West Bloomfield library earns national recognition

WEST BLOOMFIELD — After being one of three libraries in Michigan named in the Library Journal’s Star Library ratings last year, the West Bloomfield Township Public Library is in a field of a dozen statewide winners this year.

“This year there were 12 libraries in Michigan that made the ranking, but the West Bloomfield Library moved up in number of stars from three to five, so that’s really cool,” said Cathy Russ, the library’s director.

Russ shared the criteria that the Library Journal uses for its ratings.

“They look at usage statistics. They look at library budgets — how the library’s funding is — and they look at your collections and services and programs … all the factors (that) go into what makes up a public library,” she said. “So to make that list shows that you’re doing something right, the community’s doing something right and that it is a valued institution in the community. … Last year, there were only three libraries in Michigan who made the list; this year, there’s 12 libraries in Michigan, but that’s still a really small number of Michigan public libraries, so if you make the list, I think, the libraries on that list are ones that people look to and say, ‘Well, what are they doing? They seem to have a winning formula.’”

National Library Week is April 23-29.

Russ said that there are scheduled activities for children, adults and caregivers that week. Aside from activities at the Main Branch, patrons can also expect to find things to do at the Westacres Branch.

“We have started to do more programming out at our Westacres Branch, because people seem to really want that and respond to it,” Russ said. “For example, we had a program a couple weeks ago … that got almost 200 people out there. So, what we’re really trying to do is make sure we’re covering our whole service area and bring programs to the branch. … You can expect to see events at both the Main Branch and the Westacres Branch.”

For more information about scheduled events, visit wblib.org.

There are various ways that libraries can service patrons, and Russ shared one that the West Bloomfield Library has begun to partake of: health and wellness kits.

“What these health and wellness kits allow people to do is to take a look at their health and focus on it, but in a different way from, say, a book,” Russ said. “So, for example, if you checked out the heart and health kit, it might have a blood pressure monitor in it that you can try out. … Along with the blood pressure monitor there would be recipes for, say, healthy eating and some exercises that you can do to help your blood pressure and that type of thing — all contained in a kit. These have been very popular lately because … it’s information presented in a different way than just reading it out of a book.”

Another type of kit is an experience kit, such as one for bird watching, which includes binoculars and other items that can be useful for patrons who may be interested in taking up that hobby.

Emily Tobin is the community engagement librarian for the West Bloomfield library. She said that there are eight health and wellness kits on topics such as heart health, medication, grief and aging.

Tobin said that the kits were launched at the beginning of the year and have gone over well with patrons.

“They’re little snippets of information when, maybe somebody gets a diagnosis or wants to learn more about a health topic, and maybe don’t know where to start,” she said. “It’s a bagful of resources that they can take home and maybe share with a family member as a starting point on a topic. So those are brand-new to our collection this year.”

Tobin said people have enjoyed a new subscription box service.

“It’s like a traditional subscription box that you would pay for, but it’s all free,” she said. “So, each month is a themed book box where you get a book, which you have to return, since it is the library, but then accompanied with it is a whole bunch of little freebies. So, like, April’s box is lighthearted reads — so there will be a lighthearted read picked for you by a librarian, and then there’ll be a whole bunch of little freebies in there, like … a little motivational journey in there, a fun little magnet, things like that.”

Other areas of interest for patrons include one-on-one technology tutoring, which is offered by appointment, and a “cut the cord” program for those who want to get rid of cable.

Another potential valuable resource that the library offers for some residents is a service in which items can be delivered to homes.

“That’s one of the other services that we have tried to heavily promote in the new year,” Tobin said.

Along with many institutions and places of business, the pandemic had a major impact on libraries.

The West Bloomfield library was seeing a lot fewer people go through its doors at the height of it, but with more people feeling comfortable enough to venture out, Russ has noticed a difference in foot traffic as of late.

“We’re seeing about, probably, on an average, just under 1,800 people a day, which is pretty significant, considering back in pandemic days we maybe had 50,” she said. “People are definitely coming back. People are using the study rooms, people are using the resources, and I think another thing that’s a good indicator is people are coming back to the in-person programs.”

Prior to coming to West Bloomfield, Russ served as the director of the Troy Public Library.

She shared what her observations have been after being on the job for more than two years.

“What I had observed before I came here has proven to be true, and that is that the community loves its library and values and supports it,” Russ said. “It’s such a supportive community. … I just really appreciate the kindness of this community (and) the support of this community. It’s rare to see such universal support.”