The library board recently welcomed some new faces. New board members Nathan Libbey from Buffalo Grove and Violeta Flemenbaum from Prairie View were elected by voters in April and began their service at the meeting in May.

Nathan and Violeta are both longtime library supporters. Violeta says the library gives "invaluable information" and has helped her children and clients. Nathan thinks the library is a "key community hub" with many great things like books, e-books, 3D printers, and programs for everyone.

In addition, George Goldstein, Jonathan Passman, and Ben Isabel were re-elected and sworn in for another term.
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We're excited to have these wonderful people helping to guide the library and make it even better for you!

A smart new partnership coming this autumn will expand access, shrink wait times, and make the most of your tax dollars.

In September, Vernon Area will become part of the Cooperative Computer Services (CCS) catalog consortium. A catalog consortium is a group of libraries that share the same catalog and can easily, quickly, and automatically share physical items with each other. There are 31 libraries in CCS; Vernon Area Public Library will be 32.

As part of CCS, Vernon Area cardholders will enjoy the following benefits:

• More materials. Cardholders will have access to more than 5 million physical items — almost 30 times more than we currently own. 
  
• Shorter wait times. Cardholders will be able to request items from other CCS libraries right in the VAPLD catalog and have those items delivered here, usually arriving within just a few days.
  
• Ease of Use. The new catalog software will be easier to use and includes text notifications — a feature patrons have asked for.
  
• Efficient Use of Budget. Sharing the catalog expenses with other libraries will lower our catalog costs while maximizing use of our materials.

To prepare for the CCS migration, we are asking VAPLD cardholders to stop by the desk this summer to verify your account information and update details if needed. 

For details and updates, visit VAPLD.info/NewCatalog or sign up to receive e-news from the library.​

Throughout 2025, we are taking a deep dive into how artificial intelligence (AI) is present in our daily lives. Together, we'll explore the opportunities and perils associated with this technology and how it’s impacting everything from our education to healthcare to the workplace.

One expert we are tapping for this series is professor Davis Schneiderman of Lake Forest College. Schneiderman recently provided some thoughtful answers to our initial questions about AI:

Q: Why should our library patrons be paying attention to the advances in AI?

A: AI is already paying attention to your patrons! Understanding these technologies helps us make informed choices about which AI tools to use and how to use them safely and effectively.

While generative AI is now visible to many people, AI technologies are already nearly ubiquitous. From the recommendations in our streaming services to how we receive information to how a loan application might be decided, AI is already making decisions that affect our daily lives. While newer applications such as ChatGPT will challenge us to adapt to their possible uses, it would be a mistake to think the future has only appeared in a sudden gust of historical and technological wind. 

Q: How do you anticipate AI might impact education? 

A: The impact of AI is significant and ranges from chatbots to predictive analytics to personalized tutor-bots to automated evaluation tools. In addition, AI tools are already used to summarize books, generate study guides, and even write novels. While these tools can enhance learning and creativity, they also raise important questions about authorship, originality, and the future of human creativity.

Each use case comes with a series of ethical and, in some cases, existential questions: What is the role of an effective educator? What does it mean to plagiarize? What does “good writing” mean in a world where machines can instantly produce “good writing”? And all of this ignores potential longer-term interactions between biology and technology that may impact how we learn and “store” information.

Q: What are your biggest ethical concerns when using AI?

The most significant concern is that each tiny ethical question raised by any AI application will, over time, require us to consistently reconsider what it means to be human. Our values change over time, and we are on the verge of significant social change that may test some of those most deeply held values. 

This means that we need to consider, for instance, the ethics of using generative AI at the same time we consider what it means that generative AI exists with its often astounding capabilities. As researchers like Joy Buolamwini have demonstrated, AI systems can perpetuate and amplify existing societal biases, particularly affecting marginalized communities.

​Libraries are, of course, ideally suited to help the community explore both AI’s potential and its limitations. We need equitable access to these technologies while we foster critical discussions about their impact on different segments of our society.