24 September 2025 The Inspiration Celebration a discussion of the library successes and impact.

 

24 September 2025 The Inspiration Celebration a discussion of the library successes and impact. Looking at issues that need to be addressed.

The Inspiration Celebration is an event that is held yearly to look at the successes of the past year and the things that did not go as well as expected.  The staff and Board of trustees are in attendance for an open discussion.

A review of the collection development was the first item  of the Celebrating our successes format. Going through the changes in all the book areas. Talked about the RSA mobile app and how that has changed the way patrons find items in the library by placing holds online for pickup.

Enhancements in the Adult Fiction, Adult Non Fiction Large Print and Biographies were pointed out.

Other accomplishments was the use of the Illinois State Library Database packages and how it has made more databases available to users. Completed the catalog cleanup. Weeding was done in Adult Fiction and Non Fiction and juvenile fiction.

The area has sizable population of Spanish speaking patrons. The Spanish language section of books does not get a lot of checkouts. There were several ideas thrown out to increase usage.

The library is involved with many different STEAM programming. They just got a grant for the Young Naturalist Program and have scheduled programming to compliment it. The community produce garden has been a success with surplus produce in the library refrigerator for patrons. The town of Princeville is a Peony City. The Auten Peony Farm produced many new peony Cultivars over the years. The library is working with the Historical Society to preserve the Peony Heritage by collecting the various cultivars and preserving them in a community garden space.

Physical improvements were discussed to include items like the addition of humidifiers, replacing lighting with LED bulbs, and adjustments and improvements to the building.

Safety issues were mentioned as the library is current with the new Opioid Inhibitor legislation that was signed into law. Automatic External Defibrillator and training for same was completed. The PLA Force 4 was in focus in the first part of the meeting. Increasing quality of life for our patrons and community by all the new initiatives the library is taking. 

Workplace Culture was discussed and examples of the items that have made a difference in a positive way were discussed. A lot of input from the board was in this discussion. The message was to be more empathetic and open to the patrons. The staff knows most of the patrons acknowledging them as they enter the library.

Staff is multigenerational and how they work together was discussed. The Board pointed out how the staff takes more responsibility and fills the needs of the library. They also pointed out how much community engagement was being done by staff.

The culture has been enhanced by the monthly staff meetings. The use of the Discord app to keep all staff informed was discussed about the transparency the staff has in the library.

The last portion of the meeting was the Dream Big for the next year. Topics included the library collection, and improving services. The library has a long history of having the k-3 grade school children would visit the library. It was brought up that they are not visiting the library on a regular basis. Discussion on the why this had stopped was centered on the new administration. A lengthy discussion about how to get the practice started back up. The library, School Board and Village meet several times during the year in joint session. It was thought that bringing this up in that meeting would be helpful. 

At the close of the meeting there was a discussion on items that might be of benefit to the community in the library of things. Suggestions included durable medical supplies like wheelchairs and foot scooters and other medical equipment.

The Big Dream part of the meeting  utilized Force 3 of the PLA five forces. Showing the understanding of the community and seek new approaches to increase value to the community.

It was a new experience for me. It was nice to see the interaction and the concern that was expressed by the group.

PLA Forces: Force 3 Building the community. The Inspiration Celebration was about building the community. The Board discussed the staff involvement in the various organizations. The issue with not being able to get more student visits from the schools. Looking at promoting the library of things. Working with other organizations, hosting the monthly women’s club. Joint meetings with the City, school board and the library are beneficial for all. In a note from that meeting a knee scooter was donated to the library of things.

Work Time 2 hours                 Semester total 28 hours