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HomeMy WebLinkAbout202310 Library Board UpdateColumbia Heights Public Library Library Board Report – October 2023 BUILDING • The rooftop solar array was inspected. • Adams Pest Control inspected the building. • A shortage of custodial staff resulted in one evening without cleaning. • The air conditioning unit for the community room was manually reset. • Modern Air restarted the boiler following the repair of the heat exchanger. • Aid Electric repaired six ceiling lights which were dark, flickering intermittently, or flashing. • A mechanical lift used for repair damaged the emergency exit door frame and security alarm. TECHNOLOGY • Coordinated Business Systems picked up the old public copier for disposal. • Public Wi-Fi access points were upgraded throughout the building. • IT worked on enabling printing to ledger-sized paper and allowing CHPS student Chromebooks to connect to the library Wi-Fi. COLLECTION • Adult book displays included fire safety, horror, and new books. • Book requests added to the juvenile collection included Bluey, Spiderman, Transformers, Disney princesses, I Spy, Minecraft and “I Survived…” graphic novels. Additional read-along books with embedded audio players were ordered in response to high demand. • Weeding was completed in adult fiction V-Z and nonfiction 700s. PROGRAMS AND SELF-DIRECTED ACTIVITIES DATE INTENDED AUDIENCE ATTENDANCE Family Storytime 10/2 Children (0-5) 27 English Language Conversation Circle 10/2 Adult 6 Daycare Storytime 10/4 Children (0-5) 12 Discussing Race and Racism (Even When It’s Uncomfortable) 10/4 Adult 9 Conversation Circle 10/5 Adult 6 Painting Mushrooms in Acrylic 10/6 Children (6-11) 17 Family Storytime 10/9 Children (0-5) 38 English Language Conversation Circle 10/9 Adult 5 Tinker Time: Salt Dough Leaves 10/10 Children (6-11) 17 Discussing Race and Racism 10/11 Adult 9 English Language Conversation Circle 10/12 Adult 4 Family Storytime 10/16 Children (0-5) 32 English Language Conversation Circle 10/16 Adult 7 DIY Teen: Fall Glass Mosaics 10/17 Young Adult (12-18) 7 Adult Book Club “Mad Honey” 10/18 Adult 8 Illustrated Nature Poems 10/18 Adult 4 English Language Conversation Circle 10/19 Adult 1 Family Storytime 10/23 Children (0-5) 35 English Language Conversation Circle 10/23 Adult 4 Tinker Time: Mini Pumpkin Painting 10/24 Children (6-11) 20 Organizing Your Important Documents 10/25 Adult 21 North Park Elementary English Language Learner Family Night 10/26 All Ages 108 36 Family Storytime 10/30 Children (0-5) 36 English Language Conversation Circle 10/30 Adult 7 Columbia Heights Public Library Library Board Monthly Update – October 2023 STAFF Eliza Pope, Youth Services Librarian, o Continued to offer a weekly family storytime with at least 30 children and grown-ups attending each week. Afterwards, many families move to the children’s area to continue playing and socializing. Some spend hours playing and reading after storytime. o Hosted Erin Holt from eHolt Art to teach a class on mushroom painting in acrylics. Kids could draw from a reference photo or dream up their own mushrooms. They learned about composition, how painting on a wooden panel is different than canvas, and how to mix colors. o Planned and led two Tinker Times. One taught kids and their grown-ups how to mix salt dough to create leaf ornaments. Kids added a rainbow of colors to their leaves and experimented with adding cinnamon and modifying the recipe to see what happened. A second session allowed kids to paint mini pumpkins with paint markers. Some of their creations included black cats, rainbows, Frankenstein, golden robots, and Pokémon. o Hosted Mak from Rum River Art Center for a Legacy-funded program, Fall Glass Mosaics. Mak taught teens how to design a glass mosaic and how to cut the glass to fit their design. Unfortunately, this class did not have a lot of teens register, but one teen’s family stayed and made a mosaic with him, and everyone really enjoyed learning how to use the glass cutting tools. o Hosted an English Language Family Night on October 26 in partnership with North Park School for Innovation. North Park provided pizza, snacks, drinks, and door prizes and I provided a brief overview of how to get a library card and library services. One hundred and eight (108) students, family members, and teachers attended the event. Most of the families were Spanish-speaking and one of the EL teachers translated the event. The families were very appreciative of Spanish-speaking Library Page Yuliana, who made over 15 new library cards. Columbia Heights Public Library Library Board Monthly Update – October 2023 Elizabeth Ripley, Adult Services Librarian, o Started on October 23. o Made one delivery to an At-Home patron. Renee Dougherty, Library Director, o Presented the proposed 2024 departmental budget to the City Council work session. o Met with Library Supervisor Al Mamaril and Library Page Brent Buchanan for their annual performance evaluations. o Facilitated the Adult Book Club’s discussion of “Mad Honey.” o Met with the Anoka County Library Public Services Team. o Contracted Twin Cities Upholstery for the repair of a vandalized chair. MISCELLANEOUS o A patron with a seizure disorder hit their head on 10/5 so staff called 911; the individual was not transported but assisted to the family’s car. o The glass display case featured a display for Polish American Heritage month. o Thirty-eight pieces of Tiny Art were submitted by community artists for display. o The Anoka County Law Librarian met with one person on 10/27. PUBLIC COMPUTER USE 2023 2022 Users 1,043 897 Sessions 1,520 1,314 Minutes 63,723 52,353 FACILITY USE 2023 2022 Visitors 7,134 6,382 Study & Meeting Room Use 315 262 VOLUNTEERS Total Hours Adult 4 19 Teen 0 0