Tuesday, April 02, 2013
Chambers County Library System - March report
Chambers County Library System –
March, 2013
Total
walk-in traffic – 9,619
Total
programs offered – 63
Program
attendance – 1,177
Computer
logons – 2,010
Total
circulation – 13,260
As you can
see, the month of March was a busy, busy month!
March
provided the library system with another opportunity to show the communities
some of the things we do best. National Read Across America Day was celebrated
at all three libraries with our Cat in the Hat costumes (courtesy of the
Friends of CCLS) used in full force at all the branches. Each site had all sorts of fun, with cakes,
photographs, and of course, Dr. Seuss stories. Our children’s programs continue
to be innovative and successful! West
Chambers Branch Librarian, Missy Parham had the privilege of being the
“official” Cat in the Hat at Barbers Hill ISD.
She spent a day at the schools entertaining the kids with stories and
quirky fun activities. It’s always a
great thing to see the staff involved at the schools. We ended March with Easter parties for the
young set, and there were various activities in the three branches, from egg
hunts to visits by that old rascal himself, the Easter Bunny.
Several
staff members were able to take advantage of the County’s offer of CPR classes.
Staff has been trying to work themselves
into the monthly classes provided by the Emergency Management department, and
we fervently hope that everyone who wants to take the class will have managed
to do so by the end of the year. Each of our sites has a defibrillator available,
and new rules on these machines, and new standards for CPR techniques make
re-training invaluable.
Our
movie programs are always a hit with free refreshments and movies on the big
screen. The staff loves to show newly
released movies with the kids (and adults) often asking what the next movie
will be. Chambers County Library in
Anahuac tested out a “Grown-up Movie Night” on the 26th with a good
group of attendees. It sparked interest
for other types of movies to be shown including classics and award-winning
films. Of course the kids enjoyed Hotel
Transylvania and Odd Life of Timothy Green. Next month there’s a whole new lineup, so be
sure to check it out!
Spring
break also allows the community to spend free vacation time at the
libraries. Programs specifically held
for Spring Breakers were held at a couple of branches with Anahuac’s Angry
Birds program, name art collages, and a movie marathon. Mont Belvieu followed suit with a Shrek teen
movie marathon complete with all types of good snacks.
The
Winnie gang held a Springtime Gardening program with A. Lynette Parsons. Lynette is a certified Master Gardener and
loves to talk dirt with patrons on all types of topics when it comes to
gardening and flowers. Contact the local
County Extension office at 409-374-2123 with your gardening questions and
they’ll connect you with the local experts in Chambers County.
Technical
Librarian Kathy Fielding and I did some outreach at the Chambers County Health
and Wellness Fair by showing county employees what the library offers in terms
of wellness resources. The library has
hundreds of materials that can be used for wellness points for county
employees, and we also have some great updated books and DVDs – not to mention
the wealth of information available from our health and medical online
databases. We also had over 300 pieces
of fruit donated by Food Town to pass out to everyone who attended.
County
Librarian, Valerie Jensen attended the quarterly Lee College Educational
Opportunity Advisory board meeting at the Workforce Solutions office in
Baytown. Area librarians meet with Lee College instructors and staff to discuss
the educational needs of people in the community. Currently, the Chambers
County Library in Anahuac holds GED prep classes for students who need
assistance in taking the exam. The Lee College EOC has provided scholarships
for area students to pay for the GED test when they are unable to get the funds
to pay themselves.
And
finally, our newly added databases, Chilton automotive repair and Powerspeak
languages have come on full force. The
past month we have had 17 people spend over 5 hours in training with Powerspeak
training in Spanish, French and German.
The Chilton auto repair database was used heavily as well to assist
people needing simple to advanced car repair information. Our newest databases are accessible from home
with your library card.
Coming
up in April, the Friends of CCLS and the staff will be holding a Meet Your
Library Night at the West Chambers Branch in Mont Belvieu inviting the
public, local businesses, schools, and local officials to see the value of what
their library holds in the community.
The event will be held on April 30th from 4pm-7pm. Local authors, refreshments, free books, and
much more will be on hand for fun-filled evening at the library.
Check
out upcoming activity on our website. Check
us out at www.chambers.lib.tx.us or give us a “Like” on
Facebook to see pictures and activities at your local branch.
Until
next month!
Valerie
Jensen
County
Librarian
After-school worker, Kenya Moore plays the part of the Easter Bunny at Anahuac
