#4 Reports A. Activities Report
Hedberg Public Library
Activity Report
July 2011
Adult Services
Bilingual Outreach
Ren é consulted with Rock County Human Services to assist one of their clients who was looking
for help with his citizenship papers. She referred them to the YWCA Immigrant Outreach
Program. Josie from Forward Janesville contacted Ren é about assistance with a person whose
trailer was damaged in the recent thunderstorm, making it inhabitable. The person is unable to
pay to have the tree removed.
Ren é also received a call from the person herself and ended up providing Josie with the contact
information for the YWCA and the Latino Service Providers Coalition and the person with
additional resources.
Ren é will be observing one of Sheryl Oberle’s computer classes for Spanish speakers. Sheryl
teaches the classes in Beloit, using an interpreter. Ren é is gathering information about additional
options HPL has in teaching computers to this population. She would like to offer classes again
in the fall.
A patron requested information about attorneys in Rock County who speak Spanish, the
Workers’ Rights Center in Madison, and immigration clinics done by Madison attorneys.
Adult Services
July was a quiet month for programming. Planning was done for the Fall 2011 Nancy Parker
/Adult Programs line-up which will be published in the next Library Matters newsletter.
Jean participated in two online webinars, both related to her library collection selection
responsibilities. New and upcoming books were featured in both webinars sponsored by book
publishers.
July’s theme for senior programming outside the library was “The Circus”. She shared library
materials about the history of the circus, the heyday of the circus, and the Burr Robbins Circus
(which wintered in Janesville for many years). The book group at Riverview Heights is reading
The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Attendance was down at all of the sites, most likely due to the
excessive heat (and summer vacation plans of those residing at the independent sites she visits).
Circulation Services
Total circulation is down by 3,882 items or 4% from last year. The number of library visits was
down by 13%. We filled 415 more Holds (reserves) this year than last, an increase of 94%. (We
handled 7,797 holds in 2011 and 7,382 in 2010.) The busiest day for the number of items
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checked-out (5,169) was Tuesday July 5 when the library reopened after the two day holiday.
The next busiest was Monday July 18 when we checked out 4,009 items.
Our clients seem to be adapting well to the self service checkout stations; an average of 83% of
87%
all checkouts are begin done on them. On Sunday, July 17 and Thursday, July 21, of our
items went out via the shelf check machines! In July of last year we were averaging about 62.6%
self check with a high on one day of 70%.
Unique Collections Service reports that over the length of our relationship (Dec. 1997-July 2001)
they have worked on 4,576 accounts for us. They have recovered $140,378.93 in cash and
$171,842.14 in materials. They estimate a $6.70 return on each $1 we have invested!
Projects
We are continuing to work on four big projects: revision of our School/Teacher Loan Cards;
partnering with U-Rock; working with Technical Services on shifting, and; streamlining how we
handle problem returns.
“Teacher Loan Card”
The policy is ready for Board review. We have Circ procedures
and Millennium settings in place. Application forms, brochures and a PR plan are being
developed. We intend be ready to issue these new cards on August 15.
partnership with UW-Rock County campus library
We are proceeding with the . Beth
Webb, Senior Assistant in the Circulation Department, will continue to facilitate our
collaboration. On-line library card applications will make it easy for Beth to help students
and faculty access HPL materials. In the future we may offer a pick up point for item
Holds requested by college students.
shifting
The Circulation Dept is using approximately 12 hours a week of staff time for .
Laurel reports it is moving along well and it looks like we will meet our target date for
completion by Sept. 1, 2011.
Damaged,” “Missing parts,” and “No Trace”
Our “procedures are revised and seem to
be working well.
We have also discovered and are working to resolve a few inconsistencies in our RFID system.
Staffing
We have seen such great value from the student shelvers that we will be keeping them through
the school year. Anna Golackson, will be leaving at the end of August to go back to college. In
her place we have hired Jewel Millard, a college freshman at MATC. Mary and Patrick, both
high school students, will continue with us as well. Each shelver will continue to work up to 10
hours a week primarily in the children’s area. MD 8/4/2011
Collection Development
There was a clear winner in the vote on a name for the new travel neighborhood. ‘Great Escapes’
was the public’s favorite. The Public Information staff will prepare the stickers for the materials
and Technical Services staff will attach the stickers in a one-day blitz. Graphic displays and
range signage will be used to make the new collection more visible and accessible.
The 2012 materials budget was the primary item on the collection team’s July agenda. The
Collection Manager has been meeting with selectors to discuss possible adjustments among
funds, but the proposed 2012 materials budget will reflect flat funding. Selectors have also been
asked to identify areas where cuts could be made if the library is faced with a more austere
budget scenario. Some savings have already been made as a result of cuts to magazine
subscriptions, but there will be a supplemental list of additional cuts amounting to 7% of the
annual budget. Efforts are being made to minimize the impact on service to the public.
Human Resources/Accounting
The August expenditure approval list includes a payment to AT&T of $687.12 for books. These
are telephone directories for reference purposes. A payment of $19,960 to Lyngsoe Systems is
for the annual service agreement for the automated check-in system. All Wisconsin employers
who had a taxable payroll greater than $25,000 during 2010 are subject to a special assessment
for the purpose of paying interest due to the federal government on loans advanced to
Wisconsin’s Unemployment Insurance Reserve Fund. HPL’s assessment for this purpose came
to $1,462.61.
Reference Services
June Statistics - Mary reviewed the June Reference statistics files and found data entry errors
where two data elements were entered on the same fields. Instead of 26 and 32 we had 2632,
and instead of 25 and 21 we had 2521. This resulted in an incorrect total number of Reference
questions for June 2011.
Department name - Service and Security staff were transferred from the “Central Services”
(now Circulation) to Reference Services in 2009. This was a natural move from a customer
service perspective as the distinction between “Service” transactions (where library staff assist
with the specific questions and services of the Hedberg Public Library) and “Reference”
transactions (where library employees assist with non-Hedberg specific information searches) is
meaningless to the average library patron. However, the department name “Reference Services”
does not reflect all the activities department currently now covers. Therefore we will be
changing the department name to “Information Services”.
The Information Services Department will retain all the functions of the current department
including:
Help patrons use the Hedberg Public Library and its resources
Answer reference questions and assisting patrons with research
Prepare bibliographies, indexes and other information resources
Select materials for the Adult collection
Process Interlibrary Loan requests from Hedberg patrons and from other libraries
Produce library programs for adults, including Parker Programs, book discussions and
computer classes
Conduct library tours and outreach efforts
Sign up patrons for library resources such as classes, meeting rooms, etc.
Monitor library conditions and patron behavior to ensure a safe, pleasant environment for
all library patrons.
Job titles and responsibilities of individual staff members will remain the same.
Grant project - Mary Buelow has been Hedberg’s representative on a project designed to
improve computer literacy skills for workers in Rock County. Over 40% of Rock County’s
workforce graduated from high school before the introduction of computers into classrooms, and
had no opportunity to learn computer skills as part of their compulsory education. While many
of these workers have learned these skills at work, through community education courses or on
their own, many others have not. Reference and Service employees frequently work with people
who do not have the understanding or skills to perform basic computer tasks. Some are job
seekers with little or no knowledge of Windows, Internet browsers or email, who are told they
must apply for positions and communicate with prospective employers online. Others are adults
in college retraining programs who are struggling with Word, Excel and Blackboard. While
there are resources throughout the community (including Hedberg) where these individuals can
learn the computer skills they need, many feel too intimidated and overwhelmed to take
advantage of the opportunities available.
The goal of the computer skills project is to motivate and reward Rock County individuals to
improve their computer skills. Wisconsin Literacy is taking the lead on a project, and is in the
process of applying for grant funding. Mary plans to submit a Letter of Support from Hedberg as
part of the grant application process. As a partner in this project, we would share information
about our computer training with that of other organizations in the county. We would also refer
our workers to the computer training at one or more of the other agencies represented on this
committee, when Hedberg’s resources are not the best option to meet the client’s needs.
Other participants are Janesville Literacy, Stateline Literacy, Beloit Public Library, Community
Action, Rock County Job Center, Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, UW-
Rock County, Blackhawk Technical College, and Head Start.
Technical Services
Technical Services Head Carol Kuntzelman and catalogers Rebecca Diedrick and Hope Moccero
visited Lakeshores Library System to view and have a hands-on demonstration of the SkyRiver
cataloging database. SkyRiver is a division of Innovative Interfaces and is the first major
competitor to OCLC in providing cataloging records for libraries. Lakeshores and other libraries
in Wisconsin have recovered significant savings by switching from OCLC to SkyRiver during
the past year. The catalogers were impressed with the service, and Carol Kuntzelman has asked
for a quote on the cost of an annual subscription.
Youth Services
Children’s Services
Storytimes have been very popular at all age levels, reassuring us that it makes sense to continue
the school year storytime programming. Library Explorers has also enjoyed steady attendance
and has attracted a few small camp groups; in fact, 55 children traveled to France with Camille
Rammer – a record number for this program. Family movie nights proved more attractive than
anticipated, most likely due to some great, recent DVD releases.
A few members of Stylez Unknown, a local Breakdance crew, previewed their dancing at the
Tuesday afternoon program prior to the competition (see below). Kids enjoyed watching the
dancing and then trying it themselves. One boy had so much fun he signed up to compete in
beginners group on Saturday.
The Tuesday program was also fortunate to host the 7 Springs All-Nation Drum and Elder Skip
Twodoors, Storyteller. This group of Wisconsin Native Americans brought a ceremonial drum
and many artifacts of Native life. Elder Skip Twodoors is a lively storyteller who had everyone
engaged in his tales.
Tail Waggin’ Tuesdays is going very well since we made the decision to make reminder phone
calls to those who have signed up to read to Maggie. This has allowed us to fill in with wait-
listed children so we’ve had no more gaps.
Young Adult Services
Teens participated in several programs in July including a movie day, Calligraphy for Teens and
Book Review Podcasts. Laura Daemon-Moore taught students strategies for writing book
reviews and assisted with editing. Reviews were presented in an interview style this year and
will be available on our Web site soon.
Jason Regan’s group Stylez Unknown and the library co-hosted a Break Dance & Popping
Competition which drew a talented and enthusiastic crowd of 275 kids, teens and adults from the
region. This competition was made possible in part by the YALSA/Dollar General Grant and
definitely met the grant criteria of drawing in teens who are not regular library users. Plans are
underway for a fall competition.
High school and college-age students volunteered at the Harry Potter Party under the direction of
Julie Westby and Laurie Bartz. Tasks ranged from helping our intern, Travis Wood, use the
sorting hat to place visitors in houses, encouraging kids to participate in the Screaming Shack
and helping kids make crafts. Laura Daemon-Moore met with teens helped write interviews for
the paper, The Daily Prophet.
Teens volunteered a total of 223 hours in July at the Check-In Station and at various Children’s
programs.
Other
Laurie Bartz participated in College Goal Sunday state committee conference call.
Laurie Bartz worked with Laura Daemon-Moore who selected book titles and wrote
annotations for a steampunk genre booklist.
Laurie Bartz attended lunch with Janesville-area Wisconsin Association of Independent
Colleges and Universities (WAICU) mentors and interns.
Laurie Bartz and Sharon Grover met with WAICU representative and Travis Wood for
internship wrap-up.
Sharon Grover sent in the Interim Report for the YALSA/Dollar General Grant, detailing
the author visit with Franny Billingsley and plans for the Breakdance competition.
Sharon Grover did the six-month mid-term report for the LSTA Early Literacy Grant,
covering the following:
Meetings with Preschool for Janesville partners.
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Recap of two-day workshop.
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Evaluation surveys of HPL storytime staff and parents in preparation for creating
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a storytime evaluation instrument.
Budget readjustment request due to timing of grant acceptance.
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