The Observation Deck

With only 3 weeks until his departure, I haven't heard anything about the Lakewood Library Board of Trustees honoring Ken Warren in any significant way. I hope I'm just missing something.

Ken has served 25 years as Library Director during a sea change of technology and library construction. His stewardship has kept Lakewood well ahead of the curve, always sensitive to the trends and the social/intellectual needs of the community.

The Board should rededicate the "Grand Reading Room" as the "Kenneth Warren Grand Reading Room". That has a nice ring to it. How about "Kenneth Warren, Director Emeritus"?

Lakewood doesn't seem to know yet how much it will miss Ken.

His arrival in this town predates mine by a year or two, so I don't know Lakewood without him. Lucky that I got to know Ken, or "eschatology" might never have been in my vocabulary. I will miss our "field trips" and investigations of "truth". You know what Ezra Pound said, right?




Steve

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I'm still in favor of another renaming...

make it "Ken" Warren road.

Robert A.M. Sterns sits with the Mick Jagger of library directors, Kenneth Warren,
along with Library Board president Jeff Endress and members of Sterns' team.
In the Kenneth Warren Grand Reading Room. Who knew?

Indeed!

What a fitting tribute to Lakewood's grand man of vision. After all it was Ken
that was able to lure one of the top three architects in the world, Robert A.M. Stern,
to come to Lakewood, Ohio, and bring along a modern day Michelangelo by the
name of Richard Haas.

I agree, the street, the room, the foundation.

There will never be another Ken Warren.


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How about changing the Madison Avenue Branch to the Kenneth Warren Branch!

Here is a list of the Lakewood Public Library's Board of Trustees:

Nancy Seibert, President
Christopher Johnson, Vice President
Scott W. Kermode, Secretary
Paul Dimmick
Jeffrey C. Endress
Suzanne Metelko
Mary Louise Nixon

Perhaps, the Trustees have already thought about honoring Mr. Warren.

Bill Grulich

stephen davis wrote:The Board should rededicate the "Grand Reading Room" as the "Kenneth Warren Grand Reading Room". That has a nice ring to it. How about "Kenneth Warren, Director Emeritus"?

Agreed as to both counts.

I think naming the Grand Reading Room after Ken would be most apt. While it is true that he has been very supportive of the Madison Branch, I think that our new Library is the culmination of his vision. And, the "grandness" of that room is the only fitting area of our fabulous library that can reflect all that Ken Warren has contributed to our Library and the community as a whole.
Stan Austin

I agree that Ken should be honored in some fitting way. I might suggest the children's wing be named after him. I think he has done more for education via the library than almost anyone else in Lakewood. He initiated after school homework help sessions etc.
as well as a whole variety of programs for children. The youth of Lakewood would then grow up knowing that 1 person can make a big difference in a community. This is always an important lesson.

But I could argue that he has done a lot for the whole community not just the youth.

Hi,
In addition to the above mentioned ideas, I would like to add one other. It seems to have been a tradition to regularly modify that little boat in the childrens reading room. So, in that vein, I'd like to suggest renaming it to the "Unsinkable HMS Kenneth Warren" in honor of the man that skippered the Lakewood Library through fiscal and political waters for all these years.

Any chance of a tie-in with the "Dog Bone" system of wiping out late fees? The Ken Warren Chew Toy? Kibbles-n-Ken? Here comes the Warren Wagon? Snausages, if only I could think of something for Snausages.

Corey

Corey---- lets do a full Cleveland------a Ken Kielbasi Stan

This is a good idea. How much should he pay for the naming rights?

Seriously, where do the Library Board of Trustees stand on this issue? As Steve Davis so aptly pointed out, this is most definitely not rocket science, folks. Jeff? Scott? Suzanne?

Jeff, I'm sure, is working on the tie-in for Snausages. The others are on their own, Jeff is a loner, a rebel so-to-speak.

Gary,

Nice article on Ken!

For those of you who have yet to read it, please click here and go to page 10.

Matt

Matthew John Markling wrote:For those of you who have yet to read it, please click here and go to page 10.

Matt

Gary

I loved the photo. Hard to believe the rough seas this boat would have to endure. I hear
one girl wanted it named after HER brother's business.





Watch the changes!


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