Monday, September 10, 2012
July @ the Library!
Chambers County
Library System – July, 2012
Another successful Summer Reading Program ended with a week
of party events in mid-July. This year’s
program was a huge success with 28,870 books read in June and July as part of
the Texas Reading Club, held at the three Chambers County libraries. The annual program, which is open to children
from the ages of pre-k through 5th grade ended in mid-July, with 1,100
children registering. A total of 3,455
adults, teens, and children attended 40 programs held during this time. Over 200 adults and teens enrolled in their
own reading events, and read a total of 2,157 books.
The Friends of CCLS also took advantage of the summer crowds
by holding a 3-day Gently Used Book Sale at Anahuac and Mont Belvieu. It was a huge success, and funds raised will
be used to purchase additional programming supplies and equipment for the
libraries. The Friends also met during a
special called meeting on the 11th to discuss ongoing plans for the
Mont Belvieu library fundraising campaign.
Good things are in the works for the West Chambers Branch!
At the beginning of the month, former classroom teacher
turned professional chef Lori Hinze held a Cooking Program at each of the
libraries. Her “Book Cook” program
incorporates skills such as literacy, math, and nutrition into her
presentation. Kids became chefs for the
day while learning some cooking techniques they could use at home. We had an overwhelming response and many
requests to have her back. I have a
feeling we’ll be seeing Lori in the Fall!
The Anahuac staff continued on with more programs even after
summer was finished. Branch Librarian
Aquilia De la Cruz and Teen Librarian LaShebia Haskin combined their talents to
present a “Walk on Water” program where the “tween” age kids created sandals
made from recycled 2-liter bottles. The
results were amazing and the kids had a blast.
And a big thank you to everyone involved in helping the
library get a permanent vehicle. We haul
over 1,000 items each month between the 3 libraries and it does quite a bit of
wear and tear on our personal vehicles when you’re hauling such items as book
sale books, equipment, furniture, sno-cone machines, DVDs, buckets of mail,
etc. The County Librarian makes weekly
trips to the branches and we never have less than 5 big boxes to deliver. It’s also used for outreach programs when our
children and teen staff go to the local schools and day cares.
A budget hearing was held at the end of July for the
library. Each year we make notes on
items or services we would like to add for the citizens of the county. This year we’re asking for language and test
prep databases, lease printers, additional programming money, and a couple of
items we feel is warranted to continue the level of service our patrons have
grown used to. We find out in a couple of months what we get, so we anxiously
await until then.
End of Summer Reading Party at Anahuac
Lori Hinze with Cook, Learn, Grown during her Book Cook program
Ronald McDonald visits the library!
Hannah-Kate enjoying her "new" recycled shoes!
Members of the Writers' Interest Group at Mont Belvieu
# posted by Valerie @ Monday, September 10, 2012 
