Thursday, March 03, 2011
Library Receives Nationwide Grant
Chambers County Library System – February
Budget cuts are being heard everywhere and when times get tough, people flock to the library. Over 13,000 people walked into the county libraries last month to attend programs, check out materials, send faxes, make copies and more. The Job Center has been buzzing with activity and understandably so. Our services are needed more than ever in times like these. When people are looking for work or computer assistance, the library is one of the first places people think of and we’re happy to be here for the community.
February was full of fun activities! Local authors and historians Jean Epperson and Kendon Clark presented a “Living History” program and book signing at the Anahuac library for a crowd of people eager to hear about local legends in the area. There are quite a few resident authors in the area and we gladly support their efforts by hosting book signings and readings.
On February 1st, Adrienne Cain, our new Assistant County Librarian joined the CCLS team. Adrienne also acts as the Branch Librarian at the West Chambers branch in addition to her Assistant County Librarian duties which include her traveling to the branches on a weekly basis doing some administrative work. We’re certainly glad she’s on board!
The Library System was the recipient of a nationwide “mini-grant”. The American Library Association’s Young Adult division hosts several promotional weeks and one of them is Teen Tech Week. Teen Tech Week is a nationwide initiative aimed at teens that highlights non-print resources at the library. The 2011 theme, “Mix and Mash @ Your Library” focuses on encouraging teens to use library resources to express their creativity by safely developing online content. This grant is awarded to 10 libraries each year and with over 1000 applicants, this was certainly an honor.
On the 3rd, the children and teen programmers met to start planning one of the library’s biggest events which is our annual Summer Reading Program. This “meeting of the minds” allowed them to pool resources and share ideas to provide Chambers County with yet another summer full of wonderful activities. We’re looking forward to a great summer!
Programming is always a big item each month, with our toddler times, movies, book clubs and more. This month each of the libraries had Valentine’s Day programs for the school age kids as well as the teens. The preschool ages have their parties in the early mornings, and the after-school crows comes piling in for the afternoon. The Young Adult group had a “Hip Hop Valentine” party with an after-hours movie showing and the Mont Belvieu gang had an “Anti-Valentine’s Day” program featuring some off the wall games that the teens just loved.
The Library Advisory Board met on the 8th, and 1 new member was brought on, and given a thorough indoctrination on their new jobs. The members of the board are appointed by the commissioners and their main duty is to promote library services and programs as well as discuss and approve any policy changes the County Librarian and staff present at the meetings.
And finally, thanks to the commissioners, the library system was able to replace some very well used printers. With over 1,000 pages printed and paid for each month by patrons, it was a welcomed sight to the staff as well as the public.
