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Date:
M. Rebecca Loader, Library Director
Marsha Tubbs, Children's Librarian
Operational Report May 2005
May 26, 2005
I.
PROGRAMS
A. Program statistics for the month of May
Kindergarten 5/16/2005 8 1
3rd Grade 5/18/2005 17 1
1 st Grade 5/18/2005 12 1
5th Grade 5/18/2005 22 1
1 st Grade 5/19/2005 14 1
2nd Grade 5/19/2005 17 1
4th grade 5/20/2005 29 1
2nd grade 5/20/2005 16 1
Kindergarten 5/16/2005 18 1
Field Trip 5/4/2005 18 7
Field Trip 5/4/2005 17 6
Grandparent's tea 5/21/2005 15 12
Volunteers 5/25/2005 12 3
B. The final session of Grandparent's Tea was held on May 21. The response from participants has been
overwhelming. Attendance for each session averaged around 30 total. Registrations were full months in
advance. At this last program a grandmother announced to the group that she felt the Library had
provided an outstanding series of programs and publicly thanked the library (Dana Weigman) and the
senior volunteers (Noranda Anderson and Pat Jindra) for the work they put into the tea parties. She
expressed her pleasure at being able to attend such a high quality program and share it with her
granddaughter. I would like to also thank Karen Moeller for her aid in building and organizing this
cooperative program. It is an excellent example of what can happen when two city departments
cooperate to provide quality programming for residents.
II. COLLECTION
A. Collection proj ects during the month of May consisted of some shifting of materials and re-Iabeling of
shelves. Due to the changeover to our new and improved Integrated Library System, we were unable to
process book orders or do any collection development in May. These processes will resume in June.
III. PROJECTS
A. The Integrated Library System took a good portion of available time this month. Between staff shortages
due to extensive training and additional projects related to the program, the Children's Department staff
was kept moving at a pretty fast pace. Thank you to Cristy Tombarge and Kelly Olson for their
outstanding efforts aiding in the production of posters, staff pins, newsletters and much more. The project
was a lot of work but well worth the effort in the increased level of public service and library access. I
would also like to thank the Library Director, Becky Loader, for the numerous late and weekend hours
she put in to ensure that the City of Columbia Heights received the best possible product and that the
library staff received the best possible training. We have been lucky to have her extensive knowledge
within the building as we progressed through the "Go Live" process.
B. Summer Reading Program preparations were completed in May. Each year the Library provides two
reading programs for local children. We cooperate with the school district in the promotion and
evaluation of these programs and have traditionally registered between 700 and 800 students as
participants. The programs we offer this year are being offered statewide at most libraries. What's
Buzzin' at the Library is this year's theme for children pre-K through 5th grade and "Tune in at the
Library" is being offered for teenagers grade 6 and higher. The featured author and illustrator for the
What's Buzzin' program is Rick Chrostowski. Rick will help me kick off summer reading when he
accompanies me to visit area schools on June 1. Rick will also provide a program at the Library at
7:00 p.m. on that same date. These visits are part of a cooperative effort between District 13 and the
Library.
C. Tell Me More: (Children's TheatreINeighborhood Bridges) currently have twelve participants (eight
short of the recommended twenty). We are accepting late applications and have relaxed the residency
requirements. Children's Theatre representatives met with ten of the applicants on Saturday, May 14 here
at the library. The group was having so much fun that parents were asked (by the children) to wait an
additional 12 hour before taking the kids home. This is a very good sign when working with young teens.
D. We are currently accepting registrations for Summer Funtime/Storytime. This program is scheduled to
begin June 16.
E. The summer volunteers met on May 25 with some of them returning for the second and third years. The
library could not maintain the high level of summer programs that we have without the help of these
volunteers.
F. Plans are underway for the seventh annual American Girl Tea. The program is scheduled for August 11
at 2:00 p.m. We will be accepting 40 participants for this program
IV. STAFF
A. Department staff spent the month of May learning and adapting to the new Integrated Library
System. The learning process is ongoing and I anticipate that we will be struggling with the new
process throughout the summer months. It is a credit to the entire staff that they have not only
learned a new automated system (a difficult task for many of us) but were able to continue to
provide public service with the barest minimum of interruption.