HANGING WITH CHAD

Drop by the Lake Forest Library and ask to chat with Chad Clark, whose job title—manager of digital and innovative services— falls woefully short of describing all that he does for library visitors.

Chad Clark is that warm blanket on an Antarctic day, majors in listening, has a PhD in empathy, and provides more solutions for distressed, atsea Lake Forest Library patrons than the pages at the back of crossword puzzles books. He’s in his fourth year as the library’s manager of digital and innovative services. “People make one-on-one appointments with us because they have questions about their iPhone, such as, ‘Why isn’t my Calendar working?’” says the uber-amiable Clark, sitting at a table in the library’s cozy Media Lab, where he and his colleagues, John Lacson and Ming Lu, share space with 3D and sublimation printers. “One question often leads to many others, and we’re okay with that; it’s our commitment to concierge service. Some have asked me, ‘Should I renew my antivirus software?’ We’re here to answer any tech question. Tech issues make people anxious.” !e not-so-exorbitant fee for answers: $0, as long as you have either a Lake Forest Library card or a Lake Bluff Public Library card.

Clark, of Wilmette, oversees group programming, too. Adults gathered in early December in the Media Lab for an “All !ings Google” presentation. !ey entered the room with their devices and exited it armed with knowledge and tips that would have impressed a phalanx of techsavvy teens. A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the former assistant director at the Highland Park Public Library, Clark earned a degree in Audio Engineering at Columbia College Chicago and a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) at Dominican University in River Forest.

He pursued a career in library services at the suggestion of his wife, eighth-grade teacher Alexa Sorock, whose grandmother was a librarian. Clark, who first met Alexa when both waited tables at Lucky Platter in Evanston, did not shelve the in-house counsel in 2011. “Alexa sensed that I’d enjoy working in a library setting, and I devour books,” says the father of 10-year-old Leo and 7-year-old Max, adding he became hooked on reading as soon as he finished the historical fiction novel !e Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck, back in his youth. “Plus, I had experience in technology, having created websites for others. You could say it was serendipitous, looking for a position at a library at the time I did—the old guard was starting to retire, and libraries were becoming more digital.”

Former Highland Park Public Library Executive Director Jane Conway urged Clark to think big and to never fear failure when the two worked together. You can check out an Ernest Hemingway book and a ukulele and the instrument’s accompanying training materials with your card at that library thanks to Clark, who performs as a jazz guitarist in bands up to five times a month. “Here at the Lake Forest Library, you can check out an automotive diagnostic tool if one of your car’s dashboard lights goes on and you have no idea what it means,” he says. “Patrons have also checked out cameras and game systems and VR glasses.” But all of the offerings will never be able to supplant the library’s top asset—its tireless, caring staff. “I get to work with fantastic people,” Clark says. “Most of them live in the Lake Forest community. !ey’re kind and they have a great sense of community. !ey know what’s going on, they know what matters, and they know what’s meaningful to the people who live here.”

For more information about Clark, visit lakeforestlibrary.org.