How to Make your Library Great (Reprint)
Since the Library board will be before Council tonight, I thought it appropriate to post a blog about them. Since I know little about library matters, I thought I’d find a resource entitled ”How to Make Your Library Great” that does. If the following article isn’t enough there’s a great publication from the America Libraries Council that your can look at as well. Although the article is posted below the pics in the link are worth a look
Best said by the Project for Public Spaces, Library’s are the front porches of our community. Instead of worrying about particular branches, we should be worried about funding the transition of our current libraries to convert them to the ones our community will need in the future. If the library’s were changed to what our community will need them to be, the higher use will bring in the funds they need to keep individual branches open
How to Make Your Library Great
Want to turn your library into a great community destination?Contact Project for Public Spaces or the Americans for Libraries Council to learn how we can help.
14 lessons from local libraries all over the continent.
To succeed today, libraries must master many different roles–some traditionally associated with libraries, some not. Their new, multi-faceted missions must be supported with great design, strong amenities, and popular programs. That’s a lot to juggle, but when everything works together, libraries become places that anchor community life and bring people together. To help libraries fulfill their potential as neighborhood institutions, PPS offers the following strategies as a roadmap to success.
1. Great Libraries Offer a Broad Mix of Community Services
Because libraries tend to be centrally located within neighborhoods, they are ideal places to offer numerous community services–from child care to job placement to income tax advice to university extension courses. These types of community offerings are a crucial part of the mix for libraries seeking to become multi-use destinations.
The Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine, for example, works with the Mid Coast Hospital and Parkview Adventist Medical Center to offer “Health Kits” to childcare providers. This equips caregivers to initiate conversations with children (left) about sensitive topics like living with disabilities, going to the doctor, and conflict resolution.
2. Great Libraries Foster Communication
Innovative libraries aren’t content serving as one-way conduits of information; they want to foster dialogue and exchange with their users. To that end, many libraries house community access television and radio stations, and other means of disseminating information freely. The Rotterdam public library, for instance, has a broad range of programs to share Dutch language and culture, including an in-house movie theater (below). In one annual program, the theater hosts festivals featuring the work of local and student filmmakers.
Translation services, literacy programs, foreign language classes, English as a second language (ESL) tutors, and computer training are yet more ways that libraries strengthen language and communication skills among patrons. Many of these services are of immense value to recent immigrants, providing a means to help people navigate the process of citizenship, secure housing and medical providers, find child care, and become established in their communities.
3. Great Libraries Showcase History and Information
Libraries are widely appreciated as stewards of local history and lore, repositories of a community’s collective memory. In addition to housing genealogical centers, settlement records, archives and map collections, library innovators are captivating patrons through storytelling, traditional festivities, and exhibits celebrating culture and myth.
Libraries can also connect people to their communities by serving as civic information centers. They are ideal forums for public discourse about timely local topics such as zoning changes, new developments, and government initiatives. Furthermore, with information on community events, entertainment, and noteworthy destinations, libraries can welcome visitors and help understand and better appreciate the community.
Birmingham, Alabama is particularly fortunate to have a library that preserves records of the city’s central role in the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s. The library itself played a role in the movement, as the site of an important sit-in by African-American college students. Today, the library is home to an incredible collection of documents and photographs (above) that tell the story of civil rights activism for following generations.
4. Great Libraries Build Capacity for Local Businesses
More and more libraries fill important needs for employers, jobseekers, and consumers. They play a crucial “think tank” role for local start-up businesses and community development advocates, helping them acquire entrepreneurial skills and discover methods of raising capital. For people seeking work or taking on career changes, libraries connect them to employers and specialized job training. For the consumer, libraries may provide up-to-date information about the best businesses to patronize in their area.
At the Johnson County Public Library in Kansas City, Kansas (left), workshops complement a business book series and access to online databases. The library’s thorough range of services–from recommending useful books to hands-on coursework–provides resources for all kinds of small-scale entrepreneurs.
5. Great Libraries Become Public Gathering Places
The spaces inside and outside libraries are perfect for public proclamations, celebrations, fairs, and festivals—as well as smaller but no less important events that occur on a regular basis, like brown bag lectures or midday concerts. These activities reinforce the library’s role as a community anchor, and leading libraries are jumping at the chance to attract people by expanding their programs. To succeed as lively gathering places, a library can offer an eclectic mix that may include outdoor exhibits on science or history, temporary public art installations, games and chess tables, or outdoor play areas linked to the children’s reading room.
The Public Library (left) in Mississauga, Ontario plays a central role in revitalizing public space in this city near Toronto. By participating in activities like this “ribfest”, Mississauga’s library has become a center of public community life.
6. Great Libraries Boost Local Retail and Public Markets
The public goals of libraries mesh very well with the community-minded aims of public markets. As more cities and towns turn to markets to spur the local economy and encourage new business development, it is becoming common to see library lobbies, parking lots, and sidewalks used for farmers markets, book markets, or art markets.
Libraries may be for lending, but there’s nothing wrong with getting in on the retail action too. Some sell used books in a gift shop or open a café to serve patrons and residents. Others provide their communities with international newsstands and video rental facilities. Making use of their prime locations, libraries can rent space to arts organizations and commercial galleries, or for public events–even weddings!
Special markets in Riverside, California (left) are held in front of the library, creating a critical mass of pedestrians in this Southern California city–which boosts the library and local vendors alike.
7. Great Libraries Offer Easy Access
Because everyone uses them, libraries need to be accessible. It is essential to provide people with a variety of ways to get there, including convenient transit routes, walkable streets, and adequate bicycle facilities. First and foremost, libraries should be connected to the sidewalk network, not set apart and surrounded by a sea of parking. Nearby streets should be designed so that cars slow down around the library, crosswalks should be well marked, and lights should be timed for pedestrians, not vehicles.
Oregon’s Multnomah County Library is conveniently accessible to Portland’s residents. Served by Portland’s light rail network and located in the heart of a pedestrian-friendly downtown, the library is truly open to everyone.
8. Great Libraries Make the Surrounding Area Come Alive
Knowing how to enhance a library with active streets and sidewalks is key to attracting more visitors and patrons. A library with an entrance opening right onto sitting stairs where people can read outside or sit in the sun, for instance, will be infinitely more lively compared to one with blank walls around the ground floor. Going further, the reading room could flow outside onto a public square. Or a bookstore and café on the ground floor could spill onto the street. The best libraries foster exactly this type of connection between the inner library–the stacks, computers, and reading areas–and the “outer library”–the façade, sidewalk, plazas, parking areas, and the rest of the town. Creating an active, welcoming outer library is essential to the well-being of the library as a whole.
Toronto’s Beaches Branch library (left) is located on Kew Gardens, a beautiful park fronting the scenic lakefront. With strong connections to the park, waterfront, and the rest of the community, the Beaches Branch Public library is a hub of activity and a popular meeting spot.
9. Great Libraries Feature Multiple Attractions and Destinations
A surefire strategy for libraries is providing a series of smaller “places” within and around them to attract people. These attractions don’t need to be elaborate to make the library a success. In fact, numerous small attractions, such as a vendor cart or playground, will effectively draw people throughout the day. Strategically locating these attractions in proximity to each other generates synergy and stimulates further public activity.
The Brookline branch library of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Libraries is an elegant facility with many distinct “places” within it. Comfortable reading nooks, children’s play areas (left) and rooms for movie screenings help create a diversity of attractions within the cozy facility.
10. Great Libraries Are Designed to Support Function
Library buildings and their outdoor public spaces (streets, sidewalks and parking lots) should be designed so that the spaces can be used in different ways for different patrons throughout the course of the day, week, and the year. To allow for overlapping and changing uses, form needs to support function.
The Pictou Antigonish regional library in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia supports outdoor use with these movable tables and chairs and seasonal plantings (left). During a recent workshop and training course with library staff and other local stakeholders, PPS recommended expanding this area with additional tables and chairs, a coffee cart and cafe umbrellas, together with a used book sales area. Coupled with façade improvements that would increase transparency and strengthen connections between indoor and outdoor spaces, these improvements would create the kind of synergy that attracts people to this place all day long.
11. Great Libraries Provide a Variety of Amenities
The importance of good amenities cannot be overstated for any library that wants to become a multi-purpose destination. The right amenities greatly bolster efforts to attract more patrons and serve a variety of different people. If a library decides to offer Wi-Fi service, for instance, they will optimize public use if they also give web surfers comfortable places to sit both inside the building and outside under shady trees. Other amenities may include public art, fountains or other central features that help establish a convivial setting for social interaction, encouraging people to gather and linger.
Downtown Denver’s Public Library is not only a community resource, but a high-profile art center. With sculptures, murals, and other amenities, the library has helped to make downtown Denver a destination for arts fans and tourists.
12. Great Libraries Change with the Calendar
Libraries are at their best when their programs evolve throughout the year. Holidays, seasonal changes, and dates of local historic significance all afford great opportunities for libraries to celebrate the cultural and civic life of a community. To remain vital and interesting all year, libraries should make rotating horticultural displays, seasonal markets, holiday celebrations, and civic events central to their programming menu.
Camden, Maine’s public library, which excels in the breadth of ways it contributes to the town, features many seasonal activities in its amphitheater, children’s reading room, and coffee house. For example, a traditional Morris dance (left) draws the community to the library’s green during the summer.
13. Great Libraries Depend on Wise Management
Managing a library for public use goes beyond security and maintenance. It involves constant evaluation of how effectively the programs, amenities, and design features serve patrons and the mission of the library itself. A good management effort keeps the library operating in peak form by responding to evolving needs of users with ongoing improvements and refinements.
The central branch of the New York Public Library boasts a shining example of how effective management plays a critical role in maximizing public use year-round. In partnership with its “backyard” neighbor, Bryant Park, the library operates an outdoor reading room stocked with books, magazines and newspapers. This popular amenity remains well-managed throughout the winter too, when it sets up shop in a tent that perfectly complements the park’s ice rink, seasonal café and holiday market.
14. Great Libraries Catalyze Community Revitalization
When you put all the ingredients of a great library together, you end up with a public institution whose influence extends far beyond its physical location. The best libraries anchor communities. Because they are highly visible centers of civic life, these libraries instill public confidence in their neighborhoods and catalyze further investment from both the public and private sectors. The power of these institutions to revitalize communities was central to recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when libraries along the Gulf Coast were among the first institutions to receive government support and private philanthropic attention.
Funded through a public-private collaboration, the relocation of Kansas City, Missouri’s Central Library to a historic bank building, spurred the development of a Library District, a reclaimed part of downtown that now boasts housing, retail, art galleries, and a refurbished streetscape. As part of the effort, the facade of a nearby parking structure was painted to resemble the spines of books that local residents selected to represent Kansas City (left).
Post Feedback
Mark,
Those are all great ideas. What needs to be said though, I think, is that great libraries need great thinkers and doers behind them to execute what is needed to make them great. Low morale and restrictive internal policies combined with shrinking budgets do not portend well.
The big question of the day would be; is there any great “Doers” left in this city that haven’t become frustrated and moved on to greener pastures? And, how do we cultivate the next generation of active citizens to take up the mantle of those before them?
The joint meeting is actually this afternoon - 2pm in Council Chambers.
These are all ideas that won’t work in Windsor. Sorry to burst the bubble.
You see, these ideas make sense and have been implemented for the community’s health and prosperity.
Windsor’s new agenda seems to be in line with political posturing. It has now become king of the hill. Remember that game?
When Eddie speaks of negativity in this area, it is all policy that has crumbled under his grip. And I do mean grip.
Failure or lack of projects in the Windsor area are not the fault of the public or business. It is lack of vision and clarity that city hall reflects.
The library is a perfect example. Cut the budget every year, cancel the “free ride” and then flare your nostrils in anger when they have to consolidate branches in defiance of an “order”.
That fits Eddie’s style. If they don’t fall in line, crush them with politics.
Mark, great post and all points above is what the Windsor Public Library is doing or trying to do but with over a million dollars in cuts over the last five years, they are being beaten into the ground, for what! So that Eddie can get rid of the library board and spend the money on himself for his growing lawsuits. He and council are just bullies over things that they can’t control.
They, the mayor and city council have no plan for the library, they just want its money! They don’t care about the citizens of this city, and worst of all they can’t tell the library board what to do and that pisses them off to no end. This current civilians on the library board have a backbone, something the majority on city council don’t have.
The announcement to close South Walkerville library is not new, it has been in the planning for over seven years. The building is leased from a private owner, it has no parking and the usage statistics for that library, place it almost at the bottom for all libraries in the city. The population in Ward three has dropped 12% in the last census. Given the fact the year after year, the city has cut the budget for library operations in this city, the library board has no choice but to reduce services. The lease is up for that library in August.
Did you know and most people don’t know, that when the operating agreement was formed to fund and build the new Fontainebleu library, the city reneged on its commitment to pay for staffing of that new library, and left the library scrambling to find staff, without hiring new staff. Its something that the city doesn’t speak of. It was the community and the library that built that library not the city!
This mayor and city council are not committed to making Windsor a Smart City nor a Creative city, their actions towards the library system, the arts and cultural groups in this last budget farce tells us so.
Mark, did you read my update to Playing Yo-Yo Downtown, there I posted a recent report by the Urban Libraries Council, Making Cities Stronger. It covers and states the same thing that you posted above. Well funded library systems are economic engines for any community as recently published ROIs have shown in quite a few states in the U.S. and the province of Ontario study titled Dividends have shown. On average for every dollar invested in a public library system, there is an eight dollar return in direct economic impact and investment in that community!
And what is the most sleeziest of this is, that it is another closed door meeting this afternoon, with no public input what so ever! You want to bet that the mayor is going scream blue murder this afternoon, with his boot black lackies backing him up, his eyes are going to bulge right out of his head on this one.
Your library is doing or trying to do all the points you presented above and are very aware of what more progressive cities and public libraries are doing in Canada and the United States. It seems to have been discovered that if a city invests in a new main library with all the attributes you listed, that it has increased the growth of downtown cores. Guelph, Ottawa, Markham, Calgary, Edmonton, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, London Ontario, have built new libraries or are considering building new libraries in their core and have watched the inner city come to life with growth and development. But not Windsor!
Kdduck hits it right on the head. Anything out of Eddie’s grip is his for the taking. I am STILL waiting to hear back from the mayor’s office I called 3 weeks ago….3 weeks ago! Since he can’t control me he just ignores me, just like everything else.
Nice caption picture. Now that is what I call streetscaping. Much better than the grey colour we have downtown now. Those lights are also very nice. The lights we have seem to from some abandoned wharf.
By the way. I can’t ignore those points about the library. But Eddie needs to go after Halberstadt and this is the only way he can do it. Eddie’s ego is as big as his think BIG dreams. But both are full of hot air with no substance.
And the bullies are doing it IN CAMERA AGAIN! I just don’t believe this mayor and city council, the fracking nerve! Their credibility has gone down the tubes faster than an elephant with an enema!
I was under the impression that this was a public meeting (and I am on the library Board). As far as I am concerned, the issue is public so the meeting needs not to be in camera.
Amen to that, UrbanRat! Good luck today, L.S. You’ve got a lot of concerned citizens backing up any decisions to strengthen our library system as oppsed to gutting it!
Sorry I was wrong L.S. but if it gets dicey then I can see the mayor closing the doors. What? And actually let the public sit on meeting chaired by Francis! That’s got to a first! This is indeed a historical moment! Am I in the right city?
I don’t trust him for one minute, any credibility he has long disappeared. I use the library on Ouellette all the time, the librarians are great at answering my questions about city documents that aren’t on the internet, and have answered my questions concerning the current condition of Windsor Public Library.
Good luck today! Stand your ground and do the right thing, even if the mayor doesn’t like it. Francis doesn’t have plan for the library or the arts and cultural groups in this city, except to take away their free ride!
I don’t understand why this city doesn’t look in to moving the South Walkerville Library branch to one of the local elementary schools such as Hugh Beaton or John Campbell (like they did with the Sandwich branch when they moved it to Brock). They are currently remodeling John Campbell public school, so now is a perfect time to look in to this option.
MArk McKenzie, great idea. But that is thinking outside of the box! Not only will it be negated by the mayor (because it wasn’t HIS idea), but I am sure the residents wouldn’t like that idea either.
I have found that the city operates as a “what is good for the poorer residents isn’t necessarily good for middle to higher income people.” Isn’t that the reason the city continually tries to ghetto-ize low income earners by building very compact areas? Heaven forbib they actually try and disperse the population of low income earners into better areas of teh city. It could also be why we STILL don’t have tax incentives to renovate houses but instead allow absentee landlords to let their houses rot.
I’m a resident of South Walkerville, and have been for my entire life (except for the 2 years that I travelled around Canada). I have spoken with many of my neighbors, and they all agree that they would rather see the Library moved in to one of the local schools as opposed to being “merged” with the Remington Park location. The worst part about all of this is that our so-called City Councillors in Ward 3 don’t even seem to care about this situation.
Ward 3 is losing its only library branch when the South Walkerville branch closes.
Well, technically the Downtown (Main Branch) is located in Ward 3, but it’s right on the border… literally! Ward 3 is the heart of this city, and yet this Council and Mayor don’t seem to give a rats a$$ about it. I’ve been trying to get my father (Jim McKenzie) to run for Council again in Ward 3, but I think he’s realized that the majority of the Ward 3 residents don’t care enough to change things. I mean, look how long it took for them to vote Donna Gamble out. Fulvio will continue to get elected because he’s Italian and gets the Italian vote (My Nonna is a perfect example… she hates him but votes for him just cause he’s Italian).
The idea af putting the Library has been explored with past boards and I am not entirely sure why, but I am told that the board of education walked away from it. I have been told that the cost of putting the library on the 2nd floor(where the board of ed wanted it) was extremely high as structural reinforcment to accomodate the books and shelves was neccessary. Also this would have created accessability issues as well.
oop!… I meant to say “The idea of putting the Library at one of the neighbourhood schools….” It’s been a very looong day.
Thanks for keeping us in the loop, L.S. Anything we can do to help - just ask!
No problem. I am a regular reader of the W.E. Speak Blogroll as are other board members and it really helps to know there is community support for the decisions we make. After all, that’s who we are representing are the citizens. Although, I thought that’s what City Councillors and the Mayor were supposed to be there for too. Maybe I’m naive.
L.S. - Can you give us a synopsis of what happened at the meeting yesterday? You know, the real story. Not what is printed in “The Star”?
As someone who has lived and worked in the area for eight years now, I do have comments on the South Walkerville branch that come from experience and personal observations.
With respect to parking, this is a neighbourhood walk-in branch. Parking should not be the primary issue. And even if it is, on-street parking is always plentiful. For those who don’t want to drop 25 cents in the meter, there are free spaces in the rear lot and around the corner on Moy and Hall streets, where some of its urban patrons WALK IN from. But more times than not one of the on-street spaces near the front door are open.
The S. Walkerville branch is also widely accessible by public transit. The Transway 1C stops right in front of it. The Walkerville 8 stops two streets over, on Lincoln, steps away. Several more streets to the west, albeit a brisk 2 minute walk, the Parent 14.
Yes Ward 3 has seen a population decrease but we need to look at the bigger picture - WHERE within the ward this decrease has occurred. And this has not been south of Ottawa street but rather the core areas. We still have several grade schools, one within steps of the branch, another a few blocks away, not to mention others further away but still walkable or bikeable. The area is still strongly populated, residentially.
Today I was in the branch to pick up a book and the library was busy as usual, in-spite of claims it is a sleepy whistlestop within the WPL system. When they figure out how many people sign out materials, do they count materials that were couriered from other branches? Do they take into account people who make use of the resources within the branch and don’t necessarily sign anything out? Like I said, there are usually people in there. The librarian is usually busy, not twiddling her thumbs.
If I was to make a list of the things that make South Walkerville great, this walk-in library branch would be on the Top 5 list and its absence from the urban makeup of our area after August will be sorely missed…. even if some people who don’t live in the area and have never been in there don’t care.
I apologize for taking so long to respond but I had to work today. And I also apologize in advance for rambling on for so long, but there is so much that has been happening with the library. I would be happy to give you my opinion of what went on at last night’s meeting, but please keep in mind that I am not the spokesperson for the Library itself or the Board. The acting CEO and Chairperson are the ony ones who can speak in that capacity. A presentation outlining some of the rationalization behind the board’s decision to close S. Walkerville was given by the acting CEO. Personally, I felt the presentation may have leaned a little too much toward financial reasons, but adequate attention was given to the other aspects as well. Such as the fact that several of the past library boards have considered closing S. Walkerville and it has been part of strategic Planning activities of the past boards as well to open up a full service library in the south Howard area.The lease is due As of July 31/08. When the lease was renewed last time, the board at that time renewed it for 7 yr. as opposed to 10 because of the expectation to close the branch. We have Remington an Walkerville both with low circulation. We lease the property at walkerville and own Remington. It makes good business sense to me since they really aren’t that far apart, that the 2 locations be consolidated at the property that we own. Parking issues were mentioned, but were not a really relevant part of my decision making anyway. The fact that when fountainbleu was built, the funding was never followed through for the extra staffing so the WPL was forced to stretch the number of staff needed for nine libraries across 10 libraries, while at the same time dealing with cutbacks almost every year. This has been a stress on the employees of the WPL over the years. I personally went and spoke to many staff and administration about the situation, including the manager of S.Walkerville and Remington as well as the union representatives and many other employees of WPL. I spoke to many patrons as well, since I am a frequent library user (at least 3 times/week). Anyway, back to the meeting, after the presentation, when the board members went to sit in the front seats so that we could answer any questions from Council and then ask some of our own( that’s how I thought a joint meeting would go). Eddie said that we were not to speak since we were not on the agenda! So our acting CEO sat front and centre and got raked over the coals, while Eddie continuously chastised the board as though we were children. He kept going back to us changing our governance model and the fact that we need to change it (nothing to do with S. Walkerville). He also kept going to in camera personnel issues, pointing to severance settlements and claiming that these payments were coming directly from information resources and were literally taking books off the shelves of the library. I felt this was unfair as the only way to justify our position is to divulge in camera information.That was dirty pool! The only thing I can say about that situation is that they did not come from Information Resources, but from the salary and wage item. It will be in our audit report next month. From what I hear, the City is in no position to be throwing mud in the severance settlement arena. Eddie made a claim that according to the Public Libraries Act[19(1)(d)], the board could not close Walkerville without permission of Council. That is not how I interpret that section of the act whatsoever. Council seemed determined that the board make a statement that the decision was not based whatsoever on funding cuts. There were many factors that were part of the decision making process, the budget being one, but certainly not the most important as I still feel without the budget cuts there are plenty of reasons to continue with plans to close S. Walkerville. There was never any promise made that it would not be closed. As a matter of fact, on the very day that we accepted the budget, Ray guillet was interviewed on Achannel saying that we would still be considering closing that branch. As to making the decision without public meetings, it has been widely known through the media that the WPL was considering closing branches. We have received 3 letters from residents and only 2 of them were concerning Walkerville(the other was about Sandwich). One Councillor claimed to have fielded hundreds of e-mails and phone calls. Why weren’t they referred to the Board for consideration. Besides that, WPL Board meetings are open to the public. There is supposed to be 1/month, but for the past 4 months we have had no less than 2-3 meetings with public agendas. My rationalization on that point was that I did not want to have the public perceive that we may NOT close the Walkerville branch. People would have shown up to try to convince the board to change their minds, whereas I find it much more fruitful to have the meetings as the board has planned. The purpose of the meetings being to get public input into how we can ensure that the most important services will be continued to be implimented at the Remington branch as well as entertaining other ideas that would be conducive to meeting the publics need especially in that area(e.g. I would like to see the idea of a bookmobile for patrons in that area explored). Finally, just as the meeting was being adjourned, Councillor Lewenza(surprise!) made a comment that how could this be a joint meeting without the members of the board being able to participate. I appreciated this observation, however the suggestion was conspicuously made when the meeting was being adjourned. So each of the citizen Board members got a chance to say a few things. That is when Ray Guillet made comments that were accurately quoted in the star and I pointed out that with all the talk Eddie was making on changing the governance model, supposedly so that control can be restored to the citizen board members, why were we even having this meeting? It seems to me that the WPL Board has made a decision and now we’re being called on it. It also seems to me that Council is not happy with the citizen members of the board excersing control. I also told Council that they have created a situation where effective strategic planning is very hard to make happen as our appointed terms are 2 years. My first board meeting was last april and I will be finished this November. That’s hardly 2 yrs. More like 18 mos. Not enough time to set up a facilitator for strategic planning sessions and conduct focus groups for public input and still deal with buget cutbacks and personnel issues. The KPMG Operational Review identified as a problem, the lack of continuity in citizen board members from one term to the next. I believe this lack of continuity is because if the board members are not dancing to councils tune, they just aren’t reinstated in the next term. I already know that I most likely will not serve on the next term even though I would love to and will still apply at the time. I refuse to let that influence my decision making. I will do my best to act in the best interest of the Windsor Public Library and the people who use it. I know that there will be some disappointed patrons and I would truly like to know what we can do to help them make the transition easier.