The-Librarian-Blog

Chambers County Library System – May, 2014

It’s the calm before the storm as we head into our annual Summer Reading Program.  May is the time of year where we scramble to make sure all our months and months of preparation have paid off.  The staff has worked so hard on this year’s summer activities and we’re looking forward to another banner year!  The branches have done a fantastic job with their decorations this year – if you haven’t seen the walls covered in scientists, slime, and robots, you need to stop by; it’s definitely worth a look!  The theme this year is FIZZ, BOOM, READ! for the kids, Spark a Reaction for the teens, and Literary Elements for the adults.  There’s definitely something for everyone this year.  The fun starts June 9^th so sign up early and read often!

With storytime ending the week of the 5^th, the libraries still had time to throw in some fun programs.  Each branch had their usual movie nights and teen programs, while the adults continued with their book club meetings.  One of the highlights in May was the kickoff meeting for the new Sam and Carmena Goss Memorial Branch Library.  Several representatives from the County, City, Friends of CCLS, and Barbers Hill ISD were in attendance to get their first glimpse at some possibilities for design and floor plans.  The chosen architect is just as excited as we are!  It seems unreal to be at this point when it’s been in the talking phases for so long.  Definitely some goose bumps in that meeting!  After the initial kickoff meeting, things will start to move fast, and we’re more than ready to keep up with their pace.  On the 16^th the County Librarian took several staff members on a “field trip” to area libraries.  It was a time for us to see how other buildings were laid out, how they function with staffing, and get some ideas for our new building.  Needless to say we came back with some great input from the very accommodating librarians who shared their beautiful buildings with us.   We ended up being very partial to the Evelyn Meador library in Seabrook.  It was beautiful and exactly the style we’re aiming for.   

Pride in our Young Adults at Anahuac should be felt by all our citizens.  For over 3 months, teens at the library planned and executed “Ana-Con,” a small anime conference which was held on Saturday, May 17^th from 1pm-7pm.  Around 75 youth attended from as far away as Hamshire Fannett; they heard about it at the Winnie library and just had to see what it was all about.  The event was very successful and special thanks to LaShebia Haskin for her guidance and encouragement of the teens.    

During the month of May the staff did quite a bit of outreach at the local schools, day cares, and other organizations.  This time of year the public is eager to hear about upcoming activities we have planned for the summer.  The schools look forward to the fun presentations done by the staff to get kids excited about reading!

GED and ESL classes continue to be thriving at the Anahuac branch.  Thanks to the Anahuac Municipal Development District for their funding, the program continues with students eager to continue their education.  Teacher Katherine Wilkins is doing a fantastic job of encouraging the students and it shows in the attendance. 

Speaking of encouraging students, the ongoing after-school tutorials at Anahuac which is supported by Anahuac ISD and United Way of Greater Baytown and Chambers County came to an end with the last day of school.  We are happy to report that of the students who attended tutorials, 9 of the kids met their reading and math standard.  These are kids who had never met those standards before.  Their test scores also went up 200 points which was a great outcome considering the STAAR test just ended.  Special thanks to all the volunteers who spared their valuable time to help the kids.  It was definitely worth the time and effort and we’re looking forward to next school year. 

The Library Advisory Board met on the 17^th.  They had a several policies given by County Librarian, Valerie Jensen to discuss for update and approval.  The Advisory Board meets 4 times a year, and is composed of 7 members residing across the county. 

Until next month!