Did You Know: 8 Things Library Staff Wish You Knew
- Rachel
- May 14
- 9 min read
As the library staff carry out their daily tasks, there are times we wish we could announce from the rooftops the free services we provide. Climbing onto the roof is quite an effort and frankly a bit frightening, so we'll opt for sharing this in a blog post instead! Here are the 8 things library staff wish you knew about your library!
#1 The Library Podcast
Staff Picks, Local History, Library Services, and Murder
Christin releases a monthly podcast on Spotify, where she explores a range of topics including staff picks, local history, library services, and notable murders in DeWitt County. Curious about the tale of the only man publicly executed in Clinton? Listen to The Patsy Devine Story. Thinking of starting a garden this year? Find out more about The Seed Library. Discover intriguing items and collections housed in the library with The Archive. Not sure what to read or watch next? Check out staff recommendations like The Must List Part 1 and Part 2. Journey back in time with stories like The Wapella Tornado of 1968 or the Clinton Floods of 1961 and 1968. The library also highlights several digital platforms in the podcasts, including Aspen, cloudLibrary, and Kanopy that are all FREE with your library card. Whether you're working in the yard, folding laundry, or traveling to your next event, tune into a podcast by Christin and enjoy her soothing storytelling.
#2 The library is NOT part of the city or the county.
Isn’t the mayor in charge of the library? Or is it the county board? Nope! In Illinois, there are two types of public libraries: municipal (including village and township) and district. Municipal libraries are a part of their city/village/township. District libraries are their own independent units of local government. Instead of a city council, our library is governed by an elected board of trustees and state library law. Why is being a district great? It means we can serve patrons outside of just Clinton. We provide library services to 11,000 patrons in Clinton, DeWitt, Hallsville, Lane, Wapella and surrounding areas. We love serving all of our communities!
#3 Library of Things
Technology, instruments, and more without the price tag!
The library offers a wide array of items for checkout, known as The Library of Things. This collection includes items for both children and adults and offers a diverse range of options. Tackling a home improvement project? We have a cordless drill, laser level, stud finder, putty knife set, ratchet set, and basic tool set ready for checkout. Hosting a party? Borrow one of our lawn games, such as floor darts, pickleball set, giant tumbling tower game, washer toss, axe game, and yard dice. Feeling musical? Check out the boomwacker tubes or a ukulele and put on a concert for your family and friends. Want to try out a new electronic device before purchasing it? We have an amazon echo dot, amazon fire stick, and roku. Planning to enjoy the outdoors this summer? Borrow the garden tool set to beautify your outdoor space, grab a telescope to gaze at the stars and planets, go on the hunt with our metal detector or do a little birdwatching with a pair of binoculars.
Are your kiddos looking for a few fun science activities to take home with them? With their library card, they can explore circuits and build a rocket or space rover. Explore solar, wind, and geothermal power and create over 125 different projects with green energy kit. Program Artie the robot with the electronics, coding and bots kit. Get a closer look at the heart, brain, and skeleton with the my amazing body kit. Become a veterinarian for a day with the I love animals kit. Explore small wonders in your yard and home with our microscope or study the stars on your bedroom ceiling with the planetarium projector. Even our youngest visitors can develop their motor skills with the early motor skills 1 year+ kit.
All of the above items are available to check out absolutely FREE with your library card!
For more details, listen to this podcast on The Library of Things.
#4 Vespasian Warner and His Ties to the Library...
And How do You Pronounce His Name?
The Free Clinton Library (FCL) was founded in 1901 by the Clinton Chapter of the P.E.O. and given to the city. The FCL's collection of 700 books was housed in the same building as Rundle's Meat Market. Also in 1901, long-time Clinton resident Clifton H. Moore bequeathed his collection of more than 7,000 books to the city, provided a proper building could be provided to house them.
Moore's son-in-law, Congressman Vespasian Warner, donated the money and land necessary to build a new, permanent library. Construction began in 1906 and the Vespasian Warner Public Library (VWPL) opened in 1908.
In April of 1989, a referendum was passed to change VWPL from a city to a district library. The Vespasian Warner Public Library District provides services to Clinton, Lane, DeWitt, Wapella, and outlying areas.
In 1992 VWPL opened a new addition to the public. The addition, called the "New Building" by staff, houses the circulating collections, public-access computers, meeting rooms, and the DeWitt County Genealogical Society (DCGS) and VWPL's local history collection. For information about DCGS, please visit their website. The Old building houses the adult audio/visual collection and the library's Archive and Special Collections. For more information about the Archive, please call the library or email Bobbi (perryman@vwarner.org).
Vespasian Warner was born in Mount Pleasant, Illinois (now Farmer City) and moved with his family to Clinton as a small child. Warner was studying law when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He was an early volunteer and saw action at several important battles including Vicksburg, Shiloh, and Atlanta. Warner served in the U.S. Army until 1867 when he enrolled in Harvard Law School. After graduation, he set up a practice in Clinton. He served as a member of the U.S. Congress and was a member of Theodore Roosevelts's cabinet as Commissioner of Pensions.
He resided in Clinton until his death in 1925.
For more about Vespasian Warner, visit the library's Youtube channel and The Tales from the Archives Episode 4 where Bobbi reads from one of Vespasian Warner's letters housed in the library's archives. Tales from the Archives Episode 18 includes information about Vespasian Warner's civil war service and his work as Commissioner of Pension under Theodore Roosevelt.
For more about the history of the building itself, check out this podcast The Library Building.
How do you pronounce his name? The library staff have heard numerous variations of Vespasian, but here is the correct pronunciation.
#5 We Can Get Items From Other Libraries in the State
The library would love to house every single item that a person is looking for, but space and budget restraints will not allow that to happen. Because of this, the Vespasian Warner Library is part of Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS). IHLS covers 28,368 square miles and serves a population of 2,160,469. There are 520 member libraries: 28 Academic, 227 Public, 239 School, and 26 Special. When you request an item in SHARE, the loaning library pulls the item off their shelves and prepares it for IHLS transport. The delivery driver will pick up the item, and other items for other libraries contained in the tub, and take it to one of 3 sorting hubs in the IHLS system. Once sorted, the next day the item will travel to our library. We received IHLS deliveries every weekday, first thing in the morning. Staff unpack the tubs, scan the item, and place the item on the hold shelf where it awaits your pickup. With your library card, you can receive items from another library in the state to your library in just a few days, completely FREE of charge.
Check out the podcast Interlibrary Loan to learn more about the history of how interlibrary loan came to be.
#6 Two Words: Video Games
The library offers more than just books! Our collection also includes: Movies & TV Series on DVDs & Blu-rays, Music CDs, Audiobooks, Puzzles, Board Games, Magazines, Craft Kits, The Library of Things (See #3 Above)... And VIDEO GAMES!!
We provide games for all major video gaming systems: Nintendo Switch, PS3, PS4, PS5, Wii & WiiU, XBox 1, XBox 360, and XBox Series X. Each household can check out up to 3 games, and they are available for a two-week loan period. Can't find the game you're looking for? Let us check the system; we can likely obtain it through interlibrary loan (See #5 Above). Use your library card to try the game for FREE and see if you like it before you buy.
#7 Staff are Always Here to Help
The Vespasian Warner Library is committed to having a staff that is friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful! Need assistance with setting up an email account, typing a resume, researching a school project, or printing important documents on the computer? We are delighted to help! Searching for a new book to read or a good movie for family movie night but unsure of what to choose? Our staff is more than happy to offer recommendations! Experiencing issues with your Kindle, Hoopla account, or streaming movies on Kanopy? Bring in your device, and we will gladly guide you through it. Need to print important papers from your phone, have them notarized, and scanned to email? We've got you covered!
In short, if you need help, just ask! While we take on many roles here at the library, our primary job is to assist you! Whether or not you have a library card, we are here to serve every community member who walks through our doors! Without you, there would be no library, so take advantage of all our FREE services, including our staff's expertise!
#8 EVERYTHING IS FREE, ALMOST.
In case we haven't dropped enough hints, we want you to know that even though we charge for things like copies, fax, lamination, and private room rentals, all of our other services are absolutely FREE!
Even without a library card, you can enjoy free services such as notary, public access computers, quiet study rooms, non-profit room rental, document scanning to email, and Wi-Fi access throughout the building, parking lot, or under our new shaded pavilion. Attend one of our free adult programs or book clubs, select seeds from our seed library for your garden, find a peaceful spot to read without interruption, or enjoy a game or puzzle that we provide. Pick up our monthly Grab 'n Go kit, which includes everything you need for a fun project at home.
For our youngest community members and their families, we offer free children's programs, storytimes, playtimes, and LEGO clubs. When the weather isn't cooperating for outdoor play and you need a place to meet with friends, come to the library where we provide toys, a puppet theater, coloring sheets, scavenger hunts, and craft activities for your enjoyment. You can even jump on our computers and play ABCMouse and Minecraft. Visit Luna the Bearded Dragon or write a note to one of our three library fairies. And of course everyone, from 0-100+, are encouraged to join in on Summer Reading!
ALL FOR FREE!
In addition to all of the above, your library card grants you access to an additional range of free services. You can borrow e-books or audiobooks using hoopla, Libby, and cloudLibrary. Watch movies, documentaries, or take classes through the Kanopy app. If you're interested in improving your Spanish, learning sign language, or picking up a new language, explore the Mango Language app. All these apps are available at no cost with your library card. For further details on our online services, visit our eResources page.
Prefer a physical item instead of an eResource? With your library card, you can borrow a wide range of materials directly from the library, such as books suitable for all ages and reading levels, movies, TV series, puzzles, audiobooks, useful items from the Library of Things, and even board games for a family game night.
ALL FOR FREE!
For more information on some of the free services offered here at the library, check out the Free Services podcast.
Interested in Getting Your Very Own Library Card?
Have we tempted you? Are you ready to dive in and explore all of these wonderful free resources? Perhaps you're ready to enjoy all the benefits and obtain a library card. Rest assured, it's an easy process that just requires your photo ID with your current address and a bit of painless paperwork. For more details on getting your library card, visit our My Card page on our website or drop in and visit with us.
Until Next Time Library Friends!
The Vespasian Warner Library is located at
310 N. Quincy St. in Clinton, IL 61727.
Contact us by phone, 217-935-5174,
by email library@vwarner.org,
or drop in and say hello!
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