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| By Susan M. Peterson Library Director, East Longmeadow Public Library EAST LONGMEADOW There's plenty going on at the East Longmeadow Library. Here, Library Director Susan M. Peterson highlights two important library features. The Smartest Card Each September, the Public Library Association (P.L.A.), a division of the American Library Association, encourages use of and support of local libraries with its "The Smartest Card is @ Your Library" campaign. The East Longmeadow Public Library joins the P.L.A. this month in promoting the advantages of having and using your library card. We hope to encourage more adults and children to obtain a library card and explain why it is a smart move to make. More than 10,000 residents of East Longmeadow currently have a library card with our library. However, this only represents two-thirds of the town's population. During the last two weeks of September, the library is waiving the cost of replacing lost or worn library cards. If your library card has been lost or stolen, stop by the library and get it replaced for free! If you have not visited our new library, stop by this month, sign-up for a free library card, and discover what your library has to offer. From health to history, food to fundraising, music to manga, in print or online, you will find it "@ your library". It's your free ticket to a world of opportunity and no doubt the smartest card you can own. Many cards in your wallet promise reward but cost you the world. Only one card, your library card, can bring you the world. That's why it's called "The Smartest Card." Annual Report Each summer public libraries in Massachusetts are asked to complete a report for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) providing statistics on circulation, holdings, staffing, hours of operation, and building usage. This Annual Report Information Survey (ARIS) provides invaluable information about public libraries, both large and small, throughout the state. In addition to providing the MBLC with the information it needs to better advocate on the state level for library funding, it also invites comparison of one neighboring library to another. Having been Library Director here less than a year, I was interested in finding out if it was just my imagination, or did the statistics "prove" my suspicions that this is indeed a very busy library. As it turns out, this library is a busy place! From July 2004 to June 2005 the library's circulation increased by 50% from the prior year. Granted one would expect that given the fact that the new library opened a few months before, our circulation would be higher, but 50% higher is truly amazing. I'm sure many of you have requested materials from other libraries as well during the past year. I was surprised that the number of items requested has doubled from last year. Most surprising of all, and most gratifying in my opinion, is the fact that the number of items that our library supplied to library patrons of surrounding towns increased by 250 percent! That is definitive proof that our collection is both comprehensive and "in demand!" Of the more than 70,000 items in our collection, did you know that the library subscribes to more than 130 magazines and newspapers? Each year we evaluate our current subscriptions for relevance and popularity and make changes as needed, canceling some subscriptions and adding others that we think will find wide appeal and interest to our patrons. Some new subscriptions you may not be aware of are as follows: "Banker & Tradesman," "Birder's World," "The Economist," "Gamepro," "Home Education," "PC World," "Real Simple," "Sky and Telescope," "Spin," "The Week," and "Wine Spectator." These may all circulate with your library card. If you don't already have a library card, visit your library and sign up for a card today. What other card in your wallet gives you free access to books and CDs, magazines and movies, and all sorts of other resources that can change your life - or just make it a little more fun?" |