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Susan Spooner: Candidate Profile

Poplar Creek Library Board (6-year Terms)

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: streamwoodWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Poplar Creek Library Board (6-year Terms)Age: 71Family: Married, Two daughters , three grandchildren.Occupation: retired elementary school teacher.Education: BS in EducationCivic involvement: Worked many years in PTA, and Girl Scouts. Served as Library board secretary and currently as Library board President.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To continue to make Poplar Creek Library a supportive part of our community.Key Issue 2 To anticipate patron needs and expectations. Keep an eye on all changing technologies and remembering that sometimes people just want to do a craft.Key Issue 3 Doing my best to maintain and protect the taxpayer's investment.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?The main motivation for staying on the library board is the fact that I believe a good library is invaluable to a community and I am more than willing to help my community maintain this for our patrons.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.I have been on the Poplar Creek Library Board for 30 years and have always found it rewarding. Libraries are a great community asset.Through the 30 years at Poplar Creek I worked on several expansions and updates of the main library including our large expansion almost 4 years ago. During that project we spent a great effort on "green" improvements. We opened our branch to better serve our patrons at the southern end of the district. Now we are preparing to update our branch in order to make better use of the space. I am proud of our staff and patrons all of whom contribute to our many drives such as Food for Fines, coat collections, and many others.Do you have a library card? How long have you had it? How often do you use it?Yes, I do have a library card and have had one most years since I was old enough to have one. I don't use it very often but would not be happy or comfortable without one.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.Our main library was expanded just a few years ago and we are now in the process of using the branch space more efficiently. I feel that as of now we have adequate space but as the years go by it is quite likely that the space will be reformatted for different uses that become important as new technology arrives.What impact have economic and technological changes had on libraries? How does a library remain relevant? How should its role in the community change?The role of the community library is always in a state of change. Some changes are large and more obvious and others are small but important to the patrons they help. All of the issues are impacted by economical and technological changes.