ABOUT LISA HOENIG:
Lisa Hoenig is Director of the Ypsilanti District Library. She holds a Masters of Information and Library Studies from the University of Michigan and is a graduate of the intensive Library Leadership 2000 and Advanced Library Leadership Ohio institutes. A skilled Reference Librarian, she served as a Patent & Trademark Depository Library Representative for seven years.
As Director, Lisa led the Wixom Public Library from 2006-2011.Lisa coordinated many improvements, including a much-loved Children’s Department renovation with an animal and alphabet theme. Under her supervision the library more than doubled its computing capacity and nearly doubled its circulation. From 2011-2015 Lisa served as Director of the Redford Township District Library, securing public support and a stable base of funding.
At YDL since 2015, she led a successful $2M capital campaign alongside the construction of the library’s 7,800 square foot Superior Township branch, which opened in 2022. She also spearheaded the development of TALK: Text and Learn for Kindergarten, an innovative early literacy texting service.
Lisa is passionate about community building, lifelong learning, and libraries for all. She and her husband are longtime residents of Superior Township.
RESOURCES:
Ypsilanti District Library (YDL)
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and today, we're going to discuss creating community connection through programs aimed at fostering a love of lifelong learning. It's a role embraced by our libraries, and you can see the results happening in the greater Ypsilanti area as a result. I'm David Fair, and welcome to this week's edition of Washtenaw United. It's our weekly exploration of equity and opportunity in Washtenaw County. Our guest today is Lisa Hoenig. She is director of the Ypsilanti District Library, and I'm very glad you could spend some time with us today, Lisa!
Lisa Hoenig: Thank you so much for the invitation!
David Fair: On a personal front, at what point did you develop an affection for libraries?
Lisa Hoenig: Oh my! Well, I spent a lot of time at the library as a child. I was one of those voracious reader-type kids. And even in my early years of school at the school library, the librarian recognized my appetite for learning and reading and would let me check out more books than other people, so that was kind of fun. But I spent a lot of time at the public library because it was on the way home between my middle school and my home. It was always something in my life and in my family to use the library.
David Fair: Well, I think, communally, how we perceive the role and function of a library or library system can be very different person to person. How do you define the role of the Ypsilanti District Library in our community?
Lisa Hoenig: I do believe that the library is something different for every user. We are not the same thing for any two people, and that's one of the things that makes the library really unique. We have meeting spaces. We have books and we have videos and we have computers and we have staff that care. We have a lot of programming at our library for all ages. And the way people come in and use what we offer really varies. It depends on what you want to do and what you like. Maybe you just need a meeting space to gather with a group, or maybe you are a person who loves to listen to audiobooks and wants to save some money, so you just stream and download audiobooks and never visit at all. There are many, many, many ways to use the library.
David Fair: The Ypsilanti District Library has three branches. There's the Michigan Avenue downtown branch, the Whittaker Road branch, and the Superior Township branch. And perhaps this is a bit of an esoteric direction, but do you find that each branch has developed its own kind of community personality based on who is showing up to use it?
Lisa Hoenig: Oh, absolutely! All three of our branches are very unique from one another, and they have the community itself in mind. The people who use it, we tailor our services to. And so, there are people who come to the Whittaker Road Library, for example, who want to do things that are broader because we have a deeper, larger collection. They do more studying here because we have more space at this library. And we're also further from neighborhoods at Whittaker. We're the kind of the most suburban perhaps of our libraries. Downtown is very urban, and we serve a a very urban clientele. It comes with some social issues, which is why we have now a social worker on our staff to help people with things that they're challenged by in their lives. And the Superior library is in the middle of lots of neighborhoods, some of them more affluent and some of them not so much. And the people who come to the library use it as they need to. And the staff is always here and listens and tries to deliver exactly the things that the people ask for.
David Fair: Washtenaw United and our conversation with Ypsilanti District Library director Lisa Hoenig continues on 89.1 WEMU. And you touched on it. Being a resource for education activity--that's part of what libraries do. But for some, it's become a safe space to seek out help and solace, particularly for some of the children in the area, right?
Lisa Hoenig: Oh, absolutely! We have lots and lots of kids, especially at the Michigan Avenue and Superior branch, who come on their own and they often need some guidance with the behavior. But we are always there to help them learn and we really push and we really cover early literacy in a strong way. So, we help parents learn how to teach their kids how to read and get words into their vocabularies. It's very important to push those early literacy skills when the kids are small. And so, we do all kinds of things to help them with that, including an early literacy texting service that we piloted several years ago called "Talk, Text and Learn for Kindergarten". And it helps parents who might not realize that they are their child's first and best teacher to find easy ways to help them to develop those skills that are going to help them through school.
David Fair: We can all use all the support we can get. We know the importance of early childhood learning, but being a lifelong learner, that's equally important in my estimation. How do you connect those two through the library system?
Lisa Hoenig: Well, we like to develop a relationship with our patrons, and when we develop those relationships from an early age, it kind of sticks like it did with me, ha-ha. But some of our library staff have been here a long time, and they can remember kids from storytime who now come in with their own kids. And that is just the most wonderful feeling to see people kind of graduate and move through those life stages and bring more love of learning and more love of libraries along.
David Fair: We are ever evolving as a species, and part of that is advances in technology, which, in turn, has changed the way we consume and ingest information. You just mentioned a valuable texting program. How has technology and, maybe particularly, social media changed the way libraries have to go about their business?
Lisa Hoenig: We do all kinds of things that help people in their daily lives. We help them with trying to applications out for jobs or for government services and that kind of thing. There are a lot of people who need a lot of help with that, and we're happy to provide it. We also have wireless internet, and we have 24-7 access, so people can come whenever they need to, even sit in the parking lot and work on their phone or on their laptop. We have other kinds of things like, I mentioned earlier, the streaming and the downloadables, all sorts of different online products that people can use for reference and research, as well as for listening and viewing and reading. And so, we do a lot of our business now remotely because people can get that stuff for free, and it has a great value to them.
David Fair: Once again, this is 89.1 WEMU. We're talking with Lisa Hoenig on this week's edition of Washtenaw United. Lisa is director of the Ypsilanti District Library. What are the funding sources going to look like in the future to maintain stability in the Ypsilanti District Library system?
Lisa Hoenig: The main source of library revenue comes from local property tax, so where you pay your taxes is where you would use the library. And in Michigan, that's how it's set up everywhere. So, libraries that have a stronger tax base tend to be stronger libraries. We have a millage that is partially in perpetuity, so we have that kind of level of comfort that will always be funded at a certain level. But other places in Michigan sometimes don't have that comfort level, and that's more difficult. We have other ways that we are funded. We get a little bit of state aid, a per capita amount, and we get donations to the library as well. So, all of those things and other little things add up. We stopped charging fines several years ago because that was sort of an impediment and barrier for some people. So, we don't collect any any money for overdues or things like that. But the property tax is more than 90% of our revenue.
David Fair: With all of the challenges we have in the variety of aspects of our lives, what are you most optimistic about moving forward when it comes to the Ypsilanti District Library system?
Lisa Hoenig: Well, we have a fantastic staff, and I feel like the investment in our staff and the investment that our staff has in our community is what ties us all together. We are definitely kind of the epitome of resource sharing. We collect funds from people that pay their taxes, so that we can give everybody the opportunity to learn and grow and find the things that they're interested in and learn throughout their lives. I don't think that there is anything that's going to really slow libraries down. The start of the internet made everybody nervous that libraries wouldn't be needed anymore, but we are gathering spaces, we are learning spaces. Our libraries give more than 2,500 free programs a year between our three branches and our bookmobile. And people can come and learn things from A to Z here, and we have meetups for things like knitting, things for working jigsaw puzzles, but also learning really key kinds of things that help you with your daily life. Like I said before, we have AARP tax preparers that come during tax time to help folks with low income get their taxes done. Just all sorts of activities!
David Fair: Well, I think you can count me among the very many that are most grateful that you are there. Lisa, thank you so much for the time and the conversation today! I appreciate it!
Lisa Hoenig: Thank you! It was wonderful to be able to share about the library! I'm happy to talk about us anytime!
David Fair: That is Lisa Hoenig. She is director of the Ypsilanti District Library and has been our guest on Washtenaw United. For more information and to get the links to everywhere you want to go, just stop by our website at WEMU.org. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and you hear it every Monday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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