Jennie Mills, Shorewood-Troy Public Library District
Statement of Concern
Information professionals are living through extraordinary times. Right now is a downright challenging period for libraries and librarians, in fact, but it is also a time of potential and possibility. And the Illinois Library Association is right there, working to ensure that every library in Illinois has the potential to serve its citizens in the best way possible.
The Illinois Library Association was a key advocate for Public Act 103-0100, which will help safeguard our public libraries’ collections. Library workers bear witness to what is happening in other states’ school libraries and public libraries and what is also happening to library workers attempting to select materials to curate a well-balanced collection for their entire communities. However, Illinois is the first state in the nation to have legislation passed to protect libraries against censorship. We should all be grateful to our elected representatives, including our Secretary of State (and State Librarian), but also to ILA, which persistently advocated for our libraries, our communities, and all of the people in our communities.
The Illinois Library Association also had another victory this year, as did our State’s taxpayers. Instead of each of our libraries individually negotiating database contracts (and getting different contractual rates), the State of Illinois will finally begin negotiating for a statewide suite of databases. This will collectively save each of our libraries money, as well as save the taxpayers of Illinois money.
Illinois public libraries were physically under attack this year, with the bomb threats that our school library compatriots have unfortunately already become accustomed to. The Illinois Library Association continued to keep our profession in a community, advocated for our collective safety with our elected officials, and served as a point of communication for our profession.
Libraries and library workers continued to hold firm and serve their communities with the assistance of their Boards, their patrons, the Illinois Library Systems, and, of course, ILA.
I would be proud to serve on the ILA Executive Board if elected.
Experience
I have served as an Illinois library director for over 18 years, working in the suburbs of Chicago and Central Illinois at the beginning of my career. My primary experience is in smaller to medium-sized libraries, and I’m strongly committed to the power of resource sharing.
I am the current Chair of the LIMRiCC Cooperative, which provides public libraries health insurance and unemployment insurance. I actively worked to open the pool to all Illinois public libraries within the past five years. I know that, for many smaller libraries, purchasing health insurance for employees is difficult; leveraging the purchasing power of a larger insurance cooperative can make insurance more affordable.
I have served as adjunct faculty at both Joliet Junior College (Collection Maintenance) and the College of DuPage (Reference and Readers’ Advisory), teaching Library Technical Assistants (LTAs).
Current reviewer for Library Journal.
Shorewood-Troy Public Library. Shorewood, IL. 2010-Current.
Director
Fountaindale Public Library District, Bolingbrook, IL. 2008-2010
Adult & Teen Services Department Manager
Mattoon Public Library, Mattoon, IL. 2003-2008
Director
Bensenville, IL. 2000-2003
Community Outreach Librarian
Education
MSLIS, University of IL, Urbana-Champaign, 2000
BS in Experimental Psychology, Millikin University, Decatur, IL, 1998
Professional Memberships and Activities
Member of ILA and ALA
Chair of LIMRICC, 2021-Current. On the Board, 2012-Current
Current Chair of Pinnacle Library Cooperative Governing Board. Founding Member of Pinnacle Library Cooperative (2011)
Adjunct Faculty at College of DuPage (2001-2004) – Reference and Readers’ Advisory
Adjunct Faculty at Joliet Junior College (2015-2020) – Collection Maintenance
Reviewer at Library Journal; Women’s literature, horror, and science fiction 2015-current
iREAD Summer Reading Programs
Latest Library JobLine Listings
