Join us for a #SaveNilesLibrary rally on the south lawn of the Niles-Maine District Library. We’ll gather at 5:45, and will head into the library together at 6:15 for the scheduled public hearing where community members can comment on the 2022-23 budget.
Now is the time to show your support for your library and insist on a budget that allows for proper staffing so that much-needed programs and hours of operation can be restored and the building can be safely maintained.
This was a petition to ask State Librarian Jesse White to appoint a qualified trustee to fill the year-long vacancy on the Niles-Maine District Library board before any more damage is done.
To: State Librarian Jesse White
Your constituents in the Niles-Maine library district have been forced to watch three hostile trustees dismantle the library for over a year. Library board president Carolyn Drblik deadlocked the board by not filling a year-long trustee vacancy. None of the current trustees reside in the unincorporated Maine Township half of the district, where community members continue to be impacted by lack of representation.
The situation is dire: the library has lost one third of staff since May of 2021 and is down to 66 total full and part-time staff (the equivalent of 52.13 full time employees, or 52.13 FTE), for a library district size that the Illinois Library Association recommends be served by at least 74 FTE. Due to understaffing there were 30% fewer programs offered in July compared to the same time last year, and the library is only open 66 hours per week instead of the recommended 72+ hours per week. The community is suffering under this incomplete 6-trustee board. Staff morale is low and the union wrote a public letter asking: “Is their ultimate goal to close the library?”
Illinois statute originally relied on library boards to fill trustee vacancies “forthwith”, but in 2021 it became clear that a bloc of trustees could refuse to do so without any remedy for the community whose library suffered under a dysfunctional board, so the Illinois legislature unanimously voted to amend the statute. Now if a board refuses to fulfill the duty of appointing a new trustee to a vacant seat within 90 days, the State Librarian can appoint one in the subsequent 60 days. This means your office will have the ability to appoint a much-needed qualified and sincere trustee to the Niles-Maine District Library’s board on August 27th, and we ask that you do so.
The Niles-Maine District Library’s next regular board meeting is scheduled for September 21, 2022, just 5 days before the scheduled budget hearing for a tentative 2022-23 budget that, if passed, won’t fund the level of staffing that this library district of over 59,000 people need and deserve. We ask that you ensure the community will be represented by a full board of 7 trustees before the September meetings.
Update 9-12-2022–
THANK YOU! Our petition to ask State Librarian Jesse White to appoint a qualified Niles-Maine District Library board trustee was delivered! Over five hundred signatures and many personal messages from supporters. The community wants a qualified candidate now! #SaveNilesLibrary
Niles Coalition has celebrated the 1 year anniversary of our founding. It was the attack on our Niles-Maine District Library that acted as the inciting incident bringing us together to create the #SaveNileslIbrary campaign. More and more community members have been reaching out and folks have been connecting with our organizers at local events. We’ve been meeting up with our neighbors in Niles, Skokie, Park Ridge, Glenview, and more! Please read below and find out about some recent events we’ve attended as well as upcoming opportunities for you to join us!
On April 24th along with allies from Action Ridge, Niles Coalition organizers helped greet attendees at the first of a series of Cook County United Against Hate events. About 200 community members and elected officials showed up and shared messages about our opposition to hate and antisemitism.
➡️ Join us on Sunday May 15th as we unite with our neighbors from Niles, Park Ridge, Skokie, Glenview, Chicago and the surrounding area at our Neighbors United Against Hate event at Jonquil Terrace Park in Niles.
#SaveNilesLibrary
On April 20th many of our organizers, unionized library staff members, and other supporters showed up with signs and leaflets to raise awareness of the unnecessary and destructive hiring freeze that anti-library trustees instituted last May and have refused to lift. Niles-Maine District Library’s staff keep providing services that our community wants and needs, and we’ll keep showing up for them and doing what we can to get the word out about the reckless cuts Trustees Carolyn Drblik, Suzanne Schoenfeldt, and Joe Makula have forced on all of us. Please help us spread awareness by sharing savenileslibrary.org with your friends and neighbors.
There are TWO MORE Library Board Meetings you can participate in this month, on Wednesday 5/18, and Tuesday, 5/31, both start at 6:30 PM at 6960 W. Oakton Street in Niles. Public comments are only allowed in person shortly after 6:30, so if you are unable to attend in person at that time and want your message heard please respond to this email, or send your message to <email@nilescoalition.org>. If you can please arrive early and join us outside the library to show solidarity and share information with the public.
Reminder about the June electionJune 28th is election day this year. The spring primary was moved to June, please make a plan to vote by mail or in person and mark your calendars now! Here’s a page where we’ve collected links and information. Thanks for reading, see you in the streets!
