| Danville Public Library |
2009 no. 23 |
| Library Profile |
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| What is unique about your library?
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| We have a lot of artwork in our library. When we were designing the present library building we formed an Arts Committee, because the state grant required art purchases. The committee contacted Vermilion County Artists and together they developed the art collection in the library. Later, we were contacted by the Danville Area Convention and Visitors’ Bureau about doing a sculpture show in the library. This is how we received our bronze dog and lion sculptures. A local artist came in the library and saw all of our art and asked if he could showcase some of his cross-stitch in the library. He donated one of his pieces to the library, and the rest of the collection rotates in and out. A volunteer made four walking art tour brochures on different themes for the library. That way, people can easily see and learn about the art in our library. |
| What are the primary goals and objectives of your library? |
| Our main goal is to help people make the connections between what information they need and what information is available. It is important to us that we help our patrons find information in a variety of formats, since people learn in different ways. With the current state of the economy, we have been trying to show our patrons how much money the library is saving them. |
| What cooperative efforts are you currently doing? |
We just started working with one of the private housing authorities in Danville. We helped them to create the Green Meadows Library within the housing complex. It is not a branch of DPL, but the Altrusa Club of Danville and Outreach Coordinator Mary Jane Starnes believe that in setting up this library, we will be teaching people how to use a library and then they can transition from the Green Meadows Library to the Danville Public Library. We used weeded books (13 boxes) from the book sale, and the Altruist club donated money for shelving. So many people have been involved; we will have a ribbon cutting ceremony in January. The Library Foundation is working with Vermilion Advantage, the county’s economic development agency. Vermilion Advantage has begun an interdisciplinary program that is interested in helping children become creative thinkers. Vickie Hicks, the director of the Library Foundation has written a book for children, A Story of the Kingdom of Wannalot. Vermilion Advantage helped to publish and print the story, and place it in the hands of every 4th grader in Danville. The children will read the story and in turn do different projects with the story that help creative thinking. It’s a great bridge between different disciplines and helps the library be visible in the community. |
| Tell us a story about your library. |
When we built the current library, we were lucky to have
room for several group study rooms. One day, I was walking past the study rooms
and I saw 2 children with several pictures books spread across the table. In
the next room the children’s’ mother was studying for her college class. I’ve
seen variations of this over the years and it always reminds me of how the
library helps people on several levels. It put books in those children’s hands,
allowed the mother to study, and didn’t cost her money for a babysitter. |
| If money were no object, what services would you add? |
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| What is popular in your library? |
| It depends on which department you talk to. In the children’s department the rocking horses are on the most popular list. As far as circulation statistics are concerned, I believe audio books are the most heavily used. We are also seeing more and more people coming into the library with their laptops using the WiFi. |
| How does your library use online tools to connect to your users? |
| We have a website, and each department has their own page with specific links to online resources that we subscribe to. Some of those resources are from the Illinois State Library and others from LTLS. It seems to me that more and more information is heading to the online world, and a lot of paper subscriptions are turning into online subscriptions. I am not sure that it is a good thing to put all our “eggs” into one electronic basket and have nothing to back it up in paper form if subscription prices get too high for our budget. We have to make sure information doesn’t disappear forever. |
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Request a visit to your library Library of the Week Executive Director: Jan Ison, Editorial and Design Team: Michelle Ralston and David Lottes |
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