SUGGESTION BOX

 

January, 2007

 

1.  What are you doing for Women’s History Month (March)?

The Adult Services Department is planning a Women’s History Month book display with bookmarks for this month.

2. Please purchase: Titan magazines “24” and “Grey’s Anatomy”, TV Guide magazine; DVDs: Fearless, Metropolitan, Miami Vice Season 2; books: “A Pig Named Perrier”, Sheetzucacapoo”; Ages of Empires III computer game; CD: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

These are being considered for purchase.  Thanks for the suggestions!

3.  We attended the mother/daughter craft program and really enjoyed it. It would be great to have a Spring one and a 4th of July flag beading for separate ages K-2 and 3rd-5th.

Thank you for the suggestions.  We will take these into consideration. 

4.  We just finished the mother/daughter sun catcher craft and it was wonderful! Thank you for offering so many fun and family-friendly programs.

Thank you for your compliments.  We are glad you are enjoying the programs. 

5. Please start carrying Haines Criss Cross Directory. Should be and is in most libraries!

This nine volume, reverse look-up directory of listed phone numbers is available in print or on CD-ROM, and covers only the Chicago suburbs.  More comprehensive is the Reference USA online database to which the library subscribes.  It contains reverse lookup of listed phone numbers along with several categories of information for 210 million residents in the U.S.  It is available for use in the library or from home.  

6. You need a moving sidewalk in your library.

Unfortunately, this is cost-prohibitive.

7. Possibly having a larger selection of Monarch books instead of the 20 listed books. Otherwise, all you do is fantastic!!  No complaints!

The Monarch Award books are specific titles selected by a committee of Illinois school media specialists each year.  Although hundreds are read and evaluated, only twenty are chosen as nominees for this annual “children’s favorite” book award contest.  The 2008 list will be released soon, and the new books will be available on the “Monarch Books” shelving unit in the Children’s department in early June. 

8. You should be able to get your child’s card number if he forgets it.

In order to answer this question, we need to know the circumstances surrounding this question.  Did you need the card to check out?  Did you need the card to use the computer?  Whatever the specific situation was, we recommend that patrons always bring their library card with them to the library since we require the library card to check out or to reserve a computer.  If the card has been lost, we will replace the card for a $2.00 replacement fee.  (If you are the parent of a child and the child was with you at the library, you can use your card to check out items for your child with your library card)  Please call the library and ask for x207 if your question did not get answered or if you have any other concerns regarding library card usage. 

9. I was very upset to see out wonderful children’s library ordered these three books: “Tales of Horror: Ghosts”, Tales of Horror: Zombie”, “Tales of Horror: Werewolves” by Jim Pipe. Why should the library use the money to purchase these awful books for our children? We (the library) should use it to purchase good, wholesome, educational books that will benefit the entire community and society. Those books do not benefit the reasons listed above. Please pull these books off the shelves. Please feel free to contact me. Our family has benefited greatly from this library. Let’s keep up the good work by ordering good wholesome books.

The Children’s Services department purchases resources that serve the informational, educational and recreational needs and interests of children from birth through fifth grade.  These needs and interests vary from child to child and family to family, which is why public libraries encourage parents to guide their children in the selection of materials.  We appreciate your interest in the Children’s collection and would be happy to assist you in identifying and locating resources that will serve the needs of your family. 

10. I keep finding inappropriate books for children exposed on the shelf. “Tales of Ghosts” and “Tales of Zombies” by Jim Pipe. The children’s section of the library is for children and very often there are little children there. For them to be exposed to these kinds of books with frightening pictures is appalling. They should not be in areas where little children can find them.

Since the Children’s department serves children from birth through fifth grade, the Children’s collection contains resources that will meet the informational, educational, and recreational needs and interests of all children as they grow and develop.  Books or videos that are appropriate and appealing for pre-teens might not be suitable for very young children, yet both age groups are served by the same department.  It is the responsibility of parents to supervise their children when they visit the Children’s department and to guide them in the selection of library resources appropriate for their family. 

11. I have a 6th grader and I don’t believe that he is ready to have to be upstairs. He is young for his age and grade and there are kids and materials upstairs that I don’t feel he is ready for. Also, the kids upstairs are quite rowdy and use the library as a hangout, and quite frankly, I’d rather have my children downstairs to get their work done. They feel comfortable and safe downstairs. Please take this into consideration. Also, if a highschooler is downstairs with a sibling or a parent, I wish they would be allowed to stay downstairs. Thank you.

We understand your dilemma and plan to revisit this policy in the near future.

12. Should do a rating poll so patrons can rate the new DVDs, so other patrons can see what others think. Make it to where the “new” go to “regular”, people can still see the ratings.

An interesting suggestion!  Unfortunately, this would be cost-prohibitive, because of the labor involved.  We recommend that if you want to know what other people think of a movie, visit www.rottentomatoes.com.

13. Please keep an old computer system here after the changeover for those of us who still have floppy disks to convert to CD-ROM.

We will add a floppy drive to one or two workstations.  When we upgrade our computers, though, it is because of the higher demands of the new software, most of which will not work well on the older computers.