Tom Kern is the director of the Wauconda Area Library, named
NSLS Library of the Year in 2005.
How did the Library of the Year award impact the staff at
Wauconda?
The great thing about this particular award
was that we were able to give credit to all staff for earning it,
along with the board of trustees and even the entire community whose
support, after all, had made it possible to accomplish so much in
recent years. The awards celebration was well-attended by our staff
and brought us all together even more as a team, and it gave me a
great opportunity to personally thank the staff and the trustees as
a group for all of their great work. Since receiving the award,
library patrons have frequently congratulated staff at services
desks, further improving staff morale and again giving us the
opportunity to share the credit with our patrons.
Did the award raise the profile of the library in the
community, and if so how?
The award greatly enhanced the
library's image in the community not only by heightening everyone's
awareness of the library's excellence in serving the community but
by providing a perfect opportunity to thank all of the library's
partner organizations and all citizens for their support and
cooperation, and to give credit where credit was due.
Did the award open any doors to new partnerships or
projects?
The award certainly has made it easier to
approach various organizations with ideas for new projects, and we
have already started to take advantage of this. Our partnership with
the business community for Library Card Sign-Up Month this year drew
a record-breaking number of 120 businesses throughout the library
district, resulting in part in our most successful sign-up month
ever, registering 597 new cardholders. In applying for grants, it
never hurts to mention that we were named "NSLS Library of the
Year." In fact, we recently were awarded a "Creative Use of
Libraries" grant, and it is likely that our recent NSLS award
contributed to the success of our application for this LSTA grant.
Other projects are in the planning process, and the NSLS award will
undoubtedly help open more new doors for the library.
What were some of your outlets for publicizing the
award?
First and foremost, we took advantage of this
opportunity to share credit for this award with all who have
contributed to this library's success, including all staff, all
trustees, many community organizations, NSLS, and the taxpayers
themselves. We promoted this award in many ways, including:
- Press
releases resulted in some excellent articles in local
newspapers
- Summer and fall issues of library newsletter
- Library e-News announcing
the award
- Extensive coverage on the library's Web
site
- Various in-house decorative displays promoting the award
- All computer monitors throughout the library use a screensaver
announcing "NSLS 2005 Library of the Year" award
- School Board presentation recognizing the library's award
- Main library signs (street and entrance) were changed to
include "NSLS 2005 Library of the Year"
- Main award celebration September 24 at the library: "A Great
Day @ Your Library!" attended by 1,450 patrons, promoted heavily
in various media
- Main telephone system message always starts with mention of
the award
- Outgoing e-mails always end with mention of the award and link
to library's award Web page
- Display of the award plaque along with a number of other
award/recognition plaques received recently, some of which were
related to the NSLS award
- Gold pins in the shape of stars, with faceted glass stones,
inscribed "NSLS Library of the Year," given to all library staff
and trustees (purchased by library)
About the Author
Judy
Hoffman is the Marketing/Communications Specialist at
NSLS.
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