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BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES
The Belmont Public Library continues to fulfill its mission to provide free and equal access to information and ideas through a wide range of resources, including materials, services and programs that meet the diverse interests of Belmont residents and other users; and to support and encourage a well-informed society. The public library strives to create an environment that welcomes users of all ages and abilities. The roles of the Belmont Public Library are twofold: that of a popular materials library and that of a center for independent learning. The staff of the library gives equal importance to both of these roles by maintaining a balanced and diverse collection.
The Belmont Public Library continues to be a very heavily used public library with 323,950 patrons visiting the library in 2002. In its population group, the Belmont Public Library continues to be ranked among the most heavily used libraries in the Commonwealth. Circulation, including both books and non-book materials has increased by 23,936 items over last year to 464,066 items. Over the past two years, circulation has increased by 12%. We can expect both library circulation and in-house use to continue to rise because of the downward turn in the economy. Traditionally, in times of economic woes the popularity of the public library increases.
An amnesty period to allow the return of all overdue library materials without a fine imposed was held for one week in November. Amnesty periods have worked well in the past few years, being an effective way for the library to recover materials that may not otherwise have been returned.
Elizabeth Moult has joined the staff as a full time librarian in the Children’s Department. She had been working at the Belmont Public Library part time in the Reference Department and part time in the Children’s Department for a year. She is a graduate of Simmons College and has been working as a librarian for the past twenty years. We are glad to have her on the staff of the library.
Due to the drastic budget cuts to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, the Metrowest Massachusetts Regional Library System, and rising subscription costs, access to 12 databases has been eliminated. These include InfoTrac OneFile, Promt, Contemporary Authors (as a stand-alone product), the Boston Globe (as a stand-alone product), Health and Wellness Resource Center, Wilson Biographies Plus Illustrated, Business and Company Resource Center, Electric Library, Archives USA, Dialog News and in-library access to Student Resource Center and World Book. Fortunately, eight new databases have been acquired to replace some of those resources. These databases include the New York Times (previous 365 days) and the Los Angeles Times (January 1996 to present), Newsbank (consisting of the Boston Globe, Boston Herald,
Union-News and Worcester Telegram & Gazette), Professional Collection, Biography Resource Center, InfoTrac Student Edition, InfoTrac Junior Edition and InfoTrac Kids Edition. The majority of these databases are available from your home computer with a current Minuteman Library Network card.
Twenty computer workshops in computer training for patrons were offered in 2002. Almost 200 library patrons attended these workshops, which covered a wide variety of topics including PC Basics, Internet Basics, Health Information on the Internet, Job Hunting on the Internet and Searching the Library Catalog. Classes on Searching the Library Catalog were held in the Senior Center’s computer lab. Laptop computers borrowed from the Minuteman Library Network were used as a wireless computer-training lab. The wireless setup and the opportunity for hands-on training were well received by the patrons who were able to attend these workshops. The Reference staff continues to offer one-on-one tutorials in the use of the Internet, electronic databases and newer technologies available at the library for patrons
who request that service. Patron computer and Internet use is increasing at an incredible rate. The computers were used 9,151 more times this year than last year, for a total of 24,826 patron uses. This is an increase of thirty-six per cent.
The Reference Department answered over 8,000 more questions this year for a total of 48,535 reference questions answered. Library patrons can now submit reference questions through the library’s web site. Responses are generally given within 24 hours during the week and 48 hours on the weekend. This new service allows patrons to ask questions of reference librarians from their home at their convenience. Examples of questions received include: How many cities or towns in the United States are named Belmont or Boston?” (Belmont – 28 and Boston – 16) or “Is it possible to renew library items online?” (Yes, with your library card and PIN).
The Children’s Department and the Benton and Waverley Branches continue to offer their popular programs throughout the year. Storyhours include Mother Goose Storytime for children ages 9 to 18 months, Toddlers and Twos for children ages 18 months to two and a half years, Stories for Threes for children ages two and a half to four years, and Storyhour and crafts for children ages four and five. Each session runs for six weeks with fall, winter and spring sessions. Total annual attendance for all Storyhours was over 2,000 children. Folksinger Julie Goetse’s twice monthly sing-a-longs at the Main Library and branches continues to be a very popular attraction. We appreciate her dedication to the library and to the children of Belmont.
The Summer Reading Program, “A Star Spangled Summer” was kicked off by Marcus Gale, children’s entertainer. There were over 700 enthusiastic readers, who read more than 13,400 books by the end of the summer.
The Jane Gray Dustan Trust funded performances that enhanced the Summer Reading Program. More than 2,300 children and their families attended these programs. The Tanglewood Marionettes presented “Sleeping Beauty”. Musical programs were performed by Liz Buchanan, Rick Goldin, and Arnie Harris, Storyteller Diane Edgecomb told Native American Tales, James Brown conducted a comic book workshop and David Zucker presented “Poetry in Motion”. The final performance for the summer was an outdoor concert by the Air Force Band. The Friends of the Belmont Public Library generously provided reading incentives for the Summer Reading Program and purchased souvenir water bottles decorated with the Belmont Public Library logo for all the children who completed the program. The Trustees of the Belmont
Public Library are extremely grateful for the generosity of Ms. Jane Gray Dustan, a lifelong library supporter and avid reader who wishes to promote learning and enrich the lives of the children of Belmont.
Other programs funded by the Jane Gray Dustan Trust included the Poobley Greegy Puppet Theater, who presented “The Shoemaker and the Elves” in February, musicians Jerry and Nancy Bell in March and Peter and Ellen Allard in a family concert held in April.
The Children’s Room continues to participate in the Community Service Program for sixth graders at the Chenery Middle School. This program enables a large number of middle school students to fulfill their community service requirements by shelf reading (putting books into proper alphabetical order and Dewey Decimal sequence) and helping the staff by preparing supplies for story hour crafts activities at the library.
The Young Adult Department sponsored an outdoor concert featuring local student bands, and decorations in the young Adult Room made by high school volunteers to promote student research for National History Day. There was a major effort by the reference librarians to assist the students in researching information for their National History Day projects. The Young Adult librarian collected and displayed books of primary source materials, developed a study guide, posted recommended Web resources on its Web site and invited students to make appointments with members of the Reference staff for individual or group appointments to learn about the resources available for their project. In all, 157 students attended 115 appointments with the reference staff. The success of this ongoing program is underscored by the
large number of high school students who, without formal invitation, have been seeking assistance at the reference desk as they begin to research their second or third National History Day project.
The library staff continued its collaboration with the Belmont Public Schools to support the middle and high school curriculum. Six of the sixth grade classes from the Chenery Middle School visited the library in March and April to learn about books, databases and other resources that can be used in researching their first social studies research paper, which explored ancient civilizations. The Young Adult Department joined with the Chenery Middle School Library and the Belmont High School Library to sponsor a book review contest during Teen Read Week in October. These book reviews are posted on the Teen Center pages of the Library Web site, along with about 100 other book reviews written by and for Belmont teens.
The Teen Summer Reading Program “Be a Star – Read,” kicked off with an outdoor band concert featuring five middle and high school student bands. The concert was co-sponsored by the Belmont Youth Commission and the Belmont Police Department DARE program, which provided both professional expertise and financial support. The event drew approximately two hundred teens to the field behind the Underwood Pool for an afternoon of music and companionship. There were 112 students in grades 7 through 12 registered for the Teen Summer Reading Program, reading 774 books over the summer. The Young Adult librarian was assisted in planning the activities for the summer reading program, including bi-weekly trivia contests and a final pizza party, by the volunteers on the Teen Advisory Board. Prizes included a DVD
player donated by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library (which generously funds the Teen Summer Reading Program), a pair of box seat tickets to the Red Sox and other prizes donated by local by businesses. Twenty-one high school students also volunteered a total of 471 hours over the summer to fulfill their high school community service requirement. A favorite project was decorating the Young Adult Room in the “Be a Star – Read” theme. Students created a Hollywood Walk of Fame with stars leading from the lobby to the Young Adult Room, a marquee featuring recommended young adult books and tinsel trimmed banners and posters.
In another collaborative effort with the Belmont Youth Commission and the Children’s Department, the Young Adult Department held weekend and afternoon workshops. Programs included drawing cartoons, babysitting and childcare, making beaded bracelets, cooking, baking cookies, painting with acrylics and making books. These workshops were funded by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library, the Jane Gray Dustan Fund and the Youth Commission.
Book discussion groups continue to be very popular at the library. The Book Discussion Group at the main library met throughout the year on the fourth Thursday of each month. This evening book discussion group alternates its monthly selections between the classics led by Miriam MacNair and contemporary works led by Elisabeth Strachan. Miriam MacNair also leads a discussion of classic books at the Senior Center. This year, they devoted three months to the discussion of War and Peace, by Tolstoy. Books and Bites, the noontime book review program, was held on the second Monday of each month. Library staff and patrons give reviews of fiction and non-fiction books. Some of the books reviewed this past year included: Night Gardening, by E. L. Swann, discussed by Nancy Forbes,
Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym, discussed by Grace Taylor, Miss Garnet’s Angel by Salley Vickers, discussed by Gillian Aguilar and My Wars are Laid Away in Books: The Life of Emily Dickinson and Theodore Rex, a biography of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris, discussed by Mary Keenan. This program continues to be a favorite, with attendees expressing enthusiasm about the high quality of the reviews.
The Benton and Waverley Branches continue to have both adult and children’s programs. The Benton afternoon book group discussed Death in Summer, by William Trevor and other contemporary works. This book discussion group consists of twelve dedicated and loyal avid readers. Elisabeth Strachan also does story hours for children aged one to five and leads a drop-in playgroup for toddlers. Folksinger Julie Goetze visits the branches monthly for her popular sing-a-longs. The Branch Librarian was also available to assist young adults working on their National History Day projects.
When the citizens of Belmont heard of possible branch library closings, there was an enormous public response. Several petitions were presented to the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Library Trustees, e-mails were sent to Town Officials and Letters to the Editor of the Belmont Citizen-Herald newspaper were written in support of keeping both branch libraries open. A public meeting was held in December to discuss the future of both branch libraries. More than fifty branch library supporters attended that meeting. The statements made in support of both the Benton and Waverley branches were all articulate, intelligent and enthusiastic. The Board of Library Trustees is very grateful for the support of so many dedicated library users. It was reiterated that the Board of Library Trustees had voted unanimously to
support the branch libraries in the short term. At the close of the discussion, it was agreed that for now both the Waverley and Benton branch libraries would remain open. It was recommended that a new branch library be included in the proposed plans for a new Senior Center on the Kendall site.
Library Director Maureen Conners continues to write the quarterly newsletter, “The Belmont Bugle” for the library. The Friends of the Belmont Public Library generously support the publishing of this newsletter, which is available at the Circulation desks at the library. The sixth annual Staff Day was held in April. With the increase in library use, both in circulation and use of the building and no increase in the staffing levels, it was decided that staff day be devoted to “Introspection and Accomplishment”. The topic for the morning was “Evaluation of our Work Procedures.” With the help of facilitator Rose Swenson, the staff examined work procedures, discussed workplace constraints and problems and offered some very creative solutions. Many of the suggestions were
implemented immediately. The afternoon sessions were “Taking Care of Ourselves at Work”, presented by Sally McAlpin and “How Color Affects our Attitudes”, presented by Donna Cognac. The Friends of the Belmont Public Library generously provided a luncheon for the entire staff.
The meeting rooms at the Belmont Public Library continue to be booked solidly throughout the year. There were 684 meetings held at the Belmont Public Library last year with an attendance of 15,411. Of these meetings, 271 were library sponsored with almost 8,000 people in attendance. Four hundred and thirteen meetings were held at the library by Town Board and Committee groups, community groups and others with over 7,400 people in attendance. The Claflin Room is the repository of our local history and because of its valuable contents; the room is open primarily when there is a member of the Historical Society present. The Board members of the Historical Society meet regularly in the Claflin Room. The Flett Room is used for many of the library-sponsored programs, such as the Storyhour programs conducted by
the Children’s librarians, meetings of the Young Adult Advisory Board, and many other community group meetings. The Assembly Room is also used for many of the library sponsored programs and Town and community group meetings when a large attendance is expected. Some of the programs conducted are storytellers, puppeteers, crafts, movies, and the Friends Lecture series.
Volunteers continue to play an important role in the functioning of the library. This year, our dedicated volunteers contributed over 2,000 hours to shelving and organizing books, special projects, staffing the Claflin Room, delivering books to the homebound and leading the “Books and Bites” book reviews. A new volunteer program was initiated by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library this year. The “Adopt-a-Shelf” program is designed to assist the library staff in shelf reading. The thirteen volunteers have each chosen a specific area in the library book stacks to work on. The Trustees truly appreciate their many hours of service to and enthusiastic support of the Belmont Public Library by all our volunteers.
The library is very fortunate to have the loyal support of many community groups, most notably the Friends of the Belmont Public Library, the Rotary Club, the Garden Club and the Belmont Historical Society. The Friends of the Belmont Public Library continue to sponsor the “Belmont’s Own” lecture series which features local personalities. Some of the programs this year were an Audubon slide show, Anita Diamant discussing her book Good Harbor, Deborah Cramer discussing her book Great Waters: An Atlantic Passage, Al Blanchard discussing his books Murder at Walden Pond, The Iscariot Conspiracy and The Mad Season, Norman Gautreau discussing his book Sea Room, Hallie Ephron and Dr. Donald Davidoff discussing their book Delusion and Linda Barnes discussing her book
The Big Dig. The Annual Book Sale, held in October by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library, continues to fund museum passes to fifteen institutions – The Aquarium, Audubon Society (with Drumlin Farm in Lincoln being the most popular and closest site), Children’s Museum, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Discovery Museum, Essex/Peabody Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Gardner Museum, Harvard Art Museums, Harvard Natural History Museum, John F. Kennedy Museum, Plimoth Plantation, Science Museum and Zoo New England (Franklin Park and Stoneham Zoos). The museum passes are available to residents of Belmont who have a current Minuteman Library Network card. These museum passes were circulated 1,782 times.
The library once again was the recipient of several gifts. The Rotary Club purchased a new flat screen monitor for the Reference Department and three heavy-duty book trucks to help with the increased volume of delivery materials that pass through the Metrowest delivery system. The Friends of the Belmont Public Library purchased a large bookcase for the Young Adult Room in memory of Betsy Cameron, a long time member of the Friends of the Belmont Public Library and the Board of the Friends. The Friends of the Library also purchased plastic bags to be used on rainy days to protect our valuable materials.
The Trustees of the Belmont Public Library are active, civic-minded residents of Belmont. Heli Tomford is on the Board of the Historical Society, Tom Faulkner is Chair of the Insurance Advisory Committee, Lawrence McCormick is on the Board of the Massachusetts Library Trustee Association and Jil Westcott was a very active participant in the Cluster Planning Group. The Cluster Planning Group discussed ways to achieve maximum synergy between the School Department, the Senior Center, the Library and the Skating Rink. A proposal was put forward by Mike Speidel, Chair, suggesting that a good use of the land and facilities might be to move the White Field House facilities behind the skating rink, build a new library along the north side of Concord Avenue, renovate the existing library building as a Senior Center, create off
street parking on both sides of Concord Avenue and install traffic calming lights and signs along Concord Avenue.
The Trustees are committed to continuing to provide quality library services to the community. We believe strong libraries are essential to education and lifelong learning, to economic development, to strong communities and to a strong democracy.
Respectfully submitted,
Vera G. Dreyer, Chair
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