Meet Dave Weinert, Candidate For Oak Lawn Library Board of Trustees

OAK LAWN, IL — Dave Weinert is running for the Oak Lawn Public Library Board of Trustees. He is one of three candidates running for two open seats in the upcoming April 1 election. Term are for six years. Early voting begins March 17.

Campaign Website

n/a

Town/City of Residence

I have lived in Oak Lawn since right before my 30th birthday, and I will be 53 in July. Previously I lived many other places (particularly in my youth, at my parents' discretion, obviously), and Oak Lawn is my favorite place of them all. I have no plans to ever leave.

Occupation and years of experience:

Local real estate broker, Century 21 Circle, right on 95th, just off Central. 21 years now, as of April. All I have moved in that time was my cubicle.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? This includes any relatives who work in the government you're running for.

Nobody that I know of is working in the government, any form of government, on any level. Technically, my late father did, but not since he came back from Vietnam (with distinction).

Why do you want to serve on the library board?

I want to serve on the library board to ensure that another voice of the citizens that use the library is represented. The library is one of, if not the greatest community asset(s) in town that is open and available to all.

What is the most recent book you read or are reading?

I'm currently (but also typically) sort of scattered in my readings. Depending on mood and even location or activity, I'm reading a book about the golden age of pirates, another about the dynasties of the Middle Ages. I am in-between starting the third option, which is usually something else like an autobiography or, even more exciting, modern economics or politics.

How often do you use the library?

I use the library quite often, it seems. I have helped moderate the Oak Lawn Library's writers' group for most of my 23 years of residence. The past few years, I've helped run the Southside FilmMakers Club, with annual showcases of our local group's short film productions. I do the scheduling and 'assists in running the amateur Underground Improv group that meets a couple of times a month. I participate in the monthly Gaming Day event.

Add in a few other random times using a study room or getting books or attending some of the many amazing programs the library has brought out coming back from COVID...a fair amount of folks know at least my face, if not my name.

What are your goals for the library?

Goals for the library, whether I'm elected or not, are for the library to keep being an cultural touchstone for our community. That we maintain its position as one of, if not the preeminent library(s) in the whole region.

In my work, I have given seminars in many other libraries in the area, and even if out of town or state, I try to at least duck into the local library to see how they compare. Rarely have I departed thinking the others were even an equal to Oak Lawn.

When I was younger, and lived one town over, we had a fairly nice, if smallish library. When inevitably I waited until the last moment to do some lengthy assignment I had due the next day, if I struck out there, my dad would traipse me over to Oak Lawn. I remember each time being in awe of the size and scope of the building. (I didn't even know about the basement!)

When moving looking for a house to move into, our list included things like good schools, libraries and parks. What a home run (baseball season!) to move to Oak Lawn, which had and still has all of those amenities in spades! That needs to be preserved. I hope to be a part of helping that be the case.

What role should a public library play in the community?

The role of the library...part of that is above, right? Also, though...make sure we serve the whole community. All ages, all groups, all the people. We all pay taxes, one way or another, toward these awesome amenities. They should reflect, as well as possible, the full picture of the residents that comprise our town.

We have fishing reels because people can go fishing between the golf course and the huge park on 103rd. Musical instruments, laptops, all sorts of things that a lot of smaller places can only wish they had. Our library is a gathering place for those in search of knowledge, of community, of friendship in many cases.

I've made lasting friendships in every group I mentioned above. I know many others that have as well. People can learn to reduce their debt, play guitar, how to buy or sell their home...so many things. That is what a library should do for its people, and that is what the Oak Lawn library does for Oak Lawn...and people from a lot of surrounding areas too!

In reference to the library’s budget, what (if any) areas are underfunded, and what areas (if any) require funding cuts? By how much?

With budget, I can only remark about what I empirically see. Things like the main elevator being in various stages of needing repair, beyond regular maintenance. There is another elevator, but one elevator goes up, the other is only supposed to go the other way for patrons, and that isn't easy on those that need the use of it. Your ADA compliance should not be a concern. Not that I'm aware it has been, to be clear, but obviously, if anything happens to the other elevator, the library loses that ability for some patrons.

Also, things like the website...I am pretty sure there is a plan for that, so make sure that isn't a funding casualty. Last summer, there was almost a month without internet for even the library use itself. That seems insane to me in modern times. Not sure if that is a budget issue in getting it fixed, but maybe one to have a back-up option the library can pivot to in such cases. ]

Again, I cannot speak to what is currently funded, so these are just concerns I can think of as an active patron to the facility. Hopefully, if I am honored to be elected by the people of Oak Lawn, I will gain a clearer perspective of what the best funding looks like.

What areas of library programming or services should be increased or decreased (if any)?

Programming...the library does an amazing job at programming, from what I know personally, but also what I have heard from others in actively asking those I know or talk to at various events around town. Younger kids, teens, adult events, family events are all getting great reviews it sounds like. So keeping that going, right? Do not cut that funding as long as they are attracting people to the site.

Books are books and the backbone of any library, but events and programming are what can really draw people into our library, our town from further out. When that happens, it goes beyond just serving our local community within the library. This is an important aspect to me, about the library that I think some may overlook. Those that are unhappy to ever spend a penny for the library, that see it as unnecessary or wasting valuable space in the heart of town...this is why that is a misguided belief.

In reference to the library’s budget, what (if any) areas are underfunded, and what areas (if any) require funding cuts? By how much?

The library, as a public, quasi-governmental entity, is paid for with tax dollars, obviously. Some, in recent times, have sought to defund the library to its core. Perhaps for just their own personal non-use of the building, or some darker agenda like getting rid of the whole place, one can only guess what lies in the dark hearts of those that hate a library. However, that belief, whatever it is, is short-sighted.

I can say from direct experience, that some of the clubs I'm in we have people coming in from well out of town. The Southside FilmMakers alone, people live and travel oftentimes weekly, from Beverly, Clearing, Mt. Greenwood, and even West Elsdon in Chicago, and further-flung places like Rogers Park, and even out to the burbs like New Lenox.

When those folks come in, post-meeting we more often end up at one of the many great dining options in town. Many have remarked they stopped off at the Target on the way in, bought a car from a local dealer, etc. All of that is people, essentially tourists, coming to Oak Lawn, visiting the library, and then spending money that goes right into village tax coffers. There is a reason why the milk is always at the back of the store, why the pharmacy isn't up front...people shop on the way in or way out of getting what they originally came for.

Without the amazing library we have in Oak Lawn, with dedicated staff that loves being there, creating programs that draw in not just our own citizens, but those from far away, where would our cultural heart in town? The library, and the 'Green' around it, the fest...yes, those are on prime land, but take them away and it is what? Another strip mall? No, we need to keep the library as vibrant and exciting as a library can be. Programs that bring people together in a time when social media and screens all-but-glued to our hands work daily to keep us apart.

If you had complete control, what would you like to see the library look like in 5 years?

In five years, I want to see a fully functional library, as alive and vibrant as a stoic brick building can be. Libraries, parks, schools, senior centers...they are all as 'alive' as the people that use them. So for the library, I want to see as much foot traffic as possible. I want to see our materials being taken out to the point that there is a waiting list issue because we are getting the materials our citizens want and they are utilizing the facility to the hilt.

I also want a clean budget that everybody can understand, with goals being met and understanding why they are not if that is the case. I want no less but no more money being spent of tax payer money than is necessary, but that means funding smart. Are we paying our workers enough to not have rampant turnover? Are we doing the due diligence on maintenance so we stay ahead of bigger problems like broken elevators or tech systems not functioning they way they are supposed to? Five years from now, with a year left in my theoretical six-year term, I hope I've done my part to make the library stronger than the day I was elected.

Curating of books and collections is something I think board members should have a bit more of a 'stepped back' view on, unless there is something specific involved. We pay smart staff members to know best which books or other materials are most used or 'trending'. I want to trust in them to use best practices in determining what we need for our town. Keeping track of usage numbers makes sense from the board standpoint, I think, more than worrying too much about the day-to-day details of how many copies we have of "The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy" in stock.

How should the library respond to objections to specific works in the library’s collection?

Objections to 'specific works', presumably offensive to 'someone' is always tricky, is it not? So we are talking about something that has gotten 'past' the first layers of library staff. Some ruckus has moved this conversation 'up' to the board needing to chime in. I think, for myself, I look to the question of, "What best serves the overall community?"

That might mean removal, of course, that's the obvious avenue the ruckus-bringers are looking at. It also might mean some sort of greater 'security' I suppose, depending on library guidelines on handling 'adult' material. Kept in the adult section, under more watchful eyes, if that is a reasonable option. It might mean the ruckus-bringers are just going to have to deal with whatever was making them upset.

Denying material that upsets segments of a population, of any given population, is a dangerous road to travel, in my estimation. The proverbial slippery slope that seemingly starting innocuously enough, but becomes a fast slide into outright censorship that no thoughtful, evolving society should or would want to inculcate. Not all answers are happy ones. Sometimes even material I might find personally objectionable need to remain available to the greater public for very good reasons. I think that is the way more of all of us should consider questions like this. Is my being offended or annoyed by 'this' more important than what the subject matter can mean to the community at-large? Am I too sensitive in this circumstance? Should my personal values weigh more than the rest of fellow citizens'?

The population served by the Oak Lawn Public Library is one of the most diverse, in terms of ethnicity and languages spoken in the home. Should the library increase its collection in different languages? How should the library serve this population?

Diversity is a touchy topic for many, even as they speak words saying it is not. It can be code for darker, more heinous aspects and thoughts. It should not be that ways, obviously. A park is static, or neutral, to ethnic concerns. The grass or the court, etc...it does not care from whence you came, who your parents are or where your grandparents were born.

Because the library is often used by people that like to read, it gets trickier. English the predominant language spoken in town and in the region. Balancing the needs of the few with the needs or the more is difficult in many ways, in many public places. Definitely, the library should be equal to promote (or not) different cultural aspects that reflect the various subsets of people living in Oak Lawn. A library is most 'alive' when it 'breathes' with the figurative lungs of all those in town. Buying books in many languages is another balancing act for the staff and the board.

Beyond the conversation of the worthiness of helping those of one spoken language learn another, the practical costs of buying the same book in perhaps three to five (or more) languages has to be weighed against taking too much away from a majority that also deserves to be represented. How many anticipated users of any given book are expected? Because a book in one language doesn't inherently cost less than that of another. All book costs being equal, does the library then buy a book that a very small slice of the population will use? To me, at that point, it is a question more of, regardless of the language, is the purchase worth it? If it is between a book in...Polish, or Spanish, or German, but the staff feel it will be used more than a book in English costing the same, isn't that the better purchase? The better use of taxpayer dollars? I'm sure there is a case to be made for some books being a...case-