July 18, 2024 • 57 mins
Season 1, Episode 5: Director Michele Patrick, Teen Services & Marketing Librarian Alison Brown, Children’s Librarian Janis Comer and Adult Services Librarian Jacy West join "Indy Unplugged" for an engaging and entertaining conversation that highlights the Indianola Public Library, its services and programs for the community, future initiatives and opportunities, and upcoming events, among other topics.
Tune in to listen to Michele, Alison, Janis and Jacy as they explain their roles with the Indianola Public Library, learn more about the library's programming, services and opportunities available, how the library supports the community through as Indianola continues to grow and evolve, upcoming events, exciting plans for the future and so much more.
Fast-forward to a specific topic covered:
- 00:00-00:41: Intro
- 00:42-04:49: Welcome & Guest Backgrounds
- 04:50-09:07: Breaking Records & Elevating Programming/Events
- 09:08-13:59: Cycle of Programming & Opportunities for Individuals/Groups
- 14:00-21:03: Mission of Indianola Public Library & Strategic Plan for Library's Growth
- 21:04-24:17: New Operating Hours at Library & Purpose for Change
- 24:18-31:49: Storytime with Janis
- 31:50-32:51: Idea Generation & Collaboration to Serve Community
- 32:52-34:17: Soup-er Bowl
- 34:18-38:50: Evolution of Library, Branding & Communication Efforts
- 38:51-45:04: How Indianola Stays Engaged with the Library
- 45:05-51:03: Exciting Future Ahead for Indianola Public Library
- 51:04-56:08: Final Thoughts & Remarks
- 56:09-57:28: Closing
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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[Music]
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Welcome to Indy Unplugged, the podcast that's your front-row seat to the real talk of Indianola.
I'm Aaron Young, your friendly neighborhood host, and we're diving deep into unfiltered stories,
candid chats and the nitty-gritty of our vibrant city. Think of this as a crash course in all things Indianola.
No fancy jargon, just real conversations. So get comfy, hit that play button and let's
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explore the heart and soul of our community together on Indy Unplugged.
Alright, welcome back to another episode of Indy Unplugged, a City of Indianola podcast, and you probably hear me say
this every single episode – we're now on Episode 5 – but I'm telling you right now this right
here put me on the record this is going to be my favorite episode recorded you're going to find
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out why here shortly no pressure no pressure at all but today's episode we are going to have
a great conversation with a bunch of awesome employees with the Indianola Public Library.
A lot of them don't need introductions but we're going to go through introductions Michele let's
start with you tell us a little bit more about yourself your role. I'm Michele Patrick I've been
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at the Indianola Public Library since 2010 been the director since 2016 what do you love the most
about being the director of the Indianola Public Library you know us I it's true the people I mean really
it is it is we have so much fun there we have we have so much going on and what I love about the
library is it's always busy it's always loud it is um people love coming to the library it's it's
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a great place to work and and I love the people I work with most of the time yeah we we'll dig into
that further because there's a lot of great things we'll um we'll get into but chy how about you yeah
Hi I'm Jacy West I'm the Adult Services librarian over at the Indian o Public Library um and people
kind of give me a funny look sometimes when I say Adult Services librarian um but it really is like
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what it says all of the services that help out the um 18 and up um demographic of our community are
something that I usually try to have a hand in so we do book deliveries to people we do adult
programs of course um all kinds of stuff Janice I'm Janice Comer I'm the children's and Family
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Services librarian um so fancy I know I really am quite something um so yeah I do all things
uh children's I started in I guess my first year was 2016 I started in 2016 I actually beat her as
far as my current role she was there before so um anyway yeah children's stuff uh story times
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family events outreaches all the stuff that has to do with kids kids and families hey what's up
I'm Alison Brown and my title is teen services and marketing librarian which I I get a I have
a lot of clout with other Librarians across the state because they're like you're a what you're
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a marketing librarian we're we're lucky here you're one of a kind kind of yeah kind of probably
actually teen services and Mark Mar yeah you know I mean I am without the title anyway so yeah I do
you know the teen programs and the budgeting for that and all of the um teen books and then I do
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um all of the library social media all of our um inh house marketing all of our outside of
the house marketing around around the house uh yeah so I have the fun job I think I have a fun
I have the fun job um sorry to say but I think I have the fun one because I get to buy the really
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fun collection like the library of things the video G the board games picture books or where
it's at I guess see you're right you do have a bunch of great people working at the library
who all say they have the fun job the best job period when Allison um I told her that hey I want
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you guys to come on to the next podcast episode she says well is it just going to be me or can
I have a group of people and I'm like well the more the merrier and as our listeners can tell
there are a lot of voices on this podcast so it's going to be very engaging very entertaining just
like's regretting everything all the different experiences that you will have as you step foot
into the library and so talk about just how record-breaking in all facets the library
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experienced in 2023 Michelle what were just some of the highlights that the library celebrated
and experiened that you'd like to share as we are Midway through 20124 and what is currently
taking place at the library today we literally broke every record every record on the in the
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library's history last year um the end of our year is going to be June 30th and it looks like
we're going to break all of those again this year busiest year ever the library is 140 years old
one of the oldest in the state and and it was the best year by far last year and we're we're in the
new best this year yeah and just with programming alone knowing recently you had the annual summer
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bash I mean just hundreds if not maybe almost to a thousand were there a thousand commity members
there pretty sure yeah I mean phenomenal and food trucks you have different Community Partners there
just talk about the success of that event because is it was it in its third or fourth year has this
been an ongoing event for the library um did we start pre 2017 or it was the first summer my first
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summer right I think it was 2017 was when we first started it because Infamous um meeting we had okay
guys what are we going to do for the summer kickoff and I was like hey have you guys heard
of food trucks and they Michelle's look Infamous like what excuse me I'm like no no it's going to
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be great we're going to have a band we're going to have food trucks it's going to be just like a
big block party and she was not convinced but we won her over I yeah we I eventually I got you on
my side you also had the look I did cuz I was scared of food trucks yeah I was well that was
before food trucks are awesome well just with the evolution of that event from 2017 what was it like
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back then to what it's like what it was like just a few weeks ago so at the beginning we actually
partnered with parks and wreck and they were super awesome and like promoted everything just like we
did they brought over a lot of their um lawn games um they hung out um it was great it was like a you
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know like we Market marketed it as you know like a joint Department um summer kickoff thing because
you know they're quite busy right now too um so yeah and um there's I mean obviously quite a bit
more people how how many people do we think we had the first year I think we estimated like 4
to 500 we were so excited about that yeah we were so practically doubled now I mean that's amazing
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yeah mhm yeah and I think a little less work on our part I mean it's still a lot of work we still
load every single chair and every single table and everything all the things but it's all worth it
right see The Smiling Faces the kiddos and their new parents Guardians it's the best part and I get
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to go around and just take pictures of all those things the whole time so it's precious yeah and
just a support from other you know volunteers with friends at the library and your Board of Trustees
I mean it really is a community in its sense just through and through we're nodding sorry can't hear
us nodding that's really helpful in a podcast I know right you're a l for words it's cuz we're
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super excited no we're like we're we're Midway Midway kind of well well I mean like for certain
things program is wise as far as like momentum so we're tired yeah yeah so it's been a big June
we do I counted 107 programs in June and July wow that's a lot yeah so how do you keep up I mean how
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how do you take care of your people we you know we gear up and then it it is busy busy for two months
and then it's not that way all year long but it's yeah so how do you come up with the different
topics for your programming or what you were going to offer what goes into that with the research and
just other aspects of that of that approach um I might have some insight being that I'm
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one of the newest or I am the newest programming staff here um is it is a bit of trial and error
it's also um a big part of it is looking to other libraries and seeing what they're doing that's
successful um that is aligning with our mission you know at the library and uh just also what
our patrons are saying so if they're coming to a certain kind of program we try to do a bit more
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of that so if they're liking a more mystery type of event then we'll try to do similar ones to that
where they're getting their brains active they're doing puzzles whether literally or as part of an
escape room um so something like that and uh local community experts are like hey I want to talk at
the library and we invite them so it it's a lot of it really depends and each age group is different
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as well because they all have different priorities and um different things like I can do some more
um some different types of events than Janice can because if she has like a hundred kids in the door
she can only do certain things whereas if I have um a little less than that with adults we can do
some more you know Hands-On things so JC doesn't do the shake eggs with the adults yes I wish I
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wish they would let me I wish you got try it bring them in sitting right there middle of bingo we
just hey trial and air trial and air trial and air 30 second dance break I have that button I think
they might walk out if I try that but you could use try that during Bingo do it yeah cuz some
of your people have come to my family bingo and they're generally surprised by what I make them
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do versus what she has them do cuz we do kind of a head and shoulders knees and toes thing during
Bingo and you know we we get up and move around while we're playing bingo at my family bingo yeah
yeah it's a lot more active yeah so I mean how how unique is it as you experience kind of these
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different age groups and going from you know kiddos to those adults and they're experiencing
all different programming it really is I don't mean to be cliche but the only way I can think
of it is probably like that Circle of Life as you're meeting them their need here meeting
their need there and so on and so forth I mean how unique is that or is that pretty much the standard
for a library well I would think it's pretty standard for a library I mean the whole goal is
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to engage the entire community and the different age groups have different needs um even you know
young families versus the families with middle and high schoolers versus you know older people who
are empty nesters and I include myself um in that older person thing um so yeah there's just this
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whole you you really have to engage the entire community and that's that's really the purpose of
of a library yeah so yeah and a lot of that is due to our staff just because we have a lot of people
who will step up and kind of learn those different groups um because even among Janice's kids there's
the older kids there's the younger kids there's the preschool kids and even teens I mean it's
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a small bracket but there's still like there's a difference between sixth graders and 12th graders
and then the adults like extend you know like I said 18 and up so we have some of our senior
community we have um people who just finished um their monthly subscription boxes that we do with
Allison and then she sends me their previously uh picked things to transfer them into adulthood
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essentially which they're obviously a lot different than you know a mom who's a bit older so
it's huge we kind of um maybe maybe not on purpose maybe kind of on accident like the the reading
program is kind of like that they start off a certain way and then the older they get we sort
of add in the next kind as an option and the next age level as an option um which is pretty cool
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yeah and adults too um so that again with those young families we can have the parents engaged in
the same thing with their kids so the reading challenge will be for kids you know read read
every day while a three-year-old isn't reading by themselves so the mom or the dad or whoever
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their caregiver is is reading to them they get to count that too so we we try to accommodate um all
of those different ages and move them forward but then also Circle back a little bit yeah
it's like a pipeline of intentional connections as they continue to grow yeah I love take the
words out of your mouth Yes iine of intentional connection but JC you talked about the mission
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of the Indian Public Library what is that mission I will F this question as the youngest here and
the newest here the rest of us anyone can answer if they don't came up with it JC wasn't even here
that's what I was going to say is that we are actually in that um phase where we are looking
at that again so we're doing a strategic plan here soon and really red digging into what that is so
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right now we don't necessarily have our answer for the next five or so years or however long
we span that strategic plan but I'm sure it'll reflect a lot of this community outreach that we
do the Partnerships as well as the services um we talk about programming but our services and
our book circulation as well are very important to us so just really a a well-rounded Mission
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um that encompasses all of it so and we didn't have any of that like all the fun extra stuff
um all the important extra stuff that we did when we when we first did our strategic plan
so it'll be this fall I think we're going to do right Michelle this fall we are we are and just
in general though if you really break it down to the the bare minimums the mission of our
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library is to connect people to each other to the community and to resources and that's what we do
I mean we really are the Hub of the community and we facilitate that connection yeah and so with the
the importance of a strategic plan I mean how vital is that for the library for the short
and long term as you dig into that further and and identify more of those key areas to
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continue to grow it it's really important and you know the process we're going to be
going through is very important because it um is going to direct us it's something that
we can use to guide us it will um really help us articulate better what our values are and
where we're going and will'll um you know the one we have right now also does this helps us
determined programming determined priorities and the community has changed quite a bit from five
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years ago to be quite honest with you and while the the um our last strategic plan we focused
very much on helping people understand what the library could offer what we have for the community
and I think that we've accomplished that and so now our goal is to look to the Future and what
is it that the community wants from us and how can we feel the need needs and gaps um of our
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community with some of those comments you may have received already from community members is there
anything that you can share that they've told you that they expect or would hope the library could
provide them and their family we hear in in a lot of different ways that what they really really
want from the library is a place I mean they love the books love them they love the programs um but
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a place where they can go with their kids they can play it doesn't cost anything a a place they can
go and have meetings where they can study they can work they can connect other people so really we
hear a lot of really the building as a a center for the community to to gather and there's not
many places like that here in Indianola truth be told right and there's none there's not very many
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and there's not very many that are free correct so we have birthday parties um receptions things
like that there's not a lot of options for those if you don't have if you don't want to pay so
there's there's certainly a need yeah and you're identifying those needs and meeting the community
where they are whether it be programming whether it be with books and activities whether it be you
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know other opportunities that you identify you're always putting your best foot forward
for the sake of this community as it continues to evolve and like you said five years ago entirely
different what makes this community different from what it was five years ago though Michelle
I what we see at the library we see a lot more families and I I don't know the demographics of
what we're seeing is this growth in Indianola of young families but certainly um the way people use
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the library is very different than they did five years ago we it you see people come to the library
and spend a long time there whether that's with their kids they're spending you know two hours on
a Saturday morning playing or whether someone is is working from home and they're using the
library all day long that's that's really the big change 5 years ago I would say people would come
into the library get what they need and leave and now to see people it's a destination that they're
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going to it's not an errand it is we're going to the library and we're going to have fun and how
many um members community members does the library currently serve today I mean obviously the general
public but how many card holders and those who you're able to good question we have about 8,000
card holders that would be um Indianola residents Warren County res resents and then others who can
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who use the library so I don't know in front of me I don't have exactly how many residents but about
8,000 we last year though we do know we have a lot of people that use Library who don't actually
have cards um our door count last year was 80,000 And1 so lots of people using the library who may
or may not have a card or you have often families they'll have one card and all the kids check out
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on one so we don't actually know specifically how many individuals use a library but that
number year-over year continues to increase yes yeah I think we've gotten to say that for yes yeah
like year after year uh since I started working here I wonder if there's a correlation no I'm
just kidding I'm kidding I mean it's it's a great stat it should be a stat that you you're serving
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more and more but is it daunting is it kind of give you a little bit of anxiety because maybe
it could be more pressure just more individuals that you want to serve and make them proud yeah
it is you want to talk well no go ahead I mean it really is it's daunting because um you don't want
to disappoint the people that you've brought in and you also don't want to stop increasing your
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reach um and so yeah it's daunting to say okay this was really great now how do we keep keep
going how do we keep building on that and we just wing it that's not true and it's you know
it's a it becomes a problem it's a good problem to have you know good example story time we want more
people to come to story time but our problem is then our story time got too big then it became too
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rambunctious for families so we had families that were leaving because you have 50 people in a room
and so now we have two story times and you know we do the best that we can it's a good problem
to have but it is always a balancing act same way if you're in the library if you've come to work or
you have a meeting and then you have 30 teens um running around being loud it's balancing all of
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that out and meeting everybody the best that you can yeah and probably the way that the library has
recently um navigated through that would have been the establishment of new operating hours
that launched earlier this month so if you want to talk a bit more about those new hours and how that
decision came to be and the benefits so far as we're Midway through the month it was specifically
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to solve the problem of story time we need it was my fault saying well we've been wanting to
I mean like we've been wanting to expand our hours and it was just a really good excuse I
mean yeah it needed to happen so we had to do it we kept waiting for to get more staff to
get more resources and there comes a point where you just have to do it and because there were too
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many kids and it was rockus it was too rockus for some people it was it was yeah yeah so what are
those new hours now oh well guess we should we're well we open an hour earlier um Monday through
Saturday so now we're open uh Monday through Thursday 9 to 8 uh Friday and Saturday 9 to 5:
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and then Sunday hours are 1 to 5 um and we uh added those in a couple years ago added
them back couple years mhm yeah yeah they were we were closed Sundays for a good junk of time but so
yeah we're creeping creeping back up to where we were and where we should be so it's it's exciting
yeah and within those changes uh with story time specifically it's two sets of story time
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now on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then and then we also have Saturday just one
on Saturday yep um yeah unless I'm supposed to be at the pool which we got rained out and
I was bummed to see that yeah I it happens yeah we refer to it as bikini story time we
do not refer to it as that they might but we don't we used to refer to it as bikin story
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time yeah there are no bikinis on this side of the mic on that side they can wear all the bikinis
they want yes so how how many kiddos can attend a story time a given session we I I average um this
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summer we've been average writing right around probably 30 kids and 20 adults um so it's about
50 people in a room in the in the room for story time um some of them are a little smaller some of
them are a little bigger and that actually works really well for some parents because you know
normally they would come to the 9:30 one um oops we overslept hey we've got another opportunity
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so um it varies but um we're usually averaging right around uh 40 to 50 per story time which
is still pretty big I mean that's an awfully big story time um story time is kind of more designed
uh to be a little more intimate than that but I mean I love it so and they're great but just it
could be it could still be a lot for uh somebody that has maybe some sensory issues or or or is
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just sensitive to that much activity and noise yeah we're not quiet at all what's what's the
process for you like though Janice when you're selecting that story or stories to read and what
does that collection look like um doing it I do actually yes no she does not okay I kind of win
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it but that's her method that's my there is there is a method to this madness um I I firmly believe
that if I like the story um they'll like the story um if if I don't like a story if if if
I think it's boring that's going to translate pretty clearly to you know a two and three and
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four year old um they're going to pick up on that pretty quickly so I like to read books that I like
to read I like to read books that um I can engage them in the story a lot of times I have them help
me tell the story you know hey what's going on let's count whatever what colors are going on
what do you think is going to happen that kind of thing and I can go on and on and on she's like I
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can feel her looking at me like uh bring it down Janice because I can go on and on and on about uh
picture books and story time but really it's just a matter of picking books that I think um I can
read effectively and that they can participate in what does that balance look like like how do you
then determine like how animated or just to you know resemble the story there's no restraint I
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mean she just you should come sometimes I mean I was there for D when you read yeah yeah yeah
so you saw it how I took the photos I took some photos Glory but uh yeah no it's just uh um yeah
yeah you just have to read like you're enjoying the book yeah I don't know I mean there there's
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all the there's all the pedagogy and all of that business that you can come up with but I like to
read what I like to read and I think that it translates well to them and I like them to be
able to answer questions that I'm asking um a lot of times especially for like my outreaches
When I visit the preschools I try to have what I call a standy up book because I don't have music
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at the shush it's an academic term it is yes it's a very it's a very official term um I don't have
the music like I have at my regular story times and so for preschoolers sitting through three
books can be a lot all in in one length of time so we'll read a book and then we'll do one that
has actions and we act out the story in some way and it may it's not necessarily you know
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the book says hey do this it's oh we're being a an elephant there's an elephant on the page
okay now we're going to be an elephant and uh so just get them engaged in the in the story itself
in the book and the process of reading so when you do participate and you lead Story Time yes at non-
library locations how how do th how do you Foster those relationships with those Community Partners
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or with other dep departments that are within the city because I've heard you are very popular I've
seen that you're very popular and you're very much in high demand high demand oh this woman cannot go
to HIV without Miss Janice Miss Janice she gets like five hugs every time she goes to a store it
is true yeah I don't I don't have to do my grocery shopping though very much anymore like it slows us
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down too much somebody else goes I got to sign too many autographs seriously we just go to I'm
sorry you'll have to go find the bread yourself yeah no um I I for the preschools we've long done
that I mean well before I started um we've visited the preschools in town which is really great um
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because it it gives me an opportunity to share with people who can't necessarily get to the
library I mean some of these families are not Library goers but I'm visiting them I'm going
where they are and then they can go home and say oh hey the library lady came maybe we can go
because I always end with come and see me at the library so like every single every single time oh
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yeah we'll tell mom we'll tell Grandma so um we try to get him there and then of course you know
I'll email the Chiefs and say hey by the way how about if I come visit you at your house and hey
Chia yeah Chief Chia would you mind what if how about yes and then I just wait for him to call me
(28:43):
back and laugh at me does he plan on doing another story time before he retires uh he we're doing one
in October that's the plan he may not know about it yeah until now I make the plans around him now
so that he can't he can't sh no he doesn't show down he's been great after this comes out he
you're going to get a phone call I know seriously he's probably dialing right now he doesn't know
(29:05):
why but but even with like the city department so with the fire department that collaboration to be
able to come together and do something effective fun simple as story time I mean how cool is that
just to come together and to be be part of the the same Mission the same vision the same beat
of the drum I mean that's that's pretty special it is it's fantastic yeah it's great to have it
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it's great to have departments that are are happy to have us help us out um you know with the trun
or treat especially um comes to mind but um just when we need something they they step up and when
I say hey I've got a good idea they usually laugh for a while and then they say yeah let's see how
we oh she's serious oh okay oh oh all right yeah exactly so yeah have you ever been turned down
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wasn't didn't you try to like didn't you called Chia and you were like I did but you know it
was that was there were extenuating circumstances 2020 um so he said no was I think you also wanted
to do something and it was not safe yeah we were going to we were going to hook something onto the
(30:18):
building and he was afraid that's right he said it wasn't safe he said it was not safe what were
you going to hook up I mean's let's keep this going um you know they have those they have
those Barrel things that has that that they put on a line and then you fire the fire hoses at it
and you try it's like a tuger war with the water and and we were going to have to attach it and
(30:40):
he thought maybe we should not do that but it was going to be awesome it was going to be epic still
working on that you know it was probably right when it comes to safety I probably will defer to
him because sometimes my ideas are maybe not the greatest he did let you have fire yes when when
(31:01):
they didor s'mores I did s'mores a couple Summers yeah oh yeah but but he had to supervise blocked
that out yeah indoors indoors or Outdoors Outdoors just making sure yes they had to come they were
there they were there every time no we I may not have run it past him the first year that I did it
(31:22):
and then after that we were supervised have to ask for forgiveness for forgiveness and also somebody
to come help so yeah we had some firefighters there was like you're you know at the ready cuz
little kids running around you know open fire it's probably this will be a great idea it seemed like
(31:43):
a good idea at the time at time there were metos there was chocolate I feel like that's a lot of
how programs happen with us specifically us at the library and most of the time it turns out to be a
good idea that's true which I think is just like luck that we've gotten no we're just that good um
(32:05):
Point Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl it was um these two people with great ideas we have lots of
great ideas um Allison and Janice are really great brainstormers and so they'll sometimes just spit
out an idea and I'm bad at brainstorming but I hear them and I hear anide aide and then I take it
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and then I start running ja's a doer she is a so it's it's a dangerous combination because it used
to be just me and Janice and then we would look at each other and be like I don't want to do that
I don't know how to do that I don't like I don't have time for that and and we say something and
ji happens to be there and she's like this is what we're doing now and we're like oh all right okay
(32:49):
yeah it's great pretty well that that happened with the Super Bowl which I will say um two years
running we'll do it again uh for sure and it's been great so so it it works out it works out
yeah you should probably explain the Super Bowl people think you're talking about football I mean
well no just kidding I forgot that this wasn't like in text so it is it's soup as in s o u p- ER
(33:14):
bowl like soup that you eat oh you know what the one that spelled it for the first time but that
that's like a a Community Partnership event we do annually in January where on Fridays usually in
like the afternoon we'll have free soup so anyone can come in it's a bit of a competition too so we
(33:36):
have um Community groups kind of donate it we have uh City departments do it as well we Pony
up some soups and try to win and it's just really fun so and delicious and delicious yeah we get a
free lunch out of it I mean really so it's great for us yeah yeah and we get to feed the community
which is cool and then the left s if we have any go into our fridge uh the community fridge yeah
(34:03):
yeah courtesy of helping hand so that's kind of they usually fill it but we pitch in a bit
especially during January with that yeah and they go like hot cakes oh yes or hot soup yeah I oh I
see what you did there okay so Switching gears just the do we need just the evolution of the
library and thinking about you know we've talked to like a couple different areas where um people
(34:27):
engage with their Library differently the library for um I don't know how long ago the brand refresh
would have been or just kind of that whole process but you talk about how the library has had more
of an identity on social media and pushing stuff out in the digital world how vital is that through
(34:47):
all the operations that the library is conducting well I think we have great personalities so I like
to Showcase that I think if people just met us they would want to be friendss with us so really
it is just about breaking down that stereotype of the the librarian that people have in their
heads and say no we're pretty laid-back over here Janice likes to be the loudest one in the
(35:13):
room like you we're a no shushing Zone um so like we try to um get that across in our marketing and
like with fun colors um with we try to be we try to be funny on social media so great music that
(35:33):
I pick out by the way you're doing a great job I know well and and Tik Tok so I know when I've done
my deep dive on uh City and Library social media accounts uh IND old Public Library Tik Tok has
a great following and that's you had one video that went viral viral I don't know if it like
(35:54):
officially viral but I like to say that we went viral um yeah and it just kind of it was a trend
it wasn't even I'm not going to take credit for it I stole it from another library because it was
um like highlighting the different cool services that you have that other libraries may not have
to like quote unquote start beef with them just to kind of like help give somebody give the libraries
(36:19):
the excuse to like showcase their cool stuff and be funny about it like tongue and cheek so
that was that was a fun morning and JC actually was the one with the ideas mhm and she was like
I'm going to get in this tiny child cart grocery cart I was going to say I think someone else told
me to get in the cart cuz that one did not come up with I came up with throwing seat packets on
(36:39):
the ground but thr seat packets that's true yeah and we had yeah our uh super cool shades on and oh
yes I don't know yeah it was it was really fun it was just I don't really I can't explain like why
people really liked that but yeah it was cool so when you do your the library social media is each
(37:00):
platform the library on is it U is it so specific where you're putting out content so it meets more
of the adults or more of the the youth or does it go to that kind of detail within your strategy I
mean I would like to get there at some point um but right now I'm just trying to you know keep us
(37:22):
in people's feeds um just keep the keep the eyes on us because like Michelle was saying earlier
like people didn't really know what we did what we do so yeah my job right now is to keep the eyes on
us um so I try to I try to switch it up um we do a lot of like post program like videos like this is
(37:46):
what happened um like a montage of cute little faces and some cute older faces Jayy the Bingo
the Bingo um uh yeah it's yeah and we're going to start doing more like um book recommendation type
stuff which is really popular on book talk and yeah yeah she made me record one this morning
(38:09):
it was adorable awkward it was awkward it was awkward what made it awkward she was
adorable yeah but people love that about you like you're adorably awkward in like the most adorable
way what okay it's like an adorable awkwardness it's not like a weird awward you know like
(38:32):
everybody knows that that's me Michelle Weir I think we're all weird for various reasons Janice
can get weird it's true it's true that's why you know little kids are the ones who understand her
they're like also true I'm basically a toddler so well and with how people stay engaged with
(38:53):
the library I believe it was sometime last fall or maybe even in the winter didn't the library
send out a survey to all of its members to just intake how they receive their information from
the library or what type of programming they like to see in the future just talk a little
bit about that process and obviously again we're Midway through 2024 but how beneficial
(39:16):
that Community survey was to kind of be that launching pad for kind of everything we're we're
doing today and um again what's on the horizon and a lot of it might be um very similar we
about this at the top of the podcast but I want to make sure we noted that too that it's always
intentional when you reach out to the community to even though it sometime could be off the cuff
you are still involving them to help guide those decisions and those type of opportunities as well
(39:43):
right um we don't we don't do what we want to do we're here to do what the community wants us to
do and so every October we send out a a survey and it it's kind of a dual purpose it's a um how
do people how are we doing get some feedback on maybe things we need to improve on services and
then also what do people want to see and we read those um surveys very carefully we read
(40:06):
all of the comments and we take them to heart and think about them and try to make accommodations
yeah and I bring that up too because we're just talking about social media but just you know we
put a lot of investment time and energy Alice and I especially for that city of indola magazine that
gets published quarterly and so for listeners that next ISS issue of the magazine will be in
(40:28):
your mailboxes uh this last week of June if not early July so flip through that and you're going
to see about a dozen Pages specific to the library of all the summer programming and activities that
you and your family can be involved in but the library in particular from the library if I'm not
mistaken um in the magazine that was um one of the more popular resources that card holders would be
(40:55):
engaged to know what's happening at the library they listed that we you know we do the where
do you get your information where do you hear about things from the library and the magazine
was number one um followed closely by Facebook and the website and our app so those are the top
places that people do find out about us did that print piece surprise you at all knowing like that
was a Top Choice every time it surprises me every time magine yeah oh and Facebook and it's usually
(41:20):
like we also get feedback when people register for things through um like the event calendar
and it's it's pretty even which is annoying which means I have to keep doing all the places but I
mean no it's great you know like it's the magazine it's Facebook it's Instagram it's the newsletter
(41:41):
the email newsletter it's Word of Mouth like it's yeah so well and I'm always surprised how
many people still go to the website I mean the app is we have a we have a mobile app and that
is rising in its use and and is overtaking the website but a lot of people use the city
website mhm more than you'd think yeah MH yeah well and often times too I mean it's the official
(42:03):
home of everything City and everything library and um it's just that that digital identity of
everything that we are so but yeah I I would agree too to uh to some aspect that the the magazine
when I've learned of those results that being the top of choice I was like Wow because as we're
going through specifically with that publication it just it needs it's an essential piece of uh
(42:27):
of uh catalog for our community as time goes on and there's talks about you know digitizing it
but there will always be a print piece um because it's a a an historical context of our city at the
time and B it showcases everything we are and what we have to offer both community members uh
residents visitors you know you name it so yeah but I was surprised myself to hear that the the
(42:51):
magazine was the top choice for how people uh are engaged speciically with the library you know we
hear people say they they tear out the pages that they want they put on the refrigerator
and so yeah and we can tell with registration back back in the day when you had to call to register
you could tell when the magazine was hitting the doorsteps because that's when the calls would come
in yeah and it's kind of like that now I mean event registrations are on the calendar website
(43:17):
it's they you got to get in the first couple days otherwise but f up some of them yeah and also I do
get a lot of questions like I I feel like I don't know what what it is if my events my events are a
little bit less uh regular so they can vary a lot and so people call like I know in the Magazine's
out when I start getting calls transferred to me and I'm like oh yeah that event is like a
(43:39):
Master Gardener and this is what you can expect so yeah the the magazine is really popular for my
demographic and I will also shout out Allison who has been first of all she designs those pages and
deals with our last minute detail editing and um second of all just hey I forgot this whole page
of events oops it's only ever like one at a time Jan it's not you J I'm trying to C oh it's Janice
(44:03):
oh it's j I'm complimenting you did that happen just recently for this last issue I complain out
not just one time though it's it's okay but it's like we we work in such Close Quarters I know that
there are others things that she forgot so I have left space and I'm just kind of like waiting and
she's like oh yeah oh I forgot about chess club but to to Really point out too um if you look at
(44:27):
those we have more pages and so we can shout out more things so we do have our collections coming
out in there our library of things has been featured in at least the last if not the last
couple of uh magazine pages so that showcases all of the stuff where if you would only use it once
a year like a tool or a big yard game you don't have to buy it um you can just borrow it for that
(44:48):
that once a year use so there's that there's our digital offerings with all the I mean there's so
much and she's fit all of that into our magazine pages in such a like a really cute looking way
I think so that's been really cool and the Magazine's really important so it's good to use
it you know recently the city of Inola and Warren County participated in a land exchange where um
(45:12):
some parcels of property um which do involve the Indianola Public Library would be going to the
county and some County parcel specifically um or the field Depot and that uh 5 Acres or so of land
along North uh 6th Street are going to come through the city and within those announcements
(45:33):
that we pushed out together jointly between the city and the county announced the exciting news of
a plan Redevelopment of a cultural entertainment and recreational District in which the Indianola
Public Library will anchor how first exciting is that I mean we're now you know give or take about
(45:54):
a month after that you know first news came out and um we pushed out these announcement but just
how exciting is that and knowing that this kind of change is on the horizon for the library in this
community in the next couple of years you know this is a great news for the community we have for
20 years been trying to figure out how to shoehorn what the community needs for the library in the
(46:18):
existing space and we just can't make it happen this is going to allow us to engage the community
get input and then start fresh with what the community really needs in their library and what
they really want in their library and we could not be more excited yeah it's an opportunity for
us to do more for more people in that in that area so pretty excited about it yeah we're I mean like
(46:48):
we're pretty sure that we're going to be involved in the design process so I don't know how many
slides oh so many slides all the slides there may be a ball pit and we're not quite sure if there
will be any for children but definitely for me and Janice I I mean I I mean to that point though I
(47:08):
think about all the different possibilities just by having that land and being right off the trail
I mean how awesome to really rejuvenate and bring Breathe new life into that property which really
is in the center of uh of our community I mean it's so awesome just think about possibilities
yeah there's a lot more young families which we have seen uses the library quite a bit um it's
(47:34):
it's super close to a school um like you said the trail would be really easy to get to the library
there's a really nice park there you know we can we can imagine families riding their bikes going
to the library going to the park it story time in the park Story Time In the Park yeah activities on
the lawn we'll have a lawn and that is more usable and that people could use you know potentially
(48:01):
to rent out the space you know for free and it's possibilities are endless and it's really exciting
and yeah everybody's going to get the opportunity to uh tell us what they want and then you know
hopefully we can do as much as possible oh yeah Chas are you gonna say anything I was just going
to point out that one of the things like we're really excited for all of the new things we can do
(48:23):
with our space but one thing I'm excited for and I know this is I'm I'm dipping into stereotypical
librarian territory but some Qui I know sometimes sometimes um which ISD morning tea and my tea and
my Cardigans um cat and my cats oh my cat anyway um but it's going to be really nice to have that
space because we we know how frustrating it can be for community members and we hear that in our
(48:47):
survey um just that they can't exist in the same space when something else is happening so if um
it's a Wednesday you know if you're to go over to the library right now I actually you could not sit
and read in peace essentially and you couldn't work you couldn't worky loud and pryes there are
teens right now that are all over the library the biggest complaint that I hear about the library is
(49:09):
it's just too loud and we saw that on the survey too they're part of our people they really need
a quiet place to work and it's we don't library is not quiet so um presumably with a new library
we could have zones where there could be quiet spaces and places for kids mhm yeah and for those
naysayers who are listening and they might think well what what are you doing now to mitigate that
(49:33):
noise what are you doing and you could say it's not working right now because this keeps happening
we keep getting the same frustrations from our members right we would fix it if we could it the
the current design I mean it's a great design of a library but it's one big open room and so
it it doesn't really work in terms of noise yeah yeah and it it just because so many people come
(49:57):
to a program it naturally spills out of the program room so and which is I mean kind of
you know it's great in a way because then these we've gotten these people to the building and
now they're using the library they're connecting to each other they're checking out books they're
looking at the we have a video game collection all the DVDs we have the um tons of puzzles and board
(50:23):
games they get out the board games and they're playing it's it's and it's free they don't have
to pay anything they can stay as long as they want like we're not kicking anybody out it's it's great
so I mean there's you know it's it's good it's obviously you know not perfect but I mean that's
(50:46):
that's why we're so excited for listeners to learn more about the land exchange agreement
and the next steps with this plan uh Redevelopment there on the North 6 Street uh sub area plan you
can visit the city of Inola website at www. Inola iowa.gov now to kind of wrap things up
(51:06):
I just kind of want to open up the floor to all of you to share any final thoughts that you feel is
important that you want to get off your chest and make sure the community knows to learn more about
the library how they can stay engaged and just any other future opportunities that are again upcoming
um that you'd like to promote and just really want to give you you got the mics so let her
(51:27):
rip what do you got baby nothing you had all this time to think about it I told you it was not
enough time I have stuff I have oh she has I'll JC talks a lot I I do talk a lot I do talk a lot
um and the funny thing is I do want to say like a cool thing that I've found um is that patrons
(51:49):
that do come to my adult programs make friends there and so that's what we mean when we talk
about a community space in a Gathering Place um there are people who come in to like my puzzle
competition which is a team based event and they come in by themselves and I have made at least
one person make friends with another group of my regulars um because they've just been coming
(52:13):
and attending and it's it's so fun to see my demographic is such a a varied range and they're
all coming in and mingling with each other and like we have that person is Young and the group
is a bit older and it's just just it's just so fun and it's hard to make a friend as an adult it is
it is and the library is a perfect place because it's like well we're both here we both have this
(52:34):
shared hobby or interest or something and Janice has experienced this too it happens at all ages
the moms at story time there are some really cute stories like now they're best friends and they met
at story time isn't that adorable like love that for our community right like they're like new
to the area or something or you know they have a nanny and she's like I need to find other nannies
(53:00):
and like we can take our kids to the park together whatever and the teens are the same way too we
have some very brave because I never would have done this but very brave teens who will come to
the library or program by themselves and then they make friends during the program and I mean that's
really hard for a teen to do that that's really hard so I'm it yeah Jac was right like this is
(53:25):
this is what we mean by a community meeting space we you know we're trying to build up the community
that's that's what the library is all about and yeah I think we're we're doing okay doing
better than okay yeah we're I mean we're we're all really excited about everything that's happening
(53:48):
and we're yeah just anybody who's listening who's never been to the library please come we're really
nice we'd love to have you we're not judgy at all we're not those typ that is not what we do at our
library we love we love seeing new people coming in and you know I've never been here
(54:10):
before I'm like oh my gosh well I have to tell you everything like welcome to the space like if you
need anything you can call us you can email us you can message us on Facebook or Instagram we're you
know we're here for the community for the people so yeah what she said ditto mic drop that was a
(54:33):
pretty good mic drop pretty good pretty just don't drop that mic that is I'm holding on firmly I do
want to thank all of you for taking the time coming here today and for what you are doing
for the community collectively at the library all your colleagues my colleagues the friends of the
library the Board of Trustees it is a special place with a lot lot of phenomenal people and
(54:57):
I'm I'm grateful to be part of the team uh even though you know we're all part of that Collective
mission of the city of indola but it's so great to be able to be on this journey with all of you
and just want to thank you for everything you do day in and day out and weekdays weekends nights
the whole works it's it's phenomenal to even watch and and help share that story um for our
(55:19):
community so just from B my heart thank you so much for all that you do a thanks ainin [Music]
and I do want to shout out our part our part-time desk staff they are also amazing I will say one of
the biggest compliments we got on our last survey was just how friendly our desk staff are they are
amazing um they don't let us up front to help much because we don't do it often enough to be good at
(55:43):
it but we we not very good at it we still try we still try but our our part-time um staff are
amazing and are who are actually the face of the library every day so thank you to them those are
the the people that patrons actually know yeah but yeah we have we have our Niche groups yeah
(56:03):
but no thanks for sharing that especially that much deserved shout out yeah well pretty awesome
make sure for those listeners like I said this is probably going to be my favorite episode period
it's going to be yours too so after you listen to this episode make sure you leave a comment
leave a review again this is episode 5 season 1 so we're now nearing uh that middle stage
(56:26):
of getting away from that newbie podcast game territory so we're becoming professionals now we
are becoming professionals next time you have us on you we got to do like callers we can have that
capability we can't we can do that yeah zoinks yeah I'm looking at them and they are looking
at me and they're not happy but we're doing it guys you're not even looking par it's like no
(56:49):
we no we can do that we can do that we have the capabilities as long as we plug into the ideas
as long as we plug into the adapter we can do anything okay well that that'll be on you it
it is on me for the fail today and future fails and successes we'll call it but well thanks for
having us we really enjoy this opportunity yeah no appreciate it so yeah listeners make
(57:12):
sure you leave that comment stay engaged share the episode and the podcast on your
social media so we can continue to grow uh this brand and this uh form of communication
and who knows maybe next time you'll be a future guest of Indie unplugged thanks
[Music]
(00:11):
Welcome to Indy Unplugged, the podcast that's your front-row seat to the real talk of Indianola.
I'm Aaron Young, your friendly neighborhood host, and we're diving deep into unfiltered stories,
candid chats and the nitty-gritty of our vibrant city. Think of this as a crash course in all things Indianola.
No fancy jargon, just real conversations. So get comfy, hit that play button and let's
(00:36):
explore the heart and soul of our community together on Indy Unplugged.
Alright, welcome back to another episode of Indy Unplugged, a City of Indianola podcast, and you probably hear me say
this every single episode – we're now on Episode 5 – but I'm telling you right now this right
here put me on the record this is going to be my favorite episode recorded you're going to find
(01:00):
out why here shortly no pressure no pressure at all but today's episode we are going to have
a great conversation with a bunch of awesome employees with the Indianola Public Library.
A lot of them don't need introductions but we're going to go through introductions Michele let's
start with you tell us a little bit more about yourself your role. I'm Michele Patrick I've been
(01:21):
at the Indianola Public Library since 2010 been the director since 2016 what do you love the most
about being the director of the Indianola Public Library you know us I it's true the people I mean really
it is it is we have so much fun there we have we have so much going on and what I love about the
library is it's always busy it's always loud it is um people love coming to the library it's it's
(01:48):
a great place to work and and I love the people I work with most of the time yeah we we'll dig into
that further because there's a lot of great things we'll um we'll get into but chy how about you yeah
Hi I'm Jacy West I'm the Adult Services librarian over at the Indian o Public Library um and people
kind of give me a funny look sometimes when I say Adult Services librarian um but it really is like
(02:12):
what it says all of the services that help out the um 18 and up um demographic of our community are
something that I usually try to have a hand in so we do book deliveries to people we do adult
programs of course um all kinds of stuff Janice I'm Janice Comer I'm the children's and Family
(02:32):
Services librarian um so fancy I know I really am quite something um so yeah I do all things
uh children's I started in I guess my first year was 2016 I started in 2016 I actually beat her as
far as my current role she was there before so um anyway yeah children's stuff uh story times
(02:56):
family events outreaches all the stuff that has to do with kids kids and families hey what's up
I'm Alison Brown and my title is teen services and marketing librarian which I I get a I have
a lot of clout with other Librarians across the state because they're like you're a what you're
(03:18):
a marketing librarian we're we're lucky here you're one of a kind kind of yeah kind of probably
actually teen services and Mark Mar yeah you know I mean I am without the title anyway so yeah I do
you know the teen programs and the budgeting for that and all of the um teen books and then I do
(03:41):
um all of the library social media all of our um inh house marketing all of our outside of
the house marketing around around the house uh yeah so I have the fun job I think I have a fun
I have the fun job um sorry to say but I think I have the fun one because I get to buy the really
(04:06):
fun collection like the library of things the video G the board games picture books or where
it's at I guess see you're right you do have a bunch of great people working at the library
who all say they have the fun job the best job period when Allison um I told her that hey I want
(04:27):
you guys to come on to the next podcast episode she says well is it just going to be me or can
I have a group of people and I'm like well the more the merrier and as our listeners can tell
there are a lot of voices on this podcast so it's going to be very engaging very entertaining just
like's regretting everything all the different experiences that you will have as you step foot
into the library and so talk about just how record-breaking in all facets the library
(04:54):
experienced in 2023 Michelle what were just some of the highlights that the library celebrated
and experiened that you'd like to share as we are Midway through 20124 and what is currently
taking place at the library today we literally broke every record every record on the in the
(05:15):
library's history last year um the end of our year is going to be June 30th and it looks like
we're going to break all of those again this year busiest year ever the library is 140 years old
one of the oldest in the state and and it was the best year by far last year and we're we're in the
new best this year yeah and just with programming alone knowing recently you had the annual summer
(05:39):
bash I mean just hundreds if not maybe almost to a thousand were there a thousand commity members
there pretty sure yeah I mean phenomenal and food trucks you have different Community Partners there
just talk about the success of that event because is it was it in its third or fourth year has this
been an ongoing event for the library um did we start pre 2017 or it was the first summer my first
(06:07):
summer right I think it was 2017 was when we first started it because Infamous um meeting we had okay
guys what are we going to do for the summer kickoff and I was like hey have you guys heard
of food trucks and they Michelle's look Infamous like what excuse me I'm like no no it's going to
(06:30):
be great we're going to have a band we're going to have food trucks it's going to be just like a
big block party and she was not convinced but we won her over I yeah we I eventually I got you on
my side you also had the look I did cuz I was scared of food trucks yeah I was well that was
before food trucks are awesome well just with the evolution of that event from 2017 what was it like
(06:55):
back then to what it's like what it was like just a few weeks ago so at the beginning we actually
partnered with parks and wreck and they were super awesome and like promoted everything just like we
did they brought over a lot of their um lawn games um they hung out um it was great it was like a you
(07:16):
know like we Market marketed it as you know like a joint Department um summer kickoff thing because
you know they're quite busy right now too um so yeah and um there's I mean obviously quite a bit
more people how how many people do we think we had the first year I think we estimated like 4
to 500 we were so excited about that yeah we were so practically doubled now I mean that's amazing
(07:41):
yeah mhm yeah and I think a little less work on our part I mean it's still a lot of work we still
load every single chair and every single table and everything all the things but it's all worth it
right see The Smiling Faces the kiddos and their new parents Guardians it's the best part and I get
(08:04):
to go around and just take pictures of all those things the whole time so it's precious yeah and
just a support from other you know volunteers with friends at the library and your Board of Trustees
I mean it really is a community in its sense just through and through we're nodding sorry can't hear
us nodding that's really helpful in a podcast I know right you're a l for words it's cuz we're
(08:29):
super excited no we're like we're we're Midway Midway kind of well well I mean like for certain
things program is wise as far as like momentum so we're tired yeah yeah so it's been a big June
we do I counted 107 programs in June and July wow that's a lot yeah so how do you keep up I mean how
(08:56):
how do you take care of your people we you know we gear up and then it it is busy busy for two months
and then it's not that way all year long but it's yeah so how do you come up with the different
topics for your programming or what you were going to offer what goes into that with the research and
just other aspects of that of that approach um I might have some insight being that I'm
(09:22):
one of the newest or I am the newest programming staff here um is it is a bit of trial and error
it's also um a big part of it is looking to other libraries and seeing what they're doing that's
successful um that is aligning with our mission you know at the library and uh just also what
our patrons are saying so if they're coming to a certain kind of program we try to do a bit more
(09:45):
of that so if they're liking a more mystery type of event then we'll try to do similar ones to that
where they're getting their brains active they're doing puzzles whether literally or as part of an
escape room um so something like that and uh local community experts are like hey I want to talk at
the library and we invite them so it it's a lot of it really depends and each age group is different
(10:08):
as well because they all have different priorities and um different things like I can do some more
um some different types of events than Janice can because if she has like a hundred kids in the door
she can only do certain things whereas if I have um a little less than that with adults we can do
some more you know Hands-On things so JC doesn't do the shake eggs with the adults yes I wish I
(10:32):
wish they would let me I wish you got try it bring them in sitting right there middle of bingo we
just hey trial and air trial and air trial and air 30 second dance break I have that button I think
they might walk out if I try that but you could use try that during Bingo do it yeah cuz some
of your people have come to my family bingo and they're generally surprised by what I make them
(10:56):
do versus what she has them do cuz we do kind of a head and shoulders knees and toes thing during
Bingo and you know we we get up and move around while we're playing bingo at my family bingo yeah
yeah it's a lot more active yeah so I mean how how unique is it as you experience kind of these
(11:16):
different age groups and going from you know kiddos to those adults and they're experiencing
all different programming it really is I don't mean to be cliche but the only way I can think
of it is probably like that Circle of Life as you're meeting them their need here meeting
their need there and so on and so forth I mean how unique is that or is that pretty much the standard
for a library well I would think it's pretty standard for a library I mean the whole goal is
(11:40):
to engage the entire community and the different age groups have different needs um even you know
young families versus the families with middle and high schoolers versus you know older people who
are empty nesters and I include myself um in that older person thing um so yeah there's just this
(12:02):
whole you you really have to engage the entire community and that's that's really the purpose of
of a library yeah so yeah and a lot of that is due to our staff just because we have a lot of people
who will step up and kind of learn those different groups um because even among Janice's kids there's
the older kids there's the younger kids there's the preschool kids and even teens I mean it's
(12:24):
a small bracket but there's still like there's a difference between sixth graders and 12th graders
and then the adults like extend you know like I said 18 and up so we have some of our senior
community we have um people who just finished um their monthly subscription boxes that we do with
Allison and then she sends me their previously uh picked things to transfer them into adulthood
(12:49):
essentially which they're obviously a lot different than you know a mom who's a bit older so
it's huge we kind of um maybe maybe not on purpose maybe kind of on accident like the the reading
program is kind of like that they start off a certain way and then the older they get we sort
of add in the next kind as an option and the next age level as an option um which is pretty cool
(13:16):
yeah and adults too um so that again with those young families we can have the parents engaged in
the same thing with their kids so the reading challenge will be for kids you know read read
every day while a three-year-old isn't reading by themselves so the mom or the dad or whoever
(13:38):
their caregiver is is reading to them they get to count that too so we we try to accommodate um all
of those different ages and move them forward but then also Circle back a little bit yeah
it's like a pipeline of intentional connections as they continue to grow yeah I love take the
words out of your mouth Yes iine of intentional connection but JC you talked about the mission
(14:03):
of the Indian Public Library what is that mission I will F this question as the youngest here and
the newest here the rest of us anyone can answer if they don't came up with it JC wasn't even here
that's what I was going to say is that we are actually in that um phase where we are looking
at that again so we're doing a strategic plan here soon and really red digging into what that is so
(14:29):
right now we don't necessarily have our answer for the next five or so years or however long
we span that strategic plan but I'm sure it'll reflect a lot of this community outreach that we
do the Partnerships as well as the services um we talk about programming but our services and
our book circulation as well are very important to us so just really a a well-rounded Mission
(14:52):
um that encompasses all of it so and we didn't have any of that like all the fun extra stuff
um all the important extra stuff that we did when we when we first did our strategic plan
so it'll be this fall I think we're going to do right Michelle this fall we are we are and just
in general though if you really break it down to the the bare minimums the mission of our
(15:16):
library is to connect people to each other to the community and to resources and that's what we do
I mean we really are the Hub of the community and we facilitate that connection yeah and so with the
the importance of a strategic plan I mean how vital is that for the library for the short
and long term as you dig into that further and and identify more of those key areas to
(15:40):
continue to grow it it's really important and you know the process we're going to be
going through is very important because it um is going to direct us it's something that
we can use to guide us it will um really help us articulate better what our values are and
where we're going and will'll um you know the one we have right now also does this helps us
determined programming determined priorities and the community has changed quite a bit from five
(16:05):
years ago to be quite honest with you and while the the um our last strategic plan we focused
very much on helping people understand what the library could offer what we have for the community
and I think that we've accomplished that and so now our goal is to look to the Future and what
is it that the community wants from us and how can we feel the need needs and gaps um of our
(16:31):
community with some of those comments you may have received already from community members is there
anything that you can share that they've told you that they expect or would hope the library could
provide them and their family we hear in in a lot of different ways that what they really really
want from the library is a place I mean they love the books love them they love the programs um but
(16:56):
a place where they can go with their kids they can play it doesn't cost anything a a place they can
go and have meetings where they can study they can work they can connect other people so really we
hear a lot of really the building as a a center for the community to to gather and there's not
many places like that here in Indianola truth be told right and there's none there's not very many
(17:20):
and there's not very many that are free correct so we have birthday parties um receptions things
like that there's not a lot of options for those if you don't have if you don't want to pay so
there's there's certainly a need yeah and you're identifying those needs and meeting the community
where they are whether it be programming whether it be with books and activities whether it be you
(17:44):
know other opportunities that you identify you're always putting your best foot forward
for the sake of this community as it continues to evolve and like you said five years ago entirely
different what makes this community different from what it was five years ago though Michelle
I what we see at the library we see a lot more families and I I don't know the demographics of
what we're seeing is this growth in Indianola of young families but certainly um the way people use
(18:09):
the library is very different than they did five years ago we it you see people come to the library
and spend a long time there whether that's with their kids they're spending you know two hours on
a Saturday morning playing or whether someone is is working from home and they're using the
library all day long that's that's really the big change 5 years ago I would say people would come
into the library get what they need and leave and now to see people it's a destination that they're
(18:34):
going to it's not an errand it is we're going to the library and we're going to have fun and how
many um members community members does the library currently serve today I mean obviously the general
public but how many card holders and those who you're able to good question we have about 8,000
card holders that would be um Indianola residents Warren County res resents and then others who can
(19:01):
who use the library so I don't know in front of me I don't have exactly how many residents but about
8,000 we last year though we do know we have a lot of people that use Library who don't actually
have cards um our door count last year was 80,000 And1 so lots of people using the library who may
or may not have a card or you have often families they'll have one card and all the kids check out
(19:22):
on one so we don't actually know specifically how many individuals use a library but that
number year-over year continues to increase yes yeah I think we've gotten to say that for yes yeah
like year after year uh since I started working here I wonder if there's a correlation no I'm
just kidding I'm kidding I mean it's it's a great stat it should be a stat that you you're serving
(19:46):
more and more but is it daunting is it kind of give you a little bit of anxiety because maybe
it could be more pressure just more individuals that you want to serve and make them proud yeah
it is you want to talk well no go ahead I mean it really is it's daunting because um you don't want
to disappoint the people that you've brought in and you also don't want to stop increasing your
(20:13):
reach um and so yeah it's daunting to say okay this was really great now how do we keep keep
going how do we keep building on that and we just wing it that's not true and it's you know
it's a it becomes a problem it's a good problem to have you know good example story time we want more
people to come to story time but our problem is then our story time got too big then it became too
(20:35):
rambunctious for families so we had families that were leaving because you have 50 people in a room
and so now we have two story times and you know we do the best that we can it's a good problem
to have but it is always a balancing act same way if you're in the library if you've come to work or
you have a meeting and then you have 30 teens um running around being loud it's balancing all of
(20:59):
that out and meeting everybody the best that you can yeah and probably the way that the library has
recently um navigated through that would have been the establishment of new operating hours
that launched earlier this month so if you want to talk a bit more about those new hours and how that
decision came to be and the benefits so far as we're Midway through the month it was specifically
(21:23):
to solve the problem of story time we need it was my fault saying well we've been wanting to
I mean like we've been wanting to expand our hours and it was just a really good excuse I
mean yeah it needed to happen so we had to do it we kept waiting for to get more staff to
get more resources and there comes a point where you just have to do it and because there were too
(21:44):
many kids and it was rockus it was too rockus for some people it was it was yeah yeah so what are
those new hours now oh well guess we should we're well we open an hour earlier um Monday through
Saturday so now we're open uh Monday through Thursday 9 to 8 uh Friday and Saturday 9 to 5:
(22:10):
and then Sunday hours are 1 to 5 um and we uh added those in a couple years ago added
them back couple years mhm yeah yeah they were we were closed Sundays for a good junk of time but so
yeah we're creeping creeping back up to where we were and where we should be so it's it's exciting
yeah and within those changes uh with story time specifically it's two sets of story time
(22:34):
now on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then and then we also have Saturday just one
on Saturday yep um yeah unless I'm supposed to be at the pool which we got rained out and
I was bummed to see that yeah I it happens yeah we refer to it as bikini story time we
do not refer to it as that they might but we don't we used to refer to it as bikin story
(22:59):
time yeah there are no bikinis on this side of the mic on that side they can wear all the bikinis
they want yes so how how many kiddos can attend a story time a given session we I I average um this
(23:20):
summer we've been average writing right around probably 30 kids and 20 adults um so it's about
50 people in a room in the in the room for story time um some of them are a little smaller some of
them are a little bigger and that actually works really well for some parents because you know
normally they would come to the 9:30 one um oops we overslept hey we've got another opportunity
(23:45):
so um it varies but um we're usually averaging right around uh 40 to 50 per story time which
is still pretty big I mean that's an awfully big story time um story time is kind of more designed
uh to be a little more intimate than that but I mean I love it so and they're great but just it
could be it could still be a lot for uh somebody that has maybe some sensory issues or or or is
(24:11):
just sensitive to that much activity and noise yeah we're not quiet at all what's what's the
process for you like though Janice when you're selecting that story or stories to read and what
does that collection look like um doing it I do actually yes no she does not okay I kind of win
(24:31):
it but that's her method that's my there is there is a method to this madness um I I firmly believe
that if I like the story um they'll like the story um if if I don't like a story if if if
I think it's boring that's going to translate pretty clearly to you know a two and three and
(24:52):
four year old um they're going to pick up on that pretty quickly so I like to read books that I like
to read I like to read books that um I can engage them in the story a lot of times I have them help
me tell the story you know hey what's going on let's count whatever what colors are going on
what do you think is going to happen that kind of thing and I can go on and on and on she's like I
(25:13):
can feel her looking at me like uh bring it down Janice because I can go on and on and on about uh
picture books and story time but really it's just a matter of picking books that I think um I can
read effectively and that they can participate in what does that balance look like like how do you
then determine like how animated or just to you know resemble the story there's no restraint I
(25:37):
mean she just you should come sometimes I mean I was there for D when you read yeah yeah yeah
so you saw it how I took the photos I took some photos Glory but uh yeah no it's just uh um yeah
yeah you just have to read like you're enjoying the book yeah I don't know I mean there there's
(26:00):
all the there's all the pedagogy and all of that business that you can come up with but I like to
read what I like to read and I think that it translates well to them and I like them to be
able to answer questions that I'm asking um a lot of times especially for like my outreaches
When I visit the preschools I try to have what I call a standy up book because I don't have music
(26:22):
at the shush it's an academic term it is yes it's a very it's a very official term um I don't have
the music like I have at my regular story times and so for preschoolers sitting through three
books can be a lot all in in one length of time so we'll read a book and then we'll do one that
has actions and we act out the story in some way and it may it's not necessarily you know
(26:47):
the book says hey do this it's oh we're being a an elephant there's an elephant on the page
okay now we're going to be an elephant and uh so just get them engaged in the in the story itself
in the book and the process of reading so when you do participate and you lead Story Time yes at non-
library locations how how do th how do you Foster those relationships with those Community Partners
(27:12):
or with other dep departments that are within the city because I've heard you are very popular I've
seen that you're very popular and you're very much in high demand high demand oh this woman cannot go
to HIV without Miss Janice Miss Janice she gets like five hugs every time she goes to a store it
is true yeah I don't I don't have to do my grocery shopping though very much anymore like it slows us
(27:35):
down too much somebody else goes I got to sign too many autographs seriously we just go to I'm
sorry you'll have to go find the bread yourself yeah no um I I for the preschools we've long done
that I mean well before I started um we've visited the preschools in town which is really great um
(27:58):
because it it gives me an opportunity to share with people who can't necessarily get to the
library I mean some of these families are not Library goers but I'm visiting them I'm going
where they are and then they can go home and say oh hey the library lady came maybe we can go
because I always end with come and see me at the library so like every single every single time oh
(28:23):
yeah we'll tell mom we'll tell Grandma so um we try to get him there and then of course you know
I'll email the Chiefs and say hey by the way how about if I come visit you at your house and hey
Chia yeah Chief Chia would you mind what if how about yes and then I just wait for him to call me
(28:43):
back and laugh at me does he plan on doing another story time before he retires uh he we're doing one
in October that's the plan he may not know about it yeah until now I make the plans around him now
so that he can't he can't sh no he doesn't show down he's been great after this comes out he
you're going to get a phone call I know seriously he's probably dialing right now he doesn't know
(29:05):
why but but even with like the city department so with the fire department that collaboration to be
able to come together and do something effective fun simple as story time I mean how cool is that
just to come together and to be be part of the the same Mission the same vision the same beat
of the drum I mean that's that's pretty special it is it's fantastic yeah it's great to have it
(29:28):
it's great to have departments that are are happy to have us help us out um you know with the trun
or treat especially um comes to mind but um just when we need something they they step up and when
I say hey I've got a good idea they usually laugh for a while and then they say yeah let's see how
we oh she's serious oh okay oh oh all right yeah exactly so yeah have you ever been turned down
(29:56):
wasn't didn't you try to like didn't you called Chia and you were like I did but you know it
was that was there were extenuating circumstances 2020 um so he said no was I think you also wanted
to do something and it was not safe yeah we were going to we were going to hook something onto the
(30:18):
building and he was afraid that's right he said it wasn't safe he said it was not safe what were
you going to hook up I mean's let's keep this going um you know they have those they have
those Barrel things that has that that they put on a line and then you fire the fire hoses at it
and you try it's like a tuger war with the water and and we were going to have to attach it and
(30:40):
he thought maybe we should not do that but it was going to be awesome it was going to be epic still
working on that you know it was probably right when it comes to safety I probably will defer to
him because sometimes my ideas are maybe not the greatest he did let you have fire yes when when
(31:01):
they didor s'mores I did s'mores a couple Summers yeah oh yeah but but he had to supervise blocked
that out yeah indoors indoors or Outdoors Outdoors just making sure yes they had to come they were
there they were there every time no we I may not have run it past him the first year that I did it
(31:22):
and then after that we were supervised have to ask for forgiveness for forgiveness and also somebody
to come help so yeah we had some firefighters there was like you're you know at the ready cuz
little kids running around you know open fire it's probably this will be a great idea it seemed like
(31:43):
a good idea at the time at time there were metos there was chocolate I feel like that's a lot of
how programs happen with us specifically us at the library and most of the time it turns out to be a
good idea that's true which I think is just like luck that we've gotten no we're just that good um
(32:05):
Point Super Bowl Super Bowl Super Bowl it was um these two people with great ideas we have lots of
great ideas um Allison and Janice are really great brainstormers and so they'll sometimes just spit
out an idea and I'm bad at brainstorming but I hear them and I hear anide aide and then I take it
(32:29):
and then I start running ja's a doer she is a so it's it's a dangerous combination because it used
to be just me and Janice and then we would look at each other and be like I don't want to do that
I don't know how to do that I don't like I don't have time for that and and we say something and
ji happens to be there and she's like this is what we're doing now and we're like oh all right okay
(32:49):
yeah it's great pretty well that that happened with the Super Bowl which I will say um two years
running we'll do it again uh for sure and it's been great so so it it works out it works out
yeah you should probably explain the Super Bowl people think you're talking about football I mean
well no just kidding I forgot that this wasn't like in text so it is it's soup as in s o u p- ER
(33:14):
bowl like soup that you eat oh you know what the one that spelled it for the first time but that
that's like a a Community Partnership event we do annually in January where on Fridays usually in
like the afternoon we'll have free soup so anyone can come in it's a bit of a competition too so we
(33:36):
have um Community groups kind of donate it we have uh City departments do it as well we Pony
up some soups and try to win and it's just really fun so and delicious and delicious yeah we get a
free lunch out of it I mean really so it's great for us yeah yeah and we get to feed the community
which is cool and then the left s if we have any go into our fridge uh the community fridge yeah
(34:03):
yeah courtesy of helping hand so that's kind of they usually fill it but we pitch in a bit
especially during January with that yeah and they go like hot cakes oh yes or hot soup yeah I oh I
see what you did there okay so Switching gears just the do we need just the evolution of the
library and thinking about you know we've talked to like a couple different areas where um people
(34:27):
engage with their Library differently the library for um I don't know how long ago the brand refresh
would have been or just kind of that whole process but you talk about how the library has had more
of an identity on social media and pushing stuff out in the digital world how vital is that through
(34:47):
all the operations that the library is conducting well I think we have great personalities so I like
to Showcase that I think if people just met us they would want to be friendss with us so really
it is just about breaking down that stereotype of the the librarian that people have in their
heads and say no we're pretty laid-back over here Janice likes to be the loudest one in the
(35:13):
room like you we're a no shushing Zone um so like we try to um get that across in our marketing and
like with fun colors um with we try to be we try to be funny on social media so great music that
(35:33):
I pick out by the way you're doing a great job I know well and and Tik Tok so I know when I've done
my deep dive on uh City and Library social media accounts uh IND old Public Library Tik Tok has
a great following and that's you had one video that went viral viral I don't know if it like
(35:54):
officially viral but I like to say that we went viral um yeah and it just kind of it was a trend
it wasn't even I'm not going to take credit for it I stole it from another library because it was
um like highlighting the different cool services that you have that other libraries may not have
to like quote unquote start beef with them just to kind of like help give somebody give the libraries
(36:19):
the excuse to like showcase their cool stuff and be funny about it like tongue and cheek so
that was that was a fun morning and JC actually was the one with the ideas mhm and she was like
I'm going to get in this tiny child cart grocery cart I was going to say I think someone else told
me to get in the cart cuz that one did not come up with I came up with throwing seat packets on
(36:39):
the ground but thr seat packets that's true yeah and we had yeah our uh super cool shades on and oh
yes I don't know yeah it was it was really fun it was just I don't really I can't explain like why
people really liked that but yeah it was cool so when you do your the library social media is each
(37:00):
platform the library on is it U is it so specific where you're putting out content so it meets more
of the adults or more of the the youth or does it go to that kind of detail within your strategy I
mean I would like to get there at some point um but right now I'm just trying to you know keep us
(37:22):
in people's feeds um just keep the keep the eyes on us because like Michelle was saying earlier
like people didn't really know what we did what we do so yeah my job right now is to keep the eyes on
us um so I try to I try to switch it up um we do a lot of like post program like videos like this is
(37:46):
what happened um like a montage of cute little faces and some cute older faces Jayy the Bingo
the Bingo um uh yeah it's yeah and we're going to start doing more like um book recommendation type
stuff which is really popular on book talk and yeah yeah she made me record one this morning
(38:09):
it was adorable awkward it was awkward it was awkward what made it awkward she was
adorable yeah but people love that about you like you're adorably awkward in like the most adorable
way what okay it's like an adorable awkwardness it's not like a weird awward you know like
(38:32):
everybody knows that that's me Michelle Weir I think we're all weird for various reasons Janice
can get weird it's true it's true that's why you know little kids are the ones who understand her
they're like also true I'm basically a toddler so well and with how people stay engaged with
(38:53):
the library I believe it was sometime last fall or maybe even in the winter didn't the library
send out a survey to all of its members to just intake how they receive their information from
the library or what type of programming they like to see in the future just talk a little
bit about that process and obviously again we're Midway through 2024 but how beneficial
(39:16):
that Community survey was to kind of be that launching pad for kind of everything we're we're
doing today and um again what's on the horizon and a lot of it might be um very similar we
about this at the top of the podcast but I want to make sure we noted that too that it's always
intentional when you reach out to the community to even though it sometime could be off the cuff
you are still involving them to help guide those decisions and those type of opportunities as well
(39:43):
right um we don't we don't do what we want to do we're here to do what the community wants us to
do and so every October we send out a a survey and it it's kind of a dual purpose it's a um how
do people how are we doing get some feedback on maybe things we need to improve on services and
then also what do people want to see and we read those um surveys very carefully we read
(40:06):
all of the comments and we take them to heart and think about them and try to make accommodations
yeah and I bring that up too because we're just talking about social media but just you know we
put a lot of investment time and energy Alice and I especially for that city of indola magazine that
gets published quarterly and so for listeners that next ISS issue of the magazine will be in
(40:28):
your mailboxes uh this last week of June if not early July so flip through that and you're going
to see about a dozen Pages specific to the library of all the summer programming and activities that
you and your family can be involved in but the library in particular from the library if I'm not
mistaken um in the magazine that was um one of the more popular resources that card holders would be
(40:55):
engaged to know what's happening at the library they listed that we you know we do the where
do you get your information where do you hear about things from the library and the magazine
was number one um followed closely by Facebook and the website and our app so those are the top
places that people do find out about us did that print piece surprise you at all knowing like that
was a Top Choice every time it surprises me every time magine yeah oh and Facebook and it's usually
(41:20):
like we also get feedback when people register for things through um like the event calendar
and it's it's pretty even which is annoying which means I have to keep doing all the places but I
mean no it's great you know like it's the magazine it's Facebook it's Instagram it's the newsletter
(41:41):
the email newsletter it's Word of Mouth like it's yeah so well and I'm always surprised how
many people still go to the website I mean the app is we have a we have a mobile app and that
is rising in its use and and is overtaking the website but a lot of people use the city
website mhm more than you'd think yeah MH yeah well and often times too I mean it's the official
(42:03):
home of everything City and everything library and um it's just that that digital identity of
everything that we are so but yeah I I would agree too to uh to some aspect that the the magazine
when I've learned of those results that being the top of choice I was like Wow because as we're
going through specifically with that publication it just it needs it's an essential piece of uh
(42:27):
of uh catalog for our community as time goes on and there's talks about you know digitizing it
but there will always be a print piece um because it's a a an historical context of our city at the
time and B it showcases everything we are and what we have to offer both community members uh
residents visitors you know you name it so yeah but I was surprised myself to hear that the the
(42:51):
magazine was the top choice for how people uh are engaged speciically with the library you know we
hear people say they they tear out the pages that they want they put on the refrigerator
and so yeah and we can tell with registration back back in the day when you had to call to register
you could tell when the magazine was hitting the doorsteps because that's when the calls would come
in yeah and it's kind of like that now I mean event registrations are on the calendar website
(43:17):
it's they you got to get in the first couple days otherwise but f up some of them yeah and also I do
get a lot of questions like I I feel like I don't know what what it is if my events my events are a
little bit less uh regular so they can vary a lot and so people call like I know in the Magazine's
out when I start getting calls transferred to me and I'm like oh yeah that event is like a
(43:39):
Master Gardener and this is what you can expect so yeah the the magazine is really popular for my
demographic and I will also shout out Allison who has been first of all she designs those pages and
deals with our last minute detail editing and um second of all just hey I forgot this whole page
of events oops it's only ever like one at a time Jan it's not you J I'm trying to C oh it's Janice
(44:03):
oh it's j I'm complimenting you did that happen just recently for this last issue I complain out
not just one time though it's it's okay but it's like we we work in such Close Quarters I know that
there are others things that she forgot so I have left space and I'm just kind of like waiting and
she's like oh yeah oh I forgot about chess club but to to Really point out too um if you look at
(44:27):
those we have more pages and so we can shout out more things so we do have our collections coming
out in there our library of things has been featured in at least the last if not the last
couple of uh magazine pages so that showcases all of the stuff where if you would only use it once
a year like a tool or a big yard game you don't have to buy it um you can just borrow it for that
(44:48):
that once a year use so there's that there's our digital offerings with all the I mean there's so
much and she's fit all of that into our magazine pages in such a like a really cute looking way
I think so that's been really cool and the Magazine's really important so it's good to use
it you know recently the city of Inola and Warren County participated in a land exchange where um
(45:12):
some parcels of property um which do involve the Indianola Public Library would be going to the
county and some County parcel specifically um or the field Depot and that uh 5 Acres or so of land
along North uh 6th Street are going to come through the city and within those announcements
(45:33):
that we pushed out together jointly between the city and the county announced the exciting news of
a plan Redevelopment of a cultural entertainment and recreational District in which the Indianola
Public Library will anchor how first exciting is that I mean we're now you know give or take about
(45:54):
a month after that you know first news came out and um we pushed out these announcement but just
how exciting is that and knowing that this kind of change is on the horizon for the library in this
community in the next couple of years you know this is a great news for the community we have for
20 years been trying to figure out how to shoehorn what the community needs for the library in the
(46:18):
existing space and we just can't make it happen this is going to allow us to engage the community
get input and then start fresh with what the community really needs in their library and what
they really want in their library and we could not be more excited yeah it's an opportunity for
us to do more for more people in that in that area so pretty excited about it yeah we're I mean like
(46:48):
we're pretty sure that we're going to be involved in the design process so I don't know how many
slides oh so many slides all the slides there may be a ball pit and we're not quite sure if there
will be any for children but definitely for me and Janice I I mean I I mean to that point though I
(47:08):
think about all the different possibilities just by having that land and being right off the trail
I mean how awesome to really rejuvenate and bring Breathe new life into that property which really
is in the center of uh of our community I mean it's so awesome just think about possibilities
yeah there's a lot more young families which we have seen uses the library quite a bit um it's
(47:34):
it's super close to a school um like you said the trail would be really easy to get to the library
there's a really nice park there you know we can we can imagine families riding their bikes going
to the library going to the park it story time in the park Story Time In the Park yeah activities on
the lawn we'll have a lawn and that is more usable and that people could use you know potentially
(48:01):
to rent out the space you know for free and it's possibilities are endless and it's really exciting
and yeah everybody's going to get the opportunity to uh tell us what they want and then you know
hopefully we can do as much as possible oh yeah Chas are you gonna say anything I was just going
to point out that one of the things like we're really excited for all of the new things we can do
(48:23):
with our space but one thing I'm excited for and I know this is I'm I'm dipping into stereotypical
librarian territory but some Qui I know sometimes sometimes um which ISD morning tea and my tea and
my Cardigans um cat and my cats oh my cat anyway um but it's going to be really nice to have that
space because we we know how frustrating it can be for community members and we hear that in our
(48:47):
survey um just that they can't exist in the same space when something else is happening so if um
it's a Wednesday you know if you're to go over to the library right now I actually you could not sit
and read in peace essentially and you couldn't work you couldn't worky loud and pryes there are
teens right now that are all over the library the biggest complaint that I hear about the library is
(49:09):
it's just too loud and we saw that on the survey too they're part of our people they really need
a quiet place to work and it's we don't library is not quiet so um presumably with a new library
we could have zones where there could be quiet spaces and places for kids mhm yeah and for those
naysayers who are listening and they might think well what what are you doing now to mitigate that
(49:33):
noise what are you doing and you could say it's not working right now because this keeps happening
we keep getting the same frustrations from our members right we would fix it if we could it the
the current design I mean it's a great design of a library but it's one big open room and so
it it doesn't really work in terms of noise yeah yeah and it it just because so many people come
(49:57):
to a program it naturally spills out of the program room so and which is I mean kind of
you know it's great in a way because then these we've gotten these people to the building and
now they're using the library they're connecting to each other they're checking out books they're
looking at the we have a video game collection all the DVDs we have the um tons of puzzles and board
(50:23):
games they get out the board games and they're playing it's it's and it's free they don't have
to pay anything they can stay as long as they want like we're not kicking anybody out it's it's great
so I mean there's you know it's it's good it's obviously you know not perfect but I mean that's
(50:46):
that's why we're so excited for listeners to learn more about the land exchange agreement
and the next steps with this plan uh Redevelopment there on the North 6 Street uh sub area plan you
can visit the city of Inola website at www. Inola iowa.gov now to kind of wrap things up
(51:06):
I just kind of want to open up the floor to all of you to share any final thoughts that you feel is
important that you want to get off your chest and make sure the community knows to learn more about
the library how they can stay engaged and just any other future opportunities that are again upcoming
um that you'd like to promote and just really want to give you you got the mics so let her
(51:27):
rip what do you got baby nothing you had all this time to think about it I told you it was not
enough time I have stuff I have oh she has I'll JC talks a lot I I do talk a lot I do talk a lot
um and the funny thing is I do want to say like a cool thing that I've found um is that patrons
(51:49):
that do come to my adult programs make friends there and so that's what we mean when we talk
about a community space in a Gathering Place um there are people who come in to like my puzzle
competition which is a team based event and they come in by themselves and I have made at least
one person make friends with another group of my regulars um because they've just been coming
(52:13):
and attending and it's it's so fun to see my demographic is such a a varied range and they're
all coming in and mingling with each other and like we have that person is Young and the group
is a bit older and it's just just it's just so fun and it's hard to make a friend as an adult it is
it is and the library is a perfect place because it's like well we're both here we both have this
(52:34):
shared hobby or interest or something and Janice has experienced this too it happens at all ages
the moms at story time there are some really cute stories like now they're best friends and they met
at story time isn't that adorable like love that for our community right like they're like new
to the area or something or you know they have a nanny and she's like I need to find other nannies
(53:00):
and like we can take our kids to the park together whatever and the teens are the same way too we
have some very brave because I never would have done this but very brave teens who will come to
the library or program by themselves and then they make friends during the program and I mean that's
really hard for a teen to do that that's really hard so I'm it yeah Jac was right like this is
(53:25):
this is what we mean by a community meeting space we you know we're trying to build up the community
that's that's what the library is all about and yeah I think we're we're doing okay doing
better than okay yeah we're I mean we're we're all really excited about everything that's happening
(53:48):
and we're yeah just anybody who's listening who's never been to the library please come we're really
nice we'd love to have you we're not judgy at all we're not those typ that is not what we do at our
library we love we love seeing new people coming in and you know I've never been here
(54:10):
before I'm like oh my gosh well I have to tell you everything like welcome to the space like if you
need anything you can call us you can email us you can message us on Facebook or Instagram we're you
know we're here for the community for the people so yeah what she said ditto mic drop that was a
(54:33):
pretty good mic drop pretty good pretty just don't drop that mic that is I'm holding on firmly I do
want to thank all of you for taking the time coming here today and for what you are doing
for the community collectively at the library all your colleagues my colleagues the friends of the
library the Board of Trustees it is a special place with a lot lot of phenomenal people and
(54:57):
I'm I'm grateful to be part of the team uh even though you know we're all part of that Collective
mission of the city of indola but it's so great to be able to be on this journey with all of you
and just want to thank you for everything you do day in and day out and weekdays weekends nights
the whole works it's it's phenomenal to even watch and and help share that story um for our
(55:19):
community so just from B my heart thank you so much for all that you do a thanks ainin [Music]
and I do want to shout out our part our part-time desk staff they are also amazing I will say one of
the biggest compliments we got on our last survey was just how friendly our desk staff are they are
amazing um they don't let us up front to help much because we don't do it often enough to be good at
(55:43):
it but we we not very good at it we still try we still try but our our part-time um staff are
amazing and are who are actually the face of the library every day so thank you to them those are
the the people that patrons actually know yeah but yeah we have we have our Niche groups yeah
(56:03):
but no thanks for sharing that especially that much deserved shout out yeah well pretty awesome
make sure for those listeners like I said this is probably going to be my favorite episode period
it's going to be yours too so after you listen to this episode make sure you leave a comment
leave a review again this is episode 5 season 1 so we're now nearing uh that middle stage
(56:26):
of getting away from that newbie podcast game territory so we're becoming professionals now we
are becoming professionals next time you have us on you we got to do like callers we can have that
capability we can't we can do that yeah zoinks yeah I'm looking at them and they are looking
at me and they're not happy but we're doing it guys you're not even looking par it's like no
(56:49):
we no we can do that we can do that we have the capabilities as long as we plug into the ideas
as long as we plug into the adapter we can do anything okay well that that'll be on you it
it is on me for the fail today and future fails and successes we'll call it but well thanks for
having us we really enjoy this opportunity yeah no appreciate it so yeah listeners make
(57:12):
sure you leave that comment stay engaged share the episode and the podcast on your
social media so we can continue to grow uh this brand and this uh form of communication
and who knows maybe next time you'll be a future guest of Indie unplugged thanks
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