Foundation for the Kent County Public Library

The Foundation for the Kent County Public Library, a 501c3 charity in support of the library’s mission to provide access to information through responsive service and technology, announced their support to help fund the overhaul of the KCPL website. The target for the Foundation’s annual fundraising appeal, the new website will emphasize accessiblity, an updated and appealing design, and mobile-friendly layout and navigation—an especially significant improvement as over one third of the County’s library patrons use a cell phone to access the website. After review by KCPL staff, the Board of Trustees selected Byte Studios as the best match in handling this $25,800 project. The company’s familiarity with common library website integration needs plus their demonstrated portfolio of public library clients were important factors in this decision. The current website, last designed in 2014, employs outdated technology that casts immediate doubt on the library’s ability to offer up-to-date information and technology services now commonplace in modern libraries around the nation.

The following officers were elected in the Annual Meeting held on Friday, October 28: Chair Barb Macbeth, Vice Chair Jean Austin, Treasurer Dawson Hunter, Recording Secretary Alice Ritchie, and Corresponding Secretary Sandy Durfee. The members of the Board of Directors also include: John Murphy, Wendy Costa, Mackey Dutton, Ivette Furneisen, Amanda Madar, April Marshall, Marjo Rasin, DeLia Shoge, and Jillian Starkey. Special guest, Madhu Sidhu represented the Friends for the Kent County Public Library in this important discussion.

Jean Austin, Alice Ritchie, Amanda Madar, Dawson Hunter, Ivette Furneisen, Barb Macbeth, John Murphy, Marjo Rasin, April Marshall, Madhu Sidhu, and Mackey Dutton

The Foundation recognizes the public library as a known source of innovation in an age of reinvention—a time when the economical, technological, and sociological demands in today’s world drive the necessity for safety in free, user-friendly, and equitable access. In this next normal, the Foundation supports strategic innovation with the funding of special projects not contained in the library’s annual operating budget.

Added information may be obtained from KCPL Executive Director Arnessa Dowell ([email protected]) and Board of Trustees President Valerie Overton ([email protected])