NEW GLARUS — In its efforts to assemble information about how to better offer services to the community, the New Glarus Public Library Board has recently been criticized for being untruthful to the public by a former member of the village board.

Greg Thoemke met with members of the library board June 26. He said a presentation to the public and local governmental bodies included results with the “falsification of survey data” which was “presented not only to a unit of government for the purposes of securing public funds and property, but also to the public, and this is information that needs to come out.”

He was referring to a survey conducted by the library in conjunction with the state South Central Library System. 

Library board president Linda Hiland said in mid-July that the group started compiling results to better its services for public use, which is separate from its plans to build a new facility. 

“The plan is not at all about the building project, it’s only about services,” Hiland said, adding that the library is “enthusiastic” about nearing its $1 million goal.  

She added that the library has received nearly $900,000 so far to build a new library where the Glarner Park softball field currently stands. The New Glarus Village Board set a deadline for fundraising to be complete by December 2018 and for work to begin June 2019.

During the meeting in late June, SCLS Community Engagement Consultant Shawn Brommer spoke about the strategic plan, outlining its uses as practical to obtain more information about services the library offers, noting that some had already been changed since the survey was conducted in February. Information gathering for the plan began in June 2017, Brommer said.

“The purpose of the strategic plan is to help the library look at where we are today in terms of the services, the programs and even the collections that we provide, and based on community input, where should we be using our time, where should we be using our talents and where should we be using our resources in the future to provide services and programs,” Brommer said. “The plan that we’re working on is simply one that is looking at what types of services and programs does the library provide.”

However, Thoemke said the purpose of the survey was not related to his criticism. Rather, he said that the survey was worthless because it allowed respondents to answer questions any number of times they wished. He submitted two responses himself, he said.

“For all I know, the other 117 could be one other person,” Thoemke said. “We have no idea how many individuals are represented in that survey.”

Thoemke said 29 responses which came in between March 8 to March 18 were not included in the data presented to the board and roughly 30 community members during a meeting May 30. He said he discovered this information after submitting an open records request.

SCLS Data Consultant Jody Hoesly, who also serves on the New Glarus library board, said the survey was only meant to be recorded for one month and that it was removed from the library website before the majority of those responses were made.

“The data was not manipulated,” Hoesly said. “The data for this graph is February data and that was pulled at the beginning of March.”

She noted the data was saved in a file marked March 7 to reflect the day the survey ended. Thoemke said nothing on the document provided to members of the boards indicated it was made up of only responses from February. However, meeting minutes recorded that it was specified during discussion.

According to the minutes of the special May 30 meeting, the library board did provide a handout with the survey results, but discussion focused on the other packet called “Your Community, Your Library Capital Campaign 2018,” which Hiland reviewed to discuss fundraising for the project. New Glarus Public Library Director Lauren White said during the meeting that the survey was completed in February. 

When asked about its representation of the community by Village Trustee Shaun Dow, the minutes reflect that White said 120 survey results would not necessarily reflect the entire community, but “that many of the comments were repeated several times.” Dow said he would prefer to see another survey method to capture more accurate results.  

New Glarus Village Board President Roger Truttman said July 17 that he knew the survey results were part of a separate project.

“The survey wasn’t meant to persuade people one way or the other,” Truttman said.

He noted concerns about the project being completed and the need for a new ball field to be identified soon or the “last resort option” of relocating to Veteran’s Memorial Park may become reality.