Library Department Report

February 2007

Staffing

· The open Materials Processor position was posted.

Facility

· Throughout the month, I received complaints from staff and patrons regarding an offensive odor emanating from the vestibule area (between the front doors). Investigation led me to believe the problem was beneath the grating. Rod Deemter and Brian Terpstra removed and cleaned the grating in the vestibule and removed the debris that had accumulated beneath it.

· I received a late-night call from the cleaning company operations manager that one of the toilets in the women’s restroom was running continuously. I arrived to find the fixture actually spurting water onto the floor. (Cleaning staff had already departed prior to my arrival.) I shut off the water to the fixture and mopped up the restroom floor. The next morning, Township personnel repaired the plumbing.

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 & Materials Processors

o Monthly Staff Meeting for Library Pages – Mary Reed & Pamela Myers

o Lakeland Library Cooperative Continuing Education Committee Meeting – Pamela Myers & Mary Reed

o Lakeland Library Cooperative Workshop: Creating Library Policies – Pamela Myers

Programming, Promotions, Publicity, Special Projects,

Departmental Activities, etc.

· February 14: Book Discussion Group For Adults

o Book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

o Facilitators: Mary Reed and Candace Hulst

o Attendance: 13

· One Book, One Community Programs -- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

o February 20: Book Discussion

· Facilitators: Mary Reed and Candace Hulst

· Attendance: 4

o February 21: Movie Presentation

· Attendance: 6

o Program sponsored by the Friends of the Library

· February 05: “It’s Time To Read” Family Reading Program begins

o Program runs through April 14, 2007

o Program sponsored by the Friends of the Library

· February 10: “Frosty’s Magical Birthday Party” Youth Services Program

o Rescheduled from January 20 due to a medical emergency on the part of the presenter.

o Attendance: 31 children and 22 adults

o Program sponsored by the Friends of the Library

· February 22: Outdoor Discovery World “Birds of Prey” Youth Services Program

o Attendance: 41 children and 25 adults

o Program sponsored by the Friends of the Library

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

o An eight-week session of Story Time began the week of January 09.

o Detailed attendance statistics for Story Times held in February 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
02/06	24	16	11	6
02/07	14	10	19	10
02/13	14	9	16	11
02/14	24	13	15	8
02/20	14	8	23	14
02/21	30	18	14	7
02/27	12	9	19	10
02/28	27	18	20	11
Totals	159	101	137	77
Average	20	13	17	10

· Promotional materials (e.g., press releases, displays, etc.) prepared for upcoming programs and activities (e.g., “Drawing Program”) – Jill Reyers & Sue Kirvan

· Promotional materials (e.g., press releases, fliers, etc.) prepared and distributed for the Family Reading Program – Pamela Myers & Becky Ilkanic

· Youth Services featured author display (Dick King-Smith) – Sue Kirvan

· Youth Services featured series display (Rainbow Magic) – Sue Kirvan

· Youth Services Black History Month display – Sue Kirvan

· Family Reading Program display – Sue Kirvan, Becky Ilkanic, Candace Hulst, Jill Reyers & Pamela Myers

· “Read Across America” display and re-cataloging and labeling of books – Pamela Myers, Candace Hulst, Sue Kirvan, Sherry Jordon & Sian Kaley

· Donation/sponsor request letters to local business for the Summer Reading Program for Youth – Jill Reyers

· Lobby table display for the Family Reading Program – Mary Reed

· Weeding of Adult Nonfiction 900’s (through 973.8’s) continued – Susan Carlson

· Weeding of Rental Books – Pamela Myers

· Weeding of Adult Fiction (A–F) – Mary Reed

· Revision of categorization and organization of the Local History vertical file continued – Susan Carlson

Friends of the Library

· The Friends group did not meet in February due to inclement weather.

Service & statistical information

Service and statistical information for the month of February 2007 is presented below.

	February	February	% Change	2007 YTD	2006 YTD	% Change YTD
	2007	2006	2006 - 2007 %			2006 - 2007
Circulation (Items)
Total Circulation	25,369	24,926	1.78%	52,942	50,801	4.21%
Check-Outs	22,428	22,371	0.25%	46,977	45,573	3.08%
Check-Ins	20,844	20,218	3.10%	42,611	40,413	5.44%

Interlibrary Loan (Items)
Loaned	2,941	2,555	15.11%	5,965	5,228	14.10%
Borrowed	3,423	3,043	12.49%	6,888	6,358	8.34%
Paged (Searched For)	3,247	N/A	N/A	6,984	N/A	N/A

Holds
Placed By Staff	866	818	5.87%	1,791	1,709	4.80%
Calls to Patrons (Min.)	1,491	1,504	-0.86%	3,122	3,150	-0.89%
# of E-mail Notices	1,442	N/A	N/A	2,829	N/A	N/A
# of E-mail Items	2,289	N/A	N/A	4,403	N/A	N/A
# of Telephone Notices	1,448	N/A	N/A	2,969	N/A	N/A
# of Telephone Items	1,968	N/A	N/A	3,971	N/A	N/A

Traffic Count	10,687	11,314	-5.54%	22,773	22,647	0.56%

Other

Addition from January: I compiled information for fiscal year 2005 for the 2006/2007 Annual Report/State Aid Application and filed the report/application with the Library of Michigan. (Libraries are required to file this report/application annually in order to receive State Aid funding.)

In mid-February, Lakeland Library Cooperative members learned that the Governor’s proposed 2008 budget would cut funding (State Aid) to public libraries in half to $6.1 million. (This is in addition to the $8 million in library funding that has already been cut since 2002.) State law authorizes Michigan libraries to be funded at $1.50 per capita. Michigan libraries have not been fully funded since 1998, with the amount of funding decreasing each year since then. With the Governor's proposed 2008 budget, public libraries would be funded at 60 cents per capita. (The national average for state support of libraries is $3.21 per capita.) Library directors within the Lakeland Library Cooperative were encouraged to attend upcoming meetings in March to address the impact of such cuts on the Cooperative, as well as its services and its fees to member libraries.