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| Lowville Free Library Issues Annual Report Letter to the Community March 06, 2019 07:00 p.m. |
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2019 Letter to the Community It’s hard to sum up a year. In this letter there’s a lot of numbers, statistics, and projects. What I hope you remember, though, is that each number shows a person who came in for a book, or a program, or a service. The projects made serving them possible. All these people are the reason we do what we do. In 2018, 18,078 people walked through the library doors, and because of them, it was a good year. Programs With weekly programs for children, teens, and adults, 2018 was busy. We doubled the number of early literacy programs during the school year, 55 total, offering programs at the library and collaborating with other organizations around Lowville, with a total attendance of 821. We also expanded our Summer Reading Program, offering over 50 hours of programming, and saw a 57% increase in attendance compared to the last three years, for a total of 728. We offered over 120 other programs for children, teens, and adults. Over the course of the year, that added up to 2,694 people participating in library programs. We also offer one-on-one programs, primarily tech help, and saw 230 people in 2018. We loved participating in community events, including collaborating on the Healthy Kids story time, providing the Hooked on Books program in all Lewis County Head Start classrooms, and seeing many community members at Food Truck Fridays and the Lewis County Fair. Our community rooms are used by individuals and other organizations who need a space to meet, host, or work. In 2018, the community rooms were signed out 111 times. Books Of course, books are what people think of as the library. In reality, materials are only part of what we offer, but a vital part. In 2018, 21,378 physical items— books, audio, and video—were checked out, which averages 411 items per week. We’re fortunate to be part of North Country Library System, giving patrons access to materials beyond what we have in our building. Last year we received 4,588 items through interlibrary loan, and sent out 3,328. Use of our digital materials, e-books and e-audiobooks, increased significantly this year, after promoting the service and teaching a number of training sessions. Until last year, use had been decreasing every year since they were introduced in 2014. There was a 72% increase in digital checkouts in 2018 versus 2017. Digital materials extend the reach of the library, with access anytime, anywhere. Technology The completion of a fiber optic connection project made a major improvement in the technology we offer to our community. The library was connected in May, and increased our average connection speed from 7 mbps download to 100 mbps, with equivalent upload increases. Our wireless network was accessed 14,372 times in 2018, or 276 times per week, and our public access computers were used 2,201 times through the year. Projects We continued working on a variety of other projects, including resolving issues that had caused flooding in our building, doing repairs after flooding, putting a new roof on the back of the building, and starting a generator project for future emergencies. Maintaining a library collection is an ongoing project, and goes beyond buying books. Staff put in many hours to keep our collection up to date, books and shelves looking fresh, and the catalog updated. Funding Public funding makes up the bulk of our budget, with just over 50% coming through the Lowville Academy and Central School District, and 12% from the Village of Lowville, Town of Lowville, Town of Watson, and Lewis County combined. Our budget for 2019 is $128,552. The rest of our funding comes from fundraisers, grants, donations, and other receipts. The board held three fundraisers--the Garden Tour, a garage sale, and the November Calendar Raffle. Many people supported us through volunteering, donations, and purchases that made them successful. In 2018, we received grants from the Elks Lodge #1605, Lowville, which funded the Hooked on Books and Storywalk programs; Stewart’s Shops, which funded the Summer Reading Program; Pratt Northam Foundation, which allowed us to have a workership student who facilitated the majority of our Summer Reading Program events; and two grants from North Country Library System, which went towards our nonfiction collection. We received many gifts from and in memory of individuals of our community. The incredibly generous gift from Anna Tabolt was a landmark of our year. Ms. Tabolt was a regular patron at the library, and we enjoyed many lovely conversations with her. Her gifts will impact our area for many years, but our community had already been impacted by her faithful life here. For both things, we could not be grateful enough. Recognition In September, we were given a Library Improvement Award from North Country Library System, which recognized the work staff and board had put in over the previous year. Our board of trustees is incredible, working diligently to provide vision, secure funding, and oversee our services. In 2018, Bill Waite, Sue Rubenzahl, Sheree Vora, Mary Comet, Danielle Munn, Michele Gingerich, Jesica Nichols, Karen Oldroyd, Shannon Schrag, and David Fraser spent time on our board of trustees, with Sharon Sears serving as treasurer, and Mary Pelletier- Hunyadi serving a second year as president. And of course, our staff is the foundation of everything we do, serving our community well. It is a joy to serve this community. Here’s to 2019! Sincerely, Meghan Harney Director, Lowville Free Library |