Celebrating our Volunteers

Earlier this month, the Des Plaines Public Library paid tribute to some very special people - our volunteers, who put in countless hours of hard work and dedicated service to keep the library running efficiently. As our Head of Public Information, Heather Imhoff, said at the luncheon, we truly could not manage without our volunteers. Some make sure that the library's hundreds of thousands of items are correctly placed on the shelves. Others help out with interlibrary loan tasks, reference projects and cleaning - you have no idea how dusty library shelves can get! We're so grateful to these folks and it was our pleasure to provide a lunch for them, along with some keepsake gifts, and - a little entertainment, in the form of Wii bowling on the library's awesome big projection screen. Next time you see someone working in the library stacks, ask if they're a volunteer, and if so, give them a big "thank you." It takes a generous person to work so hard without the benefit of a paycheck or other "perks." Interested in becoming a library volunteer? We need you! More information on our volunteer positions can be found here, along with an application form.


Hey - I just noticed that this is my 101st PlainTalk post! How am I doing? Do you like the library's blog? Is it helpful and interesting? Do you have suggestions for future columns or regular features? Please post a comment here and let me know what you think. Or, if you'd prefer to send a private message, email me at kmcbride@dppl.org. I hope that you enjoy reading PlainTalk and pretty soon, you'll be able to double your fun. When we unveil our completely new Web site at the end of May, we'll also be introducing a different kind of library blog, "Positively Ellinwood Street." PlainTalk is a general blog about the library and also about the Des Plaines community. Positively Ellinwood Street will be written by our Readers' Services staff, the people who are totally in the know when it comes to what to read, watch or listen to next. Positively Ellinwood Street will contain reviews, recommendations, information about book discussion groups, lists of soon to be released books, movies and music and, well, a lot more. Our new Web site is coming in just a few weeks and I'll tell you more about it soon. But please let me know what you think of PlainTalk so far. I'd love to hear from you.