Announcements – West Lafayette Library

Now Hiring- Children’s Department Head

Position Open: Children’s Department Head, Full-time

(Position open until filled)

The Library is hiring a full-time Children’s Department Head (40 hours per week)

Duties:
● Coordinates, develops, and delivers existing and new Children’s Department programming and outreach activities
● Directs and supervises the operations of the Children’s Department; hires, trains, supervises, schedules, supports, and evaluates staff and volunteers
● Promotes the services, programs, and resources of the Children’s Department
● Manages the development and selection of Children’s Department materials
● Meets regularly with professional staff to coordinate activities, and provide updates regarding the Children’s Department
● Allocates and monitors the Children’s Department budget
● Identifies and applies for grants in support of the Children’s Department

Requirements include:
● MLS and previous experience working in a public library children’s department
● Ability to achieve and maintain Library Certification level three (3) or higher
● Proven high-quality customer service experience
● Excellent communication skills, phone etiquette; fluency in English
● Able to work weekend and evening hours and during school/college calendar breaks
● Ability to work with a diverse patron population
● Ability to work independently and with other Library staff
● Proficiency in and the ability to assist patrons in the use of computers, tablets, mobile devices, apps, and applications; experience with Google Apps (G-Suite) and Microsoft Office
● Detail-oriented
● Project management and strong problem-solving skills
● Physical labor: lifting boxes of books, pushing book carts, bending & stooping, ability to lift and carry at least 25 pounds

Desired Skills:
● Proficiency in languages other than English, including American Sign Language
● Special skills welcomed: musician, puppeteer, artist, etc.
● Familiarity with the West Lafayette community

Salary and Benefits:
● $40,000 minimum commensurate with experience and qualifications
● Benefits include participation in the employer-sponsored health insurance program, paid time off (PTO)
● This position is exempt under FLSA labor laws

To apply for this position, please send a cover letter and resume to Nick Schenkel, Director nick@wlaf.lib.in.us References and a background check will be requested from competitive candidates.

The West Lafayette Public Library does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.

Last Chance Blow-Out Book Sale

Adults, Announcements, Events

Starting Wednesday, February 24th West Lafayette Public Library is holding a last chance blow-out book sale! Stop in during our open hours to browse our collection and pick up your next favorite read.

Books of all genres are available. We have a large collection of children’s books, adult fiction, cookbooks, and everything in between!

Adult books are 2 for $1, children’s books are 4 for $1, and DVDS are $1 each.

Anti-Racism Reading

Announcements, News

As we watch events around the country and the world unfold, the West Lafayette Public Library joins others in expressing our support of those fighting for social justice.

As a public library, it is our duty to create free and equitable access to materials that encourage our community members to learn, grow, and seek the truth — even when it’s challenging. We begin our efforts by increasing the visibility and availability of materials that shed light on the impact that economic injustice and systemic racism play in our lives.

We hope that we can play a role in fostering understanding and change. We are developing a resource list of library materials to help. These lists are just a beginning, so please join us in exploring these important materials and discovering more.

Thank you to the Purdue Black Cultural Center for their time and to other members of the community who have helped us build this list.

Adult Non-Fiction

YA Non-Fiction and Fiction

Children’s Materials

Conversations About Race – Hoopla Collection

Anti-Racism Reading – Overdrive/Libby Collection

Black Lives Matter – Resource Guide from Purdue University Libraries

The West Lafayette Public Library is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a recipient of the Indiana Humanities Advancing Racial Equity grant. Indiana Humanities created the grant opportunity after the death of George Floyd with the intention to “help Hoosiers think, read and talk about racial injustice and systemic racism and to support libraries as key public humanities organizations in this work.”

The grant award has allowed us to purchase 62 items including feature films, documentaries, Adult non-fiction, and Young Adult and Children’s fiction and non-fiction. The books were chosen from a list provided by Indiana Humanities and determined by library staff to best fill gaps in the library’s collection around racism and social justice issues.

Please find a catalog list of our selections below:

Indiana Humanities Advancing Racial Equity Collection

Wifi Hotspots available!

Adults, Announcements

Going on a trip and needing wifi on the road?
In need of temporary internet while at home?

Residents of the Greater Lafayette community are welcome to check out a wireless hotspot from the West Lafayette Public Library.

You may place a hold on a hotspot by clicking here or by calling the Library at 765-743-2261. A limited quantity are available.

Hotspot Borrowing Guidelines:

Only adult patrons (Resident or Reciprocal accounts) in good standing may check out a hotspot.
Hotspots circulate for a period of 7 days.
The devices may be renewed 1 time. This will happen automatically by the Evergreen Indiana system unless another person is waiting for the item.
Hotspots may be placed on hold. Patrons have 1 week to pick up the hotspot before their hold is cancelled and the item made available to the next patron in line.
Internet services on the hotspot will be remotely deactivated the day after the due date.
During our limited open hours, hotspots may be returned to any public desk or bookdrop.
Due to the demand for hotspots, a patron (or another member of the patron’s household) may not check out a hotspot after returning it until a period of 7 days has passed.
All components must be returned in the condition that they were received – no substitutions accepted.
Patrons are responsible for costs associated with damage, loss, or theft of the hotspot.
Patrons will be charged for any missing parts in accordance with the replacement costs. If individual parts cannot be replaced, the patron will be charged for the entire unit.
Replacement costs as are follows:
Hotspot Device – 75.00
Case – 15.00
Charging Cable – 10.00
Total replacement cost – 100.00
Patrons may not attempt to alter or reconfigure the firmware of the hotspot or to remove the battery.
Patrons may not use or attempt to use the hotspot for illegal purposes, including (but not limited to) violations of licensing agreements and/or copyright laws.
Patrons assume full responsibility for any damage to their personal devices resulting from malicious software or viruses downloaded via the hotspot.
Patrons assume full responsibility to protect minor children from exposure to objectionable content on the Internet, including (but not limited to) pornography, violence and/or hate speech.