David Larimer: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: Carol StreamWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Carol Stream Library Board Age: 61Family: The earliest record of my family was in southern England around 1036. My family came over to this country in 1735. Our family name is unique in that all Larimers are related. On a more personal note, I have visited every state in the union but two and have lived in 21 of those states. I have lived in Canada and visited several countries outside North America. I married my beloved wife late when I was 49 and started a family. I have a daughter 10 and a son 8. We have lived in Carol Stream since 2002.Occupation: Senior IT Specialist for IBM storage softwareEducation: I have a high school diploma from Portland Community College and am still working on my Bachelors degree. I have one hundred and forty two credits towards my degree.Civic involvement: This is my first time running for a public office.Elected offices held: NoneQuestions 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?Recently the Carol Stream library formed a Strategic Planning committee made up of Carol Stream citizens. I was part of this committee. The plan we created is ambitious. We wanted to have a library to be proud of. A library whose service to the community would increase in recognition, in supporting the citizens of Carol stream, and all in a fiscally responsible way. I wanted to run in order to help guide our efforts to make the Carol Stream library the best library in the area.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.I bring my background of twenty years as an IT specialist to further the efforts of our library to utilize all forms of communication to improve our connection to the community.Do you have a library card? How long have you had it? How often do you use it?I have a had a Carol Stream library card since 2004. I am a voracious reader. I use the library to check out books and audio books at least once a week.Space is an issue at many 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.A library has to serve the community. This service can take many forms and be presented in many ways. The balance of these forms and ways is always a challenge to our professional librarians. As a Trustee, I wish to give our professionals the tools to evaluate and judge what parts of the forms and ways to cull. Simultaneously, with this evaluation, the Library board must constantly poll the Carol Stream citizens to get their opinions on how successful our librarians are at this balancing act. These opinions together with hard evidence from the tools will determine if a expansion of the physical plant is necessary. As a Library Trustee, it is my job to balance the needs of the community, the available funds, and in consultation with the Carol Stream community leaders to determine the best direction of the library. Let our professional librarians do their jobs and we will have the best balanced collection of any library in the area.What impact have economic and technological changes had on libraries? How does a library remain relevant? How should its role in the community change?These are two issues. The impact economics has on libraries are profound. When an economy recedes, the value of a library goes up as it is a community resource to be used when our citizens are strapped for money. Our library has the technological tools to help those citizens get whatever they need. On the other hand, these technological changes gives a library many more ways to service the community. The role of the library hasn't changed just because of a change in technology. The library is an information center. The ways and means that information is presented is the role and value of a library. The internet is a wonderful tool, but that is all it is, a tool. The librarian's role is to give us choices of information and where to find that information. The role of a library in our community has not changed. In fact, I would suggest, that as the volume of information grows, the library is even more important now than they have been in the past. The librarians can provide us with ways to organize this vast amount of data. The balance or mix of how information is presented will change over time and the professional librarians have the best idea on how that balance can be achieved. However, Library Trustee should not be involved in the day to day operations of the library. They should, instead, be used for planning, budgeting, and act as a liaison between the library and the community.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I want to make sure as a Library Trustee that I am not a road block to the work the librarians are doing. In other words, the librarians should have the flexibility to spend additional monies within their budget to enhance their value to the community. This is not something the Trustee should be concerned with. The Trustee should work with the library director to anticipate and plan for anything she may need to complete work she needs to do.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.At this point, I don't have any current leaders that inspire me. All the current leaders have attributes that inspire me, but no one individual.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?No one, but God has all the answers.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Each life event that has occurred to me shaped my life. I could not pick just one instance that I would do over.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?My favorite subject was history. Knowing about history has given me a unique perspective on how to deal with people in different cultures and circumstances.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Intelligence is the ability to learn. Wisdom is the ability to use that learning in the best way possible. My advice children - learn Wisdom