Library Department Report

August 2007

Staffing

· A Materials Processor position remained vacant.

Facility

· The staff break room sink experienced a plumbing problem and an associated leak.

· A leak emanating from the roof area occurred through a ceiling tile over the Circulation Desk.

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 Library Pages – Mary Reed and Pamela Myers

o Lakeland Library Cooperative Finance Committee Meeting – Pamela Myers

o Lakeland Library Cooperative Board Meeting – Pamela Myers

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

Programming, Promotions, Publicity, Special Projects,

Departmental Activities, etc.

· August 08: Book Discussion Group for Adults

o Book: Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons by Lorna Landvik

o Facilitator: Candace Hulst

o Attendance: 9

· Summer Reading Program for Adults (June 11 – August 04)

o Total Registration: 109 adults

o Total Completing the Program: 32 adults for a 29% completion rate.

o Adults participating in the program were challenged to read 8 books in 8 designated genres and write a mini-review for each. Those completing the program received a finisher prize and were eligible to win a grand prize or one of several “second-tier” prizes.

o Each mini-review served as an entry in weekly prize drawings. Thus, if participants could not manage to complete the entire program, they were still eligible to win prizes.

· A total of 348 mini-reviews were collected from 62 participants.

· A total of 35 participants were awarded prizes from weekly drawings.

· Special Summer Events for Youth

o August 10: Library Summer Reading Program Skate Night at the Ice Arena

· Attendance: 57 children and their parents

· Coordinated by: Pamela Myers, Jill Reyers, Sue Kirvan & one volunteer

· Summer Reading Program for Youth (June 11 – August 03)

o Total Registration: 1,864 children & young adults (Ages 3 – 17)

o The Summer Reading Program for Youth consisted of individual programs for three age groups: ages 3 - 5, ages 6 - 11, and ages 12 - 17

· Participants were required to complete 6 hours of reading (independently or with an adult, depending on the child’s reading level) to qualify as a finisher and receive a collection of “reading rewards.”

· Second and third level reading rewards were awarded to those participants who challenged themselves and read an additional 6 hours and then a final additional 4 hours, respectively.

o Total Program/Special Event Attendance:

· Preschool Story Times: 271 children and 123 adults at 5 sessions

· Youth & Family Programs (Excluding Teen Programs): 973 children and 300 adults at 5 programs

· Young Adults: 50 teens and 4 adults at 4 programs

· Program Attendance All Programs/All Ages: 1,294 children & young adults and 451 adults at 14 programs

o Average Program/Special Event Attendance:

· Preschool Story Time: 54 children and 30 adults per session

· Youth & Family Programs (Excluding Teen Programs): 195 children and 60 adults per program

· Young Adult Programs: 13 young adults per program

Detailed Summer Reading Program Statistics 2006
Group	Registered	Completion Rates
	Participants
		% Finishing	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Ages 3 - 5	425	61.7%	262	212	141

Ages 6 - 11	1,113	64.2%	715	638	533

Ages 12 - 17	326	72.4%	236	207	203

Totals	1,864	65.1%	1,213	1,057	877

· Promotional materials (e.g., press releases, displays, web pages, etc.) created for upcoming autumn events – Mary Reed

· Promotional materials (e.g., press releases, displays, web pages, etc.) for autumn programming for youth created and distributed – Jill Reyers & Sue Kirvan

· Youth Services “Back To School” book list updated – Sue Kirvan

· Youth Services autumn display – Jill Reyers

· Showcase display for fall programs for adults and youth – Mary Reed & Jill Reyers

· Entryway table book display for autumn (“Fall Into A Good Book”) – Mary Reed

· Local Elected Officials brochure update – Susan Carlson

· Weeding in Adult Fiction continued – Mary Reed

· Weeding of Adult Nonfiction 700’s continued, completed through 769’s – Susan Carlson

· Patron database clean-up – Pamela Myers

Friends of the Library

· No meeting is held during the month of August.

Service & statistical information

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

	August	August	% Change	2007 YTD	2006 YTD	% Change YTD
	2007	2006	2006 - 2007 %			2006 - 2007
Circulation (Items)
Total Circulation	31,072	33,700	-7.80%	238,637	237,032	0.68%
Check-Outs	28,499	30,373	-6.17%	215,924	214,435	0.69%
Check-Ins	31,616	33,409	-5.37%	207,214	203,794	1.68%

Interlibrary Loan (Items)
Loaned	2,573	3,327	-22.66%	22,713	22,597	0.51%
Borrowed	3,260	4,103	-20.55%	27,287	27,390	-0.38%
Paged (Searched For)	2,525	N/A	N/A	24,262	N/A	N/A

Holds
Placed By Staff	930	1,195	-22.18%	7,218	7,612	-5.18%
Calls to Patrons (Min.)	1,814	2,125	-14.64%	13,000	13,831	-6.01%
# of E-mail Notices	1,480	N/A	N/A	11,369	N/A	N/A
# of E-mail Items	1,963	N/A	N/A	16,898	N/A	N/A
# of Telephone Notices	1,832	N/A	N/A	12,443	N/A	N/A
# of Telephone Items	2,095	N/A	N/A	14,144	N/A	N/A

Traffic Count	14,300	14,786	-3.29%	106,729	104,256	2.37%

Other

· The Lakeland Library Cooperative (LLC) Board finally came to a decision regarding (1) the restructuring of the Cooperative’s inter-library delivery system to accommodate reduced funding from the State of Michigan and (2) the equitable redistribution of the subsequent increased delivery costs to member libraries. For the 2008 fiscal year, libraries are to be charged on the basis of a flat fee associated with an established “cost per stop” rate. Delivery stops at most libraries are to be reduced from five days per week to three days per week. Six-day-per-week delivery will no longer be an option for any member library. LLC staff was authorized to determine delivery frequency for each member library based upon volume benchmarks and geography/routes in an effort to maximize cost savings.