 What a year!
The library experienced quite a year in 2011. Check out all of our new services and upgrades below.
New catalog
In October, the library went live with Polaris, a user-friendly catalog and circulation system. The new catalog features faster, more effective searching, the ability to manage your account with a user ID and password, share titles on Facebook, Twitter or other social networking accounts, texting call numbers to your phone, receiving notifications by email, text, or phone, and a special Children's catalog with picture-based searching.
Major technology upgrades
With online use of the library at an all-time high, the library updated its computer network, including wi-fi, a new firewall server to speed up internet access, and new computers and memory upgrades to existing computers. All computers have been updated with Windows 7 and Office 2010. Previously the library was operating on Windows XP and Office 2003. There is also increased accessibility to library services on a variety of mobile devices. The self-service printing center continues to be as popular as ever for printing, copying, faxing and scanning.
Increased services
The Children's department installed new shelving to accomodate a steadily growing collection. The parent-teacher collection was moved to its own location by the early literacy kits. New tables and chairs replaced furniture from the original library building! There has also been a focus on increasing outreach to Hispanic families. Computer classes in Spanish were offered to adults, and there are regular storytimes and programs in Spanish in each newsletter.
 Bestselling author visits
The library brought in a number of bestselling authors this year, including Maggie Sefton, Max Grinnell, Bill German, and Skyped with Jim Minick. The library partnered with the school district to bring Dave Cullen, author of Columbine, Paul Griffin and Laini Taylor to discuss their books and the writing process with teens.
Successful community partnerships
The library continued its partnership with 165 local businesses for the largest Annual Library Card Sign-Up program ever. Freebies and discounts were available during the entire month of September for showing your library card around town.
 The library in conjunction with the Wauconda Park District and Friends of the Library had record attendance at the summer concert series this year. The community was jammin' all summer long!
It's great to have Friends
The Friends of the Library have turned out in great numbers to support the library. They held the annual book sale in the fall as well as mini-sales throughout the year. They had fundraising raffles, and lucky winners received a Nook or gift baskets. Volunteers continue to come in weekly to go through donations. The Friends meet on the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. and can be contacted at lizharrington1946@yahoo.com. |
