​Sun Prairie Public Library Announces Survey
 
The Board of Trustees of the Sun Prairie Public Library has determined that the library is at a turning point.  The increase in population, new trends in service, and our role in the community requires the Sun Prairie Public Library to receive suggestions from our residents. 
In two years, the library building will be twenty years old and our facility must be equipped to meet the needs of our patrons.  The Library Board has created an Ad Hoc Committee on Strategic Planning to develop a plan for the future development of the library.  The goal of the plan is to address the needs of our patrons for the next five years and beyond.  The Library Board has hired WiLS, a consulting firm that specializes in guiding public libraries through the strategic planning process, to collect and analyze data.
The first step in the process is to survey residents to determine their perspective of the library facility and services.  The library also needs to learn if there are services residents would like that are not currently being provided.
The survey will be conducted from Monday, October 24, 2016 through Sunday, November 20, 2016.  There are several options for completing the survey:

• The survey will be available on paper at the library
• The library website www.sunprairiepubliclibrary.com.
• The library’s Facebook page.
• Direct link to the survey:    https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SunPrairiePLSurvey

 
Following analysis of the completed surveys, three community listening sessions will be scheduled in 2017.
For questions or comments, please contact Svetha Hetzler, Library Director at:  [email protected].
 

​This past weekend I attended the Irish Book and Music Celebration in Chicago at the Irish American Heritage Center for the third consecutive year.  In the previous two years I’ve sold out of books.  I have made presentations each year and one year even had the opportunity to participate on a panel with Frank Delaney.
I had a sense of foreboding prior to going but dismissed it as ridiculous and completely without basis when thinking about the previous two years.  I decided I wanted avoid going through Milwaukee because of road construction and the stress of driving in heavy traffic.  I researched a route and found one using Highway 12 that would cut many miles off the trip.
Big mistake.  I didn’t take into account the number of small towns to go through with stop lights.  In Lake Geneva I had to take a detour because the route took me right through the Saturday Farmers’ Market.  After two and a half hours of driving I was still in Wisconsin.  The event started at noon and I like to get there to set up by at least 11:30 am.  I also didn’t take into account heavy traffic driving into downtown Chicago on a Saturday morning.  The navigation system in the Subaru, whom we’ve named Ian, would announce – traffic jam ahead – and offer an alternate route.  I didn’t want an alternate route but Ian kept repeating the same message over and over again.
By some stroke of luck we did arrive by 11:30 after three and a half hours of driving.  I was set up ready to sell by noon.  I also had a classic, grade A, headache for the stressful trip.  At noon no patrons arrived.  There was only a trickle of people.  At about 2:00 a man stopped by and bought two books with very little persuasion.  He then stayed at the table and talked, stream of consciousness talk, for the next thirty minutes.  I finally had to excuse myself to the bathroom to get him to leave.  He just crossed the hall and smothered the author across from me, but he bought his book too.  The remainder of the afternoon I had only two sales.
I was scheduled to speak at 5:00 pm – the last of the day.  My presentation was sandwiched in between two movies, one that started at 4:30 and one that started at 5:30.  Two older ladies came into the room and asked if this is where the movie was being shown.  I told them to go to the second floor.  They said that was ashamed because they didn’t want to go upstairs.  The only person that came for my presentation was the man assigned to introduce me.  We left together after 15 minutes assured that no one was interested in hearing about ‘The History in Historical Fiction.’  We packed up my books and went out for a Chicago steak.
The next morning all my business cards and most of my book markers were gone off the table.  I took that as a good sign.  In previous years I’ve had customers both before and after Mass.  Soon after arriving and setting up my books a young man rushed up to my table and stared at my books.  “Are you interested in Irish history?”  I asked.  “I want both your books.  I saw the book marks last night and I came back this morning to buy your books.”  That’s a fine start to the day.  The hallway was empty of any possible buyers for several hours after that.  I had two more sales.  I packed it up at two o’clock, tired and discouraged.
On the drive home the Subaru navigator, Ian, routed us past O’Hare airport which is far west of where we needed to be on Interstate 94 driving north to Milwaukee.  At least he didn’t route us through Rockford.  I was exhausted with a sore back by the time we got home about six o’clock.
I knew sales were a bust but I had to check my records from 2015 to make a comparison.  Sales this year were 66% less than in 2015.  Damn, why did I check?  IBAM 2016 was a financial disaster.  My bubble finally burst.

​Last week I attended a public meeting of our community’s diversity committee which is chaired by the mayor of our town.  The purpose of the committee is to remove obstacles that may be faced by people moving into our community related to public services.  The meeting was to share what the committee had accomplished in its’ first six months.
The meeting was started by everyone attending giving a brief introduction and the reason they were in attendance.  I attended because of my role with our library.  Other attendees included our police chief, assistant police chief and a police sergeant.  I’ve gotten to know our police chief from other meetings.  He is a leader in community policing and diversity hiring.  He believes the faces of the police officers should look like the faces of those in our community.
At the end of the meeting the assistant chief approached me with his hand outstretched to shake hands.  He smiled and said,  “Are you the Rex Owens who wrote Murphy’s Troubles.”
I burst out in a broad smile and pumped his hand, “Yes, yes I am.”
“I was given that book several years ago and I just love it.  You captured Ireland and The Troubles, it was wonderful.”
“Well, I’ve written a second book, Out of Darkness.”  I replied.
“Oh yes, I know.  I need to get that one.  Are you writing a trilogy?  I heard someplace that you’re writing a trilogy.”
“Yes, yes I am.  I’ll complete the manuscript this year and publish in 2017.”  I explained.
“That’s just great.  Nice to meet you.”  and he walked out of the room.
I was so surprised by this encounter that I didn’t even realize until I re-told my story to my wife that the assistant chief knew I was working on a trilogy.  How would he ever know something like that?  We obviously have an unknown shared connection.
Once again it proves, you just never know.
  

​Recently a friend of mine announced in a facebook post that he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer.  My friend is ten years younger than I am.  He didn’t actually announce on facebook that he has prostate cancer that information came via another friend who was sent an e-mail with a tad bit more detail.  It doesn’t matter, Stage 4 cancer is stage 4 cancer.
My friend has decided to try chemo therapy but his doctor has been very clear that the disease may be slowed down but not stopped and there is no discussion of remission.  My friend is a private person and I found it ironic that he chose facebook as his way to share his condition with the world.  It is clear from his post that he is deeply in the anger stage.  He doesn’t want to be contacted by anyone; he doesn’t want help of any kind.  At most he wants people to send him jokes to help lighten the load just a bit.  For now he plans to continue working half time, if his body can tolerate it.
Of course I have deep sadness after the initial shock passes.  Yet, I’ve spent several days reflecting on my relationship with my friend.  We became acquainted in civic theater first when he volunteered as the music director for one show and then when the theater group presented his original musical.  I worked with him to re-write his original draft of the script.  He composed the music and then the lyrics to all the songs and then tried to wrap the script around the songs.  I suppose that would be a musicians approach.  The result was an awkward script with uncertain conflict and no definite resolution.  I worked with him for several months to melt together the music and the script.  He was appreciative, he offered me a portion of any revenue he would receive for having the play produced professionally.  I also received recognition in the show program.  I also worked as the producer for the show.
I learned a great deal from him about the creative process and how artist vary in their approach to their work.   Artists are very accepting of each other’s creative process, there is a unique shared respect.  I also had him and his daughter on my radio show – Conversations with Wisconsin Artist.  Knowing him has both changed and enriched my life.
Yet, I ask myself how does this sort of thing happen?  For years I have had an annual prostate exam and while I didn’t ask I assumed my friend has had the same.  How do you discover that you have Stage 4 cancer?  Weren’t there some symptoms that would have sent alarm signals?  I know, those questions don’t matter any longer but the questions still linger.
I sent him my first joke in an e-mail and will continue sending him a joke every week.  I hope that when the time comes he seeks hospice care, it is best for both family and him.  I have been moved by sharing the creative process with him and that is the life well lived.