Themonheganlibrary.files.wordpress.com



LIBRARIAN REPORTAugust 13, 2018Membership and Circulation: At the time of writing, we have 194 members and 168 books in circulation. You’ll notice we are down members, having had roughly 303 members receive our Annual Letter this spring. We do continue to sell memberships throughout the tourist season, especially these last few weeks of August, so I do expect our numbers to swell and hopefully reach around the same amount by the time we’re ready to send our letters out. Nevertheless, a decreasing trend has been noted across a span of years. And yet visitation and circulation remain high. (975 adults and 259 children came to the Library in July!) The Winter Fundraising letter was written by Candis Kerns and sent by Miki Partridge via Staples, thank you both for donating your time and effort to this task! The Annual Membership Letter was written and sent by Miki as well. The following new books have been added to our collection this year: Mystery…17Sci Fi…16Poetry…16Biography…16Fiction…46Art…10Science and Nature…17Non-fiction…16Young Adult…22Picture Books…21Thanks go to our Book Committee Chair Carol Burdick, and Book Committee members: Sue Hitchcox, Casey Court, Paul Goldsmith, Beth Van Houten, Candis Kerns, Kathie Iannicelli, Laurie Day and Pamela Rollinger. It is nice to have some new faces on the committee this year. Interlibrary loan continues to be a highly useful service. During the month of July I ordered 10 books for patrons. Merchandise: We have run out of bags, and I am having more printed by George Morrison at Sweet Promos (the printer we used previously). They will be narrower, as I received complaints that the previous run was too large. The Barnacle continues to stock our Cookbook, to great success—thank you! Computers and printers are running well, if slowly. We should be able to make it through to next year, but in 2019 I will need to look into replacing equipment. Our laminator continues to be used by many individuals and organizations, and during the winter I lend it to the school. As noted in previous years, select patrons can be counted on to use our computers, but in general the computer room is quiet. Printing and copying is the main draw. Projects: As agreed upon in the last meeting, I will have our catalog online via web hosting from ResourceMate this year. This means that you will be able to look through and search our complete collection anywhere you have internet access, including on our Library computers, your phone or from the comfort of your own home! This represents the culmination of many years of work and, though we still will (always) honor the “old-fashioned” way of signing out books, I am thrilled that we can join other modern libraries in having a digitized catalog. (Don’t worry, the physical card catalog isn’t going anywhere!)Our website, Facebook and Google Calendar continue to be used to advertise, coordinate events, and keep up the Library “presence” throughout the year. I have been using Book Reviews as a way to liven up our Library blog. Eagerly accepting submissions! (Thanks Margot Sullivan for writing one a few weeks ago!)Donations: I would like to take the time to acknowledge our many donors who respond so generously to our letters. Many of the same patrons give year after year, and I am honored that our Library continues to merit such support. I would also like to draw attention to our benefactor, Jane Perry. Donations gathered in the name of her late husband, James Rubin, financed the entirety of last year’s Distinguished Writers Series with Paul Doiron, and a significant part of this year’s Series with Christina Baker Kline. It is not an exaggeration to say that without Jane’s generosity, this program could not have progressed forward after our first triumphant iteration in 2016. This year, Jane has given us another gift: a memorial stone bench, beautifully crafted by Dan Morales-Walsh of Maine Stonescapes. It was installed on July 7th in one day by Dan, with assistance from Michael and Andrew with trucking (thank you!), and dedicated in a small ceremony on August 3rd with Jane Perry and Reverend Karen Byrne (thank you!). It is unique and rustic, yet blends in perfectly with our lawn. There’s hardly a day when I don’t see someone sitting on it. Corlis tells me it is wonderful for Story Hour. It will be a beautiful part of the Library for generations to come, an immense thank you to Jane Perry!Events: Regular events have been quieter at the Library than last summer, but we’ve hosted book discussions each month, most recently on Speak, Memory led by Antoinette Seymour, as well as a Poetry Jamboree. We were also part of the recent House Tour to benefit Monhegan Associates. This fall we look forward to talks by island author/illustrator Lisa Jahn-Clough, as well as by Thoreau Scholar Tom Potter. Tom did a very popular talk about Thoreau and the birds he loved at the Library last year. Another fun fall happening is Haunted House on Halloween!Our BIG event was of course our Third Annual Distinguished Writers Series with Christina Baker Kline! It was truly superlative, and I am still getting comments about how much people enjoyed it, many even saying that was highlight of their summer. I’m especially glad that most of the board could be there! We started things off with a Welcome Reception at Miki’s house, open to the public, and on Saturday we had a packed Writers Q & A with Christina in the Library. Rainey Davis, a docent at Olson House and one of her main sources of information during her writing process, also happened to be on island so they spoke together! What a treat. Christina’s Author Talk that evening was our crowning event, and she was joined by Jamie Wyeth for a Q & A. It was amazing to host Christina not only because of her quality as a speaker, but also for how much she absorbed and interacted with our island. She went to the Museum, hiked the trails, and made friends with everyone she came across. A truly enriching experience both ways, and exactly the outcome we wanted for this Series! Programming: Writing Group has been the standout program. Now in it’s fourth year, I feel like it’s become a “tradition” that’s known on the island. I regularly have 10+ members, and solid representation from all the hotels! We will make a “zine” of this summer’s work. Other programs include Story Hour with Corlis Carroll, and the Story Hour I do with the Monhegan School when in session. Jennifer Marr and Christian Dederer stepped in while I was away, thanks to both of them! We also had a winter Book Group this year. Under programming, we can’t forget the other organizations that use this lovely space: AA, Quakers, MISCA and recently the Schoolboard and Monhegan Associates. Even when it’s not literary, the Library is a central place for our community. New Business: We have been discussing the possibility of Wifi at the Library, and Matt Holtzman prepared a detailed survey that was sent to patrons, garnering valuable feedback. I am please to announce that there WILL be Wifi access for members only starting in 2019, for a trial period of one year. We’ll be asking for feedback from you, our patrons, during this time and will re-assess during our 2019 Annual Meeting. Your input matters!As we discuss fundraising for next year, I think a new artist bookmark could be a popular item. Though a very old and probably not lucrative (at $1/each) part of our merchandise, our bookmarks are perennially popular as people collect them. We haven’t had a new one since Lynne Drexler’s in 1995. I think it could be exciting to have one of our island artists create a design for 2019...It has been a pleasure as always to work at the Library this year. My thanks to my co-librarian Matt, as well as to the whole board for their support. And thanks to you, the readers of Monhegan, for coming to the Library!Respectfully submitted, Mia Boynton ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download