Alfredo Lechuga Jr: 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: CarpentersvilleWebsite: http://www.facebook.com/fredlechugaOffice sought: Dundee Township libraryAge: 36Family: Married for 11 years. Wife, Brenda and son, Casey (5 yrs old).Occupation: Manager at a telecommunications company. Recently part-time jobs include manager at Snap Fitness in Algonquin (4 yrs) and baseball coach at Fenton H.S. (6 yrs).Education: High school graduation, Fenton High School, 1992. Some college education at College of Dupage.Civic involvement: Member of Carpentersville Improvement Commission.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I would like to be sure the library space is expanded. I definitely believe that the current space we have now is too small for the amount of residents we have in our area. Therefore, I believe we will need to expand the size of our current building and/or develop a new building on the west side to ensure the entire area is being serviced.Key Issue 2 We need to continue to find ways to increase the percentage of the community who are library card holders. The library will need to implement a campaign with schools to ensure most students have a card along with their parents. Once more children are aware of what the library can offer, the better opportunity of their knowledge increasing.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?I am running to be involved in the community and to assist in ensuring the library meets the demands of the Dundee Township. I do not want to be a person who wonders why people make certain decisions, sit at home and complain about their plans. I want to be a resident who is part of the solution and included in the plans for developing the future of the library.When I was growing up I was always using the library for free resources and borrowing books to expand my knowledge. Therefore, since I am a person who knows how important the facility can be in a person's life, I really want to be sure we can provide everything the residents need as technology and economic situations are changing.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 contributions you would make.Late in 2010, during a interview process, I was selected to replace a member who decided to leave her position on the board. Therefore, this has not been sufficient amout of time for myself to be involved with any important initiatives the board has had for the library over the last couple of years. However, I would like to get re-elected to ensure I can make an impact on the future of the library during my tenure.Do you have a library card? How long have you had it? How often do you use it?Yes, I have a library card. I believe I have had it for at least 8 years. My family utilizes the library on a weekly or bi-weekly basis for books and DVDs. My son, wife and I also attend movie days when the library shows a children's movie and offer free popcorn and drinks. We have been checking out books for my son for many years now because we read to him everyday and over the past year we have begun to borrow DVDs for my son and for my wife and I. My wife also checks out new books by authors that interest her. I have downloaded ebooks and audio books to my PC and phone and have borrowed a variety of books throughout the years. We do a lot of our book and movie searching via the online search tool at the library 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 board and director understand the current space we have is being stretched to it's limit. Therefore, we definitely plan to expand the library. We have discussed our different options and we hope to develop a plan in 2011 and then see when we can afford to implement it in the near future.What impact have economic and technological changes had on libraries? How does a library remain relevant? How should its role in the community change?I believe the impact the library has felt due to economic change has been that the circulation and residents visiting has increased. The library has had to find ways to ensure we meet the volume along with meeting the yearly budget. Over the years the library has expanded the information and resources on the website to provide flexibility to residents who prefer to utilize online tools. Yes, nowadays library users are using certain resources (i.e., encyclopedia) a lot less due to a variety of information available online; however, books, movies and CDs can still be checked out for free and technology will not replace that at no cost. We will have to continue to monitor the usage on digital books available and meet any community requests for electronic books as more people purchase ebook readers.How does it remain relevant? I am surprised at that question because I believe the library will always be the soul of the community and continue to be relevant for years. No matter what the technology is, the libary will be the location where everyone can borrow and utilize resources to expand their knowledge at no cost. In my opinion, due to the financial situation that a lot of families are dealing with, the library is probably more important than ever to a community. As a resident of this township you are paying taxes to support the library, so everyone should be utilizing the facility, especially if your budget is tight. Since the library offers all sorts of books, movies, music, resources and now video games too for free, you can still be entertained even if you are in a tough financial situation. Also, if you do not have time to go to the facility to research what you need, you can use the online directory where you can search our library and the network of libraries we belong to for the book, CD or video you would like to borrow. If our library does not have your item, another library will lend it to us when available and then we notify you to come pick it up.I do not think the role needs to change, we will need to continue to find ways to offer the resources residents are looking for from the entire area and demographic. The library will need to continue to use free social media tools (i.e., Facebook) to inform residents of events going on at the library, so the people who use these electronic tools in their everyday life can stay up to date with the variety of happenings occurring at the library.