Getting to know the village of Arlington Heights is as simple as getting to know the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.
Sure, Executive Librarian Kathleen Balcom can trot out all sorts of impressive statistics to show how far-reaching the library’s services are. For example, she could boast that 80 percent of the village’s roughly 76,000 residents have a library card and that about 2,000 daily visitors ask 110 reference questions an hour.
But she doesn’t have to.
She simply studies the faces of the people going in and out of the 132,000-square-foot building at 500 N. Dunton Ave. and gets a better sense of her neighbors than from just about any other vantage in the village.
Balcom and the library’s 228 employees, 74 of who work full time, see them all: The seniors moving into new downtown condominiums a short walk away. The immigrants eager to learn English. The mothers looking to enhance lessons for their home-schooled children. The men and women searching for career opportunities. And, yes, the occasional wanderer who quietly studies the newspaper as a means to escape the cold.
“The purpose of the library is to observe the needs of the community and to address them where appropriate,” Balcom said. “It is not to have a library on the library’s terms.
“This is a place where families meet and communities gather. It’s a place where little ones are welcomed and not glared at. It’s a comfortable place that fosters lifelong learning and enjoyment.”
For the library, Balcom said, shepherding that lifelong commitment to learning essentially boils down to the flexibility to meet folks where they are.
That means myriad outreach efforts that draw patrons to the library’s services on their terms. For example:
– A drive-through window, which is staffed, lets motorists zip in and out, to drop off and pick up items or pay fines.
– The cable network Channel 24 delivers lectures and book discussions to patrons’ homes.
– Internet access provides searchable databases anytime and anywhere.
– Evening storytelling encourages working parents to visit the library with their children.
– Nighttime reference desk hours accommodate burning questions after the library building is closed.
– Plus, nearly all the programs aimed at the elderly are held in the Arlington Heights Senior Center, 1801 W. Central Rd., because the seniors “enjoy interacting with us in their environment,” Balcom said.
That flexibility has contributed to the library’s success by any measure, Balcom said.
Again, though she can back herself up with hard and fast numbers, she’d rather refer to the overflowing enrollment in the library’s array of computer-skills and adult-literacy courses, and to the crowds of youngsters who routinely show up for children’s events.
Of course, there are challenges for the library’s future.
Demand for services spiked with the 1995 completion of a $9 million expansion and renovation and has held steady since. But with the revitalization of the towns’ Central Business District, Balcom and her staff are bracing for busier times. They’re watching many seniors move into the downtown condos and young families snap up the houses left behind.
Because library officials say it takes two years for property-tax collections to make it to their coffers, the Village Board in December approved an ordinance requiring developers to pay an impact fee of $97.50 per capita. The charge is based on a formula that takes into account the number of occupants and bedrooms in a home.
“We had to do something,” Balcom said. “It takes a while for the money to reach us, and yet new people–and we’ve got a lot [of them] and are getting more all the time–can use the library’s services immediately.”
What the patrons want is immediate service, particularly when it comes to finding information on the Internet or picking up skills that will help them navigate the Information Age.
The library’s resources are tested daily as the library stretches to provide skilled librarians, Balcom said.
“More people are realizing that librarians are the best search engines there are,” said Victor Johnson, a Library Board member who also is president of the national Association of Library Trustees and Advocates.
“They can see that the Internet is a lot like an encyclopedia that contains only what people want to contribute to it–and that’s hardly reliable. So, they’re increasingly leaning on those who have been trained to help them navigate to credible sources of information.”
The shift from print to digital information is requiring more flexibility of the library’s staff, Balcom said. The staff is constantly increasing its technical skills, learning new ways and places to find things for patrons and then turning around and teaching the patrons what they’ve learned.
“I would have to put on my wish list additional staff to support the direction in which we’re going,” she said.
“Our focus is to provide information, promote reading and build community. And to keep that up, we’re going to need a sufficient number of librarians to provide training and assistance for any and all resources our library offers.”
JUST THE FACTS
Name: Arlington Heights Memorial Library
Address: 500 N. Dunton Ave., Arlington Heights
Telephone: 847-392-0100
Fax: 847-506-2650
TTY: 847-392-1119
Direct-dial numbers
Catalog and Internet help: 847-506-2639
Checkout/renewals: 847-506-2626
Community services: 847-870-3711
Fiction, music and movies: 847-506-2640
Kids’ world: 847-506-2620
Library Cable Network: 847-506-2662
Magazines and newspapers: 847-506-2641
Personal computers: 847-506-2630
Reception: 847-392-0100
Reference: 847-506-2633
Other information
Hours: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Noon-5 p.m. Sunday
e-mail: dmeskaus@nslsilus.org
Night Owl telephone reference service: available after hours until midnight; call 847-255-5895
Web site: www.ahml.lib.il.us
ANNUAL EVENTS
Feb. 26, March 5, 12, 19 and 26, and April 2 and 9: The library, in conjunction with the American Association of Retired Persons, will provide free income tax counseling for seniors every Monday during February and March and until April 15. IRS-trained volunteers assist with tax forms and answer tax-related questions by appointment only. To schedule a free appointment, call the library at 847-392-0100.
March 10: The annual Inside Writing and Publishing Series will present “Fiction Writing” at 1 p.m. and “Non-fiction Writing” at 3:30 p.m. at the library. Free admission. Call 847-506-2613 for more information.
March 22: The annual Inside Writing and Publishing Series will present “Self Publishing Tips” at 7 p.m. at the library. Free admission. Call 847-506-2613 for more information.
March 31: The annual Inside Writing and Publishing Series will present “Writing for Children” at 9:30 a.m. at the library. Free admission. Call 847-506-2613 for more information.
April 1-7: The library will celebrate National Library Week with a monthlong display devoted to Arlington Heights authors. Call 847-506-2613 for more information.
April 21: A kindergarten Open House will run from 10 a.m. to noon. Kindergartners and their families are invited to sign up for library cards and take a tour of the library. Admission is free. Call 847-506-2613 for more information.
April 28 and 29: The Friends of the Library Super Spring Sale will be held on the library’s second floor. Donated used books and materials that have been withdrawn from the library’s collection will be sold for less than $1. Sale items also will include compact discs, audio books and computer software. Proceeds will be used to offset library expenses. Admission is free. Call 847-392-0100 for more information.
June 4-Aug. 31: The Summer Reading Program for children and adults will include guest speakers, contests, games and theme events designed to promote a love for reading. Admission to program events is free. Times and dates to be announced. Call 847-506-2613 for more information.
Aug. 4 and 5: The Friends of the Library Summerfest Sale will be held on the library’s second floor. Donated used books and materials that have been withdrawn from the library’s collection will be sold for less than $1. Sale items also will include compact discs, audio books and computer software. Proceeds will be used to offset library expenses. Admission is free. Call 847-392-0100 for more information.
October: The library, in conjunction with Northwest Community Hospital, will sponsor the annual Community Health Fair. The event includes health screenings, blood-pressure readings and flu shots. Date to be announced. Call 847-506-2613 for more information.
Oct. 27 and 28: The Friends of the Library Fantastic Fall Sale will be held on the library’s second floor. Donated used books and materials that have been withdrawn from the library’s collection will be sold for less than $1. Sale items also will include compact discs, audio books and computer software. Proceeds will be used to offset library expenses. Admission is free. Call 847-392-0100 for more information.
Nov. 5-Dec. 14: The library will hold its annual Holiday Book Collection for children. New children’s books that are dropped off will be donated to Wheeling Township’s Adopt-a-Family Program. Call 847-506-2613 for more information.
Early February 2002: The Friends of the Library Youth Book Sale will be held on the second floor. Donated used books and materials that have been withdrawn from the library’s collection will be sold for less than $1. Sale items also will include compact discs, audio books and computer software. Proceeds will be used to offset library expenses. Admission is free. Call 847-392-0100 for more information.
— Compiled by Christine Tatum
ONGOING EVENTS
General
The bookmobile stops every other week at 26 locations in Arlington Heights. Call 847-506-2613 for a schedule of stops.
The Library Cable Network, Channel 24, presents programs by six area libraries. Call 847-506-2613 for more information or a program schedule.
For schedules to the library’s author lectures and Lyric Opera lectures, call 847-506-2613.
Seniors
Library-sponsored events are held at the Arlington Heights Senior Center, 1801 W. Central Rd. Events include discussion groups for books, current events and travel and computer classes. Call 847-870-3710 for more information.
Children
Open story times designed for children ages 3 to 6 are held every other week: 10:30 a.m. Mondays; 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays; 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays; and 10:30 a.m. Fridays. Other story times throughout the year may be designed for younger or older children. For more information and a schedule of events, call 847-506-2613.
Junior Library Volunteers
Children who have finished grades 6, 7 and 8 are eligible to become a summer library volunteer. Volunteers typically serve as reading buddies for younger children and help with the library’s summer reading program. For more information or to apply, call the Kids World desk at 847-506-2620.
— Compiled by Christine Tatum
