Thursday, August 06, 2015
Chambers County Library System - July report
Summer Reading
at a Glance:
Minutes read:
336,936
Children’s
enrollment – up 8%
Teen enrollment
– up 9%
Children’s
program attendance - up 51%
New patron
enrollment – up 7% from 2014
Total
circulation June/July – 65,697
7,381 people
attended programs at the Chambers County Library System in June and July
Summer Reading came and went with a blur. I guess
that’s what happens when you’re having fun! Seems like we were just
gearing up for Kickoff week, now we’re sending over 150 thank you letters to
everyone who supported our program this year. The week of July 20th
ended the 6-week program with Superhero programs for the little ones, arts
& crafts, dodgeball, dances, and video games for the teens, and cooking,
CPR, and Zumba classes for the adults. We pride ourselves on providing great
programs for the public, and the public responded beyond our expectations with
their attendance. This year our overall attendance jumped over 50%.
That’s definitely something to be proud of!
To go along with our superhero theme, we decided to include
those heroes without capes and adopt a troop through Project Frontlines.
The 3rd Battalion 29th Field Artillery Regiment was
assigned to the library. We had a huge response and collected over 500
items from patrons at all 3 libraries. Monetary donations from the
American Legion Hall, Post #104 in Anahuac helped greatly with shipping costs,
and purchasing other small items of need. Items shipped out this week,
and should be delivered within a month.
A big thank you to our sponsors who donated their time,
talent, money, and coupons for our annual Summer Reading Program. The
response has been overwhelming from local businesses and groups who provide us
with incentives and prizes for our patrons. Also, to our Friends of the
Chambers County Library System group for underwriting the program, and to our
corporate sponsor, NRG, LLC for granting us funds to provide some of our bigger
programs for the kids. The smiles on kids’ faces and hundreds of “Thank
you’s” from the public made all the work and effort worth it.
We start planning for our summer program each October, so
I can’t say enough about the staff and their creativity when it comes to
programs and decorations. We had several people in line asking for the
cute Superhero decorations for their classrooms or churches. I love to
brag on the talented group I have! They go above and beyond and it
doesn’t go unnoticed. We were also given extra help this summer thanks to
the County Commissioners. Eight high school and college workers were
employed to help with our busy summer. These kids were worth their weight
in gold providing us with much needed extra hands.
In July, we welcomed our newest staff member, Pepper Trove
to the Juanita Hargraves Memorial Branch in Winnie. Pepper will provide
Winnie with much needed front desk help when the current part-timers are out of
pocket.
County Librarian Valerie Jensen and Assistant County
Librarian Annie Vass took a trip to Groves Public Library and Hughes Library in
Nederland. Having close ties to several library directors in our area,
this allowed me to introduce Annie and have her see their buildings, hear their
successes, and get some insight in how Chambers County compares to our
neighbors. It’s great to keep in contact with our neighboring
libraries!
Ongoing construction continues for the Sam and Carmena
Goss Memorial Branch in Mont Belvieu. The foundation is set, steel beams
are on order, and the parking lot is about to take shape. Things are
moving, and the next several months will be even busier with packing up our
existing library and making the move down the road. Programs at Mont
Belvieu will be fewer than normal to allow us to do the prep work we need as we
transition into the new building.
The Friends are still on their fundraising campaign, and
more donations are needed! Check out the www.samgosslibrary.org
website and see how you can contribute. You can purchase a brick paver
that will line the outside entry, make a general donation, or purchase a Naming
Opportunity such as iPads and landscaping features. Every little bit
counts!
Finally, the library received a $1500 grant from the
Texas Book Festival for new Young Adult books at the Juanita Hargraves Memorial
Branch in Winnie. This competitive grant is awarded each year and
announced at the annual Texas Library Association conference. The teens
at Winnie were excited to see some new popular titles on the shelves.
Until next month!
Donna Boullion, Adult Summer Reading raffle winner at Anahuac
Kids at the West Chambers Branch enjoying the end of summer party
Kids showing their appreciation to our 2015 sponsors and adopted troop
