Town Report
All areas of service at the Tucker Free Library have seen an increase in use over the record highs of last year. This includes an increase in books checked out, increased use of the Internet, and an increased use of online resources and downloadable materials. Fueling this sustained higher use is a service philosophy that promotes the creation and offering of services that the community is looking for. Library staff have partnered with White Birch, offering story times for their preschool children. TFL staff have applied for and received grants to host New Hampshire Humanities Council speakers. Entertainers for our summer reading program have been made possible through a Kids, Books, and Art Grant. Additionally, a new user-friendly online catalog, puppet shows, after school programs, an adult summer program, and a computer for parents are a few of the new services that the Tucker Free Library introduced this year.
The new library circulation system was funded through the expendable trust for a new catalog which was approved by voters in 2007 and 2008. Over the past several years, many different packages were explored before finally opting for a system that offers many new and exciting features for our patrons. The cost of the new system, including an annual software subscription, as well as hardware to support the change, was $4859.30. This system models the latest online innovations offering a service paradigm that didn’t exist three years ago. These innovations include book cover art, reviews, and many customizable options that give our patrons more choices! Check out the new catalog at tuckerfreelibrary.org.
Staff members spent substantial time this past fall and winter reorganizing the physical layout of both the Main Floor and the Children’s Room. On the Main Floor the small genre collections were integrated into the fiction stacks, and the biographies were integrated into the non-fiction stacks to create an easier to use, consolidated collection. The Children’s Room has been made more “kid-friendly” with the introduction of collection areas. Research supports that children come to the library to browse a subject; they are not necessarily looking for books by a particular author. When small children come to the library they want books on trucks, trains, ballerinas, animals, and dinosaurs. To this end, our Children’s Room collection was organized into categories. For example, both fiction and nonfiction books on trucks will now be located on the same shelf making the search for books and the learning process more intuitive for youngsters. Connecting our collection to the specific interest of children and their parents means that our library is responding directly to the community’s needs and empowering our users to explore, learn, and take full advantage of the collection!
Enhancements to the computer infrastructure have also been made. Internet computers were added to the Main Floor and additional outlets were installed to allow more people to plug in their laptops to take full advantage of the TFL wireless system. As more parents were coming to the library to use our Internet service with their children in tow, we want to provide a more positive experience for all. We’ve accomplished this by locating a computer downstairs in the Children’s Department for the exclusive of parents. Now children can work on a puzzle, color a picture, or read a book while their parents do their computer work. The number of middle school students coming in after school to use the library computers has also increased. To alleviate the competition for the four computers on the Main Floor, two computers were added to the J-Room for the use of these students. We are strictly enforcing the policy that all the computers on the lower level are reserved for use by parents with children and/or children with parents. If a child is in fifth grade and up they can use the Internet without parental supervision but with a signed Internet Use Permission Form otherwise they must be supervised by a parent or a delegated guardian.
The Friends of the Tucker Free Library funded two projects this year. Not only did they pay for the various programs offered through the summer reading program, they also provided a special donation to allow our children’s librarian to build a multi-use puppet theater. This theater will serve as an integral component for the Tucker Free Library preschool program, and starting in February 2011, kids who participate in the after school program will have an opportunity to build puppets, write puppet shows, and then perform the shows.
Building Improvements – Completed
- Windows on the south side of the Main Floor were refurbished by Jon Routon. This project included the removal of the windows, scraping and painting the exterior sides, installation of weather stripping, and replacing the disintegrating ropes with brass fixtures. Cost: $3,299.
- Our security system was enhanced with the installation of panic strobes and audible signals between floors of the library. Cost: $1,475.
- The circulation station in the Children’s Room was replaced with the larger circulation desk that was in the lower room. The employees of the Transfer Station moved the desk and performed a few cosmetic enhancements to it. Not only did this relocation create a more official and efficient circulation area in the Children’s Room, the removal of the large desk from the lower level allowed more open space so many of our summer programs could be held in that area with little interruption in the operation of the library. Cost: $36.04.
- Several people made anonymous donations while others donated time, services, and materials to remedy the drainage issues on the north side of the building. Mark Moser donated his civil engineering expertise. Denise Rico of Terra Design dug the trench and set the drains. Dennis Lanphear of Stone Falls Garden provided greatly discounted materials for planting. Cost: $1,700, of which all but $200 was covered with donations.
- Finally, the Garaventa Lift required some significant repairs. Cost: $1,364.
Building Improvements – Outstanding
- Exterior trim and windows need to be painted. Because of new federal regulations that went into effect in April of 2010, the labor and associated costs of this project will have changed significantly enough that a new quote will have to be obtained. The quotes received prior to this change ranged from $7,500 to $11,487.
- Carpeting on both floors needs to be replaced.
- Enhanced video surveillance in the building to cover unstaffed/secluded areas. Quote: $11,468.
Donations and Trust Funds
Thank you to the patrons who donated $254.11 to the library by dropping their loose change into the donation boxes at our circulation desks! In addition to this support we also received donations from:
- Anonymous donations for repair of building leak and landscaping work
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- Alicia MacLeay for Martha Kjellman Nemiccolo for the Mary Kjellman Fund
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- Scent-sations, Inc. for Samantha Turschman
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- Amy Patenaude & Charlie Gunn in memory of Brian Patenaude
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- Amy Patenaude & Charlie Gunn in memory of Jim Connor
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- Kathy & Stuart Patenaude in memory of Brian Patenaude
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- Kathy & Stuart Patenaude in memory of Jim Connor
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- Anne Sayce for the General Fund
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- Richard & Lorraine Edmunds in memory of Brian Patenaude for the Robert N. Fitch Fund
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- Kathy and Stuart Patenaude in memory of Al Meade and Bernie Walker
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- Martha Neciccolo for the Mary Kjellman Fund
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- Rebecca & Peter Josephson for the General Fund
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- Carolyn and Rodney Patenaude in memory of Brian Patenaude for the Robert N. Fitch Fund
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- Becky Holmes for the Francis O. Holmes Fund
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- John Echternach & Judi Englander for General Fund
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- Ellen Chase-Lucard in honor of Marc Lucard for Audio Fund
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Proceeds from established funds continue to greatly benefit the operation of the library and also allow the purchase of equipment, books, and media in specific categories. These funds include: Marjorie B. Bennett Fund, Scott J. Berry Fund, Anna L. Childs Fund, D&W and E.L. Cogswell Fund, L.A. Cogswell Fund, Willis Cogswell Fund, Alice Colby Fund, James W. Doon Fund, Robert N. Fitch Fund, Francis O. Holmes Fund, A.D. Huntoon Fund, Mary F. Kjellman Fund, Henry Preston Fund, George W. Tucker Fund, Walter K. Robinson Fund, Helen M. Cammett Fund, and the Ann S. Soderstrom Fund.
Submitted on behalf of the Trustees of the Tucker Free Library by Lynn M. Piotrowicz, Director.
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