2015 - 2016 - Guilford Free Library

[Pages:23]Annual Report

2015 - 2016

Guilford Free Library ? 67 Park Street ? Guilford, CT 06437 (203) 453-8282



Board of Directors 2015 - 2016

Deborah Abildsoe

President

Marcella Hourihane

Vice-President

Julie McSweet

Treasurer

Gerard DeNegre

Assistant Treasurer

Ralph Schoemann

Secretary

Jeffrey Beatty Dennis Culliton Bonnie Garmisa Linda Sanacora Marta Slattery Robert Tedeschi Jonathan Wallace

Helen Rizzo

Friends of the Library Representative

GUILFORD FREE LIBRARY Staff

2015 - 2016

Administration -

Sandra Ruoff, Director Robert McCoole, Associate Librarian Doris Andrews, Senior Administrative Assistant Virginia Tietjen, Library Assistant*

Reference Department -

Lauretta Lyons, Reference Supervisor Danielle Eadevito, Senior Reference Librarian Sara Martone, Senior Reference & Teen Services Librarian Pamela Knowles, Reference Librarian* Kirsten Smith, Reference Librarian* Jennifer Sullivan, Reference Librarian* Judy Haggarty, Senior Library Assistant

Circulation Department -

Nancy Wardell, Supervisor Sybelle Almod?var, Library Assistant* Ellen Bernstein, Library Assistant* Philip Delegan, Library Assistant* Jonathan McNicol, Library Assistant* Samantha Meder, Library Assistant* Suzanne Owen, Library Assistant*

Children's Department -

Angelina Carnevale, Childrens' Supervisor Sara Bartelmo, Children's Librarian* Peggy Day, Administrative Assistant Sherrill Canning, Library Assistant* Barbara Flanigan, Library Assistant*

Building Maintenance -

Timothy Bolton, Senior Custodian Mark Thompson, Custodian*

* part-time

Seasonal Staff -

Bonny Albanese Katie Fargo Janet Lindsley Gina Monti

Executive Reports

Guilford Library Association Board of Directors Report

Annual Report 7/1/15-6/30/16

The Guilford Free Library continued to evolve adding new services and refining old ones all while having perhaps our busiest year on record. We had over 23,000 attendees at our programs and a record 7,742 people used our meeting spaces. This number is made up of everything from small groups sharing a study room to larger community groups using our meeting room. This is in addition to the daily influx of patrons coming do everything from read in a quiet corner to running a 3-D print job. Patrons attending our programs or just enjoying the space ranged in age from barely a week old to 106.

Through new ideas and new partnerships our programming continued to grow more diverse. The Yale Science Diplomats, a group consisting of Yale graduate student volunteers, provided a hugely popular series of science lectures. 75 local residents took advantage of our new "Book a Lawyer" service provided by two local attorneys. Author talks, history lectures, films, computer classes, health seminars, financial wellness workshops, job coaching assistance and much more continued to make up the core of adult services. Whether through a simple one-on-one computer lesson or as part of a crowd of over 200 in the courtyard for a summer concert, the public made the most of the library's offerings.

Following a national trend our overall circulation was down slightly but still well over 250,000. This now includes thousands of digital checkouts, circulating laptops and ereaders. Use of the library's computers and wireless internet service was higher than ever before. Traditional circulation was complicated by problems at the state level with the inter library delivery service. Interruptions to this once amazing service created a ground swell of concern among librarians throughout the state. We are still in the process of working towards a sustainable solution which will restore the service to its former greatness.

Changes in staff were again one of the most noteworthy facts of the last year. Doris Andrews announced her retirement and spend most of the year sharing 38 years of accumulated institutional knowledge. Patty Baldwin who did so much to enhance adult programming and bring life to the Historical Room collection retired in March. Heather Brine who brought enormous energy and drive to the Teen department left in August. Her replacement Sara Martone made a seamless transition and brought fresh ideas and enthusiasm.

Our Library is thriving and we owe our thanks to the Friends and our volunteers and all of our donors. A special gift from the family of the late Director of Children's Services, Lana Ferguson, helped create the exciting new literary festival named in her honor. The Children's Room was named after her during a touching ceremony with over 100 local residents celebrating her memory. Book sales and membership drives have added more than $80,000 to our budget, and this augments all that we offer, and all the new ideas we pursue.

Sandra J. Ruoff Library Director

Deborah Abildsoe President

Children's Services

Annual Report for 7/1/15-6/30/16

The summer reading game's theme this year was Every Hero Has A Story. Children were encouraged to read about heroes from all walks of life, from the caped crusaders to the caring citizens, as well as attend events that tied in to the theme. For the first time ever, the library was able to give away a free book to every child who signed up to play the summer reading game. The game was also completely overhauled to make it more engaging throughout the summer, with an online gaming component, where children could create their own superhero character that earned costumes and powers when children read and kept track of books. Children could also complete optional learning challenges both inside the library and out, such as the library scavenger hunt and visiting a museum. The summer programs were primarily funded by the Guilford Civic Women, whose support of the library's reading program has now reached a landmark 25 years. Additional funding came from the Loeb Foundation and the Friends of the Library. Programs included: Kickoff with a Kangaroo, Parkour Introduction for Kids, Mr. Magic, What Pet Should I Get?, Bubbleology, American Girl, Rocky the Rock Cat, and more. 363 children read 32,284 books. The 2015-2016 year saw the continuation of several of last year's successful new initiatives, including: In BeTween after-school programs, Crazy 8s Math Clubs, expanded children-teen department collaboration, and ongoing behind-the-scenes projects to improve usability of the children's room. New initiatives included:

-A 3-D printer for the children's department to offer for use and instruction to our young patrons. -An online tutoring tutoring service for school-age patrons offering live help from trained tutors in all subjects common core as well as college preparation and essay review services. Homework Help Now also included a database of lessons in many subjects. The total combined usage for the year was 1,085 sessions. -Weekend Wildlife, a monthly program offering the introduction of live local animals and plants to children on Saturdays. After meeting animals, children were invited to check out a selection of related non-fiction books on the animals and environments that were presented. Some animals included: bald eagle, other raptors, reptiles, amphibians, tarantula, crustaceans, and other sea creatures. -Celebrating the finishers of our 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program with invitations to enjoy cake and lemonade at the library as well as receive a free book in recognition of their reading efforts. -Paws & Read, a program for struggling readers to gain confidence by reading to a trained therapy dog. -Lana Ferguson Literary Festival; Re-naming the children's room to honor former children's librarian Lana Ferguson, whose family left an endowment in her memory to the library for children's programs. Using this endowment, we held the first annual Lana Ferguson Literary Festival, featuring author Peter Lerangis, and it was a great success with 105 people in attendance. We gave out 79 books to 58 children in attendance and absent members of the Ferguson family as well as each school. -A Minecraft server hosted by our LION consortium, allowing member libraries' young patrons to experience the game together in a safe, cooperative environment. -Accommodating the local homeschool population by hosting a homeschoolers' LEGO club as well as a focus group for parents. -National Children's Book Week and Free Comic Book Day celebrations with activities and free books. Monthly and annual programs were funded by the Friends of the Library throughout the year, including: Sing Like A Bird, Scrapbooking, Hoop & Spin Show, Preschool Science, Stories from Snowy Lands Puppet Show, various holiday Story & Crafts, Gingerbread House Workshop, Winter Magic Show, Preschool Sing-Along, Holiday Card Making, Take Your Child To The Library Day, Garden Club, Preschool Information Fair, and Teddy Bear Sleepover. There were many individuals and organizations in Guilford that volunteered their services to the Children's Department and contributed their time, talents, and/or funds to keeping the room in good shape and making the programs a success. The Children's staff experienced change as new people were hired while others moved on, and all provided excellent service to patrons through traditional library programming, new ideas, and everyday interactions.

Angelina Carnevale Head of Children's Services

Teen Services

Annual Report 7/1/15 ? 6/30/16

In the past year, a major focus in Teen Services was to create more programming for teens and to have a greater variety of program types. Previously, there was a large emphasis on technology programs, but we decided to expand and include new programs for students with interests in the arts, music, cooking, and theater. We are also trying to create more day-long special events for teens and their families.

Another major focus was to collaborate with other organizations in the community to maintain partnerships and build even stronger alliances. We worked with Youth and Family Services, the Guilford Police Department, and Stonewall Speakers to host two Pride Month events for the LGBT+ community. Speakers from various town departments and in the Guilford community came together for a panel discussion on why they're proud to be in Guilford's LGBT+ community. Teen Services also worked with Apple Pi Robotics to co-sponsor their Girls in STEM Day event.

Teen Services has collaborated more with the Children's Department to try to make bonds with 5th and 6th graders who will be frequenting the teen area in the near future. We have been planning some programs that allow students in grades 5th through 12th grade to attend rather than just limiting it to 7th grade and up. Teen Services has also helped out with In-Between programs that are specifically for 5th and 6th graders.

A few new initiatives were introduced this year, including adding video games to the Library's circulating collection, participating in Free Comic Book Day, and participating in the celebration of Pride Month.

Teen Services aims to create and host programs that appeal to teens with different interests as well as encouraging creativity and the learning of new skills in technology, the arts, and more. We strive to maintain a love of literature and reading while also encouraging the library to be a space for collaborating, learning, and being a part of the community.

Sara Martone Teen Librarian

Reference Services

July 1, 2015 ? June 30, 2016

The charge of the Reference Department for 2015-2016 and beyond was to provide excellent customer service to patrons, new opportunities to interact with technology and access to an exceptional collection of books and media. The department underwent significant staffing changes with the promotion of Rob McCoole to Assistant Director, myself to Head of Reference and Danielle Eadevito as a full-time librarian. Danielle has a broad range of technology skills and has become a favorite of patrons seeking book-a-librarian appointments. She has taken over the majority of cataloging responsibilities as well as assisting in the Historical Room.

Our reference and teen librarian, Sara Martone, brings incredible energy and a creative spirit to our programming efforts at the library. Sara orchestrated a number of new programming ideas for teens and tweens including music programs such as a lobby jam session for staff and students that was captured on the front page of the Guilford Courier.

Offering technology programs continues to be a priority for the reference staff. The library held another "Technology Open House" where patrons could check out the 3-D printers, play video games, look at e-readers, and examine some of our other technology offerings such as the digital microscope or the Finch robots. A series of six adult computer classes was well attended in the spring. Topics included Facebook, Google Docs, Social Media and Microsoft Office basics.

Books and reading remain an integral part of our services. In response to patron requests, a new fiction group was formed by myself and is off to a successful start. Book Buzz, an informal discussion group about new books, is another program for readers created by Janet Lindsley and myself.

With the generous funding of the Friends of the Library, Librarian Pam Knowles developed a Book Club Book Collection of more than 200 books featuring six to eight copies of popular titles for book discussion groups. Book groups can come in and pick up copies for their entire group. We are also happy to receive title recommendations of titles to purchase from area book groups. The collection has proven to be a great resource for the four book groups now offered through the library.

The department had more staffing changes with the departure of part-time librarians Kirsty Smith and Jennifer Sullivan who both secured full-time positions at other libraries. As the Reference Department continued to absorb more changes, the staff quickly adapted. We look forward to the coming year and providing more great service to our patrons.

Lauretta Lyons Head of Reference

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