Twelve years ago when I was first elected to the Oak Park Library Board, I was probably the youngest elected official in Cook County, and this year, by the time the April election comes around, I will have welcomed my second child, one of the youngest residents of Oak Park. It is remarkable how much our situations can change in a dozen years.
I am proud of the work that has been done by our staff over the past dozen years to bring our library to the leading edge of service and innovation within Oak Park as well as the larger library community. We have continued to try new programs and approaches to our collections and services. While they have not all been successful, I’m glad our staff has not been deterred and continues to explore new ideas on a regular basis, using both best practices from other libraries and feedback from the people of Oak Park.
When I think back to my years in grade school visiting the Maze and Main branches, I don’t think I would have been able to imagine the Oak Park Library that we use today. I would have been hard-pressed to see myself walking through a library art gallery, rushing through the stacks for an after-hours puzzle-hunt program, downloading free music from one our many online services or watching the Library Book Bike, Paperback Rider, roll up to my block party ready to use a tablet to check out books to the children and adults on any block in town.
We are living in a time when libraries and their staffs are incredibly important, possibly more important than ever. Libraries don’t just offer books anymore; they offer unfiltered access to information and primary sources that allow people to fully investigate questions. Library staff is there not just to help us find a book; they are there to share their training and experience in helping us discern what is a good source of information from all the other noise.
Libraries offer spaces for people to meet, discuss, and collaborate around all manner of issues and interests. It is crucial that we continue to have a strong and innovative library with programs that engage as many of our neighbors as we can and to make sure that everyone who walks through the doors knows we are there to provide them with service.
Giving back through service and helping others is an idea that my family values and I hope I have embodied, whether it is supporting WSSRA, serving on the library board or raising money for Chicago Special Olympics by way of the Polar Plunge.
It has been a pleasure to serve our village on the library board these past 12 years and an honor I humbly ask you to allow me to continue for another four by voting for me on April 4.