Report of the Southwick Public Library 2008
The Southwick Public Library celebrated its 10th anniversary since the October 1998 dedication of the new building on Feeding Hills Road with a display of invitations to the ground breaking and dedication ceremonies, pictures of the work in progress, the ground breaking shovel, and newspaper articles that were on view in the Reading Nook Display Cabinet from October through December 2008.
Friends of the Library also festively noted their 2008 yearly election of officers with a September meeting at the library highlighted by a Chocolate Tasting, and an Open House presided over by members of the Library’s Board of Trustees. Some 50 people attended as several Friends who had unselfishly given of their time and talent to various fund raising projects over the past few years were honored with special boxes of gourmet chocolates.
These Friends’ fund raising efforts, including biannual book sales, were again put to good use in 2008 as the group sponsored an adult Edible Plants Program in May, which was enthusiastically attended by 29 persons. The Friends also sponsored eight children’s and YA (Young Adult) programs with 194 attending. These included workshops for children and YAs on writing, framing a memory, Chinese cooking, and the magic workshops used to introduce all Southwick kindergarteners to the library, and what it offers.
In addition to the highly successful plants program, nine other adult programs, eight adult book discussions, and a six-week adult Suntime Reading Program were held involving a total of 483 participants. The nine adult programs ranged from a Louis Armstrong Tribute in March; to Career Workshops, and a Digital Camera Workshop in May; to an Adult Scrapbooking session in June; to an Eclipse Program in September and a Weather Program in October, which was followed by a Pastel Painting Workshop in December. Also, a library table set up in June at the Sr. Health Fair at Town Hall saw 40 persons take a chance on a library tote full of resource materials as they learned the various types of material their library offers. Finally, the Adult Book Discussion program tallied an impressive 80 participants who were on hand to discuss the eight books chosen, while the Suntime Adult Program gave out seven prizes, one for each week plus a bonus prize, over the course of the six-week “Wild Reads at Your Library” Program. The program noted 239 entries with the title and author of each book read by the participants.
The Community Partnership Council (CPC), and the Southwick Cultural Council should also be commended for their continued support of the library. During 2008 the CPC sponsored two children’s programs: Jungle Encounters in April with 101 persons including children and their caretakers attending; and Barefoot Arts in May with 42 in attendance. Also, during July of 2008 the Southwick Cultural Council sponsored Rainforest Reptiles, a family program which saw 335 in attendance as the library’s Reading Nook area was transformed to accommodate several alligators, and snakes as well as small reptiles. The group also sponsored performer Kate O’Connor whose movement program “A Beautiful Future” was staged in the Community Room in December to the delight of the 38 in attendance.
The library showed another remarkable increase in computer use logging 3958 uses in 2008 compared to the 3905 noted in 2007, and the 3702 tallied in 2006. These figures do not include those patrons using laptop computers who tap into the library’s wireless connection on a regular basis.
Other library statistics were a mixed bag. The library circulated 75,309 materials in 2008 compared to the 77,269 noted in 2007, and the 71,660 logged in 2006. Also, with regard to reference questions, the library answered 3141 in 2008 compared to the 3308 answered in 2007. However, we noted that the 664 new patrons registered in 2008 topped the 626 noted in 2007.
In addition, statistics for the online platform LearningExpressLibrary (that can be accessed at the library or remotely) at its one-year anniversary in July of 2008 showed 67 patrons had taken tests covering a wide variety of college and career instruments.
The Children’s Suntime Reading Program for 2008 bested the impressive 1183 visits tallied in 2007 by logging a total of 1369 visits broken down as 336 children with 1219 visits, and 70 YAs with 150 visits. The children’s reading allowed them to vie for four suitable-by-age prizes a week for a six week period including certificates of adoption for two animals from the Forest Park Zoo; while the YAs reading allowed them to vie for suitable gift certificates including an itune card over the six week session. Also, some 167 children made six crafts, one for each week of the Suntime program which were highlighted by wild animals to reinforce the Wild Reads theme and included elephants, snakes, a wild mask, zebras, wild reads wreaths, and a puffy monster. In addition, during 11 sessions in 2008, 182 crafts were made by children on a drop in basis to commemorate the seasons and the holidays.
Saturday reads for children ages 2-5 years old featured guest readers with country and seasonal themes, and involved 62 in the fun. A beekeeper rounded out September Saturday reads, along with pumpkin stories and a Thanksgiving read which ended the Saturday offerings for 2008. Two bedtime storytimes and a family read conducted by Channel 40 Personality Eric Fisher in honor of Dr. Seuss’ Birthday held 84 enthralled. Monthly storytimes conducted during eight months of the year at three sessions per month alternating those for 2 year-olds and those for 3-5 year olds saw 316 children and caregivers on hand to listen and then take part in songs or craft activities.
Besides the reads and the funded programs already mentioned, various programs involving both children and YA’s took place during 2008. Memorable children’s programs began in February when nine attended a duct tape workshop earmarked for grades 3-6. That was followed in July with a special motorcycle storytime facilitated by Josh Gagnon. Then in August a brown bag book discussion was attended by six 5-6 graders who had read Chasing Vermeer. Finally, a special introduction to the library was held for 22 Southwick Cub Scouts. Not to be outdone, seven YAs made chocolate at a February workshop conducted for them, and two additional teens became Volunteers at the Library after having attended two training sessions that month. Eight teens took part in a YA Short Story Contest in May and 18 wrote “Books with Bite” reviews in October.
Our tables at the April Kids’ Fair at Woodland Elementary School and the September Open House for grades 7 and 8 at the Powder Mill Middle School were big hits with 93 children, YAs, and parents or adult caregivers stopping by to ask questions about the library and what it provides for them. Another successful outreach program involving the schools came in June when a Children’s Librarian visited 436 Children at the Woodland School and the YA Specialist visited 450 at the Powder Mill School to describe the library’s Suntime Reading Program as a chance to read great books, attend stimulating programming, and win terrific prizes. Finally, in November an interactive storytime for Head Start children and their parents was conducted.
The library also gave out 10 baby kits during 2008 to new Southwick parents, which encouraged them to make their child a reader, and eight birthday pencils.
Besides the support of the generous sponsors already cited, the library appreciates the support it received during 2008 with its programming efforts from Trustees Carol Geryk, Michael McMahon, Nancy Stenberg and Nancy Zdun. McMahon also created a new website for the library: www.southwicklibrary.info which details the library’s goings on. The town’s website maintained by Jim Middleton has also been a great help spreading the word about the library’s offerings.
Also, Southwick Lions Club should be thanked for the new wall-mounted screen they provided in the Community Room, and we are indebted to the Shurtleff Children’s Services, Sarah Gillett Services for the Elderly, the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System, and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners for their continued support. We also appreciate the help of the many local businesses that support the library’s yearly Suntime Reading program, and the teen and adult volunteers who are invaluable and unselfishly contribute to the smooth operation of the library.
Respectfully submitted,
Anne M. Murray, Director
Library Trustees:
Karen Contois
Carol Geryk
Michael McMahon (Chair)
Deborah Randzio
Nancy Stenberg
Nancy Zdun