A couple weeks ago I told you we were a finalist for the Excellence in Business EPIC Award from the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. I’m thrilled to announce that we won the award last night at an event at the Frederik Meijer Gardens! The other finalists for the award were Elzinga & Volkers and Cascade Engineering.

If you want to read about the designation, you’ll find that background in my previous post. In a nutshell, this means the West Michigan-area business community recognizes that KDL is not only a leading governmental entity, but that we understand that successful governmental entities place as much importance as their business counterparts on their fiscal health, service innovation, customer and employee satisfaction and civic responsibility.

This isn’t Lance Werner’s award, or even KDL’s award alone. It’s recognition of all the parts that make up this whole: the nearly 300 KDL staffers who make your library experience great every time; your communities, which recognize how crucial a healthy library system is to its overall health; and to you, our cardholders and taxpayers who support us in all we do. Thank you.

Exciting news: KDL has been named a finalist for the Excellence in Business EPIC award from the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. The EPIC Awards (Entrepreneurial, Progressive, Innovative and Collaborative) recognize those who support community, demonstrate growth, show innovation and have worked as mentors and collaborators. Award recipients will be announced on Wednesday, May 15.

We’re thrilled just to be nominated. Why? We’re committed to making every effort to operate like a well-run business and get the greatest return on investment for our taxpayers. That the Chamber recognizes our efforts is a huge vote of confidence.

We work every day to make our collection and programming valuable and relevant to your lives, have been and will continue to be dedicated to being a vital partner in the community, and – awards or not –will continue to play a significant role in lifting Kent County by making this a better place to live.

Lance Werner, KDL director

Like everyone who works at KDL, I find myself frequently talking about our services when I’m not at work.

I was recently talking with another parent who told me his family loves KDL’s free programs, especially those during the summer and other school breaks. He said he wished, though, that we had more in the way of educational resources to help his kids with school.

Like so many library users, his family was only dipping a toe into the Olympic-sized pool of what KDL offers. I took advantage of that opportunity to share with him the Parents & Kids page on our website, with its recommended reading lists, learning-focused games and online reference resources, where his kids can search thousands of college and graduate schools, identify scholarships, take online practice tests and use test prep eBooks.

Do you know about everything KDL can do for your children? Is there a service you need from your library? We’re always interested to hear your suggestions.

Lance Werner, KDL Director

Libraries are known for being forward thinking when it comes to constantly improving equal access to everything we offer.

KDL has taken the lead many times, from our nationally recognized What’s Next database used by libraries and library fans across the country, to our early literacy initiatives that serve as a model for many other library systems to our Local Indie collection designed specifically to promote self-published work.

Once again, we want to be at the leading edge. KDL and nine other U.S. library systems, including the New York Public Library, are partnering to apply for a grant to embark on a two-year project called “Library Simplified.”

It’s an effort to explore how libraries can better use new technology, including and especially eBooks, to build new audiences by reducing the barriers to use. We’re also going to examine why people don’t use the library, and look at how we might alter our policies so they will. And we intend to investigate the often confusing steps needed to download materials to various devices, and brainstorm ways to make it easier.

I’ll share more details later this year should the grant be awarded. I know my fingers are crossed.

Lance Werner, KDL Director

Eight volunteers from Grand Rapids legal firm Miller Johnson visited the KDL Service Center on January 21 and put together 1,000 KDL “Play-Grow-Read to Your Baby” bags, which will be distributed to new moms in Kent County through a partnership with First Steps Kent. The bags are paid for through donations from Huntington Bank, the Blodgett Foundation and individual donors.

KDL is thrilled to have community partners who recognize how crucial early literacy is to lifelong literacy.

Literacy development begins in the first three years of life, and even babies as young as six weeks old are developmentally ready to begin early literacy activities.

A few KDL programs that target early literacy: Early Childhood Essentials programs aimed at giving parents and childcare providers tools for success, a monthly Early Lit Bits eNewsletter packed with practical literacy advice and Babytime storytimes aimed at encouraging children’s love for reading and imagination at a time when their brains experience such crucial development. And KDLville play spaces in all our branches do not have a minimum age restriction.

It’s never too early for a library card.

Legislators are currently discussing the business equipment personal property tax (PPT) and ways to replace the funds if it is eliminated. Replacement is critical to maintaining the services Kent County residents rely on. Without replacement of the PPT, services will be reduced or may cease entirely.

We agree the PPT is not a wise tax; why penalize businesses for trying to grow? But the services it funds – municipalities, schools and, of course, libraries – are anything but unwise. These are the entities voters have said again and again are worthy of their tax dollars. These are services that define vibrant communities and convince businesses and people to move in and to stay.

Michigan’s public libraries are not asking for more money; we’re simply asking that we be allowed to continue to provide quality library services that meet the needs of our residents.  Please take a moment and tell your legislators you want a PPT replacement plan, and that you want libraries included.

Thank you for your support!

Lance Werner, director
Kent District Library

We did it again!

I am pleased to announce that Kent District Library has, for the third year in a row, been recognized as a Star Library in the Library Journal Index of Public Library Service 2012.  More than 7,000 libraries were evaluated, but only 262 received a starred rating.  KDL was one of only four Michigan libraries to make the list (Ann Arbor District Library, Bloomfield Township Public Library and Plymouth District Library were the others).

We are thrilled that Kent District Library has received this accolade and appreciate the support that our patrons and communities have shown over the years. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating this wonderful achievement!

The word is out about Write Michigan, the short story contest sponsored by KDL, Schuler Books & Music and the Grand Rapids Public Library.

As of the end of October, hundreds of Michigan residents had uploaded drafts to the Write Michigan website. We expect a deluge of entries as we approach the submission deadline on November 30.

From December 1 to January 10, teams of judges will read all of the entries and compile a list of finalists in two age categories (18 and older and 17 and younger). The top stories are assured a place in a collection printed by Schuler’s Chapbook Press. We’ll reveal the finalists on January 11, and then it will be up to you to vote for your favorite. The top two entries in each category will receive cash prizes.

Libraries encourage people to read, but they also inspire people to imagine, create and write. The late American author Ray Bradbury said this: “I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library . . . (and) at the end of 10 years, I had read every book in the library and I’d written a thousand stories.”

How many future Ray Bradburys, J.K. Rowlingses, Malcolm Gladwells and Maya Angelous are patrons of a KDL branch? How can we encourage you? We think Write Michigan could be the platform to launch the next great Michigan writer. Could it be you?

Lance Werner, Director
Kent District Library

Cue the Pete Townshend guitar stylings; we’re talking ’bout a new generation of library users.

Some may be surprised by the findings of a recent study that found that those age 16 to 29 are reading as much or more than the previous generation and are more likely to be using their libraries. And while they embrace eBooks, that generation does not want the technology to replace traditional print books.

At KDL, this is not news to us; it’s an assurance that our programs and resources aimed at young people are sought after, that we’re more relevant than ever to their needs and that they consider their libraries “their” spaces.

What are we doing at KDL? We’ve revamped many of the teen and children’s sections of our branches to make them more welcoming and exclusive to those age groups, we continue to see a strong use of databases not found on the Internet for school research and we have the largest selection of eBooks of any library system in Michigan that is available only to our cardholders.

KDL also has seen record-breaking numbers of children and teens who take part in our summer reading programs, which have the highest participation of any single library system in the state.

All of this is because of you, our KDL cardholders. You have told us what you want from your library — how you want us to invest your tax dollars — and we have listened. We plan to keep listening, and evolving, as what you need and want from your library evolves.

Lance Werner
KDL Director

Are you ready to write, Michigan?

Kent District Library is partnering with Schuler Books & Music and the Grand Rapids Public Library to host the Write Michigan short story contest beginning September 4. The contest is aimed at showcasing budding writing talent across the state. We’re so excited to offer people this opportunity to share their work with Michigan and the world.

The popularity of television shows such as “American Idol,” which combine expert opinion with viewer voting, got us thinking about how this concept could be applied to a library contest. We also thought about West Michigan’s very own ArtPrize contest, which has sparked unprecedented public enthusiasm for visual art. Could the same be done in the literary arts? It’s time to find out.

While I encourage you to read the full contest details at writemichigan.org, here’s a quick overview: writers of all ages are invited to submit an original, unpublished short story on any topic. A group of judges will determine a number of finalists in two categories: youth (age 17 and younger) and adult (age 18 and older). Then the public voting begins.

The stories with the most votes at the end will win cash prizes. But that’s not all: the stories from the top 10 to 12 finalists will be published by Schuler’s Chapbook Press. Additionally, the contest includes short story writing workshops and an awards ceremony.

To aid in your wordsmithery, KDL is offering a short story writing workshop with Ludington-area author George Dila from 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM on Saturday, September 15 at the East Grand Rapids branch. Come ready to write!

Libraries and bookstores love to get people excited about literature. Write Michigan is our way of taking that goal to the next level with the hope that one day soon it will be your stories flying off our shelves. So, get writing… and get discovered!