Support Niles Library AND Educate Yourself About Your Own Library Board

I am hoping most of my readers have heard about the horrible and troubling situation at Niles-Maine District Library. I have many colleagues and a few friends who work there. But this is a problem that every single person who works in a public library [or school library] should worry about. 

First, and most time sensitive, if you live in the Chicago area and can, please consider joining the rally and march tomorrow evening. See this article: July 20th, gathering at NICO Park at 5pm and walking to the library.

You can also visit the Save Niles Library website and sign the petition.

I have to be at my Library Board Meeting, otherwise I would be there too. 

Now those are the specifics for my immediate area. What about the rest of you? 

Second, Kelly Jensen over at Book Riot wrote this excellent piece about this library. She breaks down the issues, provides all of the background, and tons of links for more information, but she also makes it clear as to why every single person who loves their library [as well as works at one] needs to understand what is going on here. 

Again, click here and please read it.

I have been very aware that rogue boards, can hijack the library to push their political agendas for years. No library is immune. Niles is in the same county as me, Cook County, IL, and on any political map we are very blue. That community is probably more purple, but I know that the majority of the residents do not agree with the 4 Board members and their extremely racist views who have deliberately gotten on the Board and now have a slim majority all because of complacency in the community.

Niles-Maine District Library is an award winning library with a great staff. The community figured it was going fine, the staff didn't concern themselves with the politics of Board elections precisely because everything was going well. Their Director was great. Well now that Director has been forced out. And she is not the only great Director in the Chicago suburbs who has been forced out by a rogue Board in the last few years; she is just the one in the newspapers. 

Earlier this year, I created a training program to deal with this type of situation, something I knew was already an issue and one Trump and Covid magnified. This program, entitled "Peek Behind the Administrative Curtain: Trustee Secrets All Library Staff NEED to Know" argues that every single staff member at the library can be informed and influential in helping to make sue the library does not end up run by extremists or people with another agenda.

For example, you as a staff member need to know the specific things Trustees are allowed to control. Currently at Niles, they are taking over all hiring, which is outside the scope of their powers as defined by the state. They only can hire, fire, and evaluate the Director. That is their ONLY employee. This means there are legal options for the library staff here.

Also, staff are a great resource for identifying and encouraging people to run for the Library Board. Look, I know it is not glamorous and it is A LOT of work to be on the Library Board. And the pay is $0. But your happy and well served patrons are NOT going to run unless you ask them. They are happy with the way things are. It is the unhappy people who have the energy to jump through the hoops to get elected. 

This is also why I encourage library staff to run for their local library boards [as long as they don't live in the town where they work]. My current board has 3 librarians. Me, a Department Head from another area library, and someone who works for the Freedom to Read Foundation. But even stacked with Librarians, we are NOT the majority. Our board is great, but we work hard to be on the same page and keep it that way-- all 7 of us. We work on communication with the Director. We handle differences of opinions openly and in public meetings and give the management team time to come up with their solution options. We don't always have unanimous votes, but we do agree to speak as one voice, as the law says we need to. This is how it should be run. 

Even I am not complacent, even after 21 yr and counting, nor are our staff members. They are encouraged to be involved and share their thoughts with the Board, the management team and the Executive Director. 

[Side note, it does not have to be racists who can cause problems. I once was part of an appointment process for a Trustee vacancy and one person clearly was trying to get on the library board as a stepping stone for a Village Trustee position. His cause? More liquor licenses for our village. We did not feel comfortable choosing him because he had an agenda other than helping run the library. Nor should you. We have had Staff let us know when problematic patrons have applied for openings multiple times.]

I will be giving the above mentioned training program for PCI in August next but if you have a library where things are going down the wrong path, please contact me. I can provide FREE consultations and help. Remember I am a 21 yr Library Trustee, a member of the System Board, and I have 15 years of library worker experience including management. I can help you. I want to help you.

Even if you think your library is fine now, please look at the slides. There are things here everyone can be doing to keep it okay going forward. I know of other libraries near me and a few in neighboring states who are in the thick of this and it is a bad harbinger. 

I also have a version for the Trustees too. You can access that one here.

Get out and march for Niles-Maine District Library tomorrow if you can, read Kelly's article, and sign the petition.

Every single one of you, no matter were you work, has more power than you think.