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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Roberta Thomas on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of her retirement as the Grayslake Area Public Library | ||||||
| 5 | District Director; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Roberta Thomas has held the position of Director | ||||||
| 7 | since 1994; her legacy encompasses many accomplishments, | ||||||
| 8 | including the opening of the library's current location; she | ||||||
| 9 | oversaw the design, construction, and transition of the library | ||||||
| 10 | from a small storefront in downtown Grayslake to a standalone, | ||||||
| 11 | multi-story location; the new building was planned, designed, | ||||||
| 12 | and constructed to meet the increasing needs of the library | ||||||
| 13 | district's population as it grew; she successfully kept the | ||||||
| 14 | project on time and under budget; her strong fiscal leadership | ||||||
| 15 | was exemplified when the construction bond was completely paid | ||||||
| 16 | on November 30, 2013; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Roberta Thomas fostered a dynamic service | ||||||
| 18 | environment during her tenure, which included migrating from a | ||||||
| 19 | paper card catalog to an online system with a dedicated | ||||||
| 20 | children's interface, adding a self-checkout station, and | ||||||
| 21 | installing drive-up book drops; she spearheaded the redesign of | ||||||
| 22 | various interior spaces, including the creation of the | ||||||
| 23 | TeenSpace and a community gathering area named Kent's Place; | ||||||
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| 1 | and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Roberta Thomas also kept up with trends in library | ||||||
| 3 | services, met the fast-changing technological needs, and | ||||||
| 4 | connected people to the library's resources; she led the | ||||||
| 5 | library in offering free computer access and WiFi to the public | ||||||
| 6 | and in expanding the library's collection by adding digital | ||||||
| 7 | content, including eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines, and a | ||||||
| 8 | variety of other online research tools, such as Consumer | ||||||
| 9 | Reports, Ancestry.com. and Lynda.com; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Although Roberta Thomas is preparing for | ||||||
| 11 | retirement, she is not resting on her laurels; building | ||||||
| 12 | renovations are underway to accommodate new meeting and study | ||||||
| 13 | rooms, a digital studio, and the library's makerspace, The Hub; | ||||||
| 14 | and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Before stepping into the role of director, Roberta | ||||||
| 16 | Thomas began her library career as a shelver at the Palatine | ||||||
| 17 | Public Library District before transitioning into the role of | ||||||
| 18 | Reference Librarian and then Head of the Circulation and Audio | ||||||
| 19 | Visual Department; she has been one of only three directors to | ||||||
| 20 | lead the Grayslake Area Public Library since it became a public | ||||||
| 21 | body; her tenure has seen remarkable growth and construction, | ||||||
| 22 | and her fiscally conservative leadership has enabled the | ||||||
| 23 | library to accomplish its core mission, keep current with | ||||||
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| 1 | changing technologies, and financially plan for the future, | ||||||
| 2 | without increasing taxes; therefore, be it
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| 3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 4 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 5 | congratulate Roberta Thomas on the occasion of her retirement | ||||||
| 6 | as Grayslake Area Public Library District Director, and we | ||||||
| 7 | commend her leadership and guidance; and be it further
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| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to Roberta Thomas as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 10 | respect.
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