The Warrenville Public Library District:
Succeeding with LSCA

Friends of the Library

Thanks to dedicated volunteers, the Warrenville Community received rudimentary library service during the years from 1933 to 1977. The volunteer Warrenville Library, started in 1933, had been in several locations over its 45 years of existence and by 1977 occupied two rooms of a 1930s Works Progress Administration (WPA) community building. Volunteers kept the library open for six hours weekly without regular financial support. The collection was principally fiction dating from the 1930s, 40s and 50s along with some obsolete non-fiction. As a stand-alone non-taxing library it had no ties to the wider library world such as offered through membership in the DuPage Library System.

There were however, a few valuable legacies from the past:

• Local history books from the early 20th century

• Fiction that was out-of-print but now listed as "must have" titles in the fiction catalog

• Positive community feelings about their library, which had strong ties because of the many community leaders who had made it a large part of their volunteer efforts during its 45 year history

Warrenville's population grew in the 1970s, reversing a previous downward trend. Many of the new residents expected up-to-date and adequate library services similar to those experienced in their former towns. A small group of those new residents met to discuss the situation in August 1977, and applied for and received state certification for the Friends of the Warrenville Public Library, Inc. Their goal was to work toward developing a full-service, tax-supported public library in Warrenville.

The Friends group talked with city officials about the possibility of the City of Warrenville levying a library tax to support a municipal library. Unfortunately, the city declined because such support could only be possible far into the future due to more pressing city service priorities.

The city's position was understandable because, although the community was settled 134 years prior to 1977, it had incorporated as a city only 10 years previously in 1967; accordingly, governmental officials had many missing vital city services to put in place in 1977.

With the city's position on a tax for library services clearly stated, the Friends contacted the DuPage Library System (DLS) for guidance. DLS staff provided information about the formation of a district library, as well as information about the LSCA Project PLUS funding opportunity available to qualifying projects. Before proceeding with an application for the grant, DLS advised the Friends to conduct a citizen's survey to determine public interest and future financial support for a public library. This survey was conducted in late 1977 with 50 percent of 1,400 households in the city and nearby areas polled. The following responses indicated a strong public desire for a full-service library:

• 80.3 percent agreed that the city needed a library

• 63.0 percent believed that now was the time to proceed

• 69.2 percent did not have a library card from other libraries

• 76.1 percent would obtain and use a local library card if available

• 66.5 percent favored the formation of a district, rather than a municipal library

Furthermore, 46 percent said that they would donate money beyond their tax obligation and 59 percent offered to donate time, work, library materials, building/remodeling materials or professional services as needed.

Clearly, the results of the survey indicated strong public support for a tax-supported district library; therefore, building upon this favorable response; the Friends and DLS personnel wrote a proposal in February 1978 requesting approval as a "Project PLUS" (Promoting Larger Units of Service) library. The proposal was approved and a grant was awarded in spring 1978. Funding for the project was $37,000 in federal

*Jane B. Shaw, President, Board of Trustees; and Patricia G. Stockner, Director Emerita, Warrenville Public Library District.

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LSCA funds and $4,500 in DuPage Library System funds annually for two years. Receipt of the second year of funding was contingent upon a successful establishment referendum being held during the first year of the project.

Implementation of Project PLUS

The Friends started ordering materials upon notification that the grant application had been approved. New books of all types — adult and juvenile, fiction and non-fiction — began to arrive quickly at the library. In addition, many DLS member libraries donated books to the project. Volunteers were recruited and trained to do basic cataloging and processing of the new material. A search for a library director began immediately with interviews conducted by the Friends and DLS Consultant Ida Bullen, who was a mainstay throughout the entire project. A new director, Patricia Stockner, began work on July 1,1978, and the library opened on July 29, 1978, with a staff consisting of the director and 34 volunteers. The library was open 23 hours a week.

Both the Friends and the new director considered expanded public hours a primary goal, and hours were increased as rapidly as personnel and money allowed. The new library increased its hours from 23 hours weekly in July 1978 to 50 hours in August 1980. Staff was added as budget permitted from a part-time clerk in August 1978 to a total of two part-time and one full-time clerks by August 1979. The library continued to order books as quickly as the books could be prepared for shelving. During the Project PLUS years, the book collection climbed to 7,588 books and 141 record albums.

The public responded enthusiastically to their new library by using materials and services at a constantly increasing rate. Statistics from August 1978 through July 1980 show the following usage:

• 187 reference questions answered

• 962 interlibrary loan requests sent to DLS members

• 2,719 registered borrowers

• 29,768 items circulated

Many programs and activities were offered as part of Project PLUS, including: preschool story hours; story hours conducted in the schools; local high school sports films with narration by school coaches; holiday movies borrowed from DLS; landscaping and gardening programs, and a computer show. In addition, special events for National Library Week; senior citizens' health and finance; art displays; local author appearances for Children's Book Week; voter registration; College of DuPage independent study classes, and informational programs with income tax forms were available. All these were offered to demonstrate the wider services that a full-service, tax-supported local library could offer.

These efforts to demonstrate the many advantages of having a full-service, professionally operated, public library were well received by the public. The public's support and confidence in the new library was illustrated when the required establishment referendum was held on Feb. 24, 1979, and it passed with a whopping margin of 4 to l!

LSCA Title II Construction Grant

With the strong public acceptance following the first days of operation, it was recognized that the Library's physical capabilities would soon be inadequate. Many hours of discussion later, the board agreed to hold a referendum which, if approved, would double the tax rate to 30 cents. This would provide funding to justify a mortgage for construction of a building, as well as provide the ongoing extra income needed to operate and staff a new facility.

The referendum, held in November 1982, passed, and plans for a new facility began to take form. The library board decided to build in the heart of Warrenville and reached an agreement with the city to trade the WPA Building (acquired from the school district at minimal cost) for city-owned land near City Hall. On Jan. 18, 1983, the board submitted a letter of intent to the State Library applying for an LSCA construction grant. The application was submitted on June 30,1985, and on Sept. 6,1985, the welcome news was received that the application was approved and the Warrenville Library District had been awarded a grant of $250,000.

The grant specified that the building program would be implemented in two phases: Phase I, to build a 10,550 square foot building, and Phase II, to provide for a future expansion of 15,820 square feet. The total cost of Phase I was estimated at $924,061. Through the local First Oakbrook Bank a mortgage of $500,000 was arranged, and with the LSCA grant supplying $250,000 and the remainder of $118,561 provided by the library's accrued building fund, the necessary financing was completed. This resulted in a cost of $87.59 per square foot for construction and equipment. The final total cost of the building was about $1,036,788, including construction costs of $723,487, equipment and furniture costs of $145,975, and the balance providing professional fees, audit costs, and incidental expenses.

The original planning, as submitted for the grant, was deemed to meet all accessibility and parking standards. The space was considered adequate, although the Phase II expansion was obviously needed to provide enough future seating, meeting room space, story, display and public service areas for the public. Because DuPage County was not an Economic Development

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Administration qualified grant area, our application was given last priority in the new construction category.

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held in June 1986 and on March 31, 1987, the Board of Trustees walked for the first time into Warrenville's brand new library with a strong sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. A public dedication ceremony on May 17, 1987 was attended by hundreds of people, with many political dignitaries from local, state and national offices present.

LSCA ALLY Grant

The grants that supported both the Project PLUS demonstration library project and the construction of a new library building were instrumental in the initial success of the Warrenville Library. Indeed, without the grants, library service and the library building itself would not have existed in 1987. By the late 1980s, the library was in a brand new building, enthusiastically supported by the city and with an evergrowing number of library users — but computer technology was still in the Dark Ages. Although the new library opened with a basic Follett circulation system soon upgraded to a Gaylord circulation system, acquisition module, and automated card catalog, computer access was still needed for regional, statewide and national databases.

The board became aware of the availability of LSCA ALLY grants in April 1993, which would enable libraries to upgrade and enhance the current computer set-up as well as provide access to regional, statewide and national databases. At the time the library owned only a second-hand Apple IIe with a 128k memory and 2 floppy drives with a four year old Datalink internal modem, which could access only the DLS database and ILLINET. Therefore, in July the board submitted a grant application to the State Library for $2,000, which was approved Sept. 10.

With the grant a Permio 486/33 MHz microcomputer system, a 256K hard drive, an Epson LQ 570+ printer and a one-year maintenance contract were purchased. The library also agreed to the following grant requirements: dedicated phone line, retention of the equipment for at least five years, and no charges to patrons for the use of the equipment. These purchases expanded and enhanced service to patrons and made a vast improvement over what had been provided initially.

LSCA Title II: Technology Accessibility

In 1996, long on enthusiasm for the benefits of technology, but short on funds to implement that enthusiasm, the board welcomed the announcement of a new LSCA grant, which would further increase technological capabilities — the LSCA Building Technology Accessibility Grant. This grant was a matching funds grant, with 45 percent from LSCA and 55 percent from the local library. The grant money could be used for equipment purchases only. Total funding available was $578,00. The board decided to request $54,450 to be used to install a local area network, (The Promised LAN) and an application was sent to the State Library on Aug. 26, 1996.

A grant of $35,810 was approved on Jan. 30, 1997. This grant funded three of four servers, the File/Print, the CD-ROM and the Internet Firewall. All the essential hardware and software necessary to bring up a Windows NT4.0 network with 15 client workstations attached was purchased and installed. A T1 line was also installed and the associated equipment for a direct Internet connection was acquired. Further, various PC peripherals were added, including laser printers, highspeed modems and a CD-ROM changer that can access up to 14 discs simultaneously.

All this new equipment was connected to the existing online bibliographic database, the Gaylord Galaxy circulation system and the DLS WAN. Essentially, this equipment enabled library users to access library holdings plus city, regional, state, national and worldwide information resources with the security of a firewall. The total cost of the project was $79,577, with 45 percent ($35,810) from LSCA funds and the remainder from library funds.

Summary

The Warrenville Public Library District has benefited enormously from the availability of LSCA grants through the Secretary of State/State Librarian. Two successive Secretaries of State, Jim Edgar and George Ryan have demonstrated their dedication to the importance of libraries and to the ever-increasing improvement of library services to the people of Illinois. State Library Director Bridget Lament has steadfastly fought for Illinois libraries and librarians and has been in the forefront of the push for excellence. Their unceasing efforts and support have resulted in Illinois being recognized as a national leader in libraries. We are fortunate to have such strong leaders furthering the case for library services.

Specifically, without these grants, the Warrenville Library would be nowhere near where it is today in the provision of outstanding library services to patrons. Thanks to the solid foundation that these grants enabled us to construct, Warrenville looks forward with hope and optimism to the 21st century.

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