New Lenox Public Library District Candidate: Mary Susan Zekich

Running as a candidate for the New Lenox Public Library District Board of Trustees is Mary Susan Zekich.

Library trustees serve a 6-year term of office.

Get to know Zekich: 

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

As a teacher and a reader, I think the public library is one of our most important resources. I would like to be a part of maintaining and enhancing the resources the library has to offer to the community.

What will be your single most important priority if you get elected?

The library offers quite a bit of things that the many residents do not know about yet. I would make it a priority to make sure the word gets out on the new hours, the ability to download ebooks from home, and the various educational programs offered at the library.

Why Are You Seeking Office?

I would like to offer my experience in various technologies to the library, while also working to make sure that the new programs the library does acquire are shared with everyone possible.

What are the biggest issues facing the library district?

Adapting to emerging technologies while still being cost effective and the lack of public awareness of what the library has to offer residents.

How can you keep spending to a minimum while keeping up with the demand for e-readers and the like?

Ebooks can help cut costs for the library by reducing the total traffic to the library and the lowering the required manpower that goes along with physically checking out a book. Currently half of all of the library's ebooks are checked out, expanding this collection and continuing the drop-in e-reader sessions will pay off in the long run.

What programs would you like to see expanded or enhanced?

Public awareness of what the library offers needs to be enhanced. While collecting signatures to run, various residents asked me if I would push to have the library open on Friday, not knowing that it has been open on Friday for quite a bit of time now. Another thing many residents do not realize is that you do not need a Kindle or IPad to download ebooks, it is possible using software on a normal laptop or desktop pc. The website needs to reflect this information better so that all residents can get the most out of our library's offerings.

The six candidates running for the New Lenox Public Library District Board of Trustees are:

• Gary Suggett 

• Michelle DeBella Monbrod 

• Louis J. Broccolo, current board president

• Mary Susan Zekich 

• Bonnie M. Ulstad 

• James Allen

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