annual report 2011 - Manchester City Library

MANCHESTER C ITY LIBRARY
Manchester City Library
405 Pine St. Manchester, NH 03104
Denise van Zanten
Library Director
CONTRIBUTORS
S. Basbas
Branch Manager
M. Gallant
Administrative
Assistant
K. Isleb
Head of
Children’s Services
C. Mayer
Head of
Circulation Services
F. Ryan
Accounting Technician
D. Santoso
Library Deputy Director
K. Norton
Head of Teen Services
A. Chapman
Head of
Information and
Technology Services
D. Young
Graphic Designer
LIBRARY BOARD
OF TRUSTEES
INTRODUCTION
MANCHESTER CITY LIBRARY
The past fiscal year was
a very productive one for
the Manchester City Libraries. We hope you
enjoy perusing the divisional reports to see
what we have been accomplishing. Our usage
increased just a bit over
last fiscal year and we
continue to have well
attended library programs.
The Library Board of
Trustees reviewed proposals from various financial institutions for the
management of their
Trust Funds and we
moved our account to
Charter Trust in January.
We had the resignation of
board member, Monique
Brown. A new board member Marsha Beecy will be
coming on board in the
new Fiscal Year. In June
the board elected new officers: Joanne Barrett as
chair, Karen Sheehan Lord
as secretary and Jeff
Hickok as Treasurer.
Our library Foundation
Board has had a few new
faces join: Amy Tessier,
Lisa Shadroui and Joe
Emmons all joined the
board as the fiscal year
ended. Long term board
member and previous
President Dan Scanlon left
the board in June. Our
new officers are Matt Johnson, President, Bob Robbins, Vice President, Lisa
Shadroui, Secretary and
Jocelyn Charles, Treasurer. In September the
Foundation hosted a special after hours chocolate
tasting with Dancing Lion
Chocolates for library donors. The Foundation also
Joanne Barrett
Chair
FY 2011 STATISTICS
Karen Sheehan-Lord
Secretary
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Jeff Hickok
Treasurer
Marsha Beecy
Patty Cornell
Jack Shea
Steve Solomon
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sponsored the Chamber
of Commerce’s Network
PM in December that allowed us to showcase the
main library and the services we can provide to
the business community.
The year did end on a
sad note as due to reductions in our city allocation
we were unable to maintain our staffing levels and
lost two valuable employees. We also reduced the
hours of operation at our
branch beginning July 1st,
2011. Our focus will continue to be on providing
quality library services to
our patrons.
BRANCH LIBRARY
Circulated 550,381 library items which was a 0.5% increase over last
year.
Visited by 468,558 library patrons.
Added 5,103 new library card holders.
Hosted 1,485 groups in our meeting rooms.
Answered 79,081 questions.
Had 143,061visits to our website and blog.
Added 14,178 new library materials to the collection.
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LIBRARY PROGRAMS
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Guitar Hero
• Dance, Dance
Revolution
• Anime Club
• Cooking Club
• Book Club
• Teen Summer Reading
Camera Club
Teen Movies
Career Exploration Seminar
Crafts for Teens
Drawing Workshop
Manga Craft
Financial Aid Overview
Wii Games
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• Children’s Summer
Reading Program
• Story Times for all ages
• Family Matinees
• Life Size Clue
Make a Splash Beach Party
Family Game Night
Dan Grady and his Marvelous Marionettes
Wildlife Encounters
Make a Splat- messy outdoor art
Steve Blunt- Musician
Double Vision- Mimes
Judy Pancoast
Backyardigans Party
Peek into Books with Elmo
Magic Tree House Club
Halloween Costume Party
Cemetery Scavenger Hunt
Train Party
Life Size Candyland
Holidays around the World
New Years Celebration
Kid Writers
Art Club
Kindergarten Party
Flat Stanley Party
Olivia Party
Chocolate Party
Stuffed Animal Sleepover!
Wiggles Party
In Fiscal Year 2011 the library sponsored
2,018 programs between both buildings for
library users. We had over 29,000 attendees!
• Book Discussions
(Evenings, lunch time and at
the Branch)
• Afternoons at the Movies
• Tuesday night at the Movies
• Tax and Financial literacy
• Computer Classes
• Family Fare summer series in Victory Park
• Family Board Game Night
• N.E. Winds – USAF Band of Liberty
• Family Movie Events
• Gluten Free Holiday Baking
• Let’s go Fly Fishing: an Introduction to Fly
Tying
• Book Sales
• Holiday Decorating- Nancy Godbout &
Aimee Lindh
• Holiday Music- Harpist Lisa Washington
Calvo
• Extreme Couponing
• Job Hunting Seminar
• Resume Review
• Geocaching
• Celebrating your Stories with John Clayton
• Introduction to Letterboxing
• How to get Rid of Anything on the Internet
using Ebay, Craigslist & Freecycle
• Mirthquake Silent Film Festival with the
Hippo Press
• Rain Gardens
• Local Author Series- Tom Jarvis
• Goats… the Other White Milk (yes we had
goats in the library!)
• What is Virtual Reality?
• Stone Walls of New England
• Nottingham Brass Quartet
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Blue Ocean Society
Jungle Party
Musician Paul Warnick
Dr. Seuss Celebration
Teddy Bear Picnic and Parade
Life Size Trivia Pursuit
Big Truck Day
• Debbie O’Carroll Magic Show
Blue Ocean Society Tide Pool Pro gram
Majestic Theatre “The Taming of Katy Lou”
Kids’ Bingo Night
Guitar Hero
Nintendo Wii
Roald Dahl’s Birthday Party
Zander the Therapy Dog
Fancy Nancy Tea
Tyler the Magician
Halloween Party
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Star Wars Trivia
Travel Club
Winnie the Pooh Party
Runescape Tournament
Captain Underpants Party
You Gabba Gabba Party
Let’s go on a Safari
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Horrid Henry Party
Holiday Decorating with Chalifour’s
Tacky the Penguin Party
Legos Party
Souper Bowl Saturday
Critters ‘N Creatures
Knitting Club
Dr, Seuss’s Party
Cocoa and Crafts
Guitar Hero for the Novice
Teddy Bear Picnic
Hurdy Gurdy Monkey & Me Organ
Grinder and Monkey Show
Children’s Author Kathy Brodsky
Job Searching Seminar
Odds Bodkin
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FUNDING SOURCES
In Fiscal Year 2011 the Library Department received funding from the following sources:
Fines 2.22%
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FY 2011 Funding
City = $2,045,609
Trust = $97,195
City of Manchester
Library Trust Funds
Fines
Library Foundation
$2,045,609.00
$ 97,195.00*
$ 48,817.41
$
9,191.80
Fines = $48,817
Foundation = $9,191
City 92.95%
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City funds provide for all personnel, our major operational costs and some materials for both
library buildings.
Library Trust Fund Income provides full funding for library programs, staff development, our
equipment and furnishing needs as well as additional funds for library materials based upon
their restrictions. *Proceeds from our book sales also add to our Trust Funds and are kept
aside to pay for library museum passes.
Library Fines are utilized for library materials and for the upkeep and repair of library buildings per State Law.
The Manchester City Library Foundation is the non-profit fundraising arm of the Library.
Funds are raised via their annual appeals as well as interest from a restricted endowment.
Funds are used to purchase items from the library’s Wish List and to help promote library services. During this past year the Foundation purchased 2 portable sound systems for the libraries, a new book drop for our branch, sponsored two Reads to go book discussion kits and
purchased library bags for donors and to sell as a fundraiser.
DIVISION REPORTS
CHILDREN’S SERVICES
The Manchester City Library’s Children’s Room was
very busy this year. We welcomed New Hampshire Institute of Art Intern, Blair Smith
this past fall. Blair helped
Kate with all her young adult
programs. Liz Potter came
back and planned new and
exciting programs for the
elementary kids.
During the past year, there
were a lot of programs happening in the children’s
room. We continued the
ever-popular Process Art,
Little Movers Storytimes,
New Year’s celebration, Halloween party, Teddy Bear
Picnic, Welcome to Kindergarten Party, Dr. Seuss’
Celebration, Life-Size
(by Karyn Isleb, Head of Children’s Services):
games, Storytime in Gallery
at the Currier, Children’s Art
Club as well as weekly storytimes. We added a monthly
Magic Tree House program,
Travel Club, Storytime at the
Mall of New Hampshire,
weekly summer storytime at
Brookside Church, as well
as Big Truck Day. Elmo also
stopped by for a visit to help
kick off the “One CardEndless Possibilities”, Library Card Promotion.
The summer reading theme
was Make a Splash – Read!!
Children’s Services saw record numbers. Over 400
children participated while
over half of them met their
reading goals.
We added a new collection for
home schooling parents and
day care teachers. The curriculum collection contains
theme boxes and backpacks.
We were able to start this
wonderful collection thanks to
a gift from the TD Bank Foundation. It has been well received by our patrons.
The children’s staff continued
visiting the schools during the
school year. We were at their
open houses, family nights,
and kindergarten registration
as well their Dr. Seuss’ celebrations and mystery reader
programs. We were a part of
the Day for Kids celebration in
September. It was a very exciting and busy year for us.
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REFERENCE SERVICES
(by Amy Chapman, Head of Information & Technology):
This year we have made the transition from being a more traditional “Reference” Department to
a forward-looking Information & Technology Services Division. Our staff has proven their resilience and resourcefulness during this time of
change. In addition to the reorganization of the
Division, the former Division Head left in December to spend more time with her family. The new
Division Head, Amy Chapman, came on board in
April. In the months between the departure of
one Division Head and the arrival of another,
staff took the initiative to work on professional
development. Staff invited the Technology Resources Librarian of the New Hampshire State
Library to provide training on downloadable
books, participated in an inter-departmental information sharing meeting with the Circulation Division, and organized an in-service training on
New Hampshire Room resources. In January
Arlene Letourneau, Reference Librarian, retired
leaving the division after 10 years of service.
Her position was made into two part-time positions but due to funding shortages expected in
the new fiscal year the positions were not filled
leaving the division short staffed.
With the GMILCS consortium and the New
Hampshire Downloadable Books Consortium we
have been exploring options to expand our
downloadable book collection. Working with the
city’s Information Systems department, we have
changed our web site navigation so that links
point to Library resources. We have begun to set
the groundwork for simplifying our procedures for
responding to emails, providing expanded chat
TECHNICAL SERVICES
reference services, and creating a more streamlined online presence. Upcoming projects include the creation of a simple mobile web site,
implementation of text reference services, and
development of strategies to expand use of our
subscription databases.
We have started to explore ways to secure funding for an improved vended printing system and
a patron computer workstation with assistive
technology tools and an adjustable table to accommodate patrons with disabilities.
Our popular book sales, organized by a Division
staff member, generated approximately
$4,000.00 for the Library this year to purchase
museum passes.
Additional accomplishments of individual staff
members include:
• Election to Chair of the GMILCS (our local
consortium) RefNet Committee
• Recognition for excellence in selection of
books for our Art collection
• Thorough investigation of equipment and
costs for a computer workstation for patrons with
disabilities
• Collaboration with the regional government
documents coordinator to weed older government documents in our collection
• Completion of a lengthy newspaper-tomicrofilm conversion project
Creation of an index of death and funeral notices, useful for genealogical research, published in the local newspaper prior to 1989.
(by Denise van Zanten, Library Director):
The Technical Services Division continues to function despite being short staffed. Our staff in this division is industrious and despite this challenge the division managed to order and add 14,178 new library
items to our collections at both buildings. New library materials are vital to maintaining vibrant and relevant libraries for our patrons to use. The division also removed 26,695 items from the collections to allow us to start re-arranging items for better access.
Our new non-fiction books were relocated to provide more browsing room for patrons this past year and
plans are in the works to combine various non-fiction collections into one.
Members of the division also participate in library programming and are responsible for our film series
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from the selection and ordering of these films to setting the schedule.
The fiscal year ended on a sad note as Thomas Schlegel retired after 22 years of service to the
library. Due to current budget restrictions this position will have to remain vacant creating a
further staffing shortage.
CIRCULATION
In this fiscal year, the Circulation team
stepped into new territory! We added two new
customer-oriented services in February 2011
and April 2011, which involved months and in
one case a year or more of planning and
preparation before implementation could occur.
The first service to be implemented was Open
Holds. Essentially, print materials awaiting
pick up are housed in a special location that is
easily accessible to our patrons. This affords
patrons the opportunity to browse the library
and pick up materials waiting for them at their
leisure. This service is available on the main
floor of Manchester City Library only. As a
team, the circulation staff brainstormed the
impact on workflow at the circulation desk and
worked with the administrative team to add
equipment necessary to streamline the process. To date, this service is working well! Patrons and staff are smiling.
As spring arrived, we embarked upon the addition of patron photos to their library account.
This measure is intended to increase the security of patron accounts by reducing the potential for fraudulent use of patron library
cards. Since patrons are responsible for anything checked out on their accounts, the photo
helps ensure we are serving the right person.
The intensive and extensive preparation for
this service has resulted in the staff seeing
very few hiccups in putting the plan into practice. Just smile and say cheese!
(by Claudia Mayer, Head of Circulation):
We continue to support members of the
Manchester Community, who can not physically get to the library to obtain library materials. Our Home Services program is currently supported at the Library’s Main
Branch and our West Branch by 10 staff
members. Our Staff coordinates with patron’s receiving the service to select and pull
materials from the shelves for delivery. This
is a service that builds relationships with individuals who often have very little opportunity to have someone spend time visiting
with them. I love being able to support this
service.
In terms of circulation staff, we have faced a
difficult year. We have had significant staffing losses in our division as a result of
budget reductions and turnover. We added
one Library Page, Alana Boies in October,
2010. Then in the first months of 2011 had 3
Library Pages leave to pursue other endeavors. One up… three down, not quite a
balanced trade! All of those positions are
currently unfilled. One of the departing 3 Library Pages moved on to fill a Part-Time
Library Clerk position. Teresa Kelly began
training as a Library Clerk in March 2011
and we are very happy to have her onboard.
She brings with her many years of customer
service experience, which is an essential
characteristic for anyone working in the Circulation Division. Sadly, we lost one full time
Library Clerk due to our budget reduction for
the new fiscal year which began on July 1,
2011.
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Branch Services
(by Sarah Basbas, Branch Manager):
2010-2011 was a very busy year for our Branch. Circulation statistics continued to grow, with an
8% increase in circulation for this fiscal year. Numerous programs were scheduled for West including Guitar Hero, Fancy Nancy Tea, Teddy Bear Picnic, Holiday Decorating with Chalifour’s,
and a Job Searching Seminar. Performers who appeared at West (with the cooperation of the
Senior Center) attracted large crowds. Over 230 children and adults attended Critters ‘N Creatures during February vacation, 80 attended Hurdy Gurdy Monkey & Me and 60 attended the
Odds Bodkin’s performance.
The Friends of the West Manchester Library Group has been extremely active, with a very successful spring book sale and Panera coupon sales. A vigorous membership drive led to a large
increase in members. The Friends sponsored Knitting Club, Kids’ Bingo Night and a book signing/program by children’s author Kathy Brodsky. If you would like to join the Friends please contact the branch at 624-6560.
Teen Services
(by Kate Norton, Teen Librarian):
Teen library users enjoyed a variety of materials and activities specifically chosen for them
this past year. The teen area remained a
popular spot to hang out, especially after
school. Teens utilized the area to read
graphic novels, use the computer, hang out
with their friends, and work on homework.
They also completed the craft projects and activities that were put out for them.
Programs for teens continued to have a core
group of attendees. Activities included competitions with the new videogame Just Dance, as
well as a cooking club, anime club and
writing club. Fifteen teens participated in
our Summer Reading program and read a
total of sixty five books. Kate Norton, our
teen librarian continued to brainstorm additional programs that could be of interest
to this age group.
Further, Kate worked closely with local
schools and agencies to acquaint teens
with the library. This outreach included
book talks, book discussions and attendance at school open houses.
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