2009 Annual Report
Mission
The Robbins Library is a vital community center that connects people with traditional and technological resources for life-long learning, intellectual pursuits, and leisure. The library responds to citizens’ needs with services and activities in a welcoming setting built on a history of free and equal access to information for all Arlington residents.
Usage
The library recorded the highest circulation in its history in fiscal year 2009 (FY09). Over 300,000 thousand people visited the Robbins Library while others from home remotely accessed the wealth and variety of resources offered. As in the previous year, citizens increasingly relied on the library for its free services in this time of economic crisis. The public of all ages enjoyed library programs computer workstations for access to the Internet and electronic databases were in constant use. Job seekers utilized the computers for resume writing, employment opportunities, and online job applications. Professional librarians at the Reference Desk, in the Children’s Room, and at Fox Branch assisted the public in meeting their informational needs through the library’s book and periodical collections and with electronic resources. Although the Robbins Library continued to be closed Thursday mornings, the public enjoyed Sunday afternoon hours funded through private donations. The library recorded increases in programs offered, program attendance, interlibrary loans, and reference transactions. Library staff worked diligently to meet the demands of the increased usage despite a job freeze that left positions unfilled for part of the year in the Children’s, Adult Services, Circulation, Branch, and Administrative departments.
Accomplishments
Strategic Planning
In the beginning of 2009, the Library Director and Board of Trustees embarked on a comprehensive planning process to develop a strategic plan that would be both realistic and aspirational within the limited financial resources of the Town. The Board determined that the optimum way to plan for the future was to utilize the services of a consultant, the New England Library Information Network, to assist with focus group sessions, staff brainstorming sessions, and the identification of community needs. In the spring of 2009 the Library convened a series of focus group meetings with Arlington residents, library trustees, and library staff to uncover the evolving needs of community members and the role of the library in the future. Their contributions set the foundation for a new vision and strategic directions for the Robbins Library. Library administration and staff will work on a variety of initiatives beginning in July 2010 to achieve its goals for the next three years. The approval of the plan by the MA Board of Library Commissioners in December 2009 maintains the library’s eligibility to receive Federal grant funding. The strategic plan focuses on four ambitious goals and outlines a series of activities and projects developed by the library administration to fulfill these objectives:
Sunday Openings
The Board of Library Trustees and the Friends of the Robbins Library for the second year conducted a successful fundraising campaign to be open on Sunday afternoons. The library is grateful for the generosity of over 250 individuals and businesses in the community for the funding to provide the Sunday hours from October 2009 to May 2010. These hours are a very convenient time for families and individuals to utilize the library’s vast resources and continue to be popular.
Expanded Services and Building Enhancements
Library staff expanded on efforts to reach several targeted groups. Outreach to the business community included co-sponsorship of events with the Chamber of Commerce, posting to a local businesses blog, creation of an online newsletter, and providing one-on-one reference assistance for local business owners. The library implemented the second phase of the federal Library Services and Technology Grant that expanded the collection of materials for English Language Learners. Library staff continued to meet with the Young Adult Advisory Committee to plan programs and made improvements to the Teen area to make it more visually appealing. New signage was installed throughout the library to improve way finding and make the collections more accessible. The library took advantage of technology to offer several new services including the loan of mini laptops for use within the building, wireless printing to support patron/circulating laptops, electronic queuing of patrons waiting for public computer access, migration of the public computers to a faster Internet connection, and improved advertising of library events on the library website, robbinslibrary.org. High school students also continued to offer individualized basic computer training and cell phone clinics for senior citizens.
Public Relations Awards
The library received two public relations awards from the Massachusetts Library Association for the Sunday fundraising campaign and for the online children’s newsletter.
Services for Adults
Adults and young adults of middle and high school age utilized the services provided by the librarians in the Adult Services Department for school, work and personal life. The library continued to staff the Reference Desk whenever the library was open to the public and tried to provide two librarians whenever possible during busy hours. Forty-four online databases were provided with municipal funding, through the library’s participation in the Minuteman Library Network, and the Metrowest Regional Library System. Several new databases were added this year including Mango Languages, Morningstar, Health Center, and Overdrive audio book service that are compatible with iPods. With the public workstations in almost constant use, the staff assisted patrons in the use of the Internet, electronic databases, and with computer troubleshooting. The library recorded 149,634 visits to its website, an increase of 19% from last year. Among the many monthly book and audiovisual displays that staff created to highlight the collections was the very popular foreign films display. This summer recorded the highest participation in the adult and young adult summer reading program, enhanced with a raffle for gift certificates funded by the Friends of the Library. Many local organizations also took advantage of the library’s exhibit space in the lobby to publicize their organizations and to present informational displays. The ever-popular Speed Read collection provided the opportunity to browse this small collection of new and popular materials for which there was a significant demand. In the second year of a federal grant, Adult Services staff selected materials to increase the English Language Learning collection, offered an open house to publicize the collection and partnered with English At Large to offer conversation sessions for people learning English. Arlington residents enthusiastically participated in the seventh annual Arlington Reads Together program that promoted closer ties among community members through reading four books on the theme of the Lost Boys and Girls from Sudan. The library was fortunate to partner with the South Sudanese Community Center located in East Arlington. The Center arranged for several programs including a history of Sudan, experiences shared by several of the Lost Boys and Girls, and a film documentary. Francis Bok, author of Escape from Slavery, one of the community read titles, spoke movingly of his experiences in Sudan and his hopes for the future. The series culminated in a cultural festival with crafts, dancing, and refreshments at Town Hall attended by over 150 people. The Community Read project was sponsored by the Board of Library Trustees, Friends of the Library, South Sudanese Education Fund, and the Diversity Task Group of Vision 2020. The Community Room and Conference Room were used by approximately 100 local organizations for a total of 887 meetings. In addition, the two study rooms were in constant demand by students and tutors and the Local History Room received heavy usage by researchers with Independent Research Cards.
Services to Young Adults
Young adults in grades six through twelve continued to make use of the facility and services. The Reference Desk staff assisted students with class assignments and bibliographic instruction and offered orientations to classes from the Ottoson Middle School. Several new services were offered including books on CD, Playaways and the opportunity to participate in a teen blog. Young adults enjoyed the programs planned by library staff and the Young Adult Advisory Committee including a photography contest, financial workshop, cell phone clinic for senior citizens, bookmaking, cooking, craft fair, skateboarding demonstration, reading to children, SAT practice test, Fall festival, Wii, duct tape wallet making, Manga workshop, and an author visit to the Ottoson Middle School. The highlight of the year was the Teen Battle of the Bands Concert that entertained a crowd of teenagers, children and adults on the lawn at the Robbins House well into the evening. Artwork from Arlington High School was displayed in the Young Adult area of the library throughout the year. Teenagers participated in the summer reading program and had the opportunity to win raffle prizes funded by trust funds and local businesses. Multiple copies of titles on the middle and high school summer reading lists were available for students.
Services for Children
Children from infancy to fifth grade enjoyed the materials and programs offered by the Children’s Department. Materials included books, magazines, books on tape, music and spoken word on cassette and CD, Playaways, videocassettes, CD-ROMs, puppets, and educational toys. Children and parents participated in 398 activities at the Robbins and Fox Libraries including storytimes in English and Spanish languages, sing-a-longs for infants and toddlers, babysitting workshop, celebration of National poetry month, craft times, craft fair with the Recreation Department, toddler programs, workshops, and various performances. A highlight of the year was the first ever Scrabble Tournament that matched the vocabulary skills of elementary and middle school aged children. Over 1,000 children participated in the summer reading program with a theme of Amazing Alien Adventure. Funding from the trust funds, Friends of the Library, and local businesses enabled children who participated to choose a free book to keep and to win small prizes. The children’s librarians offered assistance to children, parents, and teachers in researching homework assignments and for general use of the book collection and the Internet. The public continued to request the very popular graded and subject booklists that are updated annually by library staff and several new booklists were prepared. The library continued to prepare Quick Pick boxes with thematic picture books to assist parents who do not have time to browse the shelves. The public and school libraries continued their cooperative efforts, although the lack of elementary school librarians continues to negatively impact this partnership. The public library maintained collaboration with the schools through letters to teachers, attendance at elementary school faculty meetings, assignment support for teachers and students, extended loan periods for teachers, library tours, and preparation of curriculum kits. The children’s librarians presented book talks in the schools and instruction for classes at the library as well as preparing the summer reading list titles for the elementary schools.
Russell Fund
The library is very fortunate to have the Anne A. Russell Children’s Educational and Cultural Enrichment Fund, which sponsors many special programs for children that could not be afforded through the municipal budget. In 2009 these included: Electricity and Magnet workshop, Arlington Philharmonic Concert, several puppetry performances, animation workshop, Creature Teachers, Big Apple Circus, creative movement classes for infants, and caregivers, Spanish story times, nature, storytelling, picnic concerts, crafts fair, children’s theatre, Scottish dancing, science, origami, and Chess Club. Over 300 children and adults attended a picnic concert on the grounds of the library during the summer. The Russell Fund also finances the very popular infant-toddler sing-a-longs. The fund continued to provide kindergarten packets to children to introduce them to the library and baby bundle packets to new parents with information on library services for infants and toddlers. The library introduced several sessions of a “Baby Brunch” to welcome parents and infants to the Robbins and Fox Libraries.Edith Fox Library and Community Center
Children and adults in East Arlington continued to enjoy branch library services on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Children and parents enjoyed story times, sing-a-longs, craft programs, a Chinese New Year party, Baby Brunch, adult and children’s book clubs, Earth Science, local author book signing, animal program, magic show, Open Mic, Family Game Night, Movie Nights, Spanish story times, the summer reading program, recycled art, storytelling, and singing. Elementary and nursery schools brought classes to the library for stories and instruction. All ages enjoyed the monthly book displays that highlighted the collection and exhibits from community groups and the schools. Due to a freeze on filling vacancies, the Branch ran without a department head for the majority of the year.
Behind the Scenes
Library staff worked diligently to offer quality services to the community. The number of items borrowed for library patrons from other libraries and loaned to other libraries for their patrons continued to increase. Despite the fact that the public can request items electronically, the staff must still locate the materials and process them for loan and return. The Adult Services and Technical Services Departments selected, ordered, cataloged, and processed 20,554 new items including books, magazines, music compact discs, books on CD, DVDs, CD-ROMs, puppets and educational toys. The Circulation Department checked out and returned 600,139 items to the shelves. The Adult Services Department continued to order various tax forms and serve as a distribution center to assist patrons in filing their state and federal income taxes. Library administration maintained all state mandated standards to receive $58,820 in a state aid grant that was used for participation in the Minuteman Library Network and to purchase library materials. The library collected $65, 915 in overdue fines and lost book money that was returned to the general Town fund.
The Adult Services Department successfully implemented the second phase of a federal grant to provide resources and programs for English as Second Language learners and implemented another federal grant for a preservation survey of the collections.
Library staff prepared the children’s monthly and adult quarterly newsletters and the online children’s and business subscription announcements to keep the public aware of services that are available. Other staff activities included: selecting, weeding and updating the collection, responding to local history questions of which many were from out-of-state patrons, updating the periodical list, shifting collections, creating booklists and displays, scheduling the meeting rooms, working with the Minuteman Library Network on assessing new potential online databases and updating of records in the automated catalog, and processing books that need re-binding.
Administrative Projects
Library administration coordinated several special projects: preparation of a new long range plan for library services for FY11-FY13, coordination of installation of new signage and carpeting, scheduling of private functions in the Reading Room to raise additional revenue, compilation of statistical data to participate in a nationwide comparison of library usage, and acknowledgement of donors to the annual and Sunday fundraising appeal. This was a particularly challenging year to maintain the quality of library services as retirements and resignations created vacancies in several departments including Administration, Adult Services, Branch, Children’s and Circulation that were not filled for several months due to the hiring freeze. Due to anticipated budget reductions in FY11, the vacant Assistant Director position was re-organized to absorb the duties of the Branch Librarian.
The library continued its efforts to meet patron demands for new audiovisual materials including DVDs, music CDs, and books on cassette and CD. As in previous years, a study documented that Arlington’s audiovisual collection ranked 9th among 10 libraries in the Minuteman Library Network and that a substantial increase in funding is required to provide an adequate collection. The Friends DVD rental collection continued to prove very successful and the proceeds from the rentals will allow for the further expansion of the collection.
The Technology Librarian improved the efficiency of library operations through several projects: data wiring and port mapping, changes to the computer room, auto-cut receipt printers configured to reduce repetitive strain issues at the Circulation Desk, and such cost saving measures as network printing clusters, use of open source software, and paperless office initiatives.
Board of Trustees
The seven member Board of Trustees continued its commitment to administer the trust funds for the optimum benefit of the community, raise private funds to augment the municipal budget, and advocate for adequate staffing and delivery of essential library services. Several Board members served on a Town-wide advisory committee to develop a policy for all Town trust funds. The Board approved funding in FY10 for materials for the adult, children’s, young adult and Fox Branch collections. These included reference and circulating books, books on CD, playaways, music CDs, foreign language literature, local history, and art prints. Other services funded included the summer reading programs, activities for children, Community Read, author program, public relations, volunteer appreciation, and staff development. The Board conducted a mail solicitation of individuals and businesses to raise funds for the collections. It also raised private funds for Sunday openings from October 2009 to May 2010 and will continue this endeavor next year. Board members also participated in Town Day by staffing a table providing information on library activities and resources.
Friends of the Library
The Friends of the Robbins Library, with a membership of 450, continues to assist the Robbins and Fox Branch libraries with programming, fundraising, and advocacy efforts. This vital support group raises supplemental funds for materials and equipment not provided through the municipal budget. They also sponsor the family museum pass program. Under the direction of program chairperson Terry Barry, the Friends hosted a wide variety of programs: Herbal Medicine, De-cluttering Your Home, Using Your Digital Camera, Fundraising Concert, Amelia Earhart, Remembrances from Survivors of the Titanic, and author Francis Bok. In February an elegant and festive reception was held in the Reading Room to honor the volunteers who donate their time to the library. The annual Children’s/Young Adult book sale, co-sponsored by the Russell Fund, with able assistance from members of the library’s Youth Advisory Board, helped raise needed funds. Stuart Whitehurst of Skinner, Inc. appraised treasures brought by audience members in a repeat of a very popular program held at Town Hall in the spring. On a beautiful late September day, book lovers came out in droves for the Friends’ Town Day book sale. Many visitors also regularly peruse and make purchases from the ongoing book sale on the fourth floor of the library. The rental DVD collection continues to draw many users to the convenient location on the first floor. In December the Madrigal singers from Arlington High School entertained a capacity crowd in the Community Room with holiday favorites. The Friends of the Library is fortunate to have an active Board of Directors as well as the services of Amy McElroy who continues to capably coordinate all the organization’s activities.
Future Goals
The anticipated 5% budget cut to the library in FY11 will result in a 20% reduction to the materials budget, decrease in eight hours per week at the Fox Branch Library, and a significant loss of part-time staff to shelve books and audiovisual materials. It is hoped that private fundraising will offset some of the loss of revenue for materials and that the Friends of the Fox Library will finance the eight hours at Fox from the funds it has already raised. If the Town appropriates insufficient funds to meet state requirements, the library could lose state aid and be de-certified. This may result in residents being denied borrowing privileges at libraries in the Minuteman Library Network. Library administration and the Board of Trustees will continue fundraising efforts to solicit private funding for materials and hours of service and programs not afforded through the municipal budget. The library will continue its commitment to high quality children’s services through the financial support of the Anne A. Russell Children’s Educational and Cultural Enrichment Fund. In addition, funding will be sought to implement the service improvements identified in the strategic plan. Some specific objectives targeted for FY2011 are:
Acknowledgments
Donations
In FY09 citizens, businesses, and organizations donated over $46,000 for general purposes, materials, and opening of the Robbins library on Sundays. The library acknowledges with appreciation these gifts which allow for the purchase of books and audiovisual materials which could not be afforded through the municipal budget. As in previous years the programs and services of the Anne A. Russell Educational and Cultural Enrichment Fund have enriched the community. The library is also grateful to Arlington resident Richard Duffy who continued to donate the profits from the sale of his book, Arlington Then and Now to the library. The Friends of the Library donated $82,000 to the library for Sunday hours, membership to five museums, reference books, books on CD, DVDs, music CDs, children’s books, local history, language learning, multicultural, materials for the Fox branch, database, web site design, Community Read, upgrade of computer sign-up system, circulating mini-laptops, raffle prizes for summer reading program, and other supplementary materials.
Volunteers
Once again this year the library benefited from the work of dedicated volunteers. The library staff is grateful for the contributions made by volunteers who donated over 4,000 hours assisting with many aspects of library operations. Beverly Brinkerhoff and Page Lindsay gave significant hours to operate the important homebound delivery program. Eric Berger conducts classes for children from kindergarten through sixth grade and Joan Lippman joins with the children’s librarian to create musical accompaniment at the story times. Also deserving of special note is Anne Honeycutt who has facilitated the popular book discussion group for more than a decade. Liz Eagan and Richard McElroy maintained the ongoing Friends of the Library booksale on the fourth floor.
Volunteers assisting at the Robbins Library in a variety of capacities were: Christina Alexandre, Carolyn Archer, Jim Beck, Anthony Bernachi, Bill Bradley, Sandra Canzanelli, David Castigloni, Kathy Carusone, Stephanie Chapman, Anastasia Chickering, Helen Dawit, Bertha Denirjian, Julie Frasso, Marci Goldberg, Kim Haase, Carol Hoover, Marilyn Jackson, Helen Johnson, Natasha Karim, Maurice Keesan, Ashley Lambert, Mary Lynch, Anne Macchi, Janet MacMillan, Maria Martinez, Debbie Minns, Sonia Nixon, Russell Pike, Helen Rhodes, Nancy Rodriguez, Ellen Shearer, Robin Watkins, Marjorie Willis, and Jayne Zaccaganini. The library is grateful for the work of participants in the Town’s Senior Citizen Community Service Reimbursement Program.
The library also acknowledges the efforts of the following students, many of whom volunteered at the library to fulfill their community service requirements for high school: Sara Ahmed, Leonardo Almeida, Olivia Ambo, Kristina Arruda, Sophia Arnali, Hannah Colonnese, Helen Dawit, Tarek Fatahi, Zack Fatahi, Morgan Hopeman, Emma Horn, Grace Hueber, Ellie Jackson, Linnea Kirby, Todd Kirkland, Justin MacNeil, Jackson Miller, Skye Murie, Daniel Rosen, Katia Swartz, Anna Vanderspek, Maggie Whited, Erik Wilke, and Ryan Wilke.
Volunteers assisting with the Town Day or Youth book sale were: Susie Barbarossa, Jamie Battell, Carole Burns, Helena Christensen, Hannah Colonnesse, Amy Currul, Liz Eagan, Bonnie Echmalian, Corinne Echmalian, Jim Echmalian, Andrew Fischer, Camille Gharib, Alison Goulder, Catherine Grynkiewicz, Johanna Gurland, Liza Halley, Kathy Jones, Helen Krikorian, Helen Leonard, Marian Lombardo, Richard McElroy, Sally Naish, Ruth Norcross, Sheila O’Donnell, Claire Odom, Annmarie Ostrowski, Judi Paradis, Jane Piechota, Nancie Richardson, Ave Rongone, Daniel Rosen, Jean Rosenberg, Jane Ross, Skye Stewart, Lizzie Tonkin, Wendy Watson, Tim Wilson, and Sara Yow.
The Fox Branch Library staff is appreciative of the efforts of its volunteers Joanne Burns, Susanne Dorson, and Amy Weitzman who started the children’s Thrift Shop and are assisted by their many volunteers. .