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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOperational Report from Marsha To: From: Subject: Date: M. Rebecca Loader, Library Director Marsha Tubbs, Children's Librarian January 2003 Operational Report January 29,2003 I. PROGRAMS Kindergarten 1/13/02 18 1 Kindergarten 1/13/02 19 1 1 st Grade 1/13/02 14 1 1 st Grade 1/13/02 15 1 6th Grade 1/13/02 27 1 7th Grade 1/14/02 43 1 4th Grade 1/15/02 26 1 5th Grade 1/16/02 16 1 8th Grade 1/16/02 14 1 20a Grade 1/17/02 24 1 5th Grade 1/17/02 16 1 Evenstart Field Trip 1/29/03 7 9 II. COLLECTION A. Inventory of the Readers collection is underway. Transactions are complete on the shelf list and all copies in circulation have agency request status. Judging by the number of copies in circulation this section of the easies is a heavy circulation area at this time of year. B. We are in the process of weeding the paperback collection. As a part of this project I have discovered that a large percentage of this collection has not circulated since August of 2002. This would indicate that the readership that we have in the summer months decreases considerably during the school year. We expanded this section last summer to accommodate the increased readership and the increase was reflected in the circulation. I believe having the title on the shelf (on demand) works but we may want to consider temporary storage of some of the series titles until this summer. C. I placed two large book orders this month and am now caught up to the November selection tools. Database entries appear about three months after the selection tools arrive. Therefore, I should be able to check the December selection tools against the catalog in February making us complete through 2002 as of next month. III. PROJECTS A. Heights Loves to Read is the theme for February at the Columbia Heights Public Library. In the spirit of the season, children are encouraged to send a valentine to their favorite author, illustrator, or storybook character. The Children's Department is providing valentines for patrons to complete and will forward messages to recipients via e- mail or snail mail. Bulletin boards feature biographical sketches of authors and storybook characters pulling our signature red wagons. B. Storytime with the Mayor. Mayor Julienne Wyckoff has offered to read her favorite stories to children on February 13 at 4:00 pm Mayor Wyckoff will be sharing her favorites The Red Balloon and Cinderella. We hope to have more celebrity storytimes in the next two months. C. It's our birthday and we're celebrating. As a part of the 75th anniversary celebration the Children's Department will be hosting a series of birthday celebrations featuring beloved storybook characters. The first of these parties is scheduled for February 13 starting at 3:30 pm when children are encouraged to celebrate Arthur, the famous aardvark created by author/illustrator Marc Brown. Children will be given the opportunity to play games, create masks, create bookmarks and of course, send a valentine to Arthur. D. Storytime. Winter storytime registration is down considerably from the previous two years. This reduction in registration coincides with the decrease in reading club registrations for pre-kindergarten and the lower circulation figures of the easy picture book collection. I will be holding only one session of storytime this season on Tuesday mornings at 10:00. I believe that this is an indication that we need to adjust our programming and aim more for the middle school and upper school age brackets when providing programs in the future. E. Performers for the upcoming Super Tuesday programs have been booked and contracts mailed, the schedule is as follows: June 17-Science Museum of Minnesota, June 24-Dazzlin' Dave, July 8-Magical Mia, July 15-Shiffelly Puppets, July 22-Nancy, Eddie, and Friends Ventrioloquism Fun, and July 29-Rusty's Rockin' Jamboree, F. Planning is underway for additional summer programming related to LIBRA. The theme for this season is "Wise up at the Library". Teens will receive a bandana upon registering. This will coordinate the Columbia Heights Public Library program with the MELSA program being promoted statewide. Teens will also have an opportunity to earn chances for a large prize drawing in August by answering trivia questions posted inside the building and on the WEB site, reading 5 books over the summer, submitting an evaluation of a book, or submitting a design for a library bookmark. "Wise up at the Library" will be open to children grade six and up in 2003. G. Explore Bright Ideas @ Your Library is the theme for the MELSA elementary school summer reading program. This program features the art of David Small and aims at promoting the library as a place to explore all types of ideas. The Children's Department is working on incorporating aspects of Minnesota inventions, inventors, scientists, writers, entertainers, etc., into potential programming for the summer. We are making some changes in the way this program works in order to align more closely with the Anoka County Summer Reading Club and hopefully to appeal to those children 1 st grade through 5th. IV. MEETINGS A. I attended a MELSA sponsored workshop on incorporating Bright Ideas into the Summer Reading Club. The workshop was informative. I acquired some ideas that I think will be useful this summer and found some stepping off points for my own ideas. I am excited about this program because it is the first in a long time that is actually aimed at school-age children. It is not a pre-kindergarten program. B. I also met with District 13 media specialists on January 9. We discussed the upcoming summer programming and the plans for Columbia Heights Public Library 75th Anniversary. The media specialists are all very overworked at this time but agreed to help with promoting the library and its programs to students and families. See separate report on this meeting for particulars. C. I met with staff from ACL as a part of the LIBRA committee on January 15. We have prepared drafts of the reading records, booklists, bookmark contest, review pages, and trivia questions. ACL staff is finalizing the layout and design. Estimates are being gathered regarding the printing costs. Last year this program was included as part of a metro grant which is not available this year. Columbia Heights Public Library will be paying Anoka County Library for printing and materials costs for this program in 2003. V. STAFF A. Pages in the Children's Department aided in the inventory of the readers, weeding of the paperbacks, and bulletin board preparations for February and March. They also processed two large book orders, mended magazines and shelved materials B. Children's Department Clerk Kelly Olson completed month end and year end statistics, circulation statistics, placed and received book orders, typesetting and layout for Sampler newsletter, began work on the annual report (City), aided in the inventory of readers, and weeding of paperbacks. C. Children's Department Aide, Cristy Tombarge aided in the preparation of slides for r the 75th anniversary slide presentation, aided in file management of network files, set up displays in the Children's Department of Staff Pics, began work on promotional items for Heights Loves to Read and printed the Sampler newsletter.