and continuing uncertainty. The Board underwent a thorough process beginning with evaluating the job description and our key attributes in a Director. We focused on finding a strategic leader with top-notch communication skills, who would understand and enhance the library’s role in our community, and appreciate and oversee our service-oriented staff. We are pleased to have found and hired Emily Compton-Dzak to lead our library through the pandemic and beyond.

7. How do you define racial equity? Have recent events and discussions in the larger community informed or changed your thinking?

Racial equity describes a state where race is not predictive of outcomes. Racial equity work tries to advance society towards this goal. This is an area where I am still learning. I try to read and follow the discussion both locally and more broadly. Locally, I have attended a community training through the National Equity Project and trustee training through the Racial Equity Alliance. The library strives to utilize racial equity impact tools in its decision-making.

8. How do you plan to solicit feedback from people who may be experiencing the community in a different way than you? What barriers do you believe may exist in this process?

The library Board reviews patron suggestions at every meeting. The library also surveys patrons and community members, most recently in a community-wide mailing as part of our most recent strategic plan. The difficulty is that feedback primarily comes from patrons that are already actively involved. The barrier is reaching those people who are not yet utilizing the library. I think the library can utilize community partners to help reach out to more of the community. I also hope that different virtual service models will be able to reach out to more patrons. 

9. River Forest lacks a true community hub. Do you see this as a role that could be filled by the River Forest Library? Why or why not?  

I think that the library is well-suited to be a community hub because it serves all individuals in the community. In regular times, the library strives to be a “third place”, a place to gather that is neither home nor work. Such third places bring people together and enhance communities. 

The library, while small, is always working to optimize its space to meet needs, such as re-arranging the middle school area to accommodate after-school demand, and planning outdoor events in the summer months. Before the pandemic, the library provided a wide array of programming. Even as formal gatherings are not possible, I have seen people utilizing the library garden for socially distanced get-togethers.

10. How should the Library balance the needs of the various groups that rely on its programs, services, and facilities?

This is an important consideration, as the library serves many functions on finite resources. The first step is to determine what the needs of various groups are. This is done through materials and program data, patron feedback and suggestions, and by periodic larger data collection efforts. The Board’s task is to analyze this information, determine core needs, and create a strategic plan that takes these factors into account. 

The current strategic plan, for example, has an umbrella goal of “lifelong learning and personal growth”, and then lists objectives underneath this goal for different demographic groups. As we developed this plan, I felt that calling out these specific objectives was important so that the Board could track how well the plan was serving different segments of the community. 

The task of the library staff is to implement the strategic plan with specific operational decisions. The strategic plan should contain measurable objectives that lead to regular progress reporting from the library staff, so the Board can see how well operations are meeting the community’s needs. This feedback is the beginning of the next strategic planning cycle, so that the library is continually working towards best serving the community’s needs. 

11. How do you keep abreast of changes in library trends?

In short, I read! I follow various information newsletters from the American Library Association (ALA), Illinois Library Association (ILA), and the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), which summarize trends and innovations. I also attend periodic trainings from these organizations. I also am watchful for news media articles or books that address library topics. 

12. With libraries adapting to the changing needs of their communities, what will you do to ensure that the River Forest library is providing value to the River Forest community?

Libraries have been extremely flexible during the changing circumstances of the past year. While many other traditional avenues for engagement, learning, and entertainment were closed, the library provided resources, services, and programs across different modalities. I believe many patrons found the services more valuable than ever. The pandemic also presented opportunities to provide value in new ways, such as facilitating summer book clubs for the school district. I hope that partnerships with other local entities can continue and expand. 

The library and Board will gather as much data as possible to guide future services that meet the community’s needs. This might include reviewing information regarding usage of electronic materials versus physical materials, attendance and interest in different types of programs, and technology usage and needs at the library. I think that the next round of strategic planning will need to take into account the many changes that society has faced, and should include focus groups and interviews with community members to determine how the library can best serve our community going forward.

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[The above answers were supplied on 2/17/21.]