Questions arise at final budget hearing at Beach library
Weekly Activities
Preschool Story Hour on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 10:30 a.m.
Scrapbooking session on Monday, Oct. 5, at 10:30 a.m.
Upcoming Activities
Knitting group meets again on Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m.
Introduction to Polymer Clay Design on Oct. 13 at 10:30 a.m. will enable participants to get acquainted and have practice in using polymer clay for a seashell pendant. This sculptable material is colorful, versatile, and gives one immediately a product. It’s only called clay because its texture and working properties resemble those of mineral clay. Pre-registration and $3 materials fee are needed.
Interlibrary Loan
If you’re among those who request titles from time to time, be aware that starting October 1, the electronic ability to request an Interlibrary Loan from home will cease. The ‘interlibrary loan’ oval will be removed from the catalog screen. This is a consequence of the cutbacks many libraries have experienced in the past year. The system, for optimal efficiency, needed updated software and this was beyond the budget of the consortium of libraries who shared resources to make this extended service possible. There also was an evaluation that the costs of this software did not provide the features that should be part of 2010 and beyond.
You can still request an item we do not have in our collection by completing a form at the Circulation Desk. We will look into purchasing the title or requesting it from another library.
Hearing One Way
We had the final budget hearing last week and welcomed those who participated. Questions that arose during that time were responded to and I hope to share one of the concerns/insights mentioned.
Will the library remain a needed resource in the community? While no one has a crystal ball, we can feel reasonably certain that with long-range planning (which we are good at all) we will be responsive to the needs of the community.
There are so many reasons to use the library today and our experience at the Beach Library, gives solid evidence, on almost a daily basis that people actually do, e.g. the number of people physically using the library last month was up 12% and the number of items checked out for use outside the library was up 23%. It has been this increased usage over the years that has prompted the plans for expansion and also articulated many, many times by taxpayers and residents when we contacted the community via surveys and focus groups before making any plans and decisions regarding the future.
In talking about library use, libraries build relationships, and tell me what is more important in life than that? People are connecting at the library, whether it’s with media, technology, print or one another.
Hearing Another Way
One person at the budget hearing, in a related concern, wondered if technology doesn’t make it less likely that the library will be used in the future. It was a question also when there was concern with the interesting sounds of live radio, and then with the color TV and then with the advent of the Internet, people would no longer need books or libraries. If anything, the latest innovation, the Internet, has brought more people to the library. We find, despite the onslaught of technology and its advancements, people are seeking resources available at the library more so than ever before.
Our Preschool Story Time exposes even the youngest audience to the benefits of group learning. The Conference Room offerings offer presentations and seminars and workshops to engage the community in discussion and in meeting each other.
Local resident Jean Gottlieb says it well: “I’d suggest that as a community in a democratic society, it’s our mission and responsibility to the whole community that drives what we do and how we do it: the whole community comprises children, who still need to develop the skill of reading and also the socialization that is part of being in a library environment; the elderly, who use varied resources the library offers; students, whose education is expanded and enriched by the library’s extensive holdings. The issue isn’t whether books will become obsolete, the issue is how do we continue educating ourselves-thereby setting an example for our citizens, young and old, present and future, so that their values include the importance of being informed and thinking people.”
I’d suggest that the library will remain vital: a hangout, a meeting place, and provider of information, the public library seems far from spent. Technology is a helpful tool and while no one knows exactly what technology will prevail, flexibility remains integral as we adjust to whatever it is that will replace mp3’s or DVDs.
While I’m sure there will be changes, I look forward to creative adaptations. Although we may be watching our house values decline and our reserve funds dry up, there is still the sweet experience of crawling into the pages of a really good book. Reading books remains one of the best-and cheapest-sources of learning, entertainment, comfort and escape to be found. We hear often, for example, of how wonderful the books are as an alternative to mindless TV, and the inspiration, imagination, value, empathy they encourage.
More comments from the Hearing will continue next week.
Library Hours
Don’t remember library hours? Call for information. When we are closed, a recorder gives the hours of operation, either on 765-8162 or on 765-8163. Except for holidays, which would be mentioned on the recorder, we are open Monday and Wednesday from 9 a.m to 8 p.m;Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. We look forward to seeing you.