Bruce Padbury: 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: AntiochWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Antioch Library Board (4-year Terms)Age: 70Family: Married, Five Children, Three GrandchildrenOccupation: RetiredEducation: Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, National Louis University, 1993Civic involvement: Volunteer for Elder Care Christ Church, Lay Minister Antioch United Methodist Church, Lake County Election JudgeElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Attendence at monthly meetingsKey Issue 2 Candidate did not respond.Key Issue 3 Candidate did not respond.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?A couple of the current trustees have missed several meetings during the last year. I have been present at almost all of the meetings as a member of the public. I think that if you are going to hold a public office the very least you should do is attend the public meetings and keep yourself up to date and informed on what is happening at the library.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.During the last four or five years I have attended at least half of the monthly meetings and have kept myself informed of the happenings and reasons for the decisions made by the current members of the board. In addition, my wife previously worked at the library as the Children's Librarian and recently retired after 24 years of service. Her input gives me a unique insight regarding the operation of the library which the other candidates do not have.Do you have a library card? How long have you had it? How often do you use it?I have possesed a library card for the Antioch Library for the last 19 years. I use this card at least twice a month some times more frequently.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.At the present time space is not a critical issue at our library. One of the reasons for this is because the staff periodically withdraws books from the collection which have not been checked out in a long period of time or which may include information that has become obsolete or out dated or those books have condition issues which causes them to be nonusable. Another reason is that the library built an addition several years ago and it is anticipated, based on current uasage,that the present space will be sufficient for quite a few more years.What impact have economic and technological changes had on libraries? How does a library remain relevant? How should its role in the community change?From an economic standpoint the library does not receive as large a share of the taxes collected as in past years due to a lower assessed valuation of the property in the Library district. This means that there are less funds available for the acquisition of new items for the library collection. The changes in technology have been both a help and a hinderance to library operations. Through the use of new computer technology and programs the library is able to operate more efficiently on a daily basis. However, in order to remain up to date and offer programs that the public wants, it has been forced to reduce the amount of funds it formerly used to purchase books to expand its collection. A large portion of funds are now used to purchase computers for the use of the patrons, both children and adults, and to provide programs which are used on these computers by the patrons for educational and entertainment purposes. The library remains relevant by asking it's patrons for suggestions regarding what the patrons would like to have in the way of services and programs. The library board and the administrators of the library review these patrons' ideas and evaluate their feasibility and as it impliments change it maintains a continuing flexible role in the community.