Library Department Report

April 2006

Staffing

· Marcia Keane, Library Assistant I, tendered her resignation during the month.

· The resulting open Library Assistant I position was posted.

Facility

· Roof leaks throughout the building continued to be a problem.

· Troubleshooting on one of the new telephone connections continued throughout the month.

· Staff received training on the new coin-op and copy machine. Signage was created for, and adjustments were made to, the machines. The equipment was pressed into service and made available for public use by mid-month.

Professional Development & Meetings

· Meetings and workshops attended by professional staff included:

o Monthly Library Supervisors Meeting

o Monthly Staff Meeting for Librarians, Circulation Coordinators & Library Assistants

o Monthly Staff Meeting for Pages – Mary Reed and Pamela Myers

o Monthly Meeting of the Friends of the Library – Pamela Myers, Mary Reed & Jill Reyers

o Lakeland Library Cooperative Policy Planning & Services Committee Meeting – Pamela Myers

Programming, Promotions, Publicity, Special Projects,

Departmental Activities, etc.

· April 01: 32º Club – Fall/Winter Adult Reading Program concluded

o Participants: 47 adults

o Finishers (as of May 9): 30 adults

· April 12: Book Discussion Group For Adults

o Book: Confederates in the Attic by Toni Horwitz

o Facilitators: Mary Reed and Candace Hulst

o Attendance: 12

· April 13: “Family Story Time” with Linda Kuhlman, the Storybook Quilt Lady

o Attendance: 11 children and 4 adults

o The program was held in celebration of National Library Week and served as the finale to the “It’s Time To Read” Family Reading Program.

o Program sponsored by The Friends of the Library

· April 15: “It’s Time To Read” Family Reading Program concluded

o Number of families participating: 46

o Total number of individual participants: 206 (91 adults and 115 children)

o Number of families reaching the 25-point reading goal: 13

· To earn a point, each family (together) had to read 12 picture books or 50 pages in a chapter book.

· Each point served as an entry into a general drawing for prizes.

· Number of families entering at least once: 35

· Total number of entries: 477

· April 04: Anime Program for Youth

o Included a showing of the anime movie “Spirited Away,” an origami craft project, and Japanese cuisine

o Attendance: 9 children (10 and older)

o Program sponsored by The Friends of the Library

o A second Saturday session of this program was cancelled due to a lack of registered participants.

· Toddler (“Wee Ones”) and Preschool Spring Story Times

o A four-week session of Story Time began the week of April 11.

o Detailed attendance statistics for Story Times held in April are provided below:

Date	Toddler Story Time	Toddler Story Time	Preschool Story Time	Preschool Story Time
	Children (Ages 1 ½ – 3)	Adults	Children (Ages 3 –5)	Adults
04/11	22	15	7	8
04/12	20	13	21	12
04/18	22	16	15	7
04/19	18	14	21	8
04/25	13	12	28	10
04/26	18	13	21	6
Totals	113	83	113	54
Average	19	14	19	9

· April 20: School Visit – “Learnapalooza” at the Jenison Early Childhood Center – Jill Reyers

o Promoting the Library’s Summer Reading Program as well as general awareness of the Library’s collections and services

· Promotional materials for the Summer Reading Program and the puppet show to be presented in May created – Jill Reyers & Sue Kirvan

· Promotional materials (press releases and flyers) for May adult programs created – Mary Reed

· Youth Services bulletin board in promotion of National Poetry Month – Jill Reyers

· Bibliography of books about horses created – Sue Kirvan

· Youth Services table display of Library staff members’ favorite picture books – Sue Kirvan & Jill Reyers

· Showcase display (“Then & Now”) by the Jenison Historical Association

· Lobby table display of genealogy books (in promotion of upcoming genealogy programs)

· Weeding of the Adult Nonfiction biography section continued – Susan Carlson

· Weeding of the Adult Nonfiction 100 section continued – Mary Reed

· Temporary Card Clean-Up in the Patron Registration Database – Pamela Myers

Friends of the Library

· The Friends met on Monday, April 03 for their monthly meeting.

· The Friends approved an expenditure of $1,482.40 for the purchase of dies for the Library’s AccuCut machine.

· The group also voted to fund the renewal of the Library’s movie site license at a cost of $385 for another year.

· A slate of officers for the 2006 – 2007 fiscal year was created. (Voting on the officers was to occur at the May meeting.)

· Mary Reed and Jill Reyers presented information on upcoming adult and youth Library programs.

Service & statistical information

Service and statistical information for the month of April 2006 is presented below.

	April	April	% Change	2006 YTD	2005 YTD	% Change YTD
	2006	2005	2005 - 2006 %			2005 - 2006
Circulation (Items)
Total Circulation	23,731	24,580	-3.45%	103,765	103,989	-0.22%
Check-Outs	21,235	22,241	-4.52%	93,207	94,371	-1.23%
Check-Ins	22,701	22,395	1.37%	88,341	89,884	-1.72%

Interlibrary Loan (Items)
Loaned	2,496	2,339	6.71%	10,558	9,618	9.77%
Borrowed	2,948	2,813	4.80%	12,949	12,292	5.34%

Holds
Placed By Staff	752	819	-8.18%	3,400	3,525	-3.55%
Calls to Patrons (Min.)	1,374	1,334	3.00%	6,469	6,056	6.82%

Traffic Count	10,979	12,002	-8.52%	46,514	46,473	0.09%

On a quarterly basis, statistics related to the number and types of reference transactions fielded by staff are compiled at the various service desks in the Library. Data collection for the previous quarter was completed during the week of April 17 – April 22. In order to provide a basis for comparison, results from the previous year’s quarters are provided below as well.

	Completed	Directional	Reference	Total
Data Collection	Reference	Reference	Questions	Reference
Period	Questions	Questions	Not Completed	Transactions

2006
April 17 - 22	1,136	459	23	1,618
January 09 - 14	1,207	513	42	1,762

2005
October 17 - 22	1,127	561	35	1,723
July 25 - 30	1,416	537	14	1,967
July 18 - 23	1,121	400	25	1,546
April 11 - 16	1,481	915	12	2,408
January 10 - 15	1,182	708	30	1,920