Lynn Stainbrook 0:00

That's how children learn is through play. And if they don't have toys to play with or room to play, it stunts their learning abilities. So I think the children's area is designed to be just that. It's to be an area of learning and through play. [lofi music plays]

Bridget Finn 0:46

It's our first ever interview with Executive Director Lynn Stainbrook. Lynn, welcome to the podcast.

Lynn Stainbrook 0:53

Thank you so much for having me here today. It probably helps that I'm free and you don't have to pay anything for my appearance today, so that's good.

Bridget Finn 1:04

Right. That is good. That's good for you. So [laughs] Lynn is the Executive... has been the Executive Director of Rockford Public Library for 10 years now. That is correct, 10 years, 2014. And you this is your fifth library that you have directed, been at the helm of?

Lynn Stainbrook 1:24

Well, I have to count them through. Milton, Ohio, Newport in Gurney, Arlington Heights, Brown County Library in Green Bay. This is my sixth. Well, did I count Milton? I don't know six.

Bridget Finn 1:41

So six. And you took our team to Milton once to see that darling little library in Milton, Wisconsin, and it was gorgeous. So you've really been to many different communities, different size libraries.

Lynn Stainbrook 1:55

Yeah. It's a wonderful career, and you know, my husband's career sort of fit in as well as he was finding different jobs around the country too. So that was beneficial to both of us. I do feel like my career was a lot of building projects. It just happened to end up that way, but a lot of technology too, and I think that was true for everyone coming through those years, is that technology was just overwhelming.

Lynn Stainbrook 2:28

I mean, we we started with Apple little computers that we used at our desk, and then all of a sudden it became this incredible tool that we used in libraries. So that, you know, that was obviously a piece as well during these intervening years.

Bridget Finn 2:47

Right. And you worked at your your neighborhood library when you were a young person.

Lynn Stainbrook 2:52

Yes, yes. I graduated from college, a very young graduate, and didn't really quite know what to do with myself and got hired back at my at the local two-year college where I had worked as a student for the year that I'd gone there. And then the Public Library Director hired me away, and I fell in love with public libraries. I don't know any other way to say it. I had worked in that college library, I'd actually worked in a high school library.

Lynn Stainbrook 3:28

I had even had been on a special grant program for 20 hours a week at the School for the Visually Handicapped. So I'd worked in a lot of different types of libraries, and then there was something about public libraries. It was serving the entire community, of having people of all walks of life, of knowing that you didn't have to be a student, you didn't have to be someone sort of special to come into the library, but anyone and everyone could come in and we could serve them and we could provide them with answers or information or training that they might need.

Lynn Stainbrook 4:02

And that was just I that it felt at home. It felt like that was my purpose, that that made it all worthwhile. And it really wasn't until I got to that stage that I decided this was the career for me.

Bridget Finn 4:16

Not until you were hired away by Public Library Director.

Lynn Stainbrook 4:20

That is correct.

Bridget Finn 4:21

And it was the accessibility that really thrilled you about it.

Lynn Stainbrook 4:24

I and the ability to serve all people, everyone. Anyone who walked, anyone who wanted answers, anyone who wanted help, anyone who wanted some sort of service could just walk in or telephone and get what they needed. They that was that ability to serve everyone, I think, that was so important.

Bridget Finn 4:48

That's amazing. That's great. So you then decided to go to library school. So you had graduated from the University of Wisconsin, correct?

Lynn Stainbrook 4:57

Right. Right.

Bridget Finn 4:58

And so you went back into their library program.

Lynn Stainbrook 5:00

I went to Madison, yep.

Bridget Finn 5:01

And Madison is a very well-respected library program.

Lynn Stainbrook 5:05

Oh, yeah. Oh yes, and certainly those years. The best in the Midwest, of course, although there will be University of Illinois grads who will say differently, but yes, it was a wonderful opportunity there. And I had great instructors and mentors, and that's always helpful too.

Bridget Finn 5:30

And then throughout your career, like you said, it was kind of happenstance that you bumped into building projects along the way?

Lynn Stainbrook 5:37

I think so. Well, the Milton Public Library, they obviously needed, that was my first little library, they obviously needed a new building. They were in a little storefront and it was so crowded . There was a closet that was being used as children's room. I mean, literally, the so-called bathroom was actually a toilet that also held the snow shovel, and it's where the staff, one staff at a time, because that's all we could fit in there, could put their coats up.

Lynn Stainbrook 6:13

And then you walked outside of that and sort of edged sideways in order to get to the sink to wash your hands. So that's how tiny it was. It needed something desperately, but it also needed someone to be there for a while. It had had something like, I've forgotten the count, but like five different library directors in five years, and so it needed a little more consistency as well.

Lynn Stainbrook 6:42

And there were, you know, problems within the library in terms of the collection and the old card catalog and moving onward. So there was there a lot of work to do there. But I really enjoyed it. Had three great part-time staff members who were really part of the community and they were wonderful. So it was a great first job to have as a library directorship.

Bridget Finn 7:11

And then you ran into other building projects as you continued throughout your career.

Lynn Stainbrook 7:16

Yes, yes. I went to Ohio, I wasn't expecting a building project, but I was there long enough that the need to remodel and there was a huge flooding issue that was happening in the lower level of the library, partially because the library had been very much at the forefront with ADA and had put a ramp on in the back of the building to be able to get into the lower level. But the ramp was very steep because it was done before there were regulations out there. And it used to fill up with water, and then the water would leak in that back door and spread to the what was the children's collection in in the lower level. So it had some issues that needed to be fixed, and so that became the next big building issue was doing that.

Bridget Finn 8:13

So by the time you learned about Rockford, they were looking to build the new library, correct?

Lynn Stainbrook 8:25

Yes, yes. The library board had been approached by Commonwealth Edison in 2010 and had already been through the process of... could the land remediation happen with the old Carnegie slash 1960s remodeled building still in place. And it was determined that that would not work. Comed did tell us at the time that our project was probably the most complicated for them, wasn't the biggest by any means, wasn't the most expensive either.

Lynn Stainbrook 9:04

But it was complicated because there was an existing building that was being used seven days a week and lots of hours and all kinds of people going in and out that you couldn't train because it was the public. So it was very complicated... to try and do it with the building still staying there. And then when they discovered how far down they needed to go, that became an issue too. So the decision had already been made that the building was going to have to come down.

Lynn Stainbrook 9:38

And then the they were still in the process of do we just build one brand new building someplace else, or do we go for an interim and then come back to this site? And the public was very strong. There when I first came on in 2014, that's what I heard from the public a lot is no, no, you have to come back. You have to come back to the river, you have to come back to the river. And of course, I look at this brand new building and I look at the views and I think, absolutely, that was the right decision. It was wonderful, and the the views are great there. But it did complicate things.

Bridget Finn 10:15

Sure. It was so much more to learn or to manage, even for our architects to have to make plans around remediation of some problematic soils and things. But I love that you've been able to be so integral in the planning of this new building, because you've had a career in managing library and you know how library serves communities. And in the interim period, you had a real great opportunity to get super familiar with the community.

Lynn Stainbrook 10:51

Yes, and I think my one big goal in the new building was flexibility. I really wanted it ... as I'm sure in the next 20 years things will change in libraries, that there was an ability to add in rooms, to take out rooms, to add in equipment, to do all kinds of different things with the building. So that I think is there.

Lynn Stainbrook 11:23

But to go back to your original question about community, yes, we were able in the interim location to experiment with a lot of different things about what worked and what didn't work in the library. So that was a wonderful experience. And getting to know some of our needs, you know, something like, you know, 25% of our adult population does not have a high school diploma.

Lynn Stainbrook 11:51

S o trying to put something in place with our Adult Online High School program, it was one of the things that we worked on. Understanding that not everybody learns through reading print or even audio learners, but many people learn by touch and by feeling and by doing. And so the the early Maker Lab was all about, you know, what what could they do with their hands, what could we provide them with their hands?

Lynn Stainbrook 12:24

And and so now the Maker Lab has definitely grown beyond that, has allowed for people that didn't get things like sewing in high school to be able to do that again. That's one of our most popular things. But there's also 3D printers and the cricket printers and t-shirt press and you know a variety of other things that people would be interested in. And I think so there's something for everyone, you know, whether you you like to listen to your books or listen to music or you want to read, all of those things are available.

Lynn Stainbrook 12:57

And of course, the e-resources is just astonishing these days. And one of the things that you know, was very much in the back of my head was what happens when e-resources really take over? Will there still be print? Will we need that? And one of the, you know, obvious things in this community was how much they valued their local history. It's an older community, and it values that and what's going on and what's happened in their community.

Lynn Stainbrook 13:28

So to take that wonderful old local history room that we had in the 1960s building, and then to, you know, we didn't try to replicate that, but we definitely tried to give a new local history look and to save those materials. So we do have what you know we call the vault where our local history materials are on compact shelving units, so it doesn't take up quite as much space, but it also has its own heating element, its own air conditioning, its own humidity controls, because old books like... it's slightly colder and drier than what the public likes.

Lynn Stainbrook 14:11

So it has its own controls in there. And also if something were to happen to our heating or air conditioning unit, that that one should still be able to keep on going. It's on its own, sort of power and will be able to handle that. So hopefully we've placed that so that we can continue to grow our local history area and preserve materials for another 50 years or 100 years.

Bridget Finn 14:40

That's outstanding. I think another area, I love that you recognize that Rockford loves its history, and our building reflects that certainly with the climate-controlled vault that houses all these treasured items and the beautiful space where people can explore the local history. It's really special. A lot of attention and energy put into the design of that space. The building certainly.

Bridget Finn 15:02

Another area that is completely different from the previous existing library that I think is a real nod to the community needs of Rockford is our youth services area. We have a problem in Rockford with our education. We want our kids to do better on their third grade reading scores, and so the idea to focus on developing literacy in such a big way is really evident in the design of this building. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Lynn Stainbrook 15:30

We did do a lot of research. You talked about that we went and visited libraries as well throughout that, and certainly reached out to libraries that were in similar demographic communities as Rockford. And one of the questions sort of said is how do we how do we make a change? How do we get more people graduating from high school? How do we do better on that third grade reading test, which including all the private schools in town, you know, it's like only 25 percent of the kids actually pass the test.

Lynn Stainbrook 16:05

We're not even talking about, you know, merit scholars, we're talking about barely passing the test is 25 percent. So, you know, 75 percent of kids not being able to read at third grade is a horrendous problem. So it was like, what do we do? What do we do? And what we were told is that we we needed to reach out and we needed to grab the children. We needed to have children saying to mom, dad, auntie, you know, their caregiver, whoever, you know, I want to go to the library, I want to go to the library, I want to go to the library. And so how do we do that?

Lynn Stainbrook 16:43

And we looked around and we did find a library that had a slide in it. And it was like, huh, a slide. You know, this is northern Illinois. As we're doing this, it's starting to snow outside. So we, you know, we have cold winters, we have rainy springs and falls and summers as well. And most of our families can't really afford to have their own playground equipment in the backyard. So, you know, putting a slide or something that's more active into the library that can be accessed, you know, all seasons of the year seemed like, oh, that was a possibility.

Lynn Stainbrook 17:25

We did actually test it out in the interim location where we had a small play area that included a little toddler slide. I mean, it was, you know, two-year-olds probably were the maximum, although I think we saw some five-year-olds going down that. But we had other toys there that kids played with. And one of the things that was kind of eye-opening to me was the little kitchen area where it wasn't just the three-year-olds and the five-year-olds playing with it, but you know, seven-year-olds, ten-year-olds, twelve-year-olds. And it made me recognize that they don't necessarily have this kind of play in their homes or in where they might be getting child care.

Lynn Stainbrook 18:11

I take that in my middle class upbringing, I take that for granted that children have the ability to play with toys of this nature, but that's not the case in our homes that are on that poverty level area. So the play became something that we tested and found that maybe it wasn't so great that kids were saying, we have to come back, we have to come back. But they were definitely enjoying it and they were using it, and they were learning from that because as as you knew, that's how children learn is through play.

Lynn Stainbrook 18:46

And if they don't have toys to play with or room to play, it stunts their learning abilities. So I think the children's area is designed to be just that. It's it's to be an area of learning and through play. There's a variety of things in that children's area and more to come that we're you know putting out there for for children and trying to get children in. And you know, I've joked to the youth services staff that if we get them in the library, it's their job then to get them into books and into reading. And I was so impressed.

Lynn Stainbrook 19:31

I've been seeing the numbers of people attending the story times go up. And I was in that room maybe a month ago, and there are kids racing around and running around and going up and down the slide and doing other play areas, and all of a sudden somebody came out and sort of said, Oh, story time's about to start. And zoom, every child, you know, raced for the room, and parents got up and went along as well, and all of a sudden this very noisy department was dead silent as all of these kids had gone to the story time.

Lynn Stainbrook 20:06

So I do think that youth services staff is doing their job of getting kids interested in reading and and going to story time and making that leap from play and learning to actually... the more book kind of learning as well. So it's wonderful.

Bridget Finn 20:26

Boy, I think you're right. I think it's working. And I think everybody is blown away when they walk in and see how exciting it can be. And you know, certainly people might be critical and think, well, this looks like a playground. But the fact of the matter is, every inch of that space has been mindfully designed to develop literacy in young ones. And I love to see the kids interact, and you're right, they do love those story times.

Bridget Finn 20:55

Other measures that have been put in place, like the forward-facing storybooks, because we have data that shows the child will spend two to three times longer with the book they choose themselves than one you hand them. So making it easier for young ones to flip through the books and choose them themselves so that they can, you know, be more excited about engaging with literature at a young age, is huge.

Bridget Finn 21:18

And I loved learning when I started working here as your Marketing Director, not as a master's level librarian like we have employed here, that every story time is chosen specifically to develop the literacy in these young ones and coordinate with each other other titles in order to get concepts through to our kids.

Bridget Finn 21:40

All of those points of development have been mindfully thought out by your staff. And then parents are able to just come and bring their children, and their children just enjoy the story time and don't even realize that we're putting the building blocks in place for them to do well then in school. I love that. And then they have a special...

Lynn Stainbrook 22:00

I've trained you so well, Bridget. You understand all of this that... you know, many people don't understand why we're doing these things, but you've grasped it and you understand it and you've seen it.

Bridget Finn 22:13

And trained me well.

Lynn Stainbrook 22:14

Yes. I think it's funny, but I want other parents to know the other parents who've raised their families here who didn't get their masteries in library science to understand there is real strategy behind this, you know, seemingly fun playtime that you're bringing your kids to when you come to the library. And it will help. And we can explain to you how we can also train you to learn how.

Lynn Stainbrook 22:40

And that's an exciting development between our Youth Services Department and the United Way Literacy for All, and that we offer actual storytime training so that you can go out in the community outside the library and teach kids to read, read them a book and give them a story time in the way that most develops their literacy. And what I love about that program is that it's not just training teachers and grandparents and that sort of thing, but it also shows a parent who doesn't read very well, and we have those in Rockford, how you can still go through a book and help your child get interested in literacy by simply showing them the how the pages turn. That, you know, we read from left to right.

Lynn Stainbrook 23:30

You don't come out of the womb automatically knowing that. And so our pages turn in a certain direction. There's an up and a down on a page. So you can do that and you can look at the pictures and make up a story or ask a child about that, and you can engage, even if you're not a good reader yourself, you can engage your child in enjoying the book and you know, and actually that time of snuggling up with a little one is always so valuable.

Lynn Stainbrook 24:01

So those are the kinds of things that they're also being trained to be able to do. So I think that program's really wonderful, and we're so grateful for United Way in taking on that literacy as a as a big project as well in in our community and being partners with them.

Bridget Finn 24:20

Right. I think it's integral to Rockford really thriving as a community. So happy to be a part of that, certainly. And then I love the fact that you know we kind of plant the seed with our children who visit the youth services department that eventually when they're 13, they can go upstairs to their room.

Bridget Finn 24:38

So when we were making our plans for this building, we had community listening sessions, you remember, all over town, and so many people, everybody was adamant that we provide teens a safe place to hang out and possibly also enjoy some literature and use their library well. And your library has really developed a beautiful space for them. Can you speak to the design of the teen space?

Lynn Stainbrook 25:07

Well, that is one of the areas that's larger than the original teen space was in the old building. And actually even in the interim site we made it larger because it really is a safety net for a lot of kids that don't necessarily have somebody to go home to or don't necessarily want to go home to that environment right away. So having a space for teens to go, but having fun things where other kids want to be there too, so that it's not just that need the safety net, but there's everyone in there.

Lynn Stainbrook 25:54

So it's got obviously video games, which it was really interesting that I've been hearing that they're more interested in in the foosball table than they are in the video games. The foosball table was my idea, and I was like, oh, this isn't probably going to work. I get that this is old hat, da-da-da-da. And I've been told that there are parents who sort of are like, let me show you how to do this, and kids who are really into the different things in the foosball.

Lynn Stainbrook 26:26

So that little bit of activity in there I think is good beyond, and of course the video games, and we all know that kids do learn through the video games, or at least through appropriate video games. And then there's craft activities, there's these fabulous big lights that are in there that are kind of this, you know, big impact, and there's a booth and there's a study room, and, so there are activities in there.

Lynn Stainbrook 26:50

And then there's these great sort of study tables that are just outside the room that sort of half enclosed, so that if you need a spot to really concentrate as you're trying to study for an AP test or something else, that's the place to do it where you can really close off all of these other you know movements around you and that sort of thing. So that is something else we can give to the area.

Bridget Finn 27:21

Like modern study carols, right? Library carols. Yeah, they're really exceptional. You brought up an interesting point. This this building that we're sitting in is 22,000 square feet smaller than the building that we took down. And so that had to be a real challenge for you to accommodate the same community and house, you know, as robust a collection as necessary and include new technologies that the old building couldn't have. How do you think we did as far as managing the fact that with such a smaller footprint?

Lynn Stainbrook 28:03

Well, there were choices that had to be made. And one of the choices was that there's less room for staff. The staff workrooms are not nearly as large as they were before, and there aren't as many spaces. It's a little bit like what business offices are doing these days, where not everybody has their own work desk. They share and come and go, and to some extent that's what our staff has to do as well.

Lynn Stainbrook 28:38

So that is one of the areas that we cut back on. But there were other changes that happened. Technology actually made things smaller over the years.

Bridget Finn 28:48

It's physically smaller.

Lynn Stainbrook 28:50

Physically smaller. There was a time just probably in about 2012, 2013, in which the library, the main library, had 200 PCs available for the public to use in this huge, huge area. By the time I got here in 2014, it was down to about a hundred, maybe a little bit over a hundred. And then, you know, when we moved into the interim, I think we went to about 48 or something, and there were kind of lines for those 48 at first, and then that dwindled down, and then COVID happened, and, you know, we went down to like 24, as we went to half.

Lynn Stainbrook 29:32

And I think they're now in kind of a more general adult space area, only 12 or 13, and then there are Chromebooks in the teen area that teens can check out and use in that space. And there are certainly computers in the children's area, some of which are not attached to the internet and are, you know, color-coded keys and really meant for children to play small games on and to learn from that.

Lynn Stainbrook 30:04

But, some are actual computers that would have internet access. So we do have more spread out throughout the building rather than all of them in one location. But we do have few, fewer, and but a lot of people also have phones, and those are small computers that they carry with them, and they do a lot of things on those. So that technology has made that take up less space than what we had in the old building.

Bridget Finn 30:35

Sure.

Lynn Stainbrook 30:35

And in addition, our own equipment, the automated material handlers, the check-in and the sorters, take up much less space than when we had desk and computer tops and lots of bins and other things, and that was being done manually. Took a lot of staff to be able to do that. The speed was so much slower in terms of doing that, the manual sorting onto different carts. So all of that is actually less space than what it was when it was done by hand.

Bridget Finn 31:14

It's amazing. It's just amazing that you know you recognize and and technology enables us to do so much more in less space, and and that you recognize it and you recognize the need to put a building together that will be able to be changed in the future. So I feel like your career through library technology has affected library so consistently, and you've seen it change that way.

Bridget Finn 31:41

And then your career has enabled us to make decisions with this building that'll serve our community specifically just into the future. And I think it's such a beautiful building, and I think everyone in Rockford is so proud of it, and I'm so proud that I've been able to be a part of it up close, and I'm so grateful that you were at the home of this project.

Lynn Stainbrook 32:02

Well, one thing that I didn't mention when you asked the question about community is again, those visioning sessions that we had were very enlightening. People had great ideas, and we weren't able to do everything that people wanted. Somebody did ask, and I really love the idea of having a cantilevered wing that would actually go over the river. We didn't quite make it that far, but we did try in terms of cantilever.

Lynn Stainbrook 32:31

And some of the energy efficiency things that people asked for, we weren't able to do either for a variety of reasons. But one of the ideas that came up about supporting our local cultural amenities is something that we we want to follow up on more. But we have wonderful resources in our community, and it's been fun to start out with showing off Memorial Hall, which I think people think of as just a place where they can go for a meeting or something of that nature.

Lynn Stainbrook 33:12

But they have wonderful artifacts of our veterans and you know, various things throughout the the ages. The fact that Memorial Hall was built roughly the same time as the original Carnegie building actually made it a natural fit to be able to show it off. And I'm so pleased Scott has told me that they've had more people coming in to visit the hall since the display has gone up. And they said... used to be people would come in on the west entrance, now more are coming in from the east entrance, which he says, those are the people coming from the library that are coming right over, and they're coming in that east entrance.

Lynn Stainbrook 33:53

And that was just a wonderful start to really showing off something in the community. And we're we're looking at doing something with Rockford Art Museum, we want to reach out to Burpee and others and sort of see what they might have. I'm also quite interested in people who have their own sort of home collections or small collections that they might want to show off in a display case or of that nature.

Lynn Stainbrook 34:18

And in addition, I'm really excited about the possibility of traveling exhibits. And those cost money, but of being able to bring in some great exhibits in order to do that. So there's I think possibilities to show off what we have in our community to remind people that you know, go over, check out some of these things. And I think the library can do that as well in terms of the community.

Bridget Finn 34:50

Yeah, that's fantastic. Another difference between the previous library that stood here and where we're sitting is the views. I just think it's enormous and it's so big, in fact, that we often leave it off our list of favorite things. But my children are in college now, so they were little kids in that old building, and it didn't really have much of an impact that we were on the river.

Bridget Finn 35:19

I don't remember looking at the windows of that building. So how has it been? Was it mindful? Did you know that it would have the impact that it's had to really focus on the views? And, you know, or did you know it would be as impactful as in fact it is?

Lynn Stainbrook 35:38

Did I know? No. Did I hope? Yes. There was someone who came to one of the envisioning sessions, a gentleman, who said it looked like they'd plopped the old building down and then did a, oh, there's a river over there, without any design concerns for the river at all. And I think that was to some degree true. When you looked at the back of the building, there was a small little driveway down underneath the building that we parked our vehicles in, and so then there was a sidewalk after that.

Lynn Stainbrook 36:11

And then there was that street that you drove through and you could drive underneath the bridge. And then there was angled parking along that, and then finally you got to where there was some green space and then the the river. But the trees were large enough that you really didn't see the river all that well. And you're right about the windows. The windows were kind of deep wells, so you had to actually go up and sort of stand right in front of the window to be able to see much of anything.

Lynn Stainbrook 36:43

They they weren't, you know, vistas. And the new building definitely has vistas where you can see up and down, and you can stand in one location and turn your head and really see the the full flow of the river or when it got iced over, or you know, the geese or whatever might be on it, or the summer the boats that were on it. So I think it's been interesting to say the least for people to do that. And you have that great line. C an you repeat it about ...

Bridget Finn 37:19

When you give people new views of Rockford, they're gonna begin to see Rockford differently.

Lynn Stainbrook 37:24

And I think that's so true. And it's just a wonderful way to sort of clarify that, you know, people, you know, sometimes need to look at things from a different angle in order to recognize and again, I'm gonna go back to my community thing and all of the wonderful things we have in Rockford because I think that that's another way of them looking at things differently is like, oh yeah, we've not been over to Memorial Hall, we've not looked at any of their exhibit cases, we've not been to Burpee, we've not been, you know, to the Rockford Art Museum, which by the way, they've had a grant that allows you to go in for free.

Lynn Stainbrook 38:01

There's no charge. So there I think that you know, giving people another opportunity to sort of see things differently, to really see it is just one of the great things that we can do as a library is sort of illuminate all of the wonderful things we have in Rockford, that great view of the river, all of those wonderful buildings we still have in the downtown area. You know, it's there's a real focus on being able to illuminate that for people.

Bridget Finn 38:37

Yeah, it's wonderful. And I think it results in people having new ideas about Rockford and new ideas about what can be done in Rockford. And I think that people who visit our library are proud of Rockford when they look out at it from our terraces and from our rooms. I think that's been incredibly successful as a member of this community. I'm very proud of it.

Bridget Finn 38:58

Another thing that we've included in this building that wasn't in the last that I'm really excited about is actually our event space. You know, I have attended a handful of weddings at the Winter Garden at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago. I know that different libraries all over our country are places where people can gather and celebrate, and we are able to offer that to our community here at the Rockford Public Library. Can you talk a little bit about that space and what it's meant for us to be able to host events and bring people to gather and celebrate here?

Lynn Stainbrook 39:36

It's been interesting to see what's already happened and the events that are already happening in the building from the cultural plan unveiling to memorial services for family members who've passed away. I think that's been very interesting. I would love to see a wedding. We've had a uh a number of bridal parties in to take photos, but not actually to have been married here, so I'd really like to see that.

Lynn Stainbrook 40:13

I do think that the being on the river gives such an opportunity for people and a great place to be able to be. And of course, having that space then brings more people into the library that might not come into the library. And there are, you know, there are certainly people that, you know, have their favorite branch that they go to so they wouldn't come downtown, or they buy their books, or they get all of their books through ebooks so they don't really need to come into the building.

Lynn Stainbrook 40:49

So it's nice to have a reason for them to come in and to sort of see what's going on. And really they're tax dollars at work in terms of the library and what's happening in the library. So that's that's a nice added bonus as well, I think, for people to be able to do that. But yeah, the space is lovely on the third floor, and you know, you put that professional touch to, you know, the tablecloths and the centerpieces and you know what people are looking for, and you use the terrace area with the high top tables and a band or you know whatever is out there, and it really becomes a magic space.

Bridget Finn 41:34

It does. It's gorgeous. And we have partnered with all of the wonderful vendors to really enable us to give a variety of experiences up there, no matter how glamorous you're looking to go, we can accommodate, which I'm very excited about. Well, I think it's amazing. The building is stunning. We have it all decorated for the holiday right now, which was, you know, thanks to generous donation from an anonymous donor who enabled us to put this stunning 22-foot tree in our in our entry gallery, which is that is an area screaming for a 22-foot tree.

Bridget Finn 42:17

And, it's so nice now to have all the families coming and taking their photos in front of it, and I hope that they'll tag us. We can just add it that because I'm sure this will be after. Is there anything else about the building that you want to talk about? Is there anything else about you? You were hired to build this building, we're sitting in it now. It's like your dreams have come to fruition. How does that feel? It wasn't a remodel, it was all of it.

Lynn Stainbrook 42:44

I'm enormously proud of all of the work that went into it and the ideas, and so thankful for the community support and really the number of people that came out for those envisioning sessions, and then you know, we had a follow-up survey that sort of, you know, this is what we heard. Do you agree with it? That nearly a thousand people responded to. That's a really high number in terms of online surveys.

Lynn Stainbrook 43:16

So I'm really grateful for that community support. We've had wonderful donors come forward that have helped to make our not just our Christmas tree dream come true, although I will say that really was a vision that I had was to have this large tree in that area. My other vision is though to have a dinosaur to sort of pop its head over onto the second floor. So if anybody out there can make that work, that that would be nice too.

Lynn Stainbrook 43:42

So they're telling me Burpee says they don't have anything big enough for it anymore. so it really has been a wonderful opportunity. My hopes and prayers are really that it works for the future and that you know people can be flexible with it and can make the changes that are necessary because technology changes, the needs of the community will change. works here now and today may not work tomorrow.

Lynn Stainbrook 44:18

It may be that podcasting studios aren't important in the future, even though we're in the libraries right now and we have a lot of use going on with this studio. B ut you know the hope is really that it will be able to be changed for the future and it will continue to serve the community.

Bridget Finn 44:35

Well, I think that will probably nail it. It's a convertible space and can continue to meet the needs. But we're so grateful that you were able to come and put your mark on this and give us this building. It's amazing and it makes Rockford a better place to live.

Lynn Stainbrook 44:53

Well, thank you for that. And I want to add a thank you to the library board for having the faith and trust in me and being able to help guide this process with great architectural and construction people working on it as well, and having a wonderful staff that helps to make all of it work, but also had input into the space. So there are so many hands in this and it makes it stronger, has made it stronger and better.

Bridget Finn 45:29

Thank you for joining us today.

Lynn Stainbrook 45:31

Well, thank you.

Amy Pfiefer 45:32

Hello, I'm Amy Piffer, librarian in the Youth Services Department at Rockford Public Library. Did you know that bringing your young children to Storytime can give them a whole host of benefits? Storytime provides the ABCs and the one, two, threes that we need to get children ready for kindergarten, provides essential reading skills, listening skills, singing skills, getting them ready to learn.

Amy Pfiefer 45:57

Storytime also provides socialization skills, playing with other children, doing crafts together, working on projects and felt boards together, singing together. It's really important skill for children to have. We have three story times here at Rockford Public Library Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings. On Monday, I do the preschool power story time. We work on science and nature themes, community, social emotional skills, and of course counting and alphabets as well. We do felt words, crafts, all sorts of activities for learning. And this developmentally appropriate story time is for children ages three to five.

Amy Pfiefer 46:34

Come to our Musical Munchkin Storytime on Tuesday from 10 to 10:30. Miss Heather hosts a musical-based story time where we'll dance and sing the morning away. This program is designed for toddlers and preschoolers aged two to five. We'll read at this story time and sing to a new theme each month. At this story time, we are sensory sensitive. Miss Heather provides ear guards if children need them, as well as a large box of fidgets in case children need to move their hands or move their bodies. Come to Musical Munchkins.

Amy Pfiefer 47:04

On Wednesday, we offer our Babes and Book story time. Miss Erin hosts that program from 10 to 1045. This program is designed for infants and toddlers up to age two and their caregivers. Have fun at this story time for our youngest book lovers. Erin spends about 20 minutes singing songs and reading stories, and the final half of this story time, the babies get to work on their social and emotional skills through play. Miss Aaron brings out several boxes of neat educational toys, and the children can play, solo, or with their brand new friends. Parents are invited to socialize at the end of this program too.

Amy Pfiefer 47:39

We hope you come to our Rockford Public Library Story Times. If you're interested in other Rockford Public Library events, please check out our website at www.rockfordpubliclibrary.org under the events calendar. We know you'll find something for you, your children, and your friends and family.

Lara Griffin 47:56

Also at our Montague Branch, we have Tunes and Tales story times. They are Tuesdays from 11:15 to 12 p.m. East Branch has an evening story time Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. And also a preschool story time on Thursdays from 10:15 to 11:00am. We hope you can make it to one of these story times. [lofi music plays]