Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District News

Board Seeking New Members

The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District Board of Trustees is seeking two new trustees, one from Winnetka and one from Northfield, to fill vacancies on the Board.

The Board of Trustees is charged with filling the vacant positions by appointment, according to state library law. The selected individuals will serve unexpired terms through May 2013.

The Library Board’s primary responsibilities are to hire and supervise the Library Director, adopt a strategic plan for the Library District, determine the library policies, determine the Library District’s annual budget and tax levy, and approve and audit the Library District’s expenditures.

The Board conducts its business through monthly regular Board meetings and monthly study sessions. The average time commitment for a trustee is usually approximately 15 hours per month. To be eligible to serve as a trustee, an individual must be a resident of the Library District and a registered voter.

To apply for the trustee position, individuals must download the application from the library’s website and submit it to Interim Library Director Juli Janovicz by March 5, 2012. The Board plans to interview the candidates at 7 p.m. on March 14 at a special meeting.

For more information, please email questions to julij@winnetkalibrary.org or call the Interim Library Director at (847) 446-7220.

- (Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at 2:42 PM)

Board Names Interim Director

The Board of Trustees voted on October 17 to appoint Juli Janovicz as the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District interim director. Janovicz is currently the Library Assistant Director and Head of Adult Services.

Janovicz joined the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District staff as the Head of Reference in 1989. She was quickly promoted to the Head of Adult Services and, this year, appointed Assistant Library Director. She holds a Masters of Library Information Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and previously worked for the Zion-Benton Library District and the Kenosha County Public Library District.

“The Board is pleased that Juli Janovicz has agreed to serve as the Interim Library Director during this period of transition,” said Board President, Bob Sanfilippo. “With her long tenure as Head of Adult Services and her recent acceptance of Assistant Library Director responsibilities, Juli brings to this position a clear understanding of how the Library District operates and the needs of its patrons.”

Library Director David Seleb announced his resignation to the library board and staff on September 26. Seleb accepted the position as library director of the Indian Trails Library District in Wheeling, IL and his last day at the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District will be October 26.

The Board of Trustees is in the process of selecting an executive search firm to assist in its search for the new director.

The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves a population of 17,000 Winnetka, Northfield, and Kenilworth residents. The District has a $3.3 million budget and operates two facilities.

- (Posted on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 10:01 AM)

Board Recognizes the Service of Four Residents

At their October 17 regular board meeting, the Board of Trustees of the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District recognized the contributions of four district residents who served on the Strategic Planning Committee.

The four residents honored are Kate Azar, Suzanne Canfield, and Dina Crnkovich of Winnetka, and onathan Don of Northfield.

The Board of Trustees appointed the residents to the twelve-member Strategic Planning Committee in December of 2009 to study the needs of the community regarding library district services, to recommend a process and timetable to develop a strategic plan based on its findings, and to create and recommend a strategic plan for final adoption by the board.

The plan, which was approved in July, provides a new mission and vision statement for the district and will serve as a guide for the future.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the residents of the Library District, I want to thank these four individuals for agreeing to serve on this important committee and for their conscientious work over a seventeen-month period,” said Bob Sanfilippo, President of the Board of Trustees.

“The members of the Strategic Planning Committee, both staff members and community members, met tirelessly for over a year and a half to deliver a plan that outlines a bright future for the Library District. Their contributions were invaluable, and I thank them sincerely for their service,” said Library Director David Seleb.

The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves a population of 17,000 Winnetka, Northfield, and Kenilworth residents. The District has a $3 million budget and operates two facilities.

- (Posted on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 9:59 AM)

Library Director Resigns

Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District Director David Seleb announced his resignation to the library board and staff on September 26. Seleb has accepted the position as library director of the Indian Trails Library District in Wheeling, IL. His last day at the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District will be October 26.

In his resignation letter, Seleb wrote, “I am proud of my accomplishments of the past four years, in particular my leadership of the Strategic Planning Committee and completion of the district’s new strategic plan. I am confident that this plan will lead to a stronger future for the library.” Seleb added, “The staff members of the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District are the best with whom I have ever worked, and I leave the library in their capable hands.”

Seleb joined the library district in November 2007 after serving as director of consulting and continuing education for the Metropolitan Library System in Burr Ridge, IL.

“I want to thank David, on behalf of the entire Winnetka-Northfield library community, for his many contributions to the library district over the past four years. David’s leadership in the development of the district’s recently adopted strategic plan was especially valuable,” said Bob Sanfilippo, president of the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District Board of Trustees. “We wish David much success in his new position at Indian Trails.”

The Board of Trustees will meet soon to discuss the naming of an interim library director and to develop a plan for a library director search.

The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves a population of 17,000 Winnetka, Northfield, and Kenilworth residents. The District has a $3 million budget and operates two facilities.

- (Posted on Monday, September 26, 2011 at 4:02 PM)

Northfield Branch Closed

The Northfield Branch is closed on Sunday, August 14 due to a power outage.

The Winnetka Library is open as usual.

- (Posted on Sunday, August 14, 2011 at 1:19 PM)

Winnetka Public Library Open

The Winnetka Public Library re-opened today.

On Saturday morning, storms flooded the lower level of the Winnetka Library. The flood damage affected staff work areas; no library materials were damaged in the storm.

Any fines or late materials accrued over the weekend will be waived.

A professional cleaning crew is working to safely restore the damaged work areas. The crew expects to be finished cleaning the affected areas by Wednesday.

We appreciate the outpouring of community support. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

- (Posted on Monday, July 25, 2011 at 11:13 AM)

Storm Damage

Storms flooded the Winnetka Library last night. Due to the damage, the Winnetka Library will be closed indefinitely.

The Northfield Branch Library will be open as usual.

We will keep you updated as we learn more.

- (Posted on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at 9:00 AM)

Trustee Wanted

Trustee Tony Mars, whose term ends in 2013, resigned on February 1 after moving out of the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District. As a result, the Library District Board of Trustees are now charged with filling the vacant position. The selected individual will serve an unexpired term of two years, through May 2013.

The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves 18,000 residents in Winnetka, Northfield and Kenilworth. The Library Board’s primary responsibilities are to hire and supervise the Library Director, adopt a strategic plan for the Library District, determine the library policies, determine the Library District’s annual budget and tax levy, and approve and audit the Library District’s expenditures.

To apply for the trustee position, individuals must download the application from the library’s website and submit it to Library Director David J. Seleb by March 31, 2011. The Board will interview all candidates at 7 p.m. on April 6.

Three candidates are slated by the Winnetka Caucus to run for three additional seats set to expire this spring. John Canfield, Keta McCarthy, and Lois Neustandt were slated in November to run in the April 5 election. Current trustees Susan Garland, Miriam Kashian, and Anne Knight are not seeking re-election. The Caucus did not slate alternate candidates for the Library Board.

For more information, please email questions to david@winnetkalibrary.org or call the Library Director at (847) 446-7220.

- (Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 10:55 AM)

Searching just got easier.

Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District launches new social-networking inspired catalog

The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District has implemented an innovative new catalog to make finding library materials easier, faster, and more intuitive. Leveraging social networking principles, Winnetka-Northfield’s new catalog gives users improved features and functionality in a more user-friendly environment that is designed to help connect users with common interests. Go to the library website to try it out today: winnetkalibrary.bibliocommons.com.

“We are constantly looking for ways to improve the ease and convenience of finding and interacting with all our materials and resources,” said Juli Janovicz, Head of Adult Services at the Winnetka Library. “With our improved search capabilities users will be able to find exactly what they are looking for with a lot more ease.”

“But it is not just about improving our search capabilities. Our new system allows users to have a deeper and richer experience by adding their own comments, reviews, and links to the library materials they are opinionated and passionate about, creating the potential for a wealth of user-driven remarks and recommendations.”

Beth Jefferson, co-founder of BiblioCommons Inc., said, “We are delighted to welcome Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District to The Commons. A visit to the library has always been about both discovery and community. Now, library users can experience both with each visit online too.”

Enhanced Functionality

Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District’s new catalog includes the following enhanced functionality:

Find: Behind the scenes, a smarter search gives you better results. And the sleek, modern interface provides easy ways to narrow or expand your search, or browse for related items.
Explore: Not sure what you’re looking for? Peruse bestsellers, new additions to the collection, award winners or materials that are generating a lot of interest. You can also browse the shelves virtually.
Share: Share your ratings, comments, tags and more with other users. Follow users with similar interest and tastes and get recommendations. You can also easily share your interests through your other accounts, like Facebook and Twitter.
Keep Track: Use your three virtual shelves (Complete, In Progress, and For Later) to keep track of all things books, music, and movies. Next time you can’t remember that title, you can check your shelves!
Create: Share your interests and enthusiasm about a topic by building lists to share within a community of users with similar tastes and interests.
Borrow: It is now even easier to place holds and renew items online.

About Us

The Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District serves 18,000 residents in Winnetka, Northfield and Kenilworth. Last year, users accessed the library website 330,000 times and checked out 398,000 library items. For more information, visit www.winnetkalibrary.org.

- (Posted on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 10:52 AM)

Put Your Hands On The Future

New technologies are changing the ways people are obtaining and using information and the ways they want to se their libraries. Many libraries are responding by offering new services. To address this changing environment, the Library District is developing a Strategic Plan to guide us in establishing goals and allocating resources.

This week, you will receive a survey packet asking for your opinion on library services, materials, technology, and facilities. Each packet contains two surveys: one for an adult member of your household and another for a teenager. For your convenience, the adult survey can be completed at http://www.LCWA.com/library and the teen survey can be completed at http://www.LCWA.com/teen. To activate the Web surveys, enter the code located in the upper right corner of the printed survey you received in the mail.

If you do not have a teen in your household, please disregard that survey. If there is more than one adult or teen in your household, for better statistical sampling we suggest that the survey be completed by the one whose birthday comes next.

Whether you complete the mailed survey or do it online, the information will remain confidential and names will not be connected to survey responses. If you have any questions about the surveys, please contact Trish Schroeder at the LCWA Research Group at 312-565-4614 or tschroeder@lcwa.com.

By completing the survey, you will have a hand in writing the future.

- (Posted on Monday, October 25, 2010 at 4:20 PM)