HomeMy WebLinkAbout202507 Library Board UpdateColumbia Heights Public Library
Library Board Report – July 2025
BUILDING
• An upper window on the west side of the building was broken. A repair quote was requested.
• Northland Refrigeration repaired the air conditioning unit which cools the server room.
• Viking conducted inspection and testing of the fire alarm and sprinkler suppression system.
• Adams Pest Control performed a monthly inspection.
TECHNOLOGY
COLLECTION
• New books were selected from reviews in the March and April issues of Booklist, Kirkus Reviews,
Library Journal and School Library Journal. Juvenile requests and replacements focused on
popular characters such as Bluey, Spider-Man and Disney Princesses.
• Weeding was completed in adult fiction G and nonfiction 750-950.
• Adult endcap displays highlighted baseball, Pride, audiobooks for road trips, and art/art
techniques. The main display featured global reading options in support of the Summer
Adventures reading program which includes adults and children. Youth displays highlighted
global food and cooking books and a “start a series…” display featured first books in support of
summer reading.
PROGRAMS AND SELF-DIRECTED ACTIVITIES DATE INTENDED
AUDIENCE
ATTENDANCE
Evening Storytime 7/1 Children (0-5) 11
English Language Conversation Circle 7/2 Adult 7
Family Storytime 7/7 Children (0-5) 53
ELL Conversation Circle 7/7 Adult 8
YSL visits summer ENCORE program (4 classrooms) 7/8 Children (6-11) 260
Bakken Museum Science in the Summer 7/8 Children (6-11) 11
EL Conversation Circle 7/9 Adult 14
YSL visits summer ENCORE program (4 classrooms) 7/10 Children (6-11) 145
Master Gardeners Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic 7/12 Adult 5
EL Conversation Circle 7/12 Adult 5
Family Storytime 7/14 Children (0-5) 44
EL Conversation Circle 7/14 Adult 13
Tinker Time: Cardboard Intervention Convention 7/15 Children (6-11) 43
Book Club 7/16 Adult 9
EL Conversation Circles 7/16 Adult 7
Active Agers Book Club (offsite) 7/18 Adult 6
Story Stroll at Prestemon Park 7/18-21 All Ages
Somali Museum Traveling Exhibit 7/19 Adult 29
EL Conversation Circle 7/19 Adult 4
Family Storytime 7/21 Children (0-5) 37
EL Conversation Circle 7/21 Adult 6
DIY Teen: Henna 7/22 Young Adult/Teen 14
Sand Painting and Rangoli 7/23 Adult 12
EL Conversation Circle 7/23 Adult 6
Siama’s Congo Roots 7/24 Children (6-11) 27
EL Conversation Circle 7/26 Adult 6
Family Storytime 7/28 Children (0-5) 42
EL Conversation Circle 7/28 Adult 10
Columbia Heights Public Library 2. Library Board Monthly Update – June 2025
EL Conversation Circle 7/30 Adult 8
4-H LEGO Challenge 7/31 Children (6-11) 23
STAFF
Elizabeth Ripley, Adult Services Librarian:
• Coordinated a plant diagnostic clinic with Master
Gardeners from Anoka County Extension.
• Lead a discussion of My Antonia by Willa Cather
for the Active Agers Book Club.
• Hosted a Somali Museum of Minnesota traveling
exhibit of cultural artifacts.
• Welcomed Shakun Maheshwari to teach a
history, cultural and techniques of sand rangoli
and impermanent art from India.
• Researched numbering sequence and
coordinated orders for patron and material
barcodes.
• Initiated a project to redesign and reorder
physical library cards.
• Met with the Columbia Heights Senior
Consortium.
• Made deliveries to four At-Home patrons.
• Supervised the work of adult volunteers.
Eliza Pope, Youth Services Librarian:
• Concluded a successful summer storytime series in which the evening session saw increased
attendance.
• Prepared a bilingual (English/Spanish) story stroll for display at Prestemon Park July 18-21.
• Hosted Heather from the Bakken Museum for an
immersive exploration of health science careers.
Kids tackled challenges such as restoring blood
flow in simulated blocked veins, mending broken
foam bones, and testing the repaired bone’s
ability to bear weight.
• Welcomed Now.Make.Art who challenged kids
to tackle everyday problems with cardboard
inventions.
• Hosted henna artist Shakuntala who taught
teens the history and design basics. Enthusiastic
Columbia Heights Public Library 3. Library Board Monthly Update – June 2025
students then created their own designs. This program was a huge hit.
• Invited Siama and Dallas to share stories from Siama’s childhood in Congo. Participants learned
Kikongo phrases and made music with guitars, thumb harps, hand shakers and a balafon.
• Partnered with 4-H/Anoka County Extension for an engaging LEGO challenge to create wind-
powered cars. Students tested their designs, recorded travel distances, and brainstormed
improvements.
• Visited students from K-8th grade enrolled in CHPS Summer ENCORE to promote summer
reading, visiting the library, and engaging brains with learning games.
• Staffed a table at the Police Department’s Eat and Greet Picnic in LaBelle Park on July 29.
Renee Dougherty, Library Director:
• Participated in the Book Club’s discussion of Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker.
• Attended the Anoka County Library’s Public Service Team meeting.
MISCELLANEOUS
• Library Page Karen Yaeger resigned effective July 24.
• Anoka County Law Librarian John Murphy held office hours on July 23.
• Six adult volunteers donated 29 hours, and six teen volunteers donated 50.75 hours this month!
They pulled holds, did shelf-reading, conducted conversation circles, assisted with technology
questions, installed scavenger hunts, shelved picture books, and organized the collection.