Thursday, November 07, 2013
October at the library!
The seasonal round of holidays has begun at
Chambers County Library System.
Halloween events were definitely the most sought after programs last
month with 132 people attending. And the
teen programs didn’t disappoint either with after-hours lock-ins and other
activities that kept close to 100 teens occupied. We can’t wait to see what Christmas has in
store!
In other programming news, Anahuac staff member
Lesa Boutin organized a unique program that allowed people the opportunity to
take advantage of The Rose mobile mammography unit at the library. Breast Cancer awareness month was the perfect
time to promote the library’s resources on breast cancer, and also provide an
alternative to the local doctor’s office to get screened. Eighteen women took advantage of this
opportunity and we received wonderful feedback.
Looks like this will become a yearly event, and we hope to partner with
the Health Department next year.
Branch Librarian, Aquilia De la Cruz had a hands-on
enchilada making workshop on the 10th. It was a very well-attended program with
several requests for similar classes.
Cooking classes seem to be a hit with the local community, so be on the
lookout for more in the future.
Local Master Gardener A. Lynette Parsons and Susan
Roshto did a “Fall Gardening with the Masters” program at Mont Belvieu. 21 people attended to hear advice on easy
vegetable gardens, fall flowers, and pesky weeds.
We often get invitations from the community asking us
to set up at open houses, festivals, or requesting a library tour. At Mont Belvieu, Missy Parham provided
several tours for the Barbers Hill Kindergarten Center, Yolie Belt at Winnie
visits East Chambers elementary for stories each Friday, also at Winnie, Kim
Silcox visits the Arboretum twice a month to deliver books & movies to the
elderly. At Anahuac, LaShebia Haskin set
up an information booth at Anahuac Middle School open house, and Michelle Mims
provided a tour to the Met Head Start home based group. All great examples of our ongoing mission to
provide outreach to the community.
Our Friends of the Chambers County Library System had a presence
at the Barbers Hill Fall Fest on the 26th. They were there to generate more buzz about
the new library, and also sell raffle tickets to do a little fundraising. Most of the people who passed by knew about
the library, and others were very excited to hear the news. Three Friends volunteers spent the day
promoting the library non-stop. It’s
great to see that type of dedication for libraries!
Teen Read Week is a national literacy initiative
sponsored by the Young Adult Services of the American Librarian Association to
encourage teens to be regular readers and library users. This year’s theme was, “Seek the Unknown @
Your Library”. The Winnie branch paired
their Halloween program during Teen Read Week with activities that included
stargazing, galaxy t-shirts, and other eerie activities.
We also started the end of year task spending time
with book vendors to prepare for the upcoming year. Our regular vendors are all aware of our new budget funds of
course, and they descend during November and January to tempt us with all those
titles we so want to provide for our patrons. It’s a juggling act to buy what
we need and to keep it in line with the budgeted funds.
Branch Librarians Aquilia De la Cruz, Cindy
Alegria, and Missy Parham attended a Small Library Management Technology online
course. This course is part of the four
part program towards the certification that non-MLS library managers must
complete. Aquilia and Missy are one step
away from completing their certification, while Cindy has a couple more courses
before she’s done. This program takes
about 2 years to finish, so it’s quite an accomplishment when completed!
And finally, if you haven’t noticed them lately, your local
Commissioners and County Judge grace the walls of the library in “Celebrity
READ posters”. The American Library Association created a campaign to promote
reading by having celebrities pose with their favorite book to be featured in a
poster. The library purchased software to customize these posters with our own
local celebrities and patrons and they generate quite a bit of attention! We’ve
added a new “celebrity” to the walls, so next time you’re at the library, stop
by and see if you can spot the latest County official.
Master Gardener program at Mont Belvieu
Anahuac patrons enjoy the Halloween party
Commissioner Bubba Abernathy judges the pumpkin painting contest
Chambers County Sheriff, Brian Hawthorne poses for our "local celebrity" READ poster
