BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES ANNUAL
REPORT 2006
To the
Residents of East Longmeadow:
The East
Longmeadow Public Library continued its mission to serve the cultural,
informational, educational, and recreational needs of the community. Entering
its third year in a new expanded building, the library continued to provide
more service to the community with an overall increase in circulation of over
10 percent from the previous year. This increase in circulation reflects an
ever-increasing number of patrons from both East Longmeadow and surrounding
communities using the library for programs and services, as well as the library’s
constant efforts to offer a comprehensive collection of materials. In
addition, total items requested by patrons through the library’s C/WMars
automated circulation system showed a sizeable increase of 50% from the prior year. It is also worthy to note that
in 2006 the library filled more requests from non-East Longmeadow library
patrons than it received items requested by our patrons. This statistic again
shows that our collection is not only in demand by neighboring libraries, but
is comprehensive, current, and is able to meet the needs of our patrons.
The library
was not immune to change during the past year, however. In the spring, both Cheryl
Sheils and Shirley Herrick decided not to seek re-election after serving on the
Board of Library Trustees for many years. Their dedication to the library and
experience as Trustees will be missed. These vacancies on the Board were
filled by Gregory Thompson who ran unopposed, and by Susan French who ran a
successful write-in campaign. Library staffing remained unchanged until the
fall, when part-time Library Assistant Sarah Hodge-Wetherbe left the library to
accept a full-time position in the Springfield library system.
The
library once again participated in the state-wide Summer Reading Program. This
year's theme, “What’s Buzzin’ @ Your Library” was the most successful program
to date. More than 850 children participated in reading for pleasure and
taking part in a number of activities organized and coordinated by the Children’s
Department staff and forty “junior volunteers”. The Friends of the Library
donated funds for 13 basket incentive prizes helping to keep children motivated
to read over the summer. Two special programs were planned each week
including: a kick-off Karate Demonstration at the U.S Academy of Martial Arts;
a cartooning workshop with Michael Cady; a Spelling Bee; the Toe Jam Puppet
Band Variety Show, and visits from Mother Goose, Dora the Explorer, and
storyteller Big Ryan. Other activities included a “Read to Rover” program,
given by Kelly Phillips and her reading therapy dog Lassie, an Anime Film
Festival, and a Build-a-Bug House Workshop. The Children’s staff also presented
a “Stories in the Park” series at Center Hill Park featuring a Teddy Bear
Picnic and Watermelon Tales. In August, over 250 summer readers and their
families attended a Roller Skating Party at Interskate 91. In summary, more
than 1,100 children and their families attended these summer programs and almost
all were filled to capacity.
In addition
to offering regular story times, pajama night story times, drop-in story times,
and a Babies and Books program throughout the year, other Children's
programming included a 5th Grade Girl’s Book Discussion Group, a
Magic Tree House Club, and the bi-weekly Chess Club. During April school
vacation week various programs attracted over 125 children and their families.
Although every program was a hit with the audience, Lani Bortfeld’s Children’s
Concert was especially memorable, and the Curious George Party presented by the
Children's Department staff was very well-received.
Use of the
library’s two meeting rooms saw an increase of more than 20% in 2006. More
than 300 local meetings were held over the course of the year, with each room
providing a comfortable space for a variety of programs and events that benefited
the entire community. Utilizing these same rooms, the library also held some
very special and interesting events this year: a Photography Workshop and a Winter
Workshop series created and presented by the Children’s Department staff was
held, and in December the library sponsored Haven Williams to run a Chess Tournament
for children in grades 2 through 6 and 7 through 12. This event proved to be
very popular and Mr. Williams provided prizes from area colleges and businesses
for all those who participated.
The Library Trustees wish to acknowledge the generous
funding provided by the Friends of the Library, without which many of the
above-mentioned Children's programs would not have been possible. Many other
Children’s programs were funded in part by the Western Regional Library System
and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. Additional program
funding came from the Early Childhood Resource Center’s East Longmeadow,
Wilbraham, and Hampden Community Partnership Council. Throughout the year,
several performances either received support from local businesses, or were
generously discounted by those performers themselves. The Library Trustees
appreciate the community’s generous support, for without it we would be unable
to deliver the many educational and recreational activities this community
enjoys.
The
Children’s Department also encouraged school and public library cooperation in
several ways. Meadowbrook School Kindergarten teachers once again helped the
Children’s staff facilitate a Library Card campaign in order to register every
Kindergarten child for an East Longmeadow Library Card. The Kindergarten
classes made a library field trip, which included an orientation and tour, at
which time the children received new library cards. This was a very successful
project, and culminated with Mrs. Bates presenting Cynthia MacNaught, Children’s
Librarian, with a donation of $360.00 to be used for future Children’s
programs. Out-reach visits by the Children’s Department staff to the three East
Longmeadow Elementary Schools were also successful, not only by encouraging
participation in the Summer Reading Program, but in reinforcing the importance
of having a library card and all the services a library card can offer. The
library continued to facilitate communication among the schools via the library’s
website, and more specifically, by providing teachers with an “Assignment Alert”
form as an easy way to notify the library staff of up-coming homework
assignments.
The Library
Trustees continue to be proud of the library’s expanded and informative “web
presence”. In our constantly changing world, the need for both up-to-date and
accurate information remains crucial. New features appearing on the library’s
web site included a “Library Suggestion Form”, links to free on-line book clubs
and digital audio-book downloads, and access to selected images from the
library’s Local History Room via the library’s participation in the “Digital
Treasures” cooperative digital library project. Thanks again go to the
creativity and hard work of the Information staff, most notably, Sharon
Bellenoit, Library Webmaster, along with Susan Teale, Reference Librarian, for
providing an informative, comprehensive, timely, and enjoyable way to access
information about your public library.
The
Information staff, with support from Library Director, Susan M. Peterson and
other library staff members, continued to focus its attention on reaching out
to the teen community in East Longmeadow during the past year. The Teen
Advisory Board (T.A.B.), under the supervision of Reference Assistant Sharon
Bellenoit, met bi-monthly to plan events and programs which had “teen appeal”.
Some of the programs and fundraising events sponsored in the past year by the
T.A.B. were “Dance, Dance Revolution” and Karaoke programs, a library Scavenger
Hunt, and cartooning workshops presented by Michael Cady.
The library
continued to expand its collection of anime films and manga, and under the
guidance of Library Assistant Sarah Hodge-Wetherbe the Anime/Manga Club met each
month to screen and review a different anime film. Club members were able to
offer suggestions on what films might be a good addition to the library’s
collection. A new book discussion group geared for boys, “Guys Read”, was
begun in 2006, and a lively Adult Book Discussion group, led by Library Trustee
Susan French also met each month.
The year 2006
also saw the completion of the library construction project. At the beginning
of the year, a few minor outstanding items still needed to be addressed. In
addition, two major issues that became apparent back in 2004 were still
incomplete, and hence, for the Trustees, remained areas of concern--the
interior lighting and the HVAC system. Once the determinations of each problem
were established and the corrective actions proved to be accurate, the
construction project was finally declared complete. Due to the fact that the
project stayed within its budget, the Trustees voted at its September, 2006
monthly meeting to release the remaining funds in the amount of $265,824.44 to
the town so that these funds could be used for other Capital projects meeting
similar bonding criteria.
In closing,
while witnessing a busy and challenging 2006, the library continued to offer
its patrons the services and programs they come to expect and enjoy. These
services and programs would not have been possible, however, without the hard
work of a dedicated library staff and the support of many others who volunteer
their time and energy to your public library year after year.
The Board
of Library Trustees wants the community to know that we take our elected duties
seriously, and our intention is to provide the best public library service
possible for this community. Your input is encouraged and always welcomed.
Respectfully
submitted,
Maxine F.
Connor, Trustee Chair
Diane A.
Tiago, Trustee Vice Chair
Virginia
Robbins, Trustee
Susan
French, Trustee Secretary
Gregory
Thompson, Trustee
Kathleen Cordier,
Trustee
Susan M.
Peterson, Library Director
Circulation
Totals: 166,100 (FY2006)
East Longmeadow Library Card Holders: 10,398 (does not
include registered borrowers from neighboring towns)
Library
materials: 75,075 (FY2006)
