Anne Richmond: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: HainesvilleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Round Lake Area Library Board (4-year Terms)Age: 39Family: Husband - Douglas Raul WilliamsOccupation: Management Analyst, Housing Authority of Cook CountyEducation: BA - Business French, University of Iowa BA - International Development Geography, University of IowaCivic involvement: Secretary, American Legion Auxiliary, Post 1170 Round LakeElected offices held: Appointed to Round Lake Area Library Board in 2011Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Educating residents about the services available at the Round Lake Area Library.Key Issue 2 Increasing and improving resources without increasing property taxes.Key Issue 3 Resolving the Round Lake Area Library's space limitations.Questions Answers Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is it?As a lifelong patron of libraries, I feel it is important to maintain one of the few public commons that remain. Libraries provide important services, mostly free of charge, to the public that may not be available anywhere else. The Round Lake Area Library takes the spirit of the public commons even further, offering group meetings for diverse groups from crafters on Friday Stitch and Bitch nights to book clubs to anime clubs to free showing of movies. In tough economic times, the library offers services to assist with jobs searches and to improve job skills, free computer services, educational and cultural programs, support for home schooling and many other services that build and improve our community.If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of important initiatives you've led. If you are a non-incumbent, tell us what special contributions you could make.Since my appointment to the Library board in summer 2011, one of my important contributions is a fresh voice on the board. I tend to use more of the library's electronic resources rather than the traditional books. I was appointed as the Treasurer in 2012 and brought my frugal, nick picking tendencies and my work experience with quality control to that role. I feel a great responsibility to spend tax payer dollars wisely and to get the most impact for the benefit of the library. I have used my experience in evaluating proposals for major projects at work in choosing contractors for major projects at the library, such as landscaping and resurfacing the parking lot.Do you have a library card? How long have you had it? How often do you use it?I got my first library card when I was able to write my own name, probably around age 3. I have had a library since then in every place where I have lived, even when I was a summer camp counselor. I got my library card at the Round Lake Area Library in 2003 when I moved to Hainesville. I use my card a couple times a month to check out books, magazines and DVDs at the library. I use my card at least once a week to check out ebooks and audiobooks from the library's website.Space is usually an issue at libraries. If that's the case at your library, would your solution be to expand the physical plant or make room by doing away with parts of the collection that technology has made less critical? Explain.The Round Lake Area Library is definitely overcrowded. The Library recently conducted a space study to see how the current space can be better used and to determine how much space would be needed by the community in 20-30 years. Unfortunately, there are few options available to rearrange the current space. The long term solution is to expand the space of the library, either at the current location or at a new location. The members of the Library Board will face many challenges in the next 5 to 10 years regarding space. The Library will pay off its bond from the 1990 expansion in 2015, meaning the new board will need to convince taxpayers to approve new bonds or find another source of funding. The Board will also need to determine if expansion can occur at the current location or if a new site needs to be purchased. The Board will have the task of taking the space study and turning it into a library building that will meet the needs of the community for years to come. I?m excited to face these challenges and look forward to working through these issues and challenges.What impact have economic and technological changes had on libraries? How does a library remain relevant? How should its role in the community change?As technological changes play a more important role in our lives, libraries become even more important to ensure that all have access to technology. Libraries remain relevant by adapting their resources and materials to keep pace with technology. For example, with the increasing popularity of tablets and ereaders, libraries have increased wireless internet access and made more books available as ebooks. Libraries have also increased services available to the public, such as notary services, voter registration, immigration classes, free meeting spaces in addition to the traditional materials offered by libraries.