Janet Kelenson has served the village well as a library board member and as the board’s president. With her dynamic leadership, the library has embraced technology, restored Dole and Maze into accessible, vibrant community centers, and built a new main branch that welcomes all residents and provides excellent services, programming, and space for public interaction.
Janet is thoughtful, fair, and wise. She knows how to facilitate effective board oversight, and believes in intergovernmental cooperation. Her years of experience on the library board will provide critical perspective and continuity for the library’s new director. Janet has lived in Oak Park since 1987. She holds a J.D. from Northeastern University in Boston, and worked as an attorney for the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago.
She currently serves on the board of the Metropolitan Library System, the regional organization for library cooperation and support. She won the Illinois Library Association’s Trustee Citation Award in 2005, given to honor a library trustee who has worked to raise library standards and services. She regularly attends regional, state, and national conferences on improving library services, and enthusiastically brings good new ideas back to Oak Park. We are fortunate that she is willing to serve us for another term.
Another good candidate for the three open seats is Lane Hart. I hope you will support them both on April 17.
Ann Courter
Oak Park