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#4 Reports A. Activities Report Hedberg Public Library Activity Reports March 2012 Circulation Services Total circulation for the month of March was down 9,726 items from last year – 92,774 items in 2012 compared to 102,500 in 2011. Our busiest day was March 1 when we checked out 3,003 items. The number of library visits for March was down compared to last year but I cannot give you an exact count. The counter on the Main Street entrance died and had to be sent out for service. We don’t have numbers for three of the four weeks of March. We served 73,153 people in 2011 and I estimate we served 64,750 in 2012. Visits are also down from last month when we had 72,026 visitors. This month an average of 80.54% of all checkouts were done using our Self Checkout machines. We ranged from the high 88.97% on Saturday, Mar. 3, to a low of 75.07 % on Tuesday, Mar. 27. In March we completed the facelift of our Full Service Checkout Desk with a half-wall divider which separates the circulation desk supplies from an area for storage of our out of season decorative items. When customers walk up they see lovely oak cabinet doors rather than messy metal shelves, and we are much more organized behind the scenes. Displays in the Library Linda Kerr continues to do a wonderful job keeping our library looking great and featuring interesting library items for our clients. This month she also mentored another graduate school intern. We hope you will stop and look at the lovely “National Library Week” display featuring our library staff and the many ways we take library and literacy services into the community. Other displays for March 2012 were:  Large display: “Technology Roadblock? Get what you need to get up to speed” continued (until April 8 the start of National Library Week). Handouts about our computer class were featured and all were taken! Kate Hull gave suggestions on the most sought after topics for computer books.  The old service desk encourages participation in “The Incredible Edible Book Challenge,” Saturday April 14. It calls all book lovers, punsters, foodies and artists and is great family fun. Participants are judged for prizes.  The center aisle case featured: “Booklist of the Month: Literature in Letters” a bibliography committee booklist. This is mostly epistolary novels which tell stories through letters. A beautiful handout for clients was included. The New Book bookcase featured displays on:  1)Basketball books for “March Madness,” o 2) books and movies similar or from the era of “Downton Abbey” an amazingly o popular new series on PBS. This turned out to be RED HOT and we had trouble keeping it filled. o Collection Development The collection team completed the review and revision of the Collection Development Plan at its March meeting. The Plan serves as a guide for the selection and retention of collections at Hedberg Public Library. It describes the role of collection development in achieving the Library’s mission and in supporting its core values. Revisions to the Plan reflect an interest on the part of team members to ensure easy access to all collections, to embrace new technologies, and to provide a collection that represents diverse points of view and is responsive to the needs and interests of the community. Much of the original Plan was retained, with amendments and deletions reflecting the changing nature of how information and content is accessed and used. The collection development policy section of the Plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval at its April meeting. Human Resources/Accounting Custodians Jody Wenzel, Steve Wenzel and David Wreford received “I Made a Difference Awards” for their excellent upkeep of a very busy public building. Emrick Gunderson received an “I Made a Difference Award” for making the computer lab switchover from public to class use faster. In the bill list, the AT&T Global Services, Inc. bill for $2,640.60 is an annual maintenance charge. In the operating statement, wages and benefits reflect a three-payroll month. Information Services March 2012 patron question totals from all service points are 20% lower than totals for March 2011. Since this is such a significant amount I compared notes with the Heads of Children’s Services and Circulation Services. Sharon Grover reported that children’s program numbers for March 2012 were almost 20% lower than March 2011. Michelle Dennis reported total circulation statistics were 10.5% lower this March than last, and library visits were 11.5% lower. Michelle did mention that there were a few glitches with the gate count this month and they may have lost a few days statistics, and Sharon commented that her staff may not be recording all the questions they answer, but neither of those circumstances fully explain the drop in statistics. Our most probable explanation for the drop was that we were victims of unusual weather. March 2012 was much too lovely for people to spend time inside! For the record, total questions for March 2011 was 4.83% higher than March 2010. Beth Webb began orientation and training for her new responsibilities in Information Services February 24, and in the first part of March she split her time between Information Services and wrapping up her Circulation responsibilities. Beth fully assumed her new duties and work schedule the last week of March. We are finishing the details of a new job description for Jean’s position. The new person this position will manage adult programs at the library, work at the Information Desk, select materials, and coordinate public art exhibits and displays at the library. Some of Jean’s former responsibilities will shift to other employees in the library. Circulation Services is taking over the Hedberg@Home program, and one of the reference librarians will assume responsibility for programming at the nursing homes. The Bilingual Coordinator will report to the Head of Information Services. We will post the position as soon as the job description is complete. Several patrons notified us that our subscription to the ValueLine online service was not functioning properly for much of March. Patrons could use ValueLine just fine in the library, but parts of the service were not available to users logging in from home. Computer Services staff Emrick Gunderson and Melody Clair spent many hours discussing the problem with ValueLine’s technical support. They finally determined that the ValueLine tech had forgotten to notify us that they had added some servers, and our security was blocking activity from those servers. ValueLine gave us the IP numbers for the servers, Computer Services added those numbers to our “approved” list, and patrons reported ValueLine was once again working for remote users. Question of the Month – the Reference Interview in Action "Hedberg Public Library Information Desk, this is Diana." "Hello, do you know that handicapped area of the library?" "No I don't; can you tell me more about it?" "Well, there is this service that brings books to people at home...is there someone there I can talk to about that?" "Oh, yes, that is Hedberg@Home! The person in charge of that is not available today; do you have a question I can answer?" "Well, I am visually handicapped and I would really like to order some roses from the Lions Club, but I don't know who to contact!" "Oh! I just saw a poster for the roses sale on my way into the library today! Let me see if I can find a phone number for you!" And I did find the Janesville Noons Lions Club website online and a phone number for the patron to call. http://www.janesvillenoonlions.org/ROSE-SALE.html (BTW, roses will be delivered on Saturday, March 31st!) Technical Services Shelf Maintenance Technician Laurel Fant assisted Building Technician Dave Peters in moving all of the romance collection on to shorter shelving one morning in March. The move made for better visibility and easier access by the public, and more efficient shelving for circulation staff. During the month of March, as part of her internship at HPL, Sarah Byrnes has been assisting technical services staff in ordering, cataloging and processing materials for the collection. In addition to Sarah’s acquiring some on-the-job training, TS has benefited from an additional pair of hands in getting material onto the shelves faster. Apparently, the experience has been good for Sarah, as she has now expressed an interest in the technical side of librarianship. Youth Services Children’s Services Six staff members planned and implemented an after-hours early literacy event in collaboration with staff from the School District of Janesville’s P4J (Preschool for Janesville) program. P4J families were invited to attend our P4J Pizzeria, an evening of food and fun that centered on the five early literacy practices – talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing – that are part of the ALA’s new Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library (ECRR2) initiative. Camille Rammer attended a webinar on ECRR2 and worked with Jamie Swenson, Shannon Murphy-Tollefsrud, and Karin Timmermann, to develop the pieces of the workshop. Elizabeth Hough and Rebecca Haefner created wonderful invitations, signs, and packets for the event. Bryan McCormick welcomed participants at the door and helped Dave Wreford and others with a very speedy breakdown of the program room from a dinner set up to space for a sing-along. Laurie Bartz worked with teen volunteers from TAB and Parker High School’s Spanish club who helped with food and crafts and games. Sharon Grover coordinated the event with P4J staff. Michelle Dennis and two circulation staff made library cards, resolved problems with library cards, and collected fines. The evening was a huge success with 171 children and adults in attendance, 21 new library cards issued, and 177 items circulated – all in an hour and a half. Almost 50% of the families in attendance returned evaluation surveys that were overwhelmingly positive. The school district split the cost of the pizza with the library. Mosi, the giraffe mascot, celebrated his birthday in grand style on Saturday, March 24. Julie Westby really knows how to throw a great party with terrific decorations and lots of fun games and crafts. The party was enjoyed by 76 children and adults. Storytime and other programs got off to a slow start after our two-week break. The lovely weather made for some quieter-than-normal times in the library, resulting in lower program numbers and questions at the desk. The baby storytimes drew their usual crowd, but no one stayed to play indoors; not surprising with May weather in March. Young Adult Services A college access advisor was available in the Woodruff Training Lab to answer questions about financial aid and scholarships as a follow-up to College Goal Wisconsin. Two hands-on programs were offered in March. Teen Techno Jewelry was held as a drop-in program in Teen Central during Teen Tech Week. Camille Rammer provided examples and detailed instructions for making fabric storage boxes following the regularly scheduled Teen Advisory Board meeting. Volunteer interviews were held with three teens in March. Teens volunteered at various events including Mosi’s birthday party and the P4J event. Other:  Sharon Grover, Jamie Swenson, and Bryan McCormick met with P4J coordinator Kristen Moisson to insure that our plans for the early literacy event meshed with the way children are being taught at the P4J centers.  Laurie Bartz attended a College Goal Wisconsin State Committee meeting.  Sharon Grover met with Allison Kaplan (UW-Madison School of Library and Information Studies) to plan the follow-up surveys for the early literacy workshop held last May. These surveys will measure changes made to storytime practices by those in attendance at the workshop as well as changes noted by adult caregivers attending storytimes at HPL.  Laurie Bartz attended a JM4C (Janesville Mobilizing for Change) meeting. Laurie is the secretary of this group.  Sharon Grover met with K.T. Horning, director of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, UW-Madison, to discuss possible collaborative efforts to bring a Latino author or illustrator to Wisconsin, to be shared by the CCBC and Jackson Elementary School in Janesville. This will be an ongoing project.  Laurie Bartz attended a Janesville Virtual Academy Board Meeting.  Julie Westby, Laurie Bartz, and Sharon Grover conducted two interviews with Janesville college students who applied for the summer internship through WAICU (the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities), which is funded by the Batterman Foundation. Katarina Miller, who attends Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin, was selected to work at HPL during our summer reading program.