Cook Memorial Public Library District to conduct community survey

This September, Cook Memorial Public Library District will be seeking input from the community about how area residents use the library and its services.

The survey will be conducted Monday, Sept. 8, through Sunday, Sept. 28. The library serves a population of 60,000 residents in Libertyville, Green Oaks, Vernon Hills, Mettawa, Indian Creek and neighborhoods in eastern Mundelein and western Lake Forest.

The survey provides district residents with an unique opportunity to be heard on key topics, including how and why they use the library, how satisfied they are with collections and services, how well library spaces suit their needs and how they rate the library's implementation of new technology.

The management team and board of trustees will use the results of the survey to develop a three-year plan for library collections, spaces, services and programs.

Designed to take about 10 minutes to complete, the survey may be taken online at www.cooklibsurvey.org or on paper at library locations. The district has two full-service libraries, 413 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Libertyville, and 701 Aspen Drive in Vernon Hills, as well as a Bookmobile that serves in-district neighborhoods via weekly routes.

All library users and residents of the library district ages 18 and older are invited to take the survey. Cardholders 18 and older whose email addresses are on file with the library will receive an email asking them to participate.

A link will take respondents directly to the online survey. To ensure the broadest response, paper copies will be available at all library locations and users may link to the online survey at www.cooklib.org.

The survey is being conducted by Library Survey Consultants, a division of the Highland Park-based marketing research firm Donna E. Fletcher Consulting Inc. The company has worked with dozens of libraries to collect data for strategic planning.

Library Director Stephen Kershner views the community survey as invaluable.

"We want to hear from our patrons about what is important to them so that we may utilize staff and resources in the best ways to maximize services for everyone," Kershner said.