Not all suburban libraries are created equal

She said the library makes an effort to reach out to people, but Cicero’s increasingly large Hispanic population needs more services.

“I would love to see the library offer late night study cafe hours, we’ll love to see more opportunities for parents, so book clubs in Spanish,” she said.

She said the lack of access to technology is also a pressing issue, considering how patrons use libraries nowadays.

(WBEZ/Andrew Gill)
Library administrators demonstrate an interactive dollhouse in the children’s area.

Mary Witt agrees. She’s with Reaching Across Illinois Library System, a state program that helps libraries with services like book delivery and technology support. According to Witt, libraries could do more for job-seekers.

“That’s something that’s in huge demand, that again a smaller library might not be able to afford,” Witt said. “And that’s kind of ironic in that some of the libraries that are hardest hit financially are needed the most because they serve areas [with] the highest unemployment.”

In April Cicero’s unemployment rate was 12 percent – nearly double that of Arlington Heights.

Witt said other libraries in Chicago’s suburbs have even more urgent worries. They don’t have enough space to hold community events and their old buildings need major maintenance.

But she said, even the neediest libraries are figuring out how to best serve their patrons.

“Libraries aren’t just sitting there,” she said. “Everyone is trying to find out what their communities need so they are looking for creative ways that they can adapt those technologies and those other trends to serve their customers.”

Which, according to Jason Kuhl, is all Arlington Heights Memorial Library is trying to do too.

“You can’t be sort of a cookie cutter library anymore,” Kuhl said. “We are looking to be nimble; we are looking to adjust to whatever our community needs.”

Every library wants to keep up with community needs, the question is, do they have the resources to do so?

A tale of two libraries

FY 2011 Arlington Heights Memorial Library Cicero Public Library
Legal Service Area Population 75101 83891
Total staff 137.61 29.89
Total operating income $13314345 $1759116
Total operating income- amount per capita $177.29 $20.97
Federal income $210 $0
State income $78622 $171887
Local income $12769650 $1528259
Other income $465863 $58970
Total Circulation 2644232 256285
Library Visits 907869 380000

 

Article Appeared @http://www.wbez.org/news/not-all-suburban-libraries-are-created-equal-107923

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