HomeMy WebLinkAboutOperational Report from Marsha
To: M. Rebecca Loader, Library Director
From: Marsha Tubbs, Children's Librarian
Subject: Operational Report for December 2002
Date: 12/27/02
I. Programs
Children's Program
Counts for December
2002
Program Title Date Children Adults
Holiday Storytime 12/10/02 8 3
Kindergarten 12/16/02 18 1
Kindergarten 12/16/02 19 1
1 st Grade 12/16/02 14 1
1 st Grade 12/16/02 15 1
6th Grade 12/16/02 27 1
Holiday Storytime 12/17/02 15 7
7th Grade 12/17/02 43 1
4th Grade 12/18/02 26 1
5th Grade 12/19/02 16 1
8th Grade 12/19/02 14 1
2nd Grade 12/20/02 24 1
5th Grade 12/20/02 16 1
II. Collection
A. I have prepared two large Baker and Taylor book orders to be sent the end of this month and an additional direct order to be
placed with Jack Kubitz our publisher's representative. These book orders will bring the Children's Department up to date as
of November 2002 in the selection tools. Each year at this time I also mention the pricing of books and would like everyone
to know that picture books have now reached $18.00 per title, paperbacks appear to have increased the most and are now
averaging $5.95 per title (luckily we receive a good discount on these) and children's non fiction titles are now over $20.00.
To offset some of the price increases I have been purchasing paperback editions wherever possible and am considering
reducing the number of picture books orders placed in 2003. I would also recommend that we consider BWI as a vendor for
children's books provided they could meet or beat B&T's discount.
B. We are in the process of weeding the boardbooks and the paperbacks based on condition. We have an excellent collection in
both areas, however, our paperback collection contains duplicate copies of titles that are used extensively in the summer
months but circulate seldom during the school year. Most of these titles belong to juvenile series. I would not recommend
discarding them but am considering pulling the duplicates and storing them temporarily. This will give the shelves "new"
materials look and show off the newer titles without depleting the collection. We have begun collection development in the
readers. This section also contains duplicates of older titles, some of which can be discarded. It has been about 4 years since
we updated this section. The County has been purchasing from a couple of standing order programs for the past couple of
years. I would like to consider this option as well.
III. Projects
A. The Holiday Inn fundraiser for the Foundation was a success. Even though we did not sell out both shows, we did get good
crowds for each showing. The final attendance counts and donation figure have not arrived as of today, but those who attended
were pleased with the show and enjoyed themselves. Thank you to all who helped with this project including: Staff members
(Kelly Olson, Jeanine Schmidt) who volunteered their time to greet and usher at the programs, Board members (Pat Sowada,
Catherine Vesley, Barb Miller, Nancy Hoium) for the donation of their time the day of the show as well. A special thank you to
Dave Holmgren and Tom Letness for the donation of their time and facility and to the following businesses for their
contributions: Ollie's Columbia Kitchen, Rainbow Foods, All About Travel, Nedegaard Custom Homes, United Educators Credit
Union, Edward Jones, Paul D. Dingman, DC, Jeffs Bobby & Steve's Autoworld, IPC Printing, Northeast Bank, Wolff's Mr.
Steak, and Rapid Graphics & Mailing Inc.
IV. Meetings
A. I had a meeting with Kathy Kelly, Assistant Principal of District 13 in November and as a result was invited to speak to the
district principals and superintendent at their December management meeting. On December 12 I made three proposals to
this group. Each proposal is aimed at increasing the visibility of the Library within the community and gaining exposure for
the 75th anniversary. The proposals were as follows: a) I requested that the district consider including some aspect of the
library's anniversary as a part of their 1000 pages reading club, perhaps encouraging students to visit the library as a part of
the program, b) I requested that the district actively support the reading clubs that we offer each summer by asking teachers
to emphasize the importance of summer reading and encourage children to return their reading records to the school in the
fall for some type of recognition (party, movie, name on the board etc), c) lastly, I proposed that a collaborative program
between the library and the district be designed to demonstrate to the students and parents the options available from the
library via their home PC's. As a result of this meeting, I received two invitations to address PTA's (Valley View and CMS)
and the principals have taken the proposals to their staff meetings. Subsequently, I will be meeting with the MIS (Media
Specialist) staff in January to iron out the details of incorporating the proposals in 2003. I anticipate that these proposals will
be a jumping off point and will include ideas presented by the media specialists by the time the final product is complete.
B. I met with Anoka County youth services staff on December 4 and again on December 16th to make preliminary plans for the
LIBRA 2003 program. MELSA has received a grant for the purpose of expanding programming for young adults throughout
the metro. The LIBRA program that has been a part of our programming for the last 4 years is being used as the model for
the first ever MELSA Young Adult Sunnuer Reading Program. I will be working with members of the ACL staff in planning
programming and incentives for "WISE UP at the Library 2003".
V. Staff
A. Children's Department staff have been busy preparing year end statistics, final preparations for Holiday Inn, and preparing
calendars and schedules for 2003.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!