Michelle Krooswyk says the New Lenox Public Library meets far more than literary needs and its most recent initiative, a library cabinet, is offering support for people who might be scared to ask for help directly.
The care cabinet, which opened Dec. 4 in the library lobby, provides free resources such as shower products, deodorant, toothpaste, gloves, chap stick, first-aid supplies, socks and Narcan, said Krooswyk, the executive director. The initiative was funded by a $1,000 grant from the Friends of The New Lenox Library.
Krooswyk said the cabinet was scheduled to open in January 2026, but Melissa Seaberg, administrative library coordinator, requested moving the opening to December after lower-income residents began facing cuts to needed federal programs, such as food benefits in early November.
Krooswyk said she wants the community to be able to rely on the library in times of need and said, while not a social service agency, library staff can connect people to assistance.
“There’s people from all walks of life that come here, and no matter who you are, as long as you behave yourself, we want to be welcoming to you and we want to support you,” Krooswyk said.
Seaberg said the idea is allowing people can receive assistance without judgement and with no questions asked, which she said helps people get what they need in a dignified way. She said sometimes asking for help can be a sensitive topic.
The cabinet has already make an impact, Seaberg said. She said many items have been depleted, especially lip balm, gloves, deodorant and toothbrushes, which she said demonstrates the community need.
The library also partnered with the Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization, a group dedicated to combating the opioid epidemic, to distribute Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, a medication used to rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Krooswyk said Heroin Epidemic Relief Organization reached out to the library when officials heard about the care cabinet and offered Narcan packages at no cost. Krooswyk said the medication can be life saving, and she encouraged people to attend a training on Narcan.
Krooswyk said the community’s support has been overwhelming, so much so that people started filling the cabinet with their own supplies from home, and Krooswyk said the library had to begin regulating donations.
The library staff would prefer people not directly place donations in the care cabinet, because they want to make sure the items are hygienic. They also want to place items in gift bags, Krooswyk said.
She said people can donate to the care cabinet through a monetary donation at newlenoxlibrary.org or through the Amazon wish list.
Krooswyk said the inspiration came when the Rock Island Public Library presented about its care cabinet at a meeting for PrairieCat, a large, shared library technology system and consortium for more than 130 public, school, academic and special libraries.
“We are always trying to share ways or give ideas that, you know, this worked at my library here, try this,” Krooswyk said. “So it’s very collaborative and that’s one of the great things that I’ve seen working in libraries for almost 25 years. We just like to find and share ways to support the community.”
Krooswyk said she and other New Lenox library staff chose to launch the cabinet after the summer season, which she said is the library’s busiest time. When they moved up the launch date to December, she said she was amazed by the speed Seaberg got everything together. Seaberg ordered the cabinet, the bins and supplies.
Seaberg also started a fundraiser for people to donate and enter a chance to win one of the library’s six crocheted holiday kittens. Seaberg said the idea came from a joke with another library staff member about there being a mysterious library kitten, which Seaberg said she embraced as the library’s mascot.
Seaberg crocheted several small kitten-like characters, such as the gingerbread kitten and snowman kitten, and posted photos of these kittens on the library’s website. She said she was surprised by the community’s interest and said she wants to continue it quarterly with different themes, such as summer kittens.
“We’re just trying to find fun lighthearted ways of just being different and interesting and letting people know that we’re welcoming, and it should be a fun experience if you come to the library,” Krooswyk said.
Krooswyk said other resources nonliterary resources include tech support for older adults, a warm space for unhoused residents, help for job seekers, a gathering space for homeschool families, tutoring for students, remote work space for businesses and even a place for people who just need someone to talk to.
The New Lenox library had a referendum in 2020 that asked voters to approve a 7-cent increase to the library district’s tax rate, continuing a levy from a $10 billion bond issue in 1999 for a new building.
“We’re really proud of that because we are being fiscally responsible, but also finding a way to sustain the library,” Krooswyk said.
Krooswyk said the care cabinet will be open indefinitely during library hours, and the crocheted cat fundraiser ends Dec. 16.
She also said the community can look forward to a new cafe space set to open in January and a winter reading program.
The library will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year. Krooswyk said staff plan to talk with the library board about more renovations because the building is 25 years old.
awright@chicagotribune.com