Melanie Weigel — Director, Forsyth Public Library, Forsyth, IL

Forsyth Public Library's Melanie Weigel and her staff have adopted a simple yet profound philosophy: give patrons a reason to come to the library every day of the year.

"We aimed to make our library a true destination every day for our customers, connecting and adding fun to it!" Melanie shares. Over the last two years, this vision has delivered astonishing results for the library. It found that the library had doubled its programs, with drop-in programs scheduled on evenings and weekends to accommodate a larger public turnout, which, in turn, increased customer visits to the library by 25%.

The Forsyth Public Library is a great example that shows how small public libraries can transform into popular community centers through creativity and the right network of support. "By expanding our services, we've actually increased our patron visit numbers by 25% over this period of time," Melanie adds. "The motivations for an increase in our services were to improve our relationships with those we serve, showing that we were at the heart of our community and that we appreciate and value all."

"My favorite part of the ARSL conference experience is knowing that I can walk into any session and that the ideas shared are real possibilities for a library of our size.
I've implemented so many different ideas shared at ARSL, and our library is better because of those experiences."

Melanie's experience with ARSL reached a meaningful milestone in 2025 when she was invited to speak at the national conference. "It was an amazing experience meeting people and libraries from all across the country," she reflected.

Written by the ARSL Office