Friday, May 10, 2013

 

Chambers County Library System - April report


Chambers County Library System – April, 2013

April was once again full of fun activities at the library.  To start out with, we held our annual Edible Books Festival at all the branches.  The winner did a fun interpretation of Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger complete with homemade rye bread inside a catcher’s mitt.  Channel 6 out of Beaumont came out and even interviewed the County Librarian – you never know what will spark attention from the local media!  Later that same week the Friends of CCLS held their always popular, Gently Used Book Sale at Anahuac and Winnie.  Several volunteers helped set up and take down the books as well as manage the cashier’s table.  It’s always great to have extra hands to help out at the book sales and I know the staff appreciates it.

Following a successful program at Mont Belvieu on bullying, the presenter John Michael Hart spoke to a room full of parents, kids and some school administrators at Anahuac on his personal account with bullying.  John Michael offered information that helped give those in attendance a chance to learn more about the issue that may be confronting children.  The public had many positive comments about the presentation about what a great job John Michael did for the library.  John Michael also did a second program at Mont Belvieu which was also well received. 

Staff member Lesa Boutin held a “Skype” program with author Adriana Trigiani.  Book club members were able to see and talk to Ms. Trigiani about her book and other topics.  Using Skype technology in libraries allows patrons to get up close and personal with authors.  Look for more programs like this in the future.

The Chambers County Library in Anahuac and the Juanita Hargraves Memorial Branch in Winnie currently have positions open for a Children’s Librarian.  Each position is 16 hours per week and applicants are required to have previous children’s programming experience (schools, libraries, day cares, etc.).  It also doesn’t hurt if applicants can sing, dance, act silly, or create animal balloons by request!  For more information, please see the library’s website.  In the meantime, we’ve had several staff members step up to continue Storytime while interviews continue.  Special thanks to Aquilia De la Crux, Toya Peters, and Kim Silcox for filling in! 

County Librarian, Valerie Jensen and Technical Librarian, Kathy Fielding attended the Texas Library Association’s annual conference in Fort Worth last week.  This was the 100th anniversary of the conference and was one of the most well attended conferences in years.  This opportunity provides continuing education for librarians of all types, including law, medical, school, special, academic, and public.  The conference provides hundreds of sessions presented by people who specialize in the different aspects of librarianship and we left inspired as we do each year.  It was refreshing to know that Chambers County Library System provides some of the latest technologies and programs for the public.  

And finally, over 300 people attended the West Chambers Branch in Mont Belvieu at their Meet Your Library Night program on April 30th.  The Friends of CCLS sponsored the event and provided information on the proposed new library.  A Friends membership drive was held along with a free book drive.  Library staff mingled with the crowd introducing them to services and programs offered at the library.  Kudos goes out to staff member Kim Hart and her wonderful PowerPoint presentation on library services.  Several local authors were on hand to sign and sell books; they each also gave away a signed copy of their book at the end of the evening.  Several sponsors provided refreshments and door prizes.  Sonic of Mont Belvieu provided gift cards, coupons, and drinks, along with other local businesses including The Cake Box, Thrif-tee, Eagle Pointe, and Pizza Hut. 

Until next month!
 
John Michael Hart doing his presentation on bullying

Several elected officials enjoyed their time at the Meet Your Library program at Mont Belvieu
 

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