Upton Town Library

Seeking new Children's Librarian

2012-01-17T12:27:00.003-05:00

Employment Opportunity at Upton Town Library. Application deadline Feb 3rd, 2012

The Town of Upton seeks to fill the full-time position (40 hours/week) of Children’s and Young Adult Librarian.
Position reports to the Library Director and is responsible for planning, organizing, implementing and supervising library services related to children, young adults and their parents.

Statement of Duties: Work includes coordinating the operation of the Children’s and Young Adult library, including collection development; planning and implementing programs; providing reader’s advisory and reference services; and cataloging library materials. The Children’s Librarian also serves as the primary contact for schools, parents and local educational institutions; performs outreach to heighten community awareness of library services, manages the operating budget and capital improvement plan of the Children’s library and serves as department head in the absence of the Library Director.

Library Description: Upton Town Library serves a community of approximately 7,500 residents. We are a C/WMARS mini-net member, and certified for State Aid. The library has a collection of 37,000 items, including e-content, and 65,000 yearly circulations. Nearly half our circulation is juvenile materials.

Qualifications: Requires a Masters Degree in Library Science and 6-18 months of related work experience. Also requires a class D motor vehicle license; computer skills in word processing, spreadsheets and library system computer applications; excellent oral and written communication skills; physical ability to occasionally lift and or move boxes weighing up to 30 pounds.
Schedule and Salary: This is an hourly position that requires 40 hours/week, including at least one evening per week and at least one Saturday per month. The position also requires attendance at meetings and workshops that may occur outside normal business hours. Starting Salary: $17.37 – $19.97/hr + benefits, DOE.

Completed application and resume must be returned to the Board of Selectmen’s office by 5:00 PM on February 3, 2012 either by email to: brobinson@upton.ma.us or by mail: Board of Selectmen, 1 Main Street, Box 1, Upton, MA 01568. Applications and the job description are available on the Town’s website:
Town of Upton Employment Opportunities.

The Town of Upton is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Report of the Library Director for December 2011

2012-01-06T11:30:00.000-05:00

Evergreen Circulation delayed again – draft FY13 budget – Wii games circulate

Circulation
Circulation for December was 3,432. This is nearly identical to last month, and a decrease from last year (9.5% decrease). 631 interlibrary loan holds were placed.
Our laptops were checked out 17 times in December, and our Nook e-readers circulated 6 times.

Digital Content Use
BYKI: In December, 12 users accessed byki for a total of 11.2 hours. Our top languages were German, French and Japanese. For the year, we’ve had 94 users and 201 hours of use.
Wowbrary: 3 new users signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 94 active subscribers, and the newsletters produced 33 click throughs to the library catalog.
Overdrive: eBook circulation to Upton patrons: 122, eAudio circulations: 28.

New Patron Registrations
13 new patrons registered in December.
Collection Development
We added approximately 53 items to our collection in December.
Passport Applications Processed in December: 15

Programs
Library book group: Does not meet in December.
Senior book group: 7 people met on December 6th.
Thursday storytime averaged 6 children per session for 7 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 13 children per session for 4 sessions.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 9 patrons and 26 items.
Lego Days: averaged 6 children per session for 4 sessions.

Special Events
Parents and Students in the Spanish Immersion Program organized an evening storytime which was attended by 14 children on December 22nd.

Plans for Next Month
1) Submit FY13 budget to FinCom
2) Receive applications for Children’s Librarian
3) Collection development project

Evergreen Circulation System
Evergreen transition was delayed a second time until the middle of February. I am scheduling another staff training session for February 6th.

Children’s Services
Our staff have all accepted several extra hours of scheduled work time to provide coverage of the circulation desk until we find a new Children’s Librarian.
Tinytots Friday storytime is cancelled.
Thursday 10:30 and 1:30 storytimes are being covered by Regina and will continue.
Support for school assignments will continue, but we won’t be able to do proactive outreach to local educators.
Juvenile collection develop will continue at a minimal level, enough to maintain the current collection.

Children’s Librarian Position
The job posting has been approved by the Personnel Board, and is being coordinated by the Town Manager. The internal posting will be from Jan 9th – Jan 13th, and the external posting will start January 16th, with applications due by February 3rd.
The next step is for the Trustees to select members for the Search Committee, and schedule a meeting after February 3rd to review and qualify the applications.

FY13 Budget
A draft budget is ready for the Trustees to review. Our network membership fee is slightly down, State aid grant is slightly up. I have included a $1,000 increase in our materials budget and a $960 increase in miscellaneous expense to upgrade our public internet connection from 5Mbs to 20Mbs.

FY13 Action Plan
The action plan committee and I have a draft FY13 action plan ready for the Trustees to review. We have some creative specific ideas for improving publicity of library services, along with some objectives to increase library programming.

Videogame collection
The videogame collection is circulating. I put out our starter collection of 2 xBox games and 12 Wii games on January 3rd. Three days later as I write this, we have only 3 titles left on the shelf.

Men’s Club Grant
The Upton Men’s Club has invited us to apply for some grant funding this winter. I have prepared a draft request to purchase 2 – 4 iPad tablet computers. My goal with this is to make them available for in-library public use, similar to our 3 laptop computers. Patrons could use them to access internet content, make use of social networking tools and learn to use tablet technology. If the grant is funded, I will investigate what free or inexpensive apps are available that our patrons might want to use.

Friends of Upton Library Museum Pass Program

2011-12-28T13:28:00.003-05:00

The Friends of the Upton Library Museum Pass Program
is open to all Upton residents with library cards in good standing.
To reserve passes, stop by or call the library at (508) 529 6272.

Discount passes are currently available for the following museums:

Boston Children's Museum
Admits 4 @ $6 each
300 Congress St
Boston, MA
(617) 426 8855

Ecotarium
Admits 2 adults @ $6 each, 2 children @ $4 each
222 Harrington Way
Worcester, MA
(508)929 2700

Garden in the Woods
Admits 4 @ $2 each
180 Hemenway Road
Framingham, MA (508) 877-7630

Higgins Armory
Admits 4 Free
100 Barber Ave
Worcester, MA
(508) 853 6015

Museum of Science
Admits 4 @ $5 each
Science Park
Boston, MA
(617) 589 0100

Museum of Fine Arts
Admits 2 @ $7 each
465 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA
(617) 267 9300

Mystic Aquarium
Admits up to 4 at a discounted rate
(2 Adults @ $6 off and 2 Children @ $4 off)
Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration
55 Coogan Blvd.
Mystic, CT
(860) 572 5955

New England Aquarium
(not available in July & August)
Admits 4 @ $10 each
The New England Aquarium Central Wharf Boston, MA 02110-3399
(617) 973-5200

Providence Children's Museum
Admits 4 @ $2 each
100 South St
Providence, RI
(401) 273 5437

Roger Williams Park Zoo
Admits 4 at a discounted rate ($3 off)
1000 Elmwood Avenue
Providence, RI
(401) 785 3510

Tower Hill Botanic Garden
Admits 4 Free
*This pass was donated by The Blackstone Valley Gardeners
11 French Drive
Boylston, MA
(508) 869 6111

Worcester Art Museum
Admits 2 Free
55 Salisbury St
Worcester, MA
(508) 799 4406

Report of the Library Director for November 2011

2011-12-01T15:16:00.000-05:00

Evergreen Circulation Dec 30th – Budget Process for FY13 begins

Circulation
Circulation for November was 3,474. This is less than both last month (8.1% decrease from last month), and last year (10.2% decrease). We had an unusually high number of interlibrary loan holds placed in November, 727.
Our laptops were checked out 10 times in November, and our Nook e-readers circulated 6 times.

Digital Content Use
BYKI: In November, 9 users accessed byki for a total of 8 hours. Our top languages were Creole and Italian.
Wowbrary: 1 new user signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 91 active subscribers, and the newsletters produced 55 click throughs to the library catalog.
Overdrive: eBook circulation to Upton patrons: 75, eAudio circulations: 28.

New Patron Registrations
15 new patrons registered in November.
Collection Development
We added approximately 132 items to our collection in November.
Passport Applications Processed in November: 3

Programs
Library book group: 7 people met on November 30th.
Senior book group: 6 people met on November 1st.
Thursday storytime averaged 5 children per session for 6 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 14 children per session for 2 sessions.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 9 patrons and 26 items.
Lego Days: averaged 5 children per session for 3 sessions.

Special Events
Parents and Students in the Spanish Immersion Program organized an evening storytime which was attended by 12 children.

Upcoming Events in December
Staff Training Monday December 12th.

Library Closed Saturday Dec 24th and Dec 31st.

Plans for Next Month
1) Staff Reviews
2) Begin Budget for FY13
3) Annual Report to Town

Evergreen Circulation System
CWMARS is on schedule to switch over to Evergreen library software the weekend of Dec 31st. Our main training session is scheduled for Dec 12th.

FY13 Budget Process
The Town Manager is developing some standardized forms and processes for departments that report to the Selectmen. The intent is to make the budget process more consistent and provide accurate information to the FinCom and Town Meeting. I recommend that the Library adopt as many of these new procedures as possible, so we stay in sync with the majority of other town departments.

Rdio Music Subscription
I have signed a purchase agreement to start Rdio music subscription on January 1st, 2012. I also renewed our BYKI subscription for another year. Both these products are sold by the company “Recorded Books”.

Videogame collection
I have selected 2 xbox game titles and 10 wii game titles that we can purchase as a starter collection. I plan on purchasing these items from Amazon.com in mid December. We have to wait until our Amazon account payment is processed before we make the purchase because our credit limit with amazon is only $1,000.

Revolving Fund
I would like to continue our discussion about how the Passport Acceptance fees fit into our revolving fund authorization.
Here is the current text of our revolving fund authorization that was passed at the ATM.

Unanimous consent that the Town vote to establish a revolving fund, as recommended
by the Board of Selectmen, for the Upton Town Library in accordance with M.G.L. Chapter 44, § 53E ½. The purpose of this fund shall be to replace items lost or damaged by those who borrow materials, and to replace items used in activities for which a fee is paid and to purchase new materials. Receipts to this fund shall be fees and fines paid for lost or damaged materials or, for overdue books, for use of the fax, copier and printing facilities, and for purchase of used library materials. Expenditures from this fund shall be authorized by the Library Director, with the approval of the Library Board of Trustees, and be limited to Six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) for Fiscal Year 2012.

Lego Days Dec 2011 Thursdays 3:45-4:45

2011-11-15T13:38:00.001-05:00

Upton Town Library will be holding a new session of Lego Days on Thursday afternoons 3:45-4:45 this December.

Our five week session will be held on December 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th.

Lego Days is an hour of socializing and creative building. We provide a
selection of Legos and a theme to build on. Each child's creations are
displayed in the library until the next week. You don't need to bring your
own legos, and please remind your child that these legos are just to build
with, they don't get taken home. We encourage parents to either participate
with their children, or enjoy the library while their children are
building. Lego Days is recommended for children ages 7-12. Younger
children are welcome, but need direct parental supervision.

Participants sign up for the 5-week session, and meet each Thursday Afternoon
at the Upton Town Library.

As always, space is limited, so sign up soon.

You can sign up by calling the library at 508-529-6272, emailing
mbachtol@cwmars.org or stopping by the library.

The registration fee is $5 per child, and covers all 5 sessions.

Report of the Library Director for August 2011

2011-09-07T15:05:00.001-04:00

Evergreen system delayed – Fall storytime schedule returns – Nooks circulating well

Circulation
Circulation for August was 5,328. This is a slight decrease from last month (3.2% decrease), and a slight increase from August of last year (3.1% increase).
Our laptops were checked out 31 times in August, and our nook e-readers circulated 11 times.

Digital Content Use
BYKI: In August, 11 users accessed byki for a total of 23 hours, the vast majority of sessions were for Spanish instruction.
Wowbrary: 3 new users signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 86 active subscribers, and the newsletters produced 33 click throughs to the library catalog.
Overdrive: eBook circulation to Upton patrons: 94, eAudio circulations: 25

New Patron Registrations
23 new patrons registered in August.
Collection Development
We added approximately 67 items to our collection in August.
Passport Applications Processed in August: 4

Evergreen Library Software
C/WMARS just officially announced this morning that they are going to delay our switch to Evergreen Library system until the weekend of December 30th. This means all our plans preparing for a change over on October 7th can be disregarded.
Overall, I think this delay will be a very good thing for Upton Library. There are still a number of kinks to be worked out of the Evergreen system, and it will give time for us to develop some standards and consistency for our new features. It also means that Matthew will not be on vacation during the switch.
Our vote to close the library one Saturday for the switch will now be considering December 31st, instead of October 8th.

Nook eReaders
Our Nook eReaders were all checked out two days after I made them available, and they have had a total of 11 circulations so far. They have been constantly checked out, but the waiting list is not as long as I expected.
I have revised our draft eReader policy based on our discussions last month, and it is now ready for a vote.

Technology Nights
Four people attended a workshop on borrowing downloaded ebooks from the library. This seems to be the only topic that generates interest in these workshops. I plan to continue offering this workshop every other month, and once we switch to Evergreen system, I will also offer workshops on using the library catalog.

Passport Acceptance
Use of our Passport Acceptance service continues to be slow, but it is starting to pick up. After having offered the service for a few months, I am going to require that patrons make an appointment with Matthew to submit a passport application. Ideally, this would be a drop-in service, but we have had several instances when people came during times that Matthew was not available and wasted a trip. I am changing our advertising of this service to indicate that an appointment is now required.

Summer Reading Program
This summer, 424 children registered for the summer reading program, and we distributed 1262 small reading incentives, an average of 157 children each week claiming their prize. The finale on August 20th was attended by 32 children.

Programs
Library book group: 5 people met on August 31st.
Senior book group: 6 people met on August 2nd.
Thursday storytime averaged 9 children per session for 4 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit is not held during the summer months.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 8 patrons and 24 items.
Lego Days: 4 sessions, total participation 26.
Technology Nights: 2 sessions scheduled, total participation 4.

Special Events
August 20th – 11am Summer Reading Finale, Ice Cream donated by “Good to Go” at Red Rock Grill in Upton. Attendance 32
Every Friday – drop in craft activity, 3 sessions, total attendance 20.
August 31st – Spontaneous animal storytime because of school cancellation, attendance 45.

Upcoming Events in September
September 8th – Afternoon 1:30 storytime begins again.
September 9th – TinyTots lapsit storytime begins again!
October 1st – 9am to 3pm, Friends of the Library Annual Booksale

Plans for Next Month
1) Complete State Aid application.
2) Evergreen Training.
3) Catch up on collection development activities before Matthew’s Vacation!

Book Group to meet at Library

2011-08-30T17:25:00.000-04:00

The Wednesday night Library Book Group will meet at the Upton Town Library instead of our regular meeting place at Memorial Elementary School on Wednesday, August 31st 8:00pm to discuss "Let the Great World Spin" by Column McCann.

Library open regular hours with internet access!

2011-08-30T17:23:00.001-04:00

As of 3pm on Tuesday, August 30th, the library once again has electricity and public internet access, so we are fully functional and will be open our regular hours until 8pm tonight.

Upton Library to lend pre-loaded eReaders

2011-07-31T17:22:00.000-04:00

Starting August 1st, we will be lending pre-loaded “Nook” eReader devices. These small, touchscreen tablets hold digital books that are easy and convenient to read. Upton’s eReaders can be borrowed for a three week period by any patron 18 years of age or older. We expect high demand for these items so put yourself on the waiting list now! We will be pre-loading the devices with a selection of books from our past book-group choices, as well as current bestselling fiction. If you’d like to read a specific book, please call and tell us the title, we want to build our content from your recommendations!
Content on these devices cannot be transferred to your home computer or personal eReader. If you own your own reader and would like to borrow content, visit the library for a flyer or see our Technology Workshop on August 23rd.
Any questions about the Nooks, what they are, why you might want to borrow one, please call Matthew at 508-529-6272 or email me at mbachtol@cwmars.org

Report of the Library Director for July 2011

2011-07-30T12:56:00.001-04:00

Nooks ready to circulate! – Summer Finale Aug 20th – Collection size reaches max.

Circulation – This month’s figures are estimates due to the early date of our Trustee meeting.
Circulation for July estimated 5,500 items. This is an increase from last month (10.6% increase), but not quite as high as July of last year (~9.0% decrease).
I’ll report accurate numbers on items checked out at Upton’s circulation desk and holds placed after the month ends.
Our Laptops were checked out 36 times in July.

Digital Content Use
BYKI: We need to re-evaluate how much BYKI is being used. As I checked our usage stats today, I realized I’ve been reporting the previous year of use, not the previous month, so our actual usage is much lower than I thought. In July, 14 users accessed byki for a total of 5 hours.
Wowbrary: 8 new users signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 83 active subscribers, and the newsletters produced 53 click throughs to the library catalog.
Overdrive: eBook circulation to Upton patrons: 92, eAudio circulations:

New Patron Registrations
34 new patrons registered in July.
Collection Development
We added approximately 155 items to our collection in July.
Passport Applications Processed in July: 2

Highlights from ARIS report
The annual report to the MBLC on our activity and services is due at the end of August. Here are some interesting facts that have appeared in the data so far:

For the first year since at least 2000, and maybe the first year ever, our total number of physical items owned has decreased. We went down from 31,811 in July 2010 to 30,513 in July 2011. We’ve been moving shelves and shifting things around to squeeze in a few more items each year, and now we’ve finally hit our limit.

Our interlibrary loan activity was almost identical to last year, with Upton borrowing 10,267 items from other libraries, and loaning out 8,598 items to other communities.

Our number of registered borrowers continues to increase, with 4,408 active Upton library cards. 3,875 of those borrowers live in the Town of Upton. That means over 50% of the residents of Upton are registered Library patrons.

Circulation numbers from FY10 to FY11 are very similar, with only slight fluctuations. The only significant changes were in adult periodicals, which are 30% increased, and children’s videos, which are 10% decreased.

Nook eReaders
Our Nook eReaders have been purchased and are ready to circulate.
After looking through numerous other library’s policies and procedures for circulating ereaders, I have a policy for Upton to recommend for approval by the trustees, in the document “Upton Town Library Nook Policy”. Some key points from the policy: eReaders only circulate to patrons over 18 years old; residents of other certified towns are eligible to borrow, but they are walk-in loan only, they will not be sent in the delivery system. Lost or damaged eReaders are subject to a $150 replacement charge. I have decided not to circulate the power cord for the eReaders. Battery life should be long enough for the 3 week loan period, and I’d rather not risk losing the cords or having them improperly charged.
I have purchased an initial 30 titles of content. The process for purchasing content is very simple and easy, I appreciate the Town Manager and Treasurer working with me to figure out the logistics of purchasing digital items.
If the Trustees approve the circulation policies, the Nooks will be ready to check out August 2nd.

Meeting Space Policy
Worcester Public Library has been in the news lately due to a controversy over their meeting space policy. Apparently, a white supremacist group had been quietly holding meetings at the Worcester library, and in February other patrons became aware of the group, which led to physical altercations within the library, threats of more violence being made requiring a police presence inside the library, and organized protestors picketing outside the library.
The Trustees of Worcester Library have since banned this group from meeting at the library, but they did so on the basis that threats of violence had been made, not based on the content of the meetings.
Luckily, we haven’t encountered any racial or political conflict among patrons of the Upton Library, but I thought this would be a good opportunity to review our own policy on use of library space.
Our current policy basically says “Library space can be used at the discretion of the Library Director.” It doesn’t provide any specific guidelines, unlike our exhibits policy which specifically describes prohibited groups and activities.
This summer we’ve seen an increase in the number of private tutors and a private (for-profit) literacy program. Some libraries prohibit use of their space for profit-making enterprises. I’d like the Trustees to either affirm our current practices or decide to reconsider our policies.

Technology Nights
After two successful Technology workshops in June, both of our July sessions were cancelled because no one attended. I believe the lack of participation was due to two factors: less popular topics and less publicity of the program. For the August sessions I am doing a repeat of the popular “downloading ebooks from the library” topic, and I will do more advertising.

Summer Reading Program
Halfway through the Summer Reading Program we have 401 children registered for the program, and we’ve consistently had 175-180 children claim their reading incentive each week.
72 people attended the “Small World Magic Show”, an event funded by the Upton Cultural Council.

Programs
Library book group: 6 people met on July 27th. During the summer months, I’ve consistently had difficulty accessing school grounds for meetings, so I’m moving the book group meetings back to the Knowlton-Risteen building, and we’ll just deal with any accessibility issues if they arise.
Senior book group: 6 people met on July 5th.
Thursday storytime averaged 10 children per session for 4 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit is not held during the summer months.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 8 patrons and 20 items.
Lego Days: 7 sessions, total participation 40.
Technology Nights: 2 sessions scheduled, total participation 0.

Special Events
July 12th – 10:30am “Small World Magic Show” in Nipmuc Auditorium, funded by Upton Cultural Council, attendance 72
Every Friday – drop in craft activity, attendance average 16 each session for 5 sessions.

Upcoming Events in August
August 1st – Lisa and Matthew at Evergreen Training CMWARS
August 20th – Saturday 10-1, Summer Reading Finale with project displays and free icecream from JJ’s
August 24th – Lisa and Matthew at Evergreen Training CWMARS

Plans for Next Month
1) Summer Reading Finale.
2) Evergreen Training.
3) Finish and submit ARIS forms.

Report of the Library Director for June 2011

2011-07-07T14:17:00.000-04:00

Summer Reading begins! – Technology Nights begin – Computing changes continue.
Circulation
Circulation for June was 4,958 items. This is a large increase from last month (23.2% increase), but not quite as high as June of last year (6.0% decrease).
5,124 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 698 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff. The big jump in holds placed is due to requesting items on the school summer reading lists.
Our Laptops were checked out 39 times in June.

Digital Content Use
BYKI: 62 users accessed byki for a total of 131 hours in June. The most popular languages were French and Japanese, followed by German, Italian and Spanish.
Wowbrary: 1 new user signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 75 active subscribers, and the newsletters produced 36 click throughs to the library catalog.
Overdrive: eBook circulation to Upton patrons: 82, eAudio circulations: 11 This is a huge increase in ebook circulation, more than 100% over last month.
New Patron Registrations
29 new patrons registered in June.
Collection Development
We added approximately 83 items to our collection in June.
Passport Applications Processed in June: 1

Computer News
The replacement circulation computer has arrived and is installed. The new computer uses Windows 7, which is significantly different than our previous operating system of Windows XP.
In October when we switch to the new circulation system, Evergreen, we will have to retrain our staff and make sure the software works well with our computers and printers. There will be a significant advantage to having both of our circulation computers be identical before the switch in October. I will be asking the Trustees to look at some price quotes and authorize the purchase of another replacement circulation computer this summer, ahead of our regular replacement schedule.
The two replaced computers were purchased in 2003. I will be asking the Trustees to declare them obsolete, after which I will offer them to the Town Manager for use in another town department. If they are too old to be of use elsewhere in Town, I will use the Friends of the Library network to see if anyone in the community has a use for them before I just throw them away.

Evergreen Library Software
The new circulation software is coming in October. Lisa and Matthew are scheduled to attend training at CWmars on August 1st and August 24th. We will then train the rest of the staff in September. We also need to start informing patrons of the upcoming changes, because there will be some interruption of service and the online catalog will have both cosmetic and functional changes.

Technology Nights
Our first two Technology workshops in June were very successful. Attendance was 5 at the “eReader” session and 4 at the “google products” session. That class size is about perfect for our space. More than 8 people will be cramped and uncomfortable. I received some requests to repeat the “eReader” workshop for people that could not make it, and I plan on doing so as one of our August sessions.

Summer Reading Program
One week into the Summer Reading Program we have 331 children registered for the program, and 186 of them received their reading incentive for the first week.
205 people attended our kickoff theatre event at Nipmuc Highschool. The UNH theater troupe did a great job, we received many compliments from parents about the play.

Programs
Library book group: 5 people met on June 29th.
Senior book group: 5 people met on June 7th.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session for 8 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit is not held during the summer months.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 9 patrons and 19 items.
Lego Days: 2 sessions, total participation 12.
Technology Nights: 2 sessions, total participation 9.

Special Events
June 1st – 54 3rd Graders have library tours as part of Town Government field trip.
June 4th – Garden Day attendance 103. Next year we might consider inviting local businesses and groups to have booths instead of offering workshops.
June 28th – 205 people attend Summer Reading Kickoff event, “Strega Nona” presented by UNH Little Red Wagon theater troupe.
June 29th – 12 Young Adults attend Red Cross Babysitter training.

Upcoming Events in July
July 12th – 10:30am “Small World Magic Show” in Nipmuc Auditorium, funded by Upton Cultural Council.

Plans for Next Month
1) Expand Lego Program.
2) Continue Summer Reading Program.
3) Begin state ARIS forms.

Technology Workshops - June 14th and 21st

2011-06-02T13:50:00.000-04:00

Tuesday tech nights
June 14th and 21st, 7pm-8pm at Upton Town Library.
Join Matthew to explore new technologies and internet sites.
Each evening we’ll have a 15 minute presentation on a technology topic, and then 45 minutes of open question time for anything you want to explore or learn about.

June 14th – Borrowing library ebooks with your Nook or iPad
June 21st – Using free web email from gmail

Report of the Library Director for May 2011

2011-06-02T13:03:00.000-04:00

Technology Nights in June – Kids enjoy Lego Program – New staff computer installed.

Circulation
Circulation for May was 4,024 items. This is a decrease from last month (9.7% decrease), but higher than May of last year (7.2% increase).
4,155 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 570 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 22 times in May.
Digital Content Use
BYKI: 56 users accessed byki for a total of 120 hours in May. The most popular languages were French and Japanese, followed by German, Italian and Spanish.
Wowbrary: 2 new users signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 75 active subscribers, and the newsletters produced 36 click throughs to the library catalog.
Overdrive: eBook circulation to Upton patrons: 33, eAudio circulations: 10
New Patron Registrations
14 new patrons registered in May.
Collection Development
We added approximately 78 items to our collection in May.

Computer News
Staff Laptop – has arrived and is connected to the Town’s municipal server. All staff have accounts and town email address accessible through this computer. I have started to move library files and archives to be stored on the town server, where they will be automatically backed up and accessible to other town departments as needed.
Public computers security software – I received a price quote on “Deep Freeze” software, which was much lower than I expected: $237.10 for up to 10 workstations for the first year, and $39.50 for annual maintenance fee for each year after that. Since the price was so low, I went ahead with the purchase and installation of this software. What it does is make an image of your computer harddrive and revert to that image each time the computer is restarted. This eliminates any viruses, downloads, saved files or configuration changes made by users. This will save Matthew a lot of time manually fixing problems, and lets us relax our policy on downloads and software installation, because everything will go away on shutdown. It also protects patrons’ privacy in case they accidentally save a password or file on a public computer.
Circulation Computer replacement – The Town Manager has informed me that there are sufficient funds in the FY11 Technology budget to replace another library computer. My priority is to replace the circulation computers in preparation for the new software coming in October. This computer should be arriving and installed in mid-June.

Passport Applications
Matthew has completed the online training for Passport Acceptance Agent. I have submitted our application to become a Passport Acceptance Facility, and we are now waiting for that application to be processed by the Federal Government before we can start offering the service.

Technology Nights
Our first two Technology workshops are scheduled for June 14th and June 21st, 7pm-8pm at the Library. The format will be a 15 minute demonstration and then an open question and discussion period. Initially I will not ask for registration, but that may be necessary in the future.
June 14th will be on “Borrowing ebooks from the Library for your personal eReader”, and June 21st will be “Using gmail and other free google applications”
I hope to get on a regular schedule of the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, but June 28th is our Summer Reading Kick-off so I rescheduled to June 21st.

Legos Program
We’ve been holding a Lego Days program at the Library on Thursday afternoons in May and June. These programs are sponsored by HEMA, an organization that provides services to adults with disabilities. The first few events were an experiment to see how the program would work, if we had enough space, and how much staff time it would require.
Basically the program consists of putting a bunch of legos on a table, and letting 6 to 8 children be creative for an hour, and then displaying their results on a shelf in the library. The kids have been extremely well behaved and require minimal supervision.
Our first three sessions have been very successful, and I have a large waiting list of patrons that are interested in participating in the future. The HEMA volunteers have a limited schedule, so I am going to proceed with expanding this program as a library event, and offering multiple sessions during the summer.

Programs
Library book group: 9 people met on May 25th.
Senior book group: 7 people met on May 3rd.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session for 8 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots storytime averaged 17 children per session for 3 sessions, Tinytots is not held during the summer months.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 8 patrons and 20 items.

Special Events
May 12th – 8 Boy Scouts visit the library as part of their communication badge.
May 25th – 60 3rd Graders have library tours as part of Town Government field trip.

Upcoming Events in June
June 4th – Garden Day: plant swap, 4-H bunnies, gardening workshops, raffle
June 21st – Summer Reading registration begins
June 28th – 6:30pm Summer Kickoff children’s theatre performance at Nipmuc HS

Plans for Next Month
1) Summer Reading Begins.
2) Technology Nights.
3) End of year Financial matters.

Tornado Warning

2011-06-01T17:52:00.002-04:00

Library closed Wednesday night due to tornado warning.
Please don't go to the library between 6pm and 8pm tonight, stay home and be safe.

Garden Day Schedule

2011-05-31T18:23:00.002-04:00

Download Schedule as PDF
Upton Town Library * Saturday, June 4th
9:00am – 1:00pm:
Plant Swap
Used Book Sale
Kids' craft: seed-planting

9:00-11am: 4-H Rabbits on display
11:00am: Beekeeping presentation
12:30pm: Composting with Worms

1:00pm: Raffle Drawings
2:00pm: Library closes

3rd Annual Garden Day - June 4th, 9am-1pm

2011-05-17T17:11:00.001-04:00

Join us on the lawn of the Knowlton-Risteen building for our third annual Garden Day on June 4th, from 9am-1pm.
Plant Swap – bring a potted plant or two and choose different varieties to take home.
Gardening discussions – Various presenters will be sharing tips on gardening, composting, bee-keeping and more!
Booksale – Used gardening and cookbooks for sale by the Friends of the Upton Library.
Special visit from Upton’s Cuddly Critters 4-H Club- Come meet some bunnies!

9am-1pm, Saturday June 4th

Closing early May 5th

2011-04-21T16:08:00.000-04:00

Library hours for Thursday, May 5th
10am - 6pm

Closing early for Town Meeting.

Director's Report for March, 2011

2011-04-04T14:49:00.002-04:00

Very high circulation for March – upcoming changes to library systems – digital content use doubles.

Circulation
Circulation for March was 5,294 items. This is more than both last month (32.4% increase), and March of last year (15.7% increase).
5,538 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 678 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 14 times in March. The continued decline in laptop use is interesting. My observation is that several of the patrons that consistently borrowed laptops in the past have now purchased their own machines and are using our wireless hotspot instead.

Digital Content Use
BYKI: 50 users accessed byki for a total of 96 hours in March. The most popular languages were French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and German, followed by Chinese and English for Arabic speakers.
Byki usage has continued to grow each month. If usage stays over 50 hours per month, I feel the service is well worth the cost. At that rate it would be approx. $2.50 per user hour.
Wowbrary: 41 new users signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 71 active subscribers, and the newsletters produced 64 click throughs to the library catalog.
We have started offering automatic wowbrary signup at the time of library card creation, which has contributed to our more than doubling our number of active subscribers.
Overdrive: eBook circulation to Upton patrons: 16, eAudio circulations: 14

New Patron Registrations
22 new patrons registered in March.

Collection Development
We added approximately 124 items to our collection in March

Staff Computer Workstation
I received a price quote from World Band communications for $1,390.00 to purchase a Dell Latitude laptop and Microsoft Office software.
The purpose of this computer would be an additional staff workstation. This computer would be our connection to the new town server for sharing documents and staff email accounts. Our current computers cannot be connected to the town network because they are maintained by CWMARS. The rest of the town is moving towards more shared systems and software through the new server, and it would be beneficial to the library to be able to participate.

C/WMARS circulation / cataloging system changes
CWMARS is in the mid stages of a major project to change all its systems to new software. The new software is called “Evergreen” and it will replace our current catalog, circulation and patron account systems.
This will be a major change for patrons and staff, and will require a lot of training, testing, and publicity work over the spring and summer.
The last time Upton Library changed systems was in 1998, when we joined CWMARS and moved to our current software.
CWMARS has been working on this project for over a year, and are reaching the point where member libraries need to start participating in the preparations.
The current timeline calls for Upton Library to have access to a test server in early May, have staff training workshops in July and August, and actually switch to the new system October 8th-October 16th.
We need to be prepared to fund additional staff hours in July and August for training outside of regular library operating hours.
During the changeover week starting October 8th, we will not have access to any circulation system. As we get more information about how that process will work, I’ll be able to discuss with the trustees how that week will affect patrons. If services are limited enough, I might recommend that the trustees consider closing the library to the public that week. (think of it as closing for renovations)

Inter-library delivery system changes
The library delivery system, which is funded by the State, has signed a new contract with a new delivery company. The new company will be responsible for delivery across the entire state, instead of our previous 6 different regions.
This change should be invisible to patrons, but will require some adjustments in our delivery procedures.
Our delivery times may change, which will alter workflow at the circulation desk. The company has also asked for after-hours access to the building if needed. I am currently discussing this possibility with the Town Manager, and I’d like to hear what the trustees think about the idea.
The Massachusetts Library System, which is responsible for providing delivery services for the state, is optimistic that the new contract will result in shorter delivery times, which would be appreciated, as I have noticed many items taking 7-8 days to arrive lately, which is higher than the 3-4 days we’d prefer to meet patron needs.

Programs
Library book group: 6 people met on March 30th.
Senior book group: 5 people met on March 1st.
Thursday storytime averaged 8 children per session for 10 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots storytime averaged 21 children per session for 4 sessions.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 8 patrons and 20 items.

Staff
Matthew is taking the week of April 12th-15th off as vacation.
Lisa is taking a few days the next week, April 19th and 20th.

Upcoming Events in April
We have no special library programs planned for April or School Vacation week.
This is mostly due to our space and financial constraints… we have deliberately reduced programming to preserve other core library services.
Secondly, other community groups, such as Memorial PTO and the Recreation Commission are offering the types of workshops and events that the library used to sponsor in previous years, and it doesn’t make sense to duplicate their efforts.

Plans for Next Month
1) Complete budget process for FY12, and ATM.
2) Plan for Garden Day Event, June 4th
3) Summer Reading planning.

Error Requesting Books - Update 2 - Fixed

2011-03-26T10:08:00.004-04:00

Several patrons have reported a problem using the online catalog to request books.
The error message displayed is "An internal error has occurred, please contact library staff for assistance."

I have been able to duplicate the error, but I don't know what is causing it. Our technical support staff are not available until Monday. As soon as I can get ahold of them, I'll post an update.

Until then, hold onto the titles you'd like to request and either try again after the weekend or call the library and we'll be happy to place the hold for you.

*Update 3/26 11:10am: CWMARS is aware of the problem and tech staff are working on fixing it. No estimated repair time yet.

**Update 3/29 - The problem seems to be fixed. If you are still seeing this error, please let Matthew know at 529-6272 or mbachtol@cwmars.org

Local Author Book Signing 6-8pm March 17th

2011-03-01T13:16:00.003-05:00

Come meet Upton author Janet Goodfriend on March 17 from 6:00-8:00 pm at the Upton Town Library where she will chat about her debut novel, For the Love of Art. Make a personal connection with our writer of your next book as she signs your very own copy. This literary treat is about a friends’ getaway on Martha’s Vineyard, turned art heist puzzle, turned school district conundrum winding readers through a tale among artists with their misplaced and rediscovered priorities. Though themes surrounding family, public education, environment, and support for the arts emerge, uniquely challenged characters often propel the story into audible bursts of laughter. The book price is $17 and is also available for $9.99 on Kindle. Visit www.janetgoodfriend.com for more information.

Director's Report for February, 2011

2011-02-28T17:58:00.000-05:00

Display space popular – more about eBook purchase – public Fax and Scanner use

Circulation
Circulation for February was 3,997 items. This is slightly more than last month (9.2% increase), and nearly identical to February of last year (0.2% decrease).
4,138 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 530 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 21 times in February.

Digital Content Use
BYKI: 24 users accessed byki for a total of 39.2 hours in February. The most popular languages were Italian and Japanese, followed by Spanish, German, French and Chinese.
Wowbrary: 11 new users signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 29, and the newsletters produced 63 click throughs to the library catalog.

New Patron Registrations
19 new patrons registered in February.

Collection Development
We added approximately 154 items to our collection in February, much higher than usual.

Outgoing Fax Service
I noticed that we seemed to be sending quite a few faxes for patrons in February, so I checked the usage of this service for the last few months.
November – 4 Faxes
December – 4 Faxes
January – 3 Faxes
February – 6 Faxes
Not a massive demand, but steady use of the service, and greatly appreciated by the patrons that need it.

Display Space
Our public display space in the Library is attracting patron attention, and use of the space is now reserved through June.
Our March display is stained glass artwork by Eileen Rakitin, April will be a local photographer, May is a genealogy display by Regina, and June is another Upton photographer.

New Public Scanner
The Town Manager’s office had a surplus desktop scanner available for any department that could make use of it, so I took advantage of their offer and replaced our public scanner. The new one is faster and easier to use. Like the fax machine, scanning service is used infrequently, but is a real benefit to the patrons that need it as they often don’t have any other options besides the library.

Special Article to purchase eReaders and eBook content
During the Library’s budget presentation to the Finance Committee on February 16th, a number of questions were asked about our warrant article request for $3,400 to start an eBook collection.
I’ve been trying to prepare answers to the questions because they are likely to be asked by voters and patrons.
One source of confusion is the difference between the downloadable ebooks offered by CWMARS, and this new collection.
Downloadable content is for patrons that own their own device (Nook, Sony E-reader, Ipad) and want to borrow content from the library. This can be done through the CWMARS overdrive system.
This article would provide the devices pre-loaded with content for patrons that don’t already own a personal device.
It is also important to note that this purchase is not a subscription model. Whatever we purchase with the money this year is ours to keep, even if we decide not to invest any more money in this collection in future fiscal years.

The Finance Committee was curious to know which other libraries are already lending eReaders. After some quick research in the catalog, the following CWMARS members are lending eReaders:
Kindle – Northampton, Princeton, West Brookfield, Hudson (3), Pittsfield, Lunenberg (5), Northborough (4),
Nook – Northampton (2), Princeton, Northfield, Sturbridge (2), Amherst, Auburn (6), Pittsfield
Sony eReader – Pittsfield, Springfield (5)

Upton would definitely be an early adopter of eReader loaning, but there are a significant number of other libraries lending, or thinking about lending, eReaders.

Programs
Library book group: 6 people met on February 23rd.
Senior book group: 5 people met on February 8th.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session for 8 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots storytime averaged 17 children per session for 4 sessions.
Library Table: 3 visits, averaged 10 patrons and 24 items.

Upcoming Events in March
March 17th 6pm-8pm: Booksigning with Upton author Janet Goodfriend and her new novel “For Love of Art”.

Plans for Next Month
1) More publicity of Wowbrary
2) Begin planning Summer Reading Program
3) Follow-up with Price quote on Staff Laptop

Online Research and Databases

2011-02-20T13:30:00.002-05:00

Upton Town Library offers access to several online research sites and databases.

Services Funded by CWMARS:

Grolier Online - General Encyclopedia

Issues and Controversies - Articles about current political issues

Services Funded by MBLC (State Library Board):

Journal Articles and Research Databases

Virtual Reference Library - A good starting place

Boston Globe Newspaper

Boston Herald Newspaper

Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Director's Report for January, 2011

2011-02-04T16:19:00.000-05:00

Wowbrary newsletters begin – Snow closes library for 3 days – Knitting classes a hit!

Circulation
Circulation for January was 3,660 items. This continues our downwards trend, and is slightly down from both last month (3.6% decrease), and January of last year (8.6% decrease).
3,843 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 561 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 16 times in January, laptop use has dropped by nearly half compared to previous months.

Digital Content Use
BYKI: 21 users accessed byki for a total of 29.4 hours in January. The most popular language was French, followed closely by English for Arabic speakers, Italian, Spanish and Chinese.
Wowbrary: 17 new users signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 20, and the newsletters produced 48 click throughs to the library catalog.

New Patron Registrations
19 new patrons registered in January.

Collection Development
We added approximately 102 items to our collection in January.

Winter Weather
We were closed due to snow for 25 hours in January. In addition, on February 3rd, melting snow caused some leaks in the attic of the Knowlton-Risteen building. Paul Marchand, our custodian, was able to move our books in the storage area that were being affected, so only about 10 books were damaged beyond repair.

Wowbrary
I am very happy with the Wowbrary product. In addition to the new item notifications, the service includes automatic updates on the library and staff facebook pages, and Library news and events can be included in the newsletters. The Milford Daily news article generated some interest, and I will continue advertizing the service.

Budget for FY2012
The draft budget was submitted to the Finance Committee, and we are scheduled to discuss our request with them on February 16th.
I have continued to communicate with the Personnel board about FY12 wages, and the other personnel policy questions we had. Based on the latest information from the P. Board, the Trustees should discuss if they want to revise the department wages request to reflect a 4.5% FY10-FY12 increase, instead of a 4% increase.

Programs
Library book group: 7 people met on January 26th.
Senior book group: 5 people met on January 4th.
Thursday storytime averaged 6 children per session for 6 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots storytime averaged 17 children per session for 3 sessions.
Library Table: 3 visits, averaged 8 patrons and 21 items.

Special Events in January
Knitting classes: Both the Children’s and Adult knitting classes are full, with 6 and 10 participants respectively. Feedback from this program has been very positive, and some participants are discussing creating a regular knitting group to meet informally at the library.

Patron Packet / Pamphlet
I have a draft version of the Patron pamphlet completed! It needs to be polished up, and I need to investigate printing options, if we should print them ourselves or see what a professional printer would charge.

Plans for Next Month
1) Continue work on Budget with FinCom
2) Finish Patron packet
3) Continue to publicize digital resources

Upton Library closed all day Wednesday Feb 2nd

2011-02-02T10:40:00.002-05:00

Due to the State of Emergency declared by the Governor, all Town offices will be closed on Wednesday.

Library Closed Wednesday, Feb 2nd

2011-02-01T19:00:00.001-05:00

Upton Town Library will be closed on Wednesday, February 2nd.

If the roads are clear, we may open in the afternoon from 2-8pm.

Check this blog or call us at 508-529-6272 to check if we are open.

Library Open 10-8 Tuesday Feb 1

2011-02-01T11:22:00.002-05:00

The Upton Town Library is open now, and I plan on staying open our full hours until 8pm on Tuesday February 1st.

Tomorrow, Wednesday Feb 2nd is still up in the air at this point.
Make sure to call ahead or check this blog for updates before visiting the library tomorrow!

Library Open Jan 27th

2011-01-27T10:52:00.000-05:00

Upton Library will be open our normal hours 10-8 on Thursday, January 27th.

Yet Another Snow Closing

2011-01-21T11:08:00.002-05:00

Upton Library will be closed on Friday, January 21st due to snow and weather.

As a general policy, the Library will close for snow whenever the Mendon Upton Regional School District cancels school.

Upcoming February DVDs

2011-01-20T16:15:00.003-05:00

Upton Town Library's upcoming DVD acquisitions for February include:

Action:
The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Jan 25) - Third in the swedish trilogy
Monsters (Feb 1) - Aliens are quarentined by the US government
Unstoppable (Feb 15) - A runaway train loaded with toxic chemicals threatens Scranton

Childrens:
Megamind (Feb 25) - animated supervillan voiced by Will Farrell

Drama:
Never Let Me Go (Feb 1) - Childhood friends discover they are raise to be organ donors
Conviction (Feb 1) - A woman devotes her life to proving her brother is innocent of murder
Get Low (Feb 22) - In his dying days, a recluse throws his own funeral party

Documentary:
The Tillman Story (Feb 1) - Story of the Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan
Waiting for Superman (Feb 15th) - investigation of US public schools

Romance / Comedy:
Life As We Know It (Feb 8) - Two strangers get appointed guardian of an orphan
Its Kind of Funny Story (Feb 8) - Teenager learns life lessons while in a psychiatric ward
Due Date (Feb 22) - Slapstick road trip as a man tries to reach his pregnant wife

Foreign Films:
Still Walking (Feb 8) - Hirokazu Kore-eda's tribute to his parents, a depiction of a family's daily joys
Fish Tank (Feb 22) - British Director Andrea Arnold's searing drama about a 15yr old living in housing projects in Essex.

Library Closed Tuesday, Jan 18th

2011-01-18T08:41:00.002-05:00

Due to Snow and Freezing Rain, Upton Town Library will be closed on Tuesday, January 18th.

Everyone think about spring!

Library Closed Wednesday Jan 12th

2011-01-12T14:46:00.001-05:00

Update - Library closed all day on Wednesday, Jan 12th

Stay warm!

Late Opening Wednesday, Jan 12th

2011-01-11T16:19:00.001-05:00

Due to the expected heavy snowfall, the library will have a delayed opening for Wednesday, January 12th.

We will be closed at least until 2pm.

After 2pm please call the library to see if we are open or check this blog for updates.

6-Week Knitting classes at Upton Town Library

2010-12-28T11:35:00.000-05:00

There is still time to register for our beginner knitting programs!
Each program is a six week class that meets once per week, with instruction provided by Joan Sebastian, a crafter and Upton resident.
Classes will be held in the Upton Library.
Class size is limited, but we have spaces remaining, so register now!

Knitting for Adult Beginners:
Thursday evenings, 7:00pm - 9:00pm, Jan 6th through Feb 10th
Participants will learn basic knitting skills and be able to complete a scarf during the six week session.
Class size limited to 10 participants over the age of 18
Tuition fee: $10 to Friends of the Upton Town Library

Knitting for Children:
Wednesday afternoons, 3:45pm - 4:45pm, Jan 5th through Feb 9th
Students ages 9 and up will learn the basic knit stitch and start a scarf project during the six week session.
Class size limited to 6 participants over the age of 9
Tuition fee: $5 to Friends of the Upton Town Library

For more information or to reserve a space, please call the library at 508-529-6272 or email Matthew at mbachtol@cwmars.org

Upcoming January DVDs

2010-12-16T16:09:00.002-05:00

Upton Town Library's upcoming DVD acquisitions for January include:

Children's Films:
Alpha and Omega (Jan 11) - animated wolves go on a journey
Secretariat (Jan 25) - Disney tells the story of the famous racehorse

Drama:
Howl (Jan 4) - dramatization of the 1955 Allen Ginsberg poem
Nowhere Boy (Jan 25) - tells the early life of John Lennon, before he started a band

Action Thrillers:
Piranha (Jan 11) - Prehistoric fish eating vacationers
Takers (Jan 18) - A gang plans a major heist
Stone (Jan 25) - Edward Norton is an inmate and Robert De Niro is his parole officer

Romance / Comedy:
Catfish (Jan 4) - Documentary about the dangers of long-distance romance
Jack Goes Boating (Jan 18) - unconventional romance from Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Foreign:
Army of Shadows (Jan 11) - French movie about the resistance in WWII

All our new movie releases have a waiting list of requests. To get in the queue for a copy, call the library at 529-6272, or come in and ask for the "new movie binder"!

Report of the Library Director for November 2010

2010-12-02T14:59:00.001-05:00

Circulation picks up a bit – BYKI demo held – CWMARS plans to switch circ. systems

Circulation
Circulation for November was 3,869 items. This is slightly up from both last month (1.5% increase), and November of last year (1.9% increase).
4,069 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 568 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 44 times in November.

New Patron Registrations
8 new patrons registered in November.

Collection Development
We added approximately 102 items to our collection in November.

New Circulation System
CWMARS is switching to a new circulation and cataloging system called “Evergreen”. The migration process is being handled by CWMARS staff, and won’t require any relabeling or cataloging of the collection. However, we will need to invest significant time in training staff on the new system, both in-house training and attending sessions at CWMARS sites. I have appended a long explanation of the reasons for the change and how it will affect the library and patrons as an additional document that accompanies my report.
Patrons will not see any changes until October 2011, when the online catalog will change.

Online Language Instruction
The demonstration of BYKI was attended by 4 Trustees, and the product seems to be a better fit for our needs than Mango. I still have some concerns that the usage of the product won’t justify its subscription price, but my final recommendation is that we purchase the product for one year, and heavily promote its use by the Upton community.
I received 7 responses to my query of other library directors. 1 respondent subscribes to Mango and is happy with the service. 3 subscribe to BYKI and are happy with the service. 1 is considering both options, and has not decided yet. 2 libraries considered both BYKI and Mango, and selected BYKI.

Wowbrary
The Friends of the Upton Library voted to fund the “Wowbrary” new item notification service for up to $500 per year.
I have been in contact with both Wowbrary and CWMARS to work out the logistics of setting up the service. The hold up at this point is determining if CWMARS is able to do a single contract and then bill the individual libraries, or if each library will need a separate agreement with Wowbrary. If we need separate agreements, we might not be eligible for the 20% discount.

Budget for FY2012
I have some preliminary numbers for Trustees to use as a starting place for the FY12 library budget.
I can’t make anything other than guesses at Wages line item until after receiving the Personnel Board’s recommendations for FY12, but we can discuss the non-wage items.

Our State Aid funds are going slightly down, and our CWMARS membership assessment is going slightly up.
We desperately need an increase in the Library Materials budget. Our current materials line is less than we had in FY08, and has not changed since FY10. Without an increase, we will encounter extreme difficulty in meeting the Materials Expenditure requirement for State Certification, in addition to being unable to meet patron demand for new items and formats.
I recommend requesting a 1.5% increase to the Library Materials line item. That is less than we really need (certification standards assume a 2.5% annual increase), but combined with the two other line item changes will keep our total non-wage departmental increase below 2%, which is the guideline the Town Manager has suggested for departments in FY12.

Programs
Library book group: 9 people met on December 1st.
Senior book group: 7 people met on November 2nd.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session for 4 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots storytime averaged 18 children per session for 3 sessions.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 8 patrons and 24 items.

Special Events in November
Food for Fines program began November 27th and will run until December 23rd.

Staff
Staff reviews are upcoming, please send any input for staff evaluations to Matthew.

Upcoming Events in December
Second Annual Cookie Swap!
Thurs, December 16th, 6:30-7:30 pm in the library. Bring 2 dozen cookies, choose 24 treats to take home. Recipe sharing encouraged!

Library closed days:
Dec 24th, Fri – Closed, Holiday Pay
Dec 25th, Sat – Closed
Jan 1st, Sat – Closed

Plans for Next Month
1) Annual Town Report
2) Employee Reviews
3) Budget request

Upcoming December DVDs

2010-11-15T15:24:00.002-05:00

Upton Town Library's upcoming DVD acquisitions for December include:

Children's Films:
Shrek Forever After (Dec 7) - 4th in the animated series
Despicable Me (Dec 14) - animated comedy
Nanny McPhee Returns (Dec 14)
Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Gahoole (Dec 21) - animated adventure

Action Thrillers:
The "A" Team (Dec 14) - based on the TV show
Salt (Dec 21) - Angelina Jolie as a CIA agent
Resident Evil: Afterlife (Dec 28) - Milla Jovovich killing zombies
The American (Dec 28) - George Clooney as a hit man laying low

Horror / Sci-Fi:
Inception (Dec 7) - high tech criminals steal from your mind
Devil (Dec 21) - 4 people and the devil trapped in an elevator

Romance / Comedy:
Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Dec 7) - third installment of the vampire romance
Easy A (Dec 21) - A schoolgirl pretends to lose her virginity, gaining a reputation

Foreign:
Micmacs (Dec 14) - whimsical french film from director of "Amelie"

All our new movie releases have a waiting list of requests. To get in the queue for a copy, call the library at 529-6272, or come in and ask for the "new movie binder"!

Library closed on Thursday, November 11th

2010-11-10T14:03:00.001-05:00

Upton Town Library will be closed on Thursday, November 11th.
We will be open our regular hours, 9am-2pm on Friday and Saturday.

Report of the Library Director for October, 2010

2010-11-01T15:21:00.001-04:00

83 first graders visit Library – DVD collection expands – Friends plan Winter programs

Circulation
Circulation for October was 3,809 items. This is down from both last month (8.6% decrease), and October of last year (14.4% decrease).
Our number of visitors during our sample week in October increased slightly over last year (Oct 10 – 603 visitors, Oct 09 – 592 visitors)
3,987 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 530 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 59 times in October.

New Patron Registrations
12 new patrons registered in October, and 83 first graders received library cards.

Collection Development
We added approximately 125 items to our collection in October.

Book withdrawals are done for a while, Eileen and Regina are helping me go through the DVD collection, repairing items that need it, and withdrawing those that are too badly damaged to be rescued.

I have begun an item by item inventory of the Storage collection, so far the Large Print, Mystery and Science Fictions items in storage have been tallied.

Audio Visual Collection
I have shifted the DVD collection and TV Show collection into the shelves that used to house the reference collection. The audiobook on CD collection is still very cramped. Lisa and I are looking for a suitable new bookshelf for the children’s collection to house the juvenile audiobooks, which would in turn free up space for the adult audiobooks. Because we need a shelf that is narrower than standard 36” width, our options are limited, and we haven’t found a shelf we like for an affordable price yet.

Friends of the Library
The Friends are planning their winter programs.
The second annual Cookie Swap is scheduled for Dec 16th, at the library.
In January and February, the Friends would like to sponsor a 6 week knitting class to be held in the library from 7pm-9pm on Thursday evenings. Because this program would require keeping the library open after hours, the Friends and I are requesting that the Trustees approve spending approximately $180 from the wages account to pay staff to stay late.

The Friends are looking for new officers and volunteers. If you know anyone that would like to support the library, please let them know that the Friends are in need.

Online Language Instruction
Matthew attended a webinar demonstration of another online language instruction product, called “Byki” and sold by Recorded Books. I have contacted recorded books about setting up a free trial. The trial period will be 2 weeks, and provides access for only one person, so instead of everyone evaluating the product on their own, I will schedule a demonstration and exploration time for interested patrons and trustees. A Tuesday night would work best for me, hopefully November 16th or 23rd.

Wowbrary
The CWmars resource sharing committee has been discussing the web service “Wowbrary”. This is a company that automates the compiling of a list of new acquisitions and sends them in a weekly email update to library patrons. The emails are attractively formatted, and patrons often ask me if there is any way they can get a list of the latest arrivals at the library. The service would cost between $400 and $500 per year, depending how much of a discount we get for a group purchase through CWmars. I would like to pursue this service, and would consider asking the Friends of the Library to fund it.

Programs
Library book group: 6 people met on October 27th.
Senior book group: 3 people met on October 5th.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots storytime averaged 19 children per session.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 9 patrons and 23 items.

Special Events in October
First grade classes from Memorial School walked down to the library for a tour and to receive library cards. 83 students registered for new cards.

Staff
Matthew is planning on taking vacation December 7th-10th.

Upcoming Events in November
Library closed days:
Nov 11th, Thurs – Closed
Nov 24th, Wed – 10am-2pm (early closing)
Nov 25th, Thus – Closed
Nov 26th, Fri – Closed
Nov 27th, Sat – 9am-2pm (regular hours)

Plans for Next Month
1) Byki demonstration
2) Continue Storage inventory / reorganization
3) Schedule winter programs

Upcoming November DVDs

2010-10-18T16:20:00.002-04:00

Upton Town Library's upcoming DVD acquisitions for November include:

Toy Story 3 - animated hit from Pixar
Once Fallen - Drama about an ex-con trying to go straight
Centurion - Historical epic in Roman Britain
Ramona and Beezus - children's book adaptation
Grown Ups - Slapstick Adam Sandler
Scott Pilgrim vs the World - pop culture humor / romance
The Last Airbender - fantasy action
The Kids are All Right - domestic Drama
The Expendables - 80's style action violence
Eat Pray Love - romance based on the bestselling books
I'm Still Here - documentary / publicity stunt from Joaquin Phoenix
Knight and Day - spy action with Tom Cruise
The Sorcerer's Apprentice - fantasy action with Nicolas Cage
Vampires Suck - spoof parody of the "Twilight" movies

All our new movie releases have a waiting list of requests. To get in the queue for a copy, call the library at 529-6272, or come in and ask for the "new movie binder"!

Report of the Library Director for September, 2010

2010-10-04T15:22:00.002-04:00

Booksale a success – Long Range Plan complete – Storage area ready for inventory

Circulation
Circulation for September was 4,171 items. This is down from both peak last month (19.2% decrease), and September of last year (8.2% decrease).
4,498 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 608 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 47 times in September.

New Patron Registrations
15 new patrons registered in September.

Collection Development
We added approximately 154 items to our collection in September.

Over the month, I withdrew approximately 1,500 hardcover books from the collection. The items came from the adult non-fiction collection, along with the fiction collections in storage (Large Print, Science Fiction, Mystery and Adult Fiction).
All the withdrawn items were offered for sale at the Friends of the Library booksale, and then donated to “Got Books”, a booksale and recycling company through Miscoe Elementary school and United Parish Church.

The withdrawals should provide space in the adult nonfiction for 18-24 months of acquisitions, and the storage area is now ready to be re-organized and inventoried.

Audio Visual Collection
Now that the majority of the reference collection has been moved to the circulating non-fiction section, shelf space is available to expand and re-organize the adult Audio-Visual collection.

Long Range Plan
The October 2010 Long Range Plan, and the Action Plan for FY12 have been submitted to the MBLC.

Friends of the Library Booksale
The annual Friends Booksale was held on October 2nd, the event was quite successful, grossing $1,950 for the Friends, which is enough to continue funding the Museum Pass program at its current level. Many ULTRA members volunteered their time to help with the booksale. Thank you to the Friends and all our Volunteers!

Technology Instruction
Most of September was dedicated to collection development and weeding in time to dispose of withdrawn items in the booksale. Now that our immediate collection issues are under control, I will be developing a concrete plan for implementing Technology Instruction classes at the library.
My tentative idea is to hold the classes from 6:30-7:30 on Tuesday evenings, with a 15 minute demonstration / lecture on a specific topic (such as using facebook, or sending email), then the majority of the time for question and answer and drop-in instruction. I’d like to do every Tuesday, but twice per month might be more realistic to start with.

Possible New Computer Server for Town of Upton
Town Manager Blythe Robinson is preparing a warrant article for November 16th town meeting to seek funds to purchase a new computer server and software for the Town. If the project moves forward, the opportunity exists to link the computer in the library office to the town system. This would provide some advantages in data security, and would allow us to participate in town-wide software programs, such as a new email program, and the e-file system.
Our public computers and circulation systems would still remain separate, this connection would basically only apply to the workstation in the library office.

Programs
Library book group: met on September 29th.
Senior book group: 4 people met on September 14th.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots storytime averaged 19 children per session.
Teen Tuesday Ultra members assisted with the Friends booksale.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 8 patrons and 21 items.

Upcoming Events in October
1st Grade field trips for the students at Memorial Elementary School to get library cards.

Plans for Next Month

1) Develop plan for Technology Instruction classes.

2) Cleaning and reorganization of Storage.

3) Complete financial report and State certification form.

Upcoming October DVDs

2010-09-20T11:39:00.002-04:00

Upton Town Library's upcoming DVD aquisitions for October include:

Secret of Kells - animated historical story
Splice - Sci-Fi Horror
Karate Kid - remake of 1984 classic
I Am Love - lush period drama in Italy
Leaves of Grass - crime comedy with Edward Norton
Jonah Hex - DC superhero action
How To Train Your Dragon - animated Dreamworks film
Predators - aliens vs humans action movie
The Six Wives of Henry Lefay - Tim Allen comedy
Until the Light Takes Us - documentary about black metal music
You Don't Know Jack - Al Pacino plays Jack Kevorkian
The Girl Who Played with Fire - Swedish version of bestselling book
Sex and the City 2 - final? chapter about the 4 girls from NYC

All our new movie releases have a waiting list of requests. To get in the queue for a copy, call the library at 529-6272, or come in and ask for the "new movie binder"!

Fax Sending Service

2010-09-13T10:10:00.002-04:00

Upton Town Library now offers fax sending service for its patrons!

We have a public fax machine available to send faxes to U.S. telephone numbers for a fee of 50 cents per page.

Director's Report for August 2010

2010-09-13T10:06:00.001-04:00

New Public Fax Sending Service – Withdrawing items to prepare for Booksale –

Circulation
Circulation for August was 5,163 items. This is down from our peak last month (14.6% decrease), but higher than August of last year (9.8% increase).
5,456 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 672 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 39 times in August.

New Patron Registrations
21 new patrons registered in August.

Collection Development
We added approximately 78 items to our collection in July.

The majority of the reference collection has been integrated into the circulating collection, with only 29 individual volumes, and 3 encyclopedia sets retained as reference.

I am about half-way through weeding the adult non-fiction collection. I hope to finish that and withdraw many titles from storage before the booksale on October 2nd.

Public Fax Service
We now offer a public fax sending service. Patrons can send faxes at a cost of 50 cents per page to United States phone numbers.

Magazine Collection
The last stage of our magazine collection re-organization has been completed. The two major changes are that the most current issue of the monthly magazines will be available for circulation, and we will no longer be keeping back issues of magazines in storage.

Summer Program
The Summer Reading Program for 2010 is complete. 500 children registered for the program, and 1,042 weekly prizes were claimed, an average of 130 per week.

At our Finale event, 12 children brought recyclable craft projects to our art display, and JJ’s Ice Cream and the Friends of the Library gave away 50 ice cream cones.

Picnic Table
Our brand new picnic table, donated by Unibank, has been vandalized with obscene graffiti scratched into the top.

Technology Instruction
A patron asked if we offer any computer classes, and I explained the limitations of our facility and was discussing how a computer class would have to be structured to be successful, and I thought, “hey maybe we could actually do this”, so I’d like to try offering Technology classes and see how it goes. My preliminary plan would be to hold them on Tuesday nights, with a short lesson on a specific topic, followed by general questions and drop-in help time.

Programs
Library book group: 8 people met on August 25th.
Senior book group: 8 people met on August 3rd.
Thursday storytime averaged 11 children per session. Afternoon session begins again in September.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots is not held during the summer months, the next session will start in September
Teen Tuesday Ultra has not been having formal meetings, but the library is a popular hang out place after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 7 patrons and 17 items.

Special Events in August
Drop in Craft at library, August 6th, attendance 28
Children’s Bookgroup at library, August 10th, attendance 4
Summer Reading Finale, August 21st, attendance 50

Upcoming Events in September
Return of Friday TinyTots

Plans for Next Month

1) Finish weeding Adult Non-Fiction

2) Cleaning and reorganization of Storage

3) Complete Long Range Plan and Certification Forms

Unibank for Savings donates Picnic Table

2010-08-02T13:20:00.003-04:00

There' s something new on the Library lawn - a beautiful new picnic table!

With grant funding from Unibank for Savings, the library now has an outdoor seating area for our patrons to enjoy.

Eat lunch, relax with a book, or use our wireless network outside in the shade!

Report of the Library Director for July 2010

2010-08-02T13:18:00.001-04:00

New Record for Circulation – Picnic Table arrives –

Circulation
Circulation for July was 6,046 items. This is a new record high for circulation; an increase from both last month (15% increase), and last year, July 2009 (3.9% increase).
6,250 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 756 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 40 times in July, half our circulation in June.

New Patron Registrations
26 new patrons registered in July, fewer than last month, but still over our usual average of 15-18 registrations.

Collection Development
We added approximately 68 items to our collection in July. Large orders of non-fiction titles have arrived from Sebco Books and Apple Books, but have not yet been processed for circulation.

I have completed weeding the adult fiction collection. Over 500 titles were removed from the collection completely, several hundred more were moved into storage. That should provide adequate space for another 9-12 months.
I have moved on to working on the reference collection and adult non-fiction. The majority of the reference collection will be moved to circulation, providing more space for audio-visual materials, and I will weed the adult non-fiction with the same thoroughness as the fiction.

Summer Program
464 children have registered for the Summer Program. The treasure chest has been open for five weeks, with an average of 138 children per week claiming a prize.

3 Upton residents volunteered for library day at Community Harvest Project in Grafton on July 9th.

The musical performance “Lean, Green, Clean-up Machine” had an emergency rescheduling from 2pm to 3pm on July 13th, and was attended by 36 patrons.

Picnic Table
The Picnic table has arrived and is set up on the Library lawn along Rte 140. Our wireless network provides coverage to the table, and I will encourage patrons to make use of the table. Thanks again to Unibank for funding the grant to purchase the table.

Programs
Library book group: 7 people met on July 28th.
Senior book group: 7 people met on July 6th.
Thursday storytime averaged 11 children per session. Morning session will continue, while afternoon session will not be held in July and August.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots is not held during the summer months, the next session will start in September
Teen Tuesday was held on July 14th.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 9 patrons and 22 items.

Special Events in July
See Summer Reading Program.

Staff

Upcoming Events in July:
August 6th – Drop-in children’s craft at the Library.

August 21st – Summer reading finale with Ice Cream donated by JJ’s, and children’s art exhibit.

Plans for Next Month

1) Complete Summer Reading Program.

2) Continue transfer of Reference collection and weeding Adult non-fiction.

3) Implement new services.

Report of the Library Director for June 2010

2010-07-08T12:57:00.002-04:00

Circulation Jumps – Summer Program off to great start – Possible local art display space

Circulation
Circulation for June was 5,529 items. This is a large increase from last month (40% increase), and nearly the same as last year, June 2009. (2% decrease)
5,778 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 838 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 80 times in June, a new record high.

New Patron Registrations
40 new patrons registered in June, over double our usual average of 15-18 registrations. Most of the new patrons registered during the week of Summer Program signups.

Collection Development
We added approximately 121 items to our collection in June.

Summer Program
393 children are registered for the Summer Program. 130 registered on the first day of signups (June 19th), and 306 registered in the first week.
139 children returned to the library to claim a prize from the treasure chest in the first week of the program.

Our Lil’ Folk Farm petting zoo / Sno-Cone give away on Saturday, June 19th was attended by 146 people.

Theatre performance of “Jack and the Two Headed Ogre” by University of New Hampshire drama students was attended by 178 people on Wednesday, June 30th.

Picnic Table
Picnic Table and trash can have been ordered from Barco Products, and should arrive before the end of July. The seating area is being funded by a $1,500 grant from Unibank.

Display Space at the Library
After moving the public computers, we now have a 4’ by 4’ display board on the front wall of the library. Currently, I am using it for a “Thought-Provoking Topics” display of non-fiction library books. I have received an inquiry from an Upton resident about displaying their artwork in the library. Displays of local art are a common library service, and a benefit to the community, however we would need to establish a policy to regulate the display space. I have attached some sample policies from other Massachusetts libraries to use as a starting place for our discussions.

Links to policies:
Springfield City Library
Dudley Library
Worcester Library

Programs
Library book group: 10 people met on June 29th.
Senior book group: 6 people met on June 1st.
Thursday storytime averaged 8 children per session. Morning session will continue, while afternoon session will not be held in July and August.
TinyTots lapsit Tinytots is not held during the summer months, the next session will start in September
Teen Tuesday was held on June 15th.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 8 patrons and 18 items.

Special Events in June
See Summer Reading Program.

A full class of 12 students attended the Red Cross Babysitter Certification course, held on June 22nd and 23rd in Memorial School.

Staff
Staff have begun to submit their requests for summer vacation time. So far I’ve been able to approve the requests with no more than one staff person being absent at a time.

Upcoming Events in July:
July 9th – Library Volunteer Day at Community Harvest Project in Grafton.

July 13th – Children’s Musical Performance, 2pm Nipmuc Auditorium: Jay Mankita and the Lean, Green Cleanup Machine

Plans for Next Month

1) Implement Summer Reading Program

2) Finish Weeding of Adult Fiction collection, and begin circulation of reference collection.

3) Investigate options for public fax service.

Summer Reading Program

2010-06-22T14:56:00.000-04:00

Summer Reading Lists from local schools are posted here!

Information about the Library's 2010 Summer Reading program is posted here!

Library Closed Saturday July 3rd

2010-06-15T12:05:00.001-04:00

Upton Town library will not be open on Saturday, July 3th.

Enjoy the Independence Day weekend, and we'll see you on the 5th!

Report of the Library Director for May 2010

2010-06-15T12:03:00.001-04:00

Matthew returns – Picnic Table coming – Summer Program Starts

Circulation
Circulation for May was 3,735 items. This continues our decline this spring, being 6.5% less than April 2010, and 10.1% less than last year, May 2009.
4,015 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 502 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 62 times in May.

New Patron Registrations
14 new patrons registered in May.

Collection Development
We added approximately 159 items to our collection in May.

I will be placing one more large book order in June to meet our materials expenditure requirement for FY10.

Director’s Vacation
Matthew is back, everything seems to have gone smoothly while I was away, except for a few emergency computer repairs that were taken care of by Lisa and Worldband Communications.

Summer Program
Our first summer event is Saturday June 19th, when Lil Folk Farm brings their petting zoo back to the library lawn. Registration also begins the 19th, and the first week for treasure chest prizes starts June 29th.

Our annual theatre event at Nipmuc Highschool is Wednesday evening, June 30th, 6:30pm. UNH’s Little Red Wagon returns with “Jack and the Beanstalk and the Two-Headed Ogre.”

Picnic Table
Unibank approved our grant application, and sent a check for $1,500 to the Friends of the Upton Town Library, so we will finally be able to purchase a picnic table and trash can for patron use on the lawn. I will order the table asap, so it can be used this summer.

Programs
Library book group: met on May 26th.
Senior book group: 8 people met on May 4th.
Thursday storytime averaged 10 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 15 participants. Tinytots is not held during the summer months, the next session will start in September
Teen Tuesday was held on May 18th.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 9 patrons and 21 items.

Special Events in May
May 15th – Second annual Garden Day at the library. Attendance estimated at 125. This year’s events included a plant swap organized by Blackstone Valley Gardeners, and a series of three lectures / workshops by local business owners.

May 19th and 26th – Third grade classes at Memorial School received a tour of the library as part of their town government field trip

Staff
Lisa has received her MLIS from University of Rhode Island, Congratulations!

Upcoming Events in June:
June 19th – Lil Folk Farm Petting zoo, summer program registration begins

June 22-23rd – Red Cross Babysitting course, held at Memorial School

June 30th – 6:30pm, Children’s Theatre, Nipmuc HS courtyard.

Plans for Next Month

1) Implement Summer Reading Program

2) Continue weeding of Adult Fiction collection.

3) Order Picnic Table

Report of the Library Director for April, 2010

2010-05-05T14:40:00.001-04:00

Circulation declines – Garden Day May 15th! – Reference Collection to circulate

Circulation
Circulation for April was 3,996 items. This is a sharp decrease from last month, March 2010 (12.6 %), and April of 2009 (17.1%). Last year we had an unusually high April and low May, so I’ll wait to see the numbers from May and June before we decide if this drop is a trend or just an anomaly.
4,230 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 626 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.
Our Laptops were checked out 40 times in April.

New Patron Registrations
15 new patrons registered in April.

Collection Development
We added approximately 125 items to our collection in April.

I have been very pleased with our standing order plan for Audiobooks on CD from BBC Audio this year, and Lisa has just signed a contract with them to add their Juvenile Audiobooks 2 titles per month plan, starting in July, at a cost of approximately $800 for the year.

Magazine Subscriptions
I have renewed our periodicals subscription with Demco. Once the new subscriptions start in August, I plan on relabeling our display area, and revising our policy on magazine archives. Currently, we keep one year of back issues in the library, and a second year in storage. The extra issues in storage are accessed very infrequently, less than 1 circulation per month, and we need the space for fiction titles.
After the new subscriptions start, I would like to withdraw the extra year of back issues in storage, and keep only one year of back issues, shelved in the library. Exceptions to this rule are Consumer Reports and National Geographic; we would continue to keep 5 years of back issues for these titles.

Reference Collection
I have begun the process of integrating the reference collection into the circulating collection. Since most reference questions are answered using online sources, it no longer makes sense to reserve these books for in-library use only. This project is one of the action items on our long range plan.
The only items I am keeping in the reference category are our newest encyclopedia set, dictionaries, and a handful of books that are used every year for specific school projects. The rest of what is now in reference will be moved to storage, withdrawn, or recataloged into the circulating collection.
The shelf space that was previously used for reference will be used for Audio-Visual materials.

Programs
Library book group: met on April 28th.
Senior book group: 5 people met on April 6th.
Thursday storytime averaged 11 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 20 participants. Thank you to Mindy Martin & Kathryn Williams for helping with this program.
Teen Tuesday 8 teens visited the library on April 13th. Behavior in the Young Adult area has improved greatly over the last month.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 6 patrons and 16 items.

Special Events in April
April 21st – Sparky’s Puppets performance at Nipmuc Auditorium, sponsored by the Friends of the Upton Library, attendance of 112.

April 22nd - Earth Day Storytime at Upton State Forest, in collaboration with Mass DCR, attendance of 43.

Volunteers
No book deliveries were made by library volunteers. The pair of Girl Scouts working on their Bronze Award have started work on the planters outside the library.

Staff
Matthew is taking vacation from May 17th-June 11th.

Upcoming Events in May:
May 15th – Garden Day! Our second annual plant swap on the library lawn, will also include children’s craft activity, a mini-booksale, and 3 free gardening workshops.

Third Grade Field Trips – the 3rd graders from Memorial School visit the library on May 19th and 26th.

Plans for Next Month

1) Finalize Summer Reading Program events and procedures.

2) Finish integrating reference collection.

3) Emergency weeding of the adult fiction collection.

Pawtucket Red Sox Pass!

2010-04-21T13:03:00.004-04:00

Thanks to the Friends of the Upton Town Library, we now offer a discount admission pass to Pawtucket Red Sox games!

The pass is a flat fee of $18, paid at the park gates, and admits up to 6 people. Great savings if you are taking 4-6 people to see a game.

The seats are general admission, first come, first served.

We have one pass for each home game. Call the library at 508 529-6272 to reserve the pass or check on game dates.

Report of the Library Director for March, 2010

2010-04-05T11:54:00.001-04:00

Circulation increases – Staff computers upgraded to cable internet connection – No responses to newspaper usage survey – Library director to take vacation

Circulation
Circulation for March was 4,574 items. This is a large increase over last month, February 2010 (14.3 %), and a tiny increase over March of 2009 (1.1%)
4,902 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and an unusually high number of 758 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.

New Patron Registrations
18 new patrons registered in March.

Collection Development
We added approximately 146 items to our collection in March.
This is higher than normal because I spent some time processing a backlog of items that have been waiting to be entered into the catalog.
Eileen has also been working on cleaning up the backlog of items to be withdrawn, so two large piles of stuff have been removed from the library office.

There were no responses to the newspaper usage questionnaire, so I will proceed with our planned cancellation of our Boston Globe subscription.

Our magazine subscription list for FY11 is ready. I was contacted by a salesperson from Ebsco asking if they could submit a price quote for our magazines. I will wait a few weeks to receive their quote before I renew with our current vendor, Demco, but I would not consider switching vendors until Ebsco’s price quote is substantially lower. Last year we received three price quotes, of which Ebsco’s was the highest.

Staff Computer Internet Connection
The internet service for our staff computers is provided by CWMARS as part of our annual membership fee. On March 31st, they upgraded our connection from a Verizon DSL line to a Charter Cable connection. This change will not cost the library anything.
The upside of this change is that the cable connection is several times faster. The downside is that if Charter experiences an outage in Upton, we will lose access to all circulation functions, as well as our public internet services.

Programs
Library book group: 3 people met on March 31st.
Senior book group: met on March 2nd. Thanks to Eileen Rakitin for coordinating and leading this discussion.
Thursday storytime averaged 8 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 28 participants.
Teen Tuesday 25 teens visited the library on March 16th. Lisa and I held a discussion with ULTRA about the use of the teen space, and acceptable behavior guidelines.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 6 patrons and 13 items.

Special Events in March
Lisa read to students at Memorial School for Read Across America day on March 2nd.

Volunteers
No book deliveries were made by library volunteers. Several of our patrons now have a family member who is able to pick up their items at the library.

Staff
Donna Kempton has returned to work. She worked a reduced schedule for most of March, and will be returning to her full hours in April.

Matthew is taking vacation from May 17th-June 11th. We may have some difficulty in finding staff coverage for some Saturdays.

Upcoming Events in April:
April 21st – Sparky’s Puppets performance in Nipmuc Auditorium at 10:00, during school vacation week.
April 22nd – Lisa hosts outdoor storytime at Upton State Forest.

Plans for Next Month

1) Create new patron packet.

2) Housekeeping in storage area, designate more items to be withdrawn.

3) Begin plans for shifting reference collection to circulation.

Report of the Library Director for February 2010

2010-03-01T14:24:00.003-05:00

Circulation
Circulation for February was 4,004 items. This is nearly identical to last month, January 2010 (0.1% decrease) and less than last year, February 2009 (6.3% decrease).
4,125 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 553 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.

New Patron Registrations
15 new patrons registered in February.

Collection Development
We added approximately 66 items to our collection in February.
Before proceeding with the cancellation of our Boston Globe subscription, I have posted a survey form for Patrons to indicate which newspapers they rely upon. I will leave the survey up for the month of March and then tally the results.
We have received our periodical subscription renewal form from Demco. We need to drop 5-6 monthly titles to fit our new adult magazine space. I will work with Sue and Lisa to determine which titles to cancel. Once that decision is made, the last step in the new reading area project is to label our magazine racks for ease of use.

Lisa is working with a company called “Junior Library Guild”, which offers standing order plans for juvenile books. Each plan automatically ships 1 book per month. We have selected 3 plans to try until June, and then if we like their bindings and selections, we might make a major investment of a significant percentage of our juvenile materials budget for FY11. The books average about $1 more than if we purchased them from Baker & Taylor, but the convenience of pre-selection and consistent shipments are worth the extra expense.

Programs

Library Book Group: 6 people met on February 24th.
Senior Book Group: met on Feburary 2nd. Thanks to Eileen Rakitin for coordinating and leading this discussion.
Thursday Storytime averaged 7 children per session.
TinyTots Lapsit averaged 23 participants.
TeenTuesday landed on school vacation week, so ULTRA did not formally meet in February. We usually have 8-15 teenagers using library space in the hours after school from 2-6pm.
Library Table: 2 visits, averaged 2 patrons and 5 items. Library table was canceled twice in February because the Senior Center canceled all activities due to weather.

Special Events in February
76 people attended our school vacation performer, Mark Binder, on Feb. 17th. This program was sponsored by FULTI.

Volunteers
9 items were delivered to 1 patron on February 23rd.

Staff
Donna Kempton is still out of work due to a broken leg. Current estimate is that she will be out for most or all of March.

Matthew is planning on taking vacation time in the end of May and beginning of June. Tentative plans are for May 17th-June 9th. I am working with Lisa to make sure we have staff coverage and administrative tasks are completed.

Upcoming Events in March:
Lisa will participate in Read Across America Day as a guest reader at Memorial School on March 2nd.

Plans for Next Month

1) Meet with FinCom to present Budget.

2) Create first draft of new patron packet.

3) Finish clearing out backlog of items to be withdrawn, with help from Eileen.

Report of the Library Director for January, 2010

2010-02-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

Circulation
Circulation for January was 4,007 items. This is a scant decrease from last month, December 2009 (2.1% decrease) and less than last year, January 2009 (5.5% decrease).
4,346 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 494 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.

New Patron Registrations
16 new patrons registered in January.

Collection Development
We added approximately 115 items to our collection in January.
I would like to re-evaluate the cost of our newspaper subscriptions. We currently subscribe to 4 daily newspapers, at a significant annual cost. I recommend cancelling our subscription to the Boston Globe. The Globe costs twice as much as our other papers, and the Sunday content is duplicated between the Globe and the Telegram. Since these papers do not circulate, we have only anecdotal evidence on usage. A handful of patrons (5 or so) look at the papers weekly, and they also get occasional use from other patrons.
Paper Annual Cost
Boston Globe $588
Milford Daily $180
Worcester Telegram $288
Wall St Journal $249

Converting the Reading Area to a Young Adult Area
This project is proceeding nicely, and is nearly complete.
The new magazine storage and display units are installed, and we moved one shelving unit to create a semi-isolated reading area.
Various collections have been shifted and moved, so all the Young Adult materials are in the previous reading area.
I am very pleased with the results, we gained collection space for the Young Adult fiction and Large print collections, and the new reading area is aesthetically pleasing. We did lose sight and sound contact between the circulation desk and the director’s office, and patrons that prefer the desktop workstations instead of using the laptops have a longer wait time because of the change from 3 to 2 desktop computers.

The remaining tasks are to:
Move 3 pieces of unused furniture upstairs to storage, finish evaluating the local history collection, move some remaining reference books out of the young adult area, utilize new display space at the front of the library.

Magazine Collection
As part of the re-organization process, Sue, Lisa and I have been discussing modifying our magazine collection.
Currently, we subscribe to 62 magazine titles, weekly and monthly titles are interfiled, we do not allow the most recent issue to circulate, and keep a total of 2 years of back issues, 1 year in the library and 1 year in storage.

The changes I am planning to implement after our subscription renewal in May are:
Split magazine collection into weekly and monthly titles.
Monthly titles will be reduced to 48 subscriptions, all issues will circulate, and we will keep only 1 year of back issues, all in the library, none in storage.
Weekly titles will be reduced to 7 subscriptions, the most recent issue will not circulate, and we will keep only 4 months of back issues, all in the library.
Storage of back issues upstairs will be limited to those titles with archival value, such as “National Geographic”.

Programs
Library book group: 4 people met on January 27th.
Senior book group: 8 people met on January 5th. Thanks to Eileen Rakitin for coordinating and leading this discussion.
Thursday storytime averaged 6 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 18 participants. Lisa is working with the parents to offer self-guided activities and playtime after the TinyTots sessions.
Teen Tuesday 8 young adults attended on January 13th. We usually have 8-15 teenagers using library space in the hours after school from 2-6pm.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 7 patrons and 16 items.

Volunteers
11 items were delivered to 1 patron on January 6th.

Staff
Donna Kempton has been out for the month of January with a broken leg. Everyone has chipped in to do extra work and cover her circulation and technical services duties, but we are all eagerly waiting for her to return.
She is expecting to be out of work for another 2-4 weeks.

Upcoming Events in February
Children’s Performer for February Vacation:
Mark Binder, storyteller, sponsored by Fulti, Feb, 17th, 10:30am, Nipmuc Auditorium
Plans for Next Month

1) Submit budget request to FinCom

2) Finish reading area reorganization

3) Weeding of adult fiction and non-fiction

December Upton Town Library Schedule

2009-11-30T13:54:00.001-05:00

Hours for December:

Thurs, Dec 24th - Open 10-2
Friday, Dec 25th - Closed
Sat, Dec 26th - Closed

Thurs, Dec 31 - Open 10-2
Friday, Jan 1st - Closed
Sat, Jan 2nd - Open 9-2 (regular hours)

Any questions, please call us at 508 529-6272

Director's Report for November 2009

2009-11-19T17:20:00.000-05:00

Circulation
Circulation for November was 3,796 items. This is a decrease from last month, October 2009 (14.7% decrease) and a slight decrease from last year, November 2008 (3.8% decrease).
3,898 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk, and 515 interlibrary loan requests were placed by Upton staff.

New Patron Registrations
16 new patrons registered in November.

Collection Development
We added approximately 100 items to our collection in November.
I would like to re-evaluate the effectiveness of our travel guide collection. We recently updated our travel guides with 2009 editions, at a cost of approximately $1,250. Travel guides are low-demand items that need to be updated annually to remain current. I would like to stop updating this collection, except for Disney World and Massachusetts guides, and instead rely on interlibrary loan to meet patrons’ needs for other travel guides.

Public Computers
I am very pleased with the new printer and laptops. The wireless network has been popular, and usage is quickly increasing, in November we’ve had at least 1 person per day using the wireless access.
We started circulating the Laptops to patrons on October 15th, since then they have been checked out 42 times. (as of Dec 1st.)
Over the last six months, we have averaged $24.11 per month in printing fees. The new printer cartridges will cost approximately $100 to replace the black toner, and $300 to replace the color toner. We have not had the printer long enough to know how often they will need to be replaced, we are still working on our first cartridges.

Converting the Reading Area to a Young Adult Area
Lisa and I would like to re-arrange our collection and shelving, and purchase more efficient furniture to convert the current reading area into a dedicated Young Adult space.
Currently, our Young Adult materials are clustered in the back corner of the library and the Reading Area houses magazines, biographies and some local history.
When the teens arrive after school, they consistently prefer using the reading area, rather than sitting near the young adult materials, so we think it will be more effective to move the books to the kids, rather than trying to get the kids to move to the books.

We would also use this opportunity to gain shelf space for the Large Print and Mystery collections, which are overflowing, and reduce our collection of magazines and biographies, which have low circulation.
We would like to purchase lightweight round 2-person tables to replace the square wooden tables in the back corner of the library and the reading area. These tables are most often used for laptop use, or one on one tutoring. A 2-person table would provide the same service and save space. A folding table could still be used in the reading area for 4-6 person meetings.

As part of this conversion, we would offer ULTRA the opportunity to do fund raising to purchase electronic equipment such as a TV screen, DVD player or gaming console (such as a Wii), which would be installed in the reading area.

Our plan is to reserve this space and equipment for use by Young Adults from 2pm-6pm on weekdays, and the remainder of the time it would be available for reservation or drop-in use by any community members.

The financial cost to the library would be $1,000 - $1,500 to purchase the tables and new shelving hardware. Purchase of electronic equipment would be done through ULTRA fundraising.

Timeline for this project: December 09 – planning and furniture selection. Jan 10 – order furniture and move materials. Feb 10 through Summer ’10 – ULTRA fundraising, and installation of equipment as an ongoing project.

Programs
Library book group: met on December 2nd.
Senior book group: 8 people met on November 3rd.
Thursday storytime averaged 6 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 21 participants.
Teen Tuesday was held November 17th.
Library Table: 2 visits, averaged 7 patrons and 19 items.

Special Events in November
ULTRA book buying trip to Barnes & Noble was cancelled due to conflict with another teen event.

Volunteers
14 items were delivered to 1 patron on November 3rd.

Upcoming Events in December:
Library Schedule: Open 10-2 on Thursday, Dec 24th, Closed Friday Dec 25th, Closed Saturday Dec 26th, Open 10-2 on Thursday, Dec 31st, Closed Friday Jan 1st, Open 9-2 on Saturday Jan 2nd.

December 16th – FULTI cookie swap at the library, 7:00pm. See FULTI newsletter for more details.

Plans for Next Month

1) Staff Reviews in December

2) Draft budget, hopefully after some guidelines from FinCom / Personnel Board

3) Write annual report to the Town.

November Upton Town Library Schedule

2009-11-07T10:45:00.000-05:00

Hours for November:

Wednesday, November 11th - Closed

Thanksgiving Week:

Wednesday, November 25th - 10am-2pm

Thursday, November 26th - Closed

Friday, November 27th - Closed

Saturday, November 28th - 9am-2pm

Any questions, please call us at 508 529-6272

Report of the Library Director for October 2009

2009-11-02T14:57:00.000-05:00

Circulation
Circulation for October was 4,451 items. This is a slight decrease from last month, September 2009 (2.1% decrease) and nearly identical to last year, October 2008.
4,737 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk.

New Patron Registrations
21 new patrons registered in October, and 88 first graders got library cards as part of the annual field trip.

Collection Development
We added approximately 123 items to our collection in October.

Public Computers
The new printer, laptops and wireless network have been in public use for the last month. The printer is much faster and reliable, and I am planning on removing all but 1 of the small desktop printers. I will retain one for people that want to use their own paper. The laptops have been in high demand, especially with some of our regular teenaged patrons. This frees up the desktop stations for people making a quick visit to check email. The wireless network has been used several times.
My only concern at this point is that the lack of restrictions on the printer is leading to people printing pages they don’t really need, and taking printouts without paying the 10cent fee. I have posted some more signs and staff will be reminding patrons that there is a printing fee.

BBC Audiobooks collection
We have been enrolled in the BBC audiobooks on CD standing order plan since July, and I am pleased with the quality and selection they offer. Most of the new audiobooks are checked out within a few days after I put them on display. By the end of the year, we will be out of space on our current audiobook shelves, so I am thinking of ways to find more space or possibly move that collection again.

Reserve period
We have changed the length of time we hold a requested item for pickup after it arrives in Upton down to 7 business days (9 calendar days), instead of our previous 12-14 days. This change brings us in line with CWMARS policy, and was required so our policy would correspond to some automated features of the CWMARS system, such as the pickup dates included in email notifications and in the online catalog.
Because of this change, we adjusted how we send second notifications. All patrons will now receive a reminder phone call if the item is not picked up within 4 business days, the item will then be held for 3 more business days, and then returned to the owning library.
Aside from a few hiccups (one patron got phonecalls on 3 successive days), the new system seems to be going smoothly, and I have already noticed that holds are being picked up more promptly.

Programs
Library book group: 9 patrons met on October 28th.
Senior book group: 9 people met on October 6th.
Thursday storytime averaged 6 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 24 participants.
Teen Tuesday was held October 13th.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 6 patrons and 20 items.

Special Events in October
October 19th and 26th : The first grade classes from Memorial School visited the library for a tour, and 88 children got new library cards.

Volunteers
16 items were delivered to 2 patrons on October 6th.

Upcoming Events in November:
Library Schedule: Closed Wednesday, Nov 11th, Open 10-2 on Wednesday, Nov 25th, Closed Thursday Nov 26th and Friday Nov 27th, Open 9-2 on Saturday Nov 28th.

Nov 13th: annual ULTRA book buying trip to Barnes & Noble.

Plans for Next Month

1) Remove desktop printers, and continue to evaluate laptop and printer use.

2) Complete action plan update for long range plan.

3) Begin process of annual staff reviews.

Wireless Hotspot!

2009-10-02T17:15:00.001-04:00

The Upton Town Library is now able to provide guest access to its wireless network, thanks to a grant from the Upton Men's Club and iSolve!

Any computer with a wireless ethernet card can now connect directly to the internet at the Upton Library. This service is free to all our patrons.

Director's Report for September, 2009

2009-10-02T17:13:00.001-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for September was 4,546 items. This is a slight decrease from last month, August 2009 (3.2% decrease) but a slight increase from last year, September 2008 (3.9% decrease).
4,660 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk.

New Patron Registrations
18 new patrons registered in September.

Collection Development
We added approximately 150 items to our collection in September.

Highlights from State Financial Form:
This month, the second half of our annual report to the MBLC is due, the financial report and certification application.
We met all the requirements for certification in FY09, the two main ones being the municipal appropriation, and our materials expenditure. We are required to spend at least 19% of our appropriated budget on materials, and in FY09, we spent 22%.
Compared to FY08, our total expenditures for FY09 were nearly equal. We spent significantly less in FY09 on supplies and programs, and slightly less on materials, while spending more on salaries and wages.
Our materials expenses were slightly down in all categories, except for a 9% decrease in book expenses, and a 19% increase in DVD expenses.
The recession hit our trust funds, in FY09 their value decreased by $270, instead of the $2,077 interest income we accrued in FY08.

Public Computers
The new printer, laptops and wireless network have been installed and are ready for public use. The printer and wireless access are currently in use, both are open and unrestricted, not requiring any passwords or special permission to use. This is most convenient for both patrons and staff, but I will be keeping an eye on usage for any potential abuse of the resources.
The laptops need some more work with configuration, software installation and check-out procedures before they are ready for public use. Once the laptops are being used, my plan is to remove one of our current desktop workstations to make room for a display area or more shelving.

Replacement Library Card Policy
Our current policy states that replacement library cards can be purchased for a fee of $3.00. Last year when we began requiring patrons to present their library card for all transactions, we offered free library cards to all patrons. I would like to revisit our library card replacement policy, so all staff can act consistently. I recommend we revise our policy to charge $1.00 for a replacement card, and stop offering free replacement cards.

Programs
Library book group: met on September 30th.
Senior book group: 8 people met on September 1st.
Thursday storytime averaged 5 children per session. Afternoon storytime has resumed, and attendance has been sporadic, ranging from a high of 9 to a low of 2.
TinyTots lapsit resumed on September 11th, and averaged 18 participants.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 11 young adults.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 9 patrons and 18 items.

Special Events in September
September 16th, 7 members of Ultra teen group participated in a trivia contest hosted by Shrewsbury public library.
September 17th, Financial Seminar was canceled because of no participation.

Volunteers
16 items were delivered to 2 patrons on September 1st.

Upcoming Events in October
October 19th and 26th, the first grade classes from Memorial school visit the library for a tour and get library cards.

Plans for Next Month

1) Finish preparing new laptops and remove 1 desktop workstation.

2) Prepare action plan update for long range plan.

3) Return to weeding projects.

Education Funding Program

2009-09-09T16:01:00.002-04:00

Education Funding Seminar
6:30-8:00
September 17th
Upton Town Library

Its back to school time, and some of you may be thinking about saving for your children’s college education.
The Upton Library is hosting a seminar presented by New York Life Insurance Company on Education Funding, including grant and loan options as well as investments. The seminar will be held from 6:30-8:00pm on Thursday, September 17th. Depending on attendance, the seminar will be held either in the Library, or across the street in the Town Hall. Please call Matthew at 508-529-6272 or email mbachtol@cwmars.org with any questions.

Director's Report for August, 2009

2009-09-09T15:57:00.001-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for August was 4,699 items. This is a decrease from last month, July 2009 (19% decrease) and a slight decrease from last year, August 2008 (2.2% decrease). The decrease from July is due to the end of the summer reading program.
4,802 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk.

New Patron Registrations
27 new patrons registered in August.

Collection Development
We added approximately 119 items to our collection in August.
We received our first shipment of audiobooks on CD from our new vendor, BBC Audiobooks America. The packaging of the materials is slightly different in size and color from our current collection, but it will fit on the shelf as it is, so they won’t require extensive re-packaging. The selection of titles from BBC audio includes more non-fiction and a wider variety of genres, so they will increase the breadth of our audiobook collection.

Highlights from ARIS form
The ARIS form is the first of two reports we make annually to the MBLC as part of our application for state aid and certification. The ARIS form reports on library holdings, services and activity. All figures are as of June 30, 2009 or for the period from July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009.
Total Holdings: 33,085. Holdings includes volumes of books, movies, audiobooks, magazine subscriptions, and downloadable online items. Our holdings increased less than 1% over 2008, and our proportion of Childrens items to Adult items remained the same. Our holdings are very stable because of our space limitations. Although we continue to purchase new items, we must constantly offset that by removing other items from the collection.
Total Circulation: 66,014. Circulation includes checkouts plus renewals of all items. This is an increase of 1.6% over 2008. The two areas that changed the most were children’s books down 8%, and adult videos up 10%.
Total Interlibrary Loan activity: 18,079. Slightly more than half this number are items we requested from other libraries, slightly less are items we loaned to other libraries. This is an 8% increase over 2008.

Annual visits to the library increased 3%.

The other big change in our service activity was a drastic (46%) decrease in total attendance at children’s programs. This decrease is because of our decision not to host as many high-attendance paid performers, and our change to the structure of the summer reading program meant that many children worked on projects at home, instead of attending regular weekly programs hosted by the library.

Public Computers
We received a check in the amount of $2,825 from the Upton Men’s Club, and I have ordered the hardware through iSolve. We are buying 3 dell notebook computers and a high-quality color laser printer. Ian Hurd of iSolve is donating a wireless internet router and the technical labor to install the equipment once it arrives.

Summer Reading Program
Our summer reading finale on August 15th had beautiful weather, and over 100 children participated in making alka-seltzer rockets, viewing the space-themed art projects and having free sundaes from JJ’s Icecream.

Programs
Library book group: met on Aug 26th.
Senior book group: 6 people met on August 18th.
Thursday storytime averaged 12 children per session, in July and August we are holding morning storytime only.
TinyTots lapsit TinyTots is over for the summer and will resume in September.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 5 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 7 patrons and 15 items.

Special Events in August
August 6th, Buzz Lightyear special storytime, attendance 20.
August 15th, Summer Reading Finale, attendance 100+.
August 18th and 19th, Red Cross Babysitter class, attendance 14.
August 19th, Movie night, “October Sky”, attendance 10.

Volunteers
18 items were delivered to 2 patrons on August 4th.

Upcoming Events in August
September 16th, Ultra teen group participates in teen trivia contest hosted by Shrewsbury public library.

September 17th, Financial Seminar, “Funding your children’s education”, presented by New York Life insurance company, 6:30-8:00pm at the Library.

Plans for Next Month

1) Complete financial form / State Aid application

2) Select architect for new library project with Feasibility Committee

3) Purchase and install new computer equipment.

Director's Report for July, 2009

2009-08-03T12:26:00.002-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for July was 5,819 items. This is an increase from both last month, June 2009 (8.4% increase) and from last year, July 2008 (4.3% increase). This is also a new overall record for one month circulation!
6,023 items were checked out at Upton’s circulation desk.

New Patron Registrations
20 new patrons registered in July

Collection Development
We added approximately 102 items to our collection in July.
I have enrolled the library in the BBC Audiobooks America standing order plan, we have not yet received our first selections from them.
Our magazine subscriptions have been switched back to Demco Periodicals, and we have been receiving the issues that were being lost by EVA. Some duplicate issues have been coming because of subscription overlap, but we now have only one title left on our subscription list that we have not yet received.

Public Computers
Our grant application in the amount of $2,825 for new public computer equipment has been approved by the Upton Men’s Club. I am in the process of getting back in touch with Ian Hurd of iSolve to purchase and install the equipment.

Summer Reading Program
As of July 31st, 524 children have registered for the Summer Reading program. Our finale event with free ice cream sundaes will be held on Saturday, August 15th, and the program officially ends on August 22nd.

Programs
Library book group: met on July 29th.
Senior book group: 6 people met on July 7th.
Thursday storytime averaged 8 children per session, in July and August we are holding morning storytime only.
TinyTots lapsit TinyTots is over for the summer and will resume in September.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 9 young adults.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 8 patrons and 16 items.

Special Events in July
July 7th and 21st, Blast off with a good book reading group, attendance 7.

Four sessions of Spanish storytime, Wednedsays in July, average attendance 7.

July 15th, movie night free showing of “Fly Me to the Moon”, held in the library, attendance 22 children and assorted parents.

July 21st, Roger Tincknell and Davis Bates concert, sponsored by Upton Cultural Council, held in Nipmuc auditorium, attendance 217.

July 21st, Lecture and book signing with Hank Phillippi Ryan, co-sponsored by Kaliedoscope bookstore, attendance 30.

Volunteers
18 items were delivered to 2 patrons on July 7th.
Students from Mendon-Upton Regional School District were guest readers at our Spanish storytimes in July.

Upcoming Events in August
August 6th, Buzz Lightyear visits the library for a special storytime at 10:30.

August 15th – Summer program finale on library lawn. Free ice cream sundaes from JJ’s icecream, display of children’s artwork created over the summer on our space theme.

August 19th – free movie showing at the library, “October Sky” 6:30pm.

August 22nd – end of the summer program, last day for the treasure chest reading prizes.

Plans for Next Month

1) Wrap up Summer program.

2) Complete ARIS form.

3) Purchase and install new computer equipment.

Movies at Upton Town Library

2009-07-27T12:48:00.002-04:00

Hi movie fans!
I hope you are all taking advantage of the Library's Movie Binder.
Each month I post a reservation sheet for all the movies the library plans to order on DVD, so you can sign up for your favorites and you will be added to the reserve list as soon as the movie is released.
And we love to get recommendations to help us build our collection, so if you know of a great film we haven't ordered, please suggest it to us!

Below is a list of the films we added to the collection in June and July 2009.

Revolutionary Road
Defiance
He’s Just Not that Into You
Gran Torino
Were the World Mine
Nicotina
Tommy and the Cool Mule
Morning Light
Inkheart
Waltz with Bashir
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Dragon Hunters
Two Lovers
Street Fighter
Jonas Brothers
Knowing
Night Train
Coco Chanel
Edge of Love
Color of Magic
Dakota Skye
Explicit Ills
Watchmen
Coraline
Great Buck Howard
Sherman’s Way
Fast & Furious
Dragonball
Bad Lieutenant

Meet the Author Event

2009-07-07T11:57:00.002-04:00

Come meet author and investigative reporter,
Hank Phillipi Ryan when she visits Upton on
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
7:00pm
Upton Town Hall

Co-sponsored by Kaleidoscope Books, Cards & Gifts.

Books will be available for purchase and signing on the evening of the event.

For upcoming events for children and families, click here.

Director's Report for June, 2009

2009-07-06T17:38:00.011-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for June was 5,366 items. This is a increase from both last month, May 2009 (29% increase) and from last year, June 2008 (4.1% increase). This is also a new record for June circulation, but not quite as high as our overall one month record from July 2008. 5,548 items were checked out at our circulation desk.

New Patron Registrations
27 new patrons registered in June.

Collection Development
We added approximately 114 items to our collection in June.
A sales representative from BBC audiobooks presented information on their standing order plans. I am mostly happy with our current plan from Recorded Books, but I would like to get a wider variety of titles. RB focuses heavily on thrillers, with the occasional romance. We enroll in the smallest standing order plan RB offers, so we can’t cut back without dropping the plan entirely. I would like to add the BBC audiobooks plan, which costs approx. $2,400 per year. That would almost double our total audiobook expenditure. (in fy09 we spent $3,100 on audiobooks.) Books on CD are only 2% of our total circulation, but we do get a lot through interlibrary loan which suggests that our collection is not adequate to our demand. The BBC plan includes non-fiction titles, which is a weak point of our audio collection.

Public Computers
I have submitted a grant request to the Upton Men’s club for an amount of $2,825 for the improvements to our public computer services. I hope to hear back from them by the end of July.

Summer Reading Program
As of June 30th, 410 children have registered for the Summer Reading program. Registrations will continue and pictures of children and their “space buddies” have started to trickle in.

Programs
Library book group: 9 people met on June 24th.
Senior book group: 5 people met on June 2nd.
Preschool Storytime averaged 10 children per session. Attendance was very erratic, ranging from a low of 2 to a high of 26. Next year we plan on having only morning storytime in June.
TinyTots LapSit StoryTime is over for the summer and will resume in September.
TeenTuesday was attended by 19 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 7 patrons and 15 items.

Special Events in June
June 11th – 48 patrons attend a storytime / author visit with Carol Weis, “When the Cows Got Loose”

June 13th – 102 patrons participate in Garden Day, a plant swap / booksale / composter sale. This event was great fun, and we plan on making it an annual event earlier in the spring.

June 17th – 225 patrons visit the Lil' Folk Farm petting zoo on the library lawn. We had beautiful weather and the Friends gave out free sno-cones.

June 18th-19th – 14 teens take the Red Cross Babysitting course. Our next session in August is almost full already.

June 24th – 175 patrons at live theatre performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in Nipmuc auditorium. The troupe from UNH did a great job, but the script preserved most of Shakespeare’s original language, so it was less accessible for the children than previous years’ performances.

Volunteers
17 items were delivered to 2 patrons on June 2nd.
FULTI have been adding a lot of extra activities to our summer events, such as sno-cones, booksales and facepainting.

Upcoming Events in July
July 15th – Family movie night in the library, “Fly Me to the Moon” rated G, 6:30pm.

July 21st – Singer / Storytellers Davis Bates and Roger Tincknell 2:00pm at Nipmuc Auditorium

July 21st – Author presentation / book signing with Hank Phillippi Ryan, channel 7 news reporter and author of “Prime Time”, a light mystery. 6:30pm, Town Hall.

Plans for Next Month

1) Start gathering data for ARIS forms.

2) Hopefully start implementation of new computing services.

3) Catch up on backlog of items to be withdrawn from collection.

Library closed July 4th, Open July 3rd

2009-06-30T15:45:00.001-04:00

Upton Town Library hours for Independence Day:

Friday, July 3rd 9am-2pm
Saturday, July 4th Closed
Sunday, July 5th Closed
Monday, July 6th Closed
Tuesday, July 7th 10am-8pm

Early Closing, Wednesday June 24th

2009-06-08T14:43:00.001-04:00

Upton Town Library will be closing early on Wednesday, June 24th.
10:00am - 6:00pm

Come join us at 6:30 at Nipmuc Highschool courtyard for an all ages live theater performance of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

This event is our official summer reading program kick-off!

Register your children for the summer program.
Bake sale to support the Friends of the Upton Library.

Bring your own blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy the University of New Hampshire's Little Red Wagon theater troupe as they present an adaptation of this Shakespeare classic. Lively, exciting and child-friendly!

In case of rain the play will be moved into the auditorium.

Report of the Library Director for May 2009

2009-06-01T14:31:00.002-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for May was 4,158 items. This is a decrease from both last month, April 2009 (13.8% decrease) and from last year, May 2008 (8,4% decrease). 4,267 items were checked out at our circulation desk.

New Patron Registrations
7 new patrons registered in May.

Collection Development
We added approximately 139 items to our collection in May. Our set of Frommer’s travel guides arrived and has been added to the collection. I have a small selection of these titles on display, and I have weeded out all travel guides older than copyright date 2000.

Public Computers
I have received a written quote for purchase of three laptops and creation of a wireless network for all our public computers and a printer from Worldband Communications. The price estimate was $3,300. There are some advantages to purchasing from Worldband, because they already maintain our current computer network. I will be writing a letter requesting funding from the Men’s Club, and possibly the Recreation Commission.

Summer Reading Program
We have received all the contents of our summer program registration packets and volunteers from ULTRA and the Friends of the Library are assembling the bags. Registration begins on June 13th, which is also Garden Day at the library.

Programs
Library book group: 7 people met on May 27th.
Senior book group: 8 people met on May 5th.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 17 participants. TinyTots is over for the summer and will resume in September.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 15 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 7 patrons and 15 items.

Special Events in May
32 people attended a special storytime and author visit with Terry Golson and Tillie the Chicken in the Upton Town Hall on May 14th.

64 3rd grade students from Memorial Elementary School visited the library on May 20th. The remaining 3rd grade classes were scheduled to visit May 27th, but had to reschedule their field trip to June 3rd.

Volunteers
No home delivery was made this month, but is scheduled to resume in June.
FULTI and ULTRA members have help assemble our summer reading packets.

Upcoming Events in June
June 3rd – 3rd grade field trip from Memorial School
June 3rd-24th Wednesdays at 10:30, Baby Sign language class.
June 11th – Author visit and reading from Carol Weis, “When the Cows Got Loose”
June 13th – Saturday Garden Day, plant swap, booksale, children’s craft and composter pickup
June 17th – ‘Lil Folk Farm petting zoo on library lawn 2-4pm
June 18th and 19th – Red Cross Babysitting class, pre-registration required, $55 tuition fee.
June 24th – “Midsummer Night’s Dream” theatre performance on Nipmuc Courtyard 6:30pm, for all ages, friends bakesale.

Plans for Next Month

1) Summer Reading Events begin

2) Submit funding requests for public computers

3) End of fiscal year paperwork and clean-up.

Wetlands Regulations Available

2009-05-30T11:38:00.001-04:00

At the upcoming town meeting on June 16th, the voters will be asked to approve the wetlands regulations proposed by the conservation commission.

This article was postponed from May 7th because the voters felt they had not had enough time to review the proposed regulations.

The full text of the wetlands protection bylaw and the proposed regulations are available at the Upton Town Library on our community information shelf.

If you are interested in this issue, make sure to review the regulations and plan on attending the town meeting.

Library News for June

2009-05-26T12:44:00.001-04:00

June Highlights – see below for details
June 11th – Children’s Author
June 13th – Garden Day
June 17th – Lil’ Folk Farm
June 18th, 19th – Babysitting Course
June 24th – Live Theatre

New Library Hours
The Trustees of the Upton Library are pleased to announce that starting in July, the Upton Library will be open 40 hours per week, 2 hours more than last year.
As of July 1st, our new hours are
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday : 10am-8pm
Friday, Saturday : 9am-2pm
Sunday, Monday: Closed.
We hope you are able to take advantage of our new earlier opening time on Friday and Saturday.

Library Fact of the Month
The Upton Town Library provides three computer workstations for public use. The computers offer internet browsing and word processing, with printing available for a 10cent per page fee. Each week, an average of 42 people take advantage of this service to stay in touch with friends, obtain information from websites, submit legal forms, make travel plans and much more!

Garden Day at the Library!
Saturday, June 13th is garden day at the Upton Town Library!
Bring a plant to exchange at our plant swap, browse for gardening books to borrow from the library or purchase from the Friends’ booksale. Children can plant a seed of their own, and register for the Summer reading program.
Garden Day is also the pickup time and location for home composters purchased through the Board of Health. If you are interested in buying a low-cost compost bin, contact Diane at the Board of Health.
The growing season is here, so celebrate with us on June 13th, 10am-2pm.

Library Book Discussion Group
The library supports a monthly book discussion group, which alternates between fiction and non-fiction titles. All titles are selected by the members, and copies of the book are available at the Library. Meetings are held at 7:00pm on the fourth Wednesday of each month in the media center at Memorial Elementary School. On June 24th, join us to discuss “Bringing Down the House” by Ben Mezrich. This book, basis for the film “21” is the true story of an M.I.T. professor who developed a system for winning millions playing blackjack and recruited students to put his scheme into action.

Senior Book Group
The Senior Book Group meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 12:45 in the Upton Senior Center. Donna Kempton from the library staff leads the casual, entertaining discussions. Titles chosen are usually gentle, character-driven novels. Copies of each month’s book are available at the library in both regular and large print. Please call the library directly at 529-6272 to request a copy of the Senior book group title.

Library Table at the Senior Center
Each Wednesday from 11:00-12:00, a librarian will be at the Upton Senior Center with a small selection of our materials available. If you have difficulty getting to the library and it would be more convenient for you to pick up books, movies, audiobooks or magazines at the Senior Center, call us at 529-6272 and we’ll bring a personalized package of suggested titles for you.
This program is free of charge, and is open to all Upton residents.

Children’s/Young Adult Programs:
For information about children’s programs, visit the following site: http://UptonStoryTime.blogspot.com or email Lisa at UptonStoryTime@yahoo.com.

Get Ready for an Out-of-This-World Summer Reading Program!
The theme for this year’s statewide Library Summer Reading Program is Starship Adventure and you will NOT want to miss out! Registration for the program begins on Saturday, June 13th and will be ongoing throughout the summer. Each child who registers will receive a registration packet containing all of the info needed to participate, including a Starlog to track their reading time in order to earn prizes from the treasure chest! Also included in the packet are discount coupons from Southwick’s Zoo, Davis’ Farmland, Sweetwilliam Farm and Kaleidoscope Bookstore. Highlights of this year’s program include a couple of activities for ALL AGES to enjoy: You will create a ‘Space Buddy’ to travel with you this summer, and send photos of you with your space buddy for us to display at the Library. Another assignment is to read any book related to space and then create a project about it to display at our Summer Artist Exhibit on August 15th. All the info is included in the registration packets, so come to the library on or after June 13 to sign up, and then get ready to BLAST OFF on your own STARSHIP ADVENTURE!

Special Event: Meet the Author!
On Thursday, June 11, Massachusetts author Carol Weis will visit the Upton Town Hall at 1:30pm to read her children’s book When the Cows Got Loose. The story is appropriate for preschool age children, and following the story the author will lead us in a cow-related craft activity! Copies of this book will be available to purchase at the event for the author to sign. Please visit her website for more information: http://www.carolweis.com/ As with all Library-sponsored programs, admission is Free! This event is being funded by a grant from Circle of Friends Community Partnership for Children.

Special Event: Meet the Animals!
Lil’ Folk Farm will be returning for their annual visit, bringing their traveling corral filled with adorable, friendly farm animals! This year’s visit will coincide with the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL in Upton, Wednesday, June 17. The animals will be on the Library’s Lawn from 2-4pm and the Friends of the Library will be providing sno-cones, face painting and other special treats. Celebrate the beginning of Summer vacation and register for the Starship Adventure Program while you’re here! This event is being co-sponsored by a grant from Circle of Friends Community Partnership for Children and the Friends of the Upton Town Library.

LIVE Theatre Performance!
The Little Red Wagon will once again roll into town to perform for us on the lawn behind Nipmuc HS! This summer’s show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will be held on Wednesday, June 24, beginning at 6:30pm. This promises to be a wonderful family event, so bring your blankets or lawn chairs, invite your friends, and prepare to be entertained! The Friends of the Upton Town Library, sponsors of this event, will have refreshments available for purchase. (In the event of rain, the show will be held in the HS auditorium.)

BabySigns Program
TinyTots LapSit StoryTime will not be held during the Summer. This program will begin again in September. In its place, for the month of June, we will be offering a special Baby Sign Language program on Wednesday mornings at 10:30. Paula Flaherty Bolotin, an independent certified BabySigns instructor, and owner of Little Ones Can Sign, will lead this class for babies up to age 3 along with a parent or caregiver. This program is being sponsored by a grant from the Upton Cultural Council. Space is very limited, so preregistration is required. Call or email Lisa at the Library for more information.

Story & Craft Time for children ages 3-6 is held in the library on Thursdays at 10:30am and 1:30pm. Each week has a different theme. Join us in June as we begin preparations for our Summer Starship Adventure by reading some books about the moon and stars! Parents are asked to register for either the morning or afternoon session, on a monthly basis. Please note that the afternoon session will not be held during July and August.

Teens @ the Library
ULTRA (Upton Library’s Teen Readers’ Advisory) will hold its next monthly meeting on TeenTuesday (June 16th), beginning at 3pm in the Library. ULTRA membership is open to all 12-18 year olds who are interested in helping to make the Upton Town Library an “ULTRA-cool” place for teens, by planning and/or assisting at events, making suggestions for material purchases, and volunteering on an as-needed basis. Several ULTRA members have already volunteered to help with this year’s Summer Reading program and more are always welcome! For more info about ULTRA, visit http://uptonULTRA.blogspot.com, contact Lisa at UptonStoryTime@yahoo.com, or join ULTRA on Facebook!

Red Cross Babysitting Course
The next session of the Red Cross Babysitter certification class will be held on Thursday and Friday, June 18-19, from 9am to 12:30 both days. This class is open to both boys and girls ages 11-16 and the cost is $55. Checks made payable to American Red Cross are due at time of sign up. Preregistration is required, and will be done on a first-come first-served basis at the Library. At the time of this writing, there are still a few spaces available.

Early Closing, Thursday May 7th

2009-05-06T12:31:00.000-04:00

The Upton Town Library will be closing at 7:00pm on Thursday, May 7th so all staff and patrons can attend the Annual Town Meeting.

Report of the Library Director for April 2009

2009-05-04T15:01:00.000-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for April was 4,823 items. This is slightly more than last month (6.6% increase) and a bit higher than April of 2008 (12.5% increase). 4,945 items were checked out at our circulation desk.
Patron visits: Last month I mentioned that we were due for a quarterly count of visits to the library in April. For the two weeks we counted, we averaged 647 visits per week. In April 08, we had 604 visits, and in April 07, 630 visits. We had slightly more visits in April 2009 than in previous years, but not a statistically significant amount.

New Patron Registrations
19 new patrons registered in April.

Collection Development
We added approximately 78 items to our collection in April. Lisa and I placed an order for $1,300 worth of nonfiction titles from Sebco Books. Most of that order is new travel guides for the adult collection, the remainder are a few juvenile non-fiction books.

Periodicals Vendor for FY10.
I have received three written quotes for vendors to supply the Library’s periodical subscriptions for FY10. Based on those quotes, I will recommend to the Board that we go back to Demco Periodicals for FY10, and that we ask them to start all our subscriptions in August 2009, even if that means we have some overlap in issues. I think that the advantages of having all our subscriptions start on the same month (easier to track, easier to renew and change subscriptions all at once) will outweigh the one-time duplication of a few issues.

Job Descriptions
The new job descriptions were sent out to department heads by the Personnel Board, and corrections and comments were requested to be returned by April 29th.
John Robertson, Judith Katz-Goodman and I looked them over and sent some corrections to the P. Board. We suggested some minor edits and word changes to the Library Director and Circulation Specialist positions, and added 4 more essential functions to the Children’s and Young Adult Librarian position. The Personnel Board emailed me back to say that they had received the corrections and would change the job descriptions at their next meeting.

Programs
Library book group: 12 people met on Wednesday, April 29th.
Senior book group: 7 people met on April 7th.
Thursday storytime averaged 10 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 16 participants.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 10 young adults.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 6 patrons and 11 items.

Special Events in April
115 people attended our storytime / live animal demonstation by Creature Teachers on April 22nd.

Volunteers
12 items were delivered to two patrons on April 7th.

Upcoming Events in May
Meet Tillie, May 14th, 2:30 in Town Hall, Author Terry Golson will read her picture book and bring the real-life star of the story, Tillie the Hen.

3rd grade field trip, May 20th and 27th, the 3rd grade classes from Memorial school are having their annual field trip to visit the Historical Society, Library and Town Hall.

Plans for Next Month

1) Assemble summer reading packets and prepare for registration

2) Compare quotes and options for public wireless laptops.

3) Begin adult non-fiction weeding process.

Director's Report for March, 2009

2009-04-02T14:00:00.001-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for March was 4,523 items. This is slightly more than last month (5.9% increase) and slightly less than March of 2008 (4.5% decrease). 4,679 items were checked out at our circulation desk.
I am puzzled that we seem to be getting more people in the library, but circulation is not increasing. We are due for our quarterly visit count in the first week of April. I plan on extending the count to two weeks instead of one to get a more accurate sample to determine if we really are getting more visits or if it just seems that way.

New Patron Registrations
23 new patrons registered in March

Collection Development
We added approximately 134 items to our collection in March. Lisa and I ordered about $2,500 worth of non-fiction materials from Apple Books, and about $600 from Smart Apple Media. I have a visit from one more salesman scheduled for April 6th, Sebco Books. I plan on ordering a full set of updated Frommer’s Travel guides from Sebco. That should bring our materials expenditures up to the amount that we need to reach for State Certification.

Improving Library Signage Project
The shelf markers I ordered have arrived. They are not quite as visible from the ends of the aisles as I had hoped, but they will be able to serve their purpose. To start with, I am going to use them in the adult nonfiction section for bookstore style divisions, such as “self help”, “business”, “parenting” and so on.

Audio-Visual Labeling Projects
Lisa and I were informed of some concerns from patrons about children and teens checking out inappropriate movies. At first we considered adjusting where some movies are shelved, but finally decided the best course of action was to provide more information to assist patrons in making their own decisions, so I am in the process of labeling all our DVD movies with the MPAA ratings. (PG, PG-13, R, etc..) Movies without MPAA ratings will receive a “Not Rated” sticker. I have received three positive comments about the rating labels from patrons, and no negative ones.
Eileen and I have been working on re-classifying and labeling our music CD collection. After reviewing the collection, we divided it into 4 main categories; Juvenile, Classical, Band and Cultural. Each CD will have a unique identifying number and shelving position. The primary goal for this project is to make it easier for staff to retrieve a specific CD, but it should have a side effect of keeping similar items together for patron browsing.

Programs
Library book group: 11 people met on Wednesday, March 25th.
Senior book group: 9 people met on March 3rd.
Thursday storytime averaged 12 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 14 participants, a more manageable number then when we get 20+ per session.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 12 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 6 patrons and 9 items.

Special Events in March
Lisa was a guest reader at Memorial School for “Read across America Day”.

Volunteers
10 items were delivered to two patrons on March 3rd.
Several parents that participate in Storytime have asked Lisa if they can donate any craft materials. Lisa put together a wish list of craft supplies, and we have received a number of items from that list, along with a gift card to staples to use for whatever we need.

Upcoming Events in April
Wednesday, April 22nd, 11am, Creature Teachers will present “If I Ran the Rainforest”, a picture book accompanied by live rainforest Animals in the Upton Town Hall. This program is funded by our annual grant from Community Partnership for Children.

Plans for Next Month

1) Work with Personnel Board and Finance Committee to finalize budget for FY10

2) Complete signage and re-labeling projects.

3) Finalize Summer Reading program calendar and begin publicity.

Tax Resources at the Library

2009-02-09T15:07:00.002-05:00

It is time for tax returns again, so I wanted to make sure everyone knows what resources are available at the Upton Town Library.

We have paper booklets with the Massachusetts State resident and non-resident tax forms and instructions, located in our entrance lobby.

We do not have extra booklets for Federal tax returns. The IRS strongly encourages use of it's website, and does not provide extra paper copies to libraries.
Upton Library provides free printing for up to 10 pages of tax forms. We have copies of the 1040, 1040ez, and schedules A+B at the desk. Any other federal forms you need, ask a librarian and we can print them out for you.
We can also help you access the instructions for the forms on the IRS website at any of our public internet workstations.

We have two reference books of Tax tips. On our new book display you will find "J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2009", a general guidebook which is for in-library use only.

One of our patrons also recommended a resource for estimating the value of charitable deductions, called "Deduct It! Deduct It! 2009". This title can be checked out for home use.

Report of the Library Director for January 2009

2009-02-02T12:34:00.003-05:00

Circulation
Circulation for January was 4,240 items. This is a 14.7% increase over last month, but 4.9% less than last year, so we did get a bump in circulation, but not quite as much as last year. 4,240 is the number of times items owned by Upton Library were checked out, so this is an evaluation of the popularity of our collection.
The number of items physically checked out at our circulation desk in January was 4,268. This number includes both items we own and items we requested from other libraries, so it is an evaluation of how busy our circulation desk is.
Because we send out almost as many items as we request in, there is not much difference between these two measures.

Collection Development
We added 73 items to our collection in January. We have also processed our new encyclopedia set and juvenile animal collection. The replaced encyclopedias were donated to the Memorial Elementary school library.
After considerable discussion about our movie collection and debating the merits of changing how we assign titles to the Adult vs the Juvenile collection, Lisa and I have decided not to make any changes.

Laptop Computer / Wireless Project
After gathering some input from other libraries currently circulating laptop computers to patrons, I think we should start slowly by purchasing 2-3 mid-quality laptops, and not attempting to offer printing capability. The next step will be to price out the specific computers and then prepare a funding request to the Upton Men’s Club or Friends of the Library. We may also need a more powerful wireless router to provide internet coverage to the entire library.

ULTRA Boardgame Afternoons
The existence of Kaleidoscope bookstore has helped bring some new members into the ULTRA Teen group, as they enjoy getting drinks and snacks and then relaxing at the library in the afternoons. Twice during January, ULTRA held semi-spontaneous game days, playing Scrabble, Boggle and Apples to Apples. Click here for some photos!

Programs
Library book group: met on Thursday, January 29th as a snow date.
Senior book group: 9 people met on January 6th.
Thursday storytime averaged 12 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 26 participants. Once again, we are struggling with space issues for TinyTots.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 14 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 5 patrons and 7 items.

Volunteers
12 items were delivered to two patrons on January 6th.

Upcoming Events in February
The storyteller / entertainer “Big Joe” is coming to Upton during February vacation week. The event is organized by the library, funded by FULTI, and will be held in Nipmuc Auditorium.

Lisa is currently arranging a time and place for a presentation by a local family who have driven across the country in a vegetable oil-fueled car, and make videos of the experience to share on youtube (a free online video-sharing site). The presentation will be about both the “veggie-car” and about self-publicizing through youtube.

For more info about these events, visit the StoryTime blog at http://UptonStoryTime.blogspot.com

Staff
Lisa has started the next semester of her MLS.
Regina Young is taking an intensive course in genealogical research. While not directly related to the library, the skills she learns will allow her to provide even more assistance to patrons interested in their family history.

Plans for Next Month

1) Work on FY10 budget

2) Complete funding request to Men’s Club

3) Continue Adult non-fiction weeding project.

Wed, Jan 28th - Possible Library Closing

2009-01-27T14:16:00.001-05:00

The weather forecast is for heavy snow tomorrow.
The library will have a delayed opening, depending on how much snow we get.
Please call us at 529-6272 before coming down to the library on Wednesday, Jan 28th.
If no one answers the phone, we are closed.

Town Crier column January 2009

2009-01-21T14:32:00.001-05:00

Library Statistic of the Month
In an average week, over six hundred people visit the Upton Town Library!

We Need your Input
The Board of Library Trustees is pursuing several opportunities to build a new library facility for the Town of Upton. We want to know what you would like to see included in a new library and what you think about library services. Please visit our construction project blog newlibrary4upton.blogspot.com, or send an email to mbachtol@cwmars.org, mail us a letter or just stop by for a chat!

Winter is time to curl up with a Good Book
The long gray of January is upon us, and if you need something to lift you out of the winter blues, stop by the library and pick out a great book to read. If you’re looking for a fresh author, browse the new book display just inside our front door, or take a look at our Staff Picks shelf, books read and enjoyed by library staff.
Our picks are always changing, but right now we’re recommending: “Whale Talk” by Chris Crutcher, a young adult book about sports, life and growing up; “Dark Tide” by Stephen Puleo, a non-fiction history of the 1919 molasses flood that covered Boston’s north end; “Fortune’s Rocks” by Anita Shreve, a moving drama about unwise love and the consequences of our choices;
“The Known World” by Edward Jones, a historical fiction novel set in antebellum Virgina; and “The Gift of the Magi” by O Henry, a beautifully illustrated version of the classic short story.

Library Book Discussion Group
The library supports a monthly book discussion group, which alternates between fiction and non-fiction titles. All titles are selected by the members, and copies of the book are available at the Library. Meetings are held at 7:00pm on the last Wednesday of each month in the media center at Memorial Elementary School. On January 28th, join us to discuss “The Other Boleyn Girl” by Philippa Gregory, a fictional account of the life of Mary Boleyn, sister to the infamous Anne.

Senior Book Group
The Senior Book Group meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 12:45 in the Upton Senior Center. Donna Kempton from the library staff leads the casual, entertaining discussions. Titles chosen are usually gentle, character-driven novels. Copies of each month’s book are available at the library in both regular and large print. Please call the library directly at 529-6272 to request a copy of the Senior book group title.

Library Table at the Senior Center
Each Wednesday from 11:00-12:00, a librarian will be at the Upton Senior Center with a small selection of our materials available. If you have difficulty getting to the library and it would be more convenient for you to pick up books, movies, audiobooks or magazines at the Senior Center, call us at 529-6272 and we’ll bring a personalized package of suggested titles for you.
This program is free of charge, and is open to all Upton residents.

Children’s/Young Adult Programs:
For information about children’s programs, visit the following site: http://UptonStoryTime.blogspot.com or email Lisa at UptonStoryTime@yahoo.com.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by Kaleidoscope Books, Cards & Gifts on December 17th for a special Gingerbread Friends storytime! Children’s Librarian Lisa Stratton read two Jan Brett books to the 14 children who attended, gingerbread cookies were donated by Fresco’s and Kaleidoscope owner Carrie Cilley donated 10% of the day’s sales to the Friends of Upton Town Library. It was a fun community event, and we look forward to planning more in the future.

Story & Craft Time for children ages 3-6 is held in the library on Thursdays at 10:30am and 1:30pm. Each week has a different theme. This month’s winter themes include snowmen, soup, mittens and Chinese New Year. Parents are asked to register for either the morning or afternoon session, on a monthly basis.

TinyTots LapSit StoryTime for children birth to age 3, with a caregiver, is held Friday mornings in the library, at 10:30. This 20-30 minute program is filled with songs, stories and board book exploration. Come join the fun, as we sing and stretch and read some books! It’s a great chance to meet some new friends, and discover all that the library has to offer.
This program has become extremely popular, and we are now asking that parents PLEASE register in advance, on a monthly basis, due to the lack of space in our Children’s Area.

Teens @ the Library
ULTRA (Upton Library’s Teen Readers’ Advisory) will hold their next monthly meeting on TeenTuesday (January 13th), beginning at 4pm. ULTRA membership is open to all 12-18 year olds who are interested in helping to make the Upton Town Library an “ULTRA-cool” place for teens, by planning and/or assisting at events, making suggestions for material purchases, and volunteering on an as-needed basis. For more info about ULTRA, visit http://uptonULTRA.blogspot.com/ or contact Lisa at UptonStoryTime@yahoo.com. Happy Reading!

Report of the Library Director for December 2008

2009-01-02T12:40:00.005-05:00

Circulation
Circulation for December was 3,695 items. This is a 6.4% decrease from last month, but a 5.9% increase over December of 2007. This bears out my prediction last month that our winter circulation decline was spread over two months, instead of a single steep drop from Nov – Dec. Circulation should start swinging back up in January.

Collection Development
We added 51 items to our collection in December, significantly less than usual. No special reason for this, just a coincidence of when books come out and when we place orders.
Lisa and I met with a representative from World Book publishing, and purchased a new encyclopedia set as well as a complete set of juvenile non-fiction books on animals.
I have further condensed our adult reference collection, which is now down to about half the size it was a year ago. The opened space will be used for expansion of the adult audio visual collection, which is our fastest growing collection.

Northbridge Library Certification Status
The Northbridge library has recovered the majority of its funding, and is currently meeting all but one of the major requirements for state certification. The library will not be able to re-apply for certification until fall of 2009, but I would like the Trustees to reexamine the policy on decertified municipalities and decide if we should resume loaning Upton items to Northbridge residents prior to their official recertification.

Programs
Library book group: met on December 3rd.
Senior book group: 11 people met on December 2nd.
Thursday Storytime averaged 10 children per session.
TinyTots Lapsit StoryTime averaged 16 participants.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 12 young adults.
Library Table: 3 visits, averaged 5 patrons and 10 items.

Special Events in December
Lisa presented a special storytime at the new bookstore in town, Kaleidoscope Books, Cards & Gifts on December 17th, to coincide with a Friends of the Library fundraiser. 14 children participated. The store donated 10% of all sales that day to the Friends of the Upton Town Library.

Three ULTRA members and 1 Library Director watched a free screening of the movie “Elf” on December 30th, as a semi-spontaneous program during school vacation week.

Volunteers
One volunteer delivered 7 items through our Home Delivery program. Several of the patrons that used to receive items through home delivery are now being served through the Library Table at the Senior Center, or the Senior Book Group organized by Donna.

Upcoming Events in January

Input on library building initiative
Lisa and I have started aggressively soliciting input from members of the Upton Community about building a new library facility.
To start with, we are asking for any comments or thoughts from the community on what they would like to see included in a new library and why they might support or not support a new library. We are also trying to make the process more transparent, and distributing accurate information about the status of various projects.
As we receive more responses, I would like to refine our efforts to get input on specific design decisions, but for now our goal is to start a discussion and simply get more community members informed and involved.
We are pursuing a variety of avenues to reach people, both library patrons and non-library users. Lisa has created a Facebook cause, and sent emails to distribution lists, and the responses over just a few weeks have already given me some new insights and suggestions to present to the Trustees.
Right now we are archiving all responses on a blog at: http://newlibrary4upton.blogspot.com/
In the near future, I will be setting up a discussion board, which has more tools for organizing and requesting input.

Anyone that would like to send us some input, make a comment, ask a question can do so in a variety of ways:
Leave a comment on the blog: newlibrary4upton.blogspot.com
Email to Lisa: uptonstorytime@yahoo.com or Matthew: mbachtol@cwmars.org
For those that don’t have access or inclination to use email, a good old phone call (508)529-6272 or written letter to Matthew Bachtold, P.O. Box 1196 would also be appreciated.
Comments can be made anonymously and any questions will be answered to the best of my ability.

Staff
Annual Personnel Evaluations have been completed for all Library Staff.
Congratulations to Eileen Rakitin who has been a library employee for over 1 year.

Plans for Next Month

1) Continue Budget and Compensation Study process.

2) Begin planning for 2009 spring and summer events.

3) Evaluate public computer services.

Report of the Library Director for November 2008

2008-12-01T14:36:00.002-05:00

Circulation
Circulation for November was surprisingly low, at 3,949 items. This is an 11.6% decrease from October, and a 9.8% decrease from last year. Typically we see this sort of drop in December instead of November, and my hope is that this year the gap will be from October to November, and December should be close to the same as November.

Collection Development
We added 130 items to our collection from our usual vendors in November. We also added approximately 40 young adult titles that were selected during the ULTRA annual book buying trip to Barnes and Noble.
I continue to have misgivings about our current periodicals vendor, EVA subscriptions. We currently have 6 titles that should have been renewed that we are not receiving. One of them is our daily subscription to the Wall Street Journal. I have called EVA about this issue, and I will continue to try and resolve it through them, but if I have not gotten a firm answer from them by the end of the week, I will purchase the WSJ directly from the publisher, because we have patrons asking about it.
My plan for the spring is to return to a larger subscription vendor with more favorable reviews. I will ask for bids based on our subscription list and see which of the national vendors offer the best terms.

Circulation Policy
I want to make sure that all of our patrons and especially the Library Trustees understand our current circulation policy. Our policies state that any items in our collection are available to anyone with a library card, regardless of their age. Our collection includes items intended for a wide range of interests and many items are not suitable for all patrons. Furthermore, anyone 12 and over can apply for a library card without the need for parental permission, and will be given exactly the same privileges and privacy protections as any adult.
These policies are in accord with Massachusetts State laws and ALA suggested guidelines, and I do not recommend that they be changed.
However, they do provide only limited options for parents that wish to exercise control of the content or types of materials that their children borrow. In the event that a parent expresses concern about our policies, all staff and trustees need to understand the reasoning behind our decisions and be prepared to respond to these concerns appropriately.

Programs
Library book group: will not meet until Dec 3rd.
Senior book group: 7 people met on November 4th.
Thursday storytime averaged 10 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 22 participants.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 9 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 5 patrons and 10 items.

Special Events in November
The Ultra collection development trip was held on November 14th at the Millbury Barnes and Noble. 7 teens attended and selected approximately four hundred dollars worth of print materials for the young adult and graphic novel collections.

Upcoming Events in December
The Food for Fines program will run from December 2nd through December 24th. During this time, we will waive all overdue fines on Upton items for any patron that donates non-perishable goods to the Upton Bloomer Girls’ annual holiday food drive. As always, we cannot waive fines on items owned by other libraries, or fees and replacement costs.

Our Closed days in December will be:
Wednesday, Dec 24th , Open 10-2, closing early
Thursday, Dec 25th , Closed
Friday, Dec 26th , Closed
Saturday, Dec 27th, Open 10-2 regular hours.

Wednesday, Dec 31st, Open 10-8 regular hours.
Thursday, Jan 1st, Closed
Regular hours on Friday Jan 2nd and Saturday Jan 3rd.

Staff
All staff have completed the survey sent out by the Personnel Board as the first step in the town-wide position reclassification process.

Personnel reviews will be held for all staff except Matthew the week of Dec 15th- 19th.

Plans for Next Month

1) Staff reviews and annual report completed.

2) Begin budget process for FY10.

3) Continue withdrawing items from the storage collection.

Report of the Library Director for October 2008

2008-11-03T12:29:00.003-05:00

Circulation
Circulation for October was 4,468, a 2.2% increase over last month, and nearly identical (0.4% decrease) to October of 2007.

Collection Development
We added 108 items to the collection in October.
I was able to complete an initial pass through the mystery and fiction collections to implement our new collection policy prior to the booksale. Staff certainly appreciate have space to shelve returns, and while I have heard several comments to the effect of “some of my favorite books are gone”, we have not yet seen any immediate failures of the collection because of the new limitations. I am in the process of applying the same criteria to our storage collection, which will in turn allow me to do a second pass through the browsing collection and fill storage back up.
I have not been purchasing many new non-fiction titles in the last few months. Our non-fiction display shelf is sparse, and we have only 3-4 of the new york times bestseller list top 15 nonfiction. Most of the NYT bestsellers are political diatribes, religious tracts or celebrity memoirs, all categories which I have been purposely not selecting for the collection, unless we get specific patron requests.
The non-fiction titles that I do purchase have low circulation rates, and I am not sure if the demand is low because I haven’t been able to offer quality titles, or the titles don’t fit our collection because Upton patrons simply do not have a high desire for nonfiction titles. (the non fiction that does seem to circulate the most are lively biographies.)
I will continue looking for more non-fiction that does appeal to our patrons, and any suggestions from Trustees or patrons will be appreciated.

Programs
Library book group: met on October 29th.
Senior book group: 9 people met on October 7th.
Thursday storytime averaged 9 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 28 participants. Make sure you look at the storytime blog (uptonstorytime.blogspot.com) to see the pictures of the tinytots children in their costumes on Halloween.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 12 young adults.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 6 patrons and 7 items.

Special Events in October
Annual First Grade Field Trip: over 100 new library cards were created for the first grade field trip from Memorial Elementary school.

The Ultra collection development book buying trip was cancelled and will be rescheduled for another date when more members are able to participate.

Volunteers
15 items were delivered to 2 patrons on October 15th.

Upcoming Events in November
FULTI is bringing Greg Maichack’s painting workshop back to Upton. The program is 6pm-8pm on Wed, Nov 12th, and has been moved to the art room at Memorial Elementary School. We have plenty of space left in this program, so call the library to register if you are interested. Greg brings a variety of professional quality art materials, and gives beginners a chance to explore, while giving tips and advice to experienced artists.

Our Closed days will be
Tuesday, Nov 11th, Closed
Wednesday, Nov 26th, Open 10-2, closing early
Thursday, Nov 27th, Closed
Friday, Nov 28th, Closed
Saturday, Nov 29th, Open 10-2 regular hours.

Plans for Next Month

1) Finish first pass of Storage weeding project.

2) Begin non-fiction weeding project.

3) Add more material to the Community Information display.

Report of the Library Director for September 2008

2008-10-02T15:05:00.003-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for September was 4,373, a 9% decrease from last month, but an 8% increase over September of 2007.

Collection Development
We added 115 items to the collection in September.
I have begun implementing the policy of limiting our stock of titles of a single author, which we discussed last meeting. So far, I have withdrawn approximately 300 titles from the mystery fiction collection, and I am hoping to finish a first pass through the adult fiction with another 600 or so titles before the booksale. The next step will be to apply the new criteria to the storage collection, which will remove several hundred more titles, and free up space in storage for more overflow from the fiction collection.

Programs
Library book group: 5 people met on September 24th.
Senior book group: 10 people met on September 2nd.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 25 participants. Participation at TinyTots for September was nearly double our usual average. Lisa and I think this may be a result of not having the “Music and Movement” program. We are discussing what to do when attendance at TinyTots overwhelms our available space. Some options include a strict registration requirement, or adding an additional session on Fridays.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 10 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 6 patrons and 13 items.

Special Events
165 people attended the Fairy Houses event at the Upton State Forest. This event was paid for by the Friends of the Upton Library, and attracted residents of many towns across Massachusetts. It was a combination of Author reading, outdoor project, and an introduction to the Upton State Forest facilities.

Volunteers
15 items were delivered to 2 patrons on September 17th.

Upcoming Events in October
Annual First Grade Field Trip: students in first grade at Memorial School walk down to the library for a tour and get library cards.

3rd Annual ULTRA collection development book buying trip, Tuesday October 21st.

Staff
Lisa attended a pair of workshops on new books for children.

State Financial Report
Our application for MBLC certification is due in the middle of the month. Along with certifying our hours of operation, staffing levels, and services, the application includes a financial statement for FY2008.
Some highlights:
Our total operating expenses were $202,292. Of that, $179,606 came from the Town of Upton, the remainder from State Aid, the Friends of the Library, the Revolving Fund, and other gifts or grants.
$137,525 was spent on wages, $45,057 on materials, and $19,710 on everything else, which includes supplies, programs, and our network membership.
Our materials expenditures were 22.47% of our budget, well over the 19% required for MBLC certification.
For the FY10 budget, our municipal appropriation requirement to maintain certification will be $186,615. (the amount voted for FY09 was $186,500).

Plans for Next Month

1) 1st grade field trip.

2) Complete the State certification compliance form.

3) Finish fiction weeding project, and begin adult non-fiction.

Report of the Library Director for August 2008

2008-09-04T13:33:00.003-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for August was 4,807, significantly lower than both July of 2008 and August of 2007, (11% decrease). I can’t think of anything specific that would have caused a circulation decrease, so I’m inclined to just call it an anomaly. Typically we have a steep decline in circulation in September.

Collection Development
We added 122 items to the collection in August.
Our storage area in the Attic is now completely full, which means I will have to resume withdrawing items from the collection, without the luxury of being able to keep them in storage status. We have essentially two choices to reduce our collection size. One option is to keep all the bestselling, popular titles and reduce the breadth of our collection. The other is to keep some of the less well-known titles, and rely on interlibrary loan to supply the previous works of bestselling authors. (for example, we might keep John Grisham’s first two books and latest two books, but withdraw the bulk of his works).
I hope to discuss this issue with the Trustees at their next meeting, so I can withdraw a significant number of titles before the friends of the library booksale. A reasonable goal would be to withdraw about 10% of the book collection, or 1,800 volumes. That amount of shelf space will last us about a year, then we will be completely full again. (we currently have 2,864 items in storage.)

Programs
Library book group: 12 people met on August 27th.
Senior book group: 8 people met on August 5th.
Thursday storytime averaged 8 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 12 participants.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 6 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 5 patrons and 13 items.

Special Events
92 people attended the summer reading program finale.

Summer Program
See report from Children’s Librarian.

Volunteers
15 items were delivered to 2 patrons on August 27th.

Upcoming Events in September
Thursday storytimes will return to two sessions, one morning and one afternoon.

Build Fairy Houses! Author Tracy Kane is coming to Upton on September 13th for a book reading and outdoor “fairy house” building event, to be held at the Upton State Forest.

Staff
Eileen Rakitin attended a CMRLS workshop on services to Young Adults.

State ARIS report
The ARIS report on library services and usage has been submitted to the MBLC. This is the first big step in the certification process. The second part is our financial report which is due in mid-October.

Some tidbits of statistics about the Upton library excerpted from the report:

Total number of items in the library: increased 7.5% to 33,075. We added 1,417 books, 218 videos, and 1,390 items in electronic formats. (all our electronic format items are purchased and provided by CWMARS.) Audio materials were slightly down.

Circulation activity was close to level from 2007, with a 1% increase. Books are slightly up in circulation, video and audio material slightly down.

Interlibrary loan activity increased 8%, to 15,357 items in the year. We still lend a few more items than we borrow.

The number of Upton residents with library cards increased 7.5% to 3,621, over half the town’s population.

Plans for Next Month

1) Plan fall events, 1st grade field trip.

2) Complete the State certification compliance form.

3) Extensively weed the storage location.

Report of the Library Director for July 2008

2008-08-04T14:46:00.002-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for July was 5,579, a new record for monthly circulation, beating our old record of 5,412 set in August 2007. July 08 was 8.2% higher than June of 2008, and 9.4% higher than July of 2007.

Collection Development
We added 113 items to the collection in July.
The transition to the new fiscal year worked out okay, except for our Amazon.com credit account, which sends invoices about a month after we make the order, so we will have to pay this month’s Amazon bill using the revolving fund, which doesn’t have the same accounting restrictions as our expense account.
The complete set of BBC produced Shakespeare plays on DVD are entered into the catalog and ready for circulation. The shipment included a copyright statement which specifically does not allow public showings of the DVDs, so the library could not use them for a program without contacting the publisher. However, if a book group wanted to do a private viewing in someone’s home, that would be allowed.

Programs
Library book group: met on July 30th in their new location at Memorial School.
Senior book group: 6 people met on July 1st.
Thursday storytime averaged 12 children per session, slightly higher than usual, perhaps because during the summer we are having only 1 session per week.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 11 participants.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 16 young adults.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 5 patrons and 9 items.

Special Events
297 people attended “BubbleMania” in Nipmuc Auditorium.

Summer Program
All of our summer programs continue to be well attended, with the exception of our ages 9-12 gardening book club.

As of July 31st, we had 591 children registered for the program (compared to our final total of 514 for last year), and they had logged 1,871 hours of reading time.

Volunteers
19 items were delivered to 2 patrons on July 16th.

Several high-school students have been coming in twice a week to sort books in the attic for the Friends of the Library annual booksale.

Upcoming Events in July
The finale of the summer reading program is Saturday August 16th. Much like last year, the finale will be various drop-in activities going on from 10-2. Our plans include Make-your-own ice cream Sundaes, Games on a Nintendo Wii system (borrowed from CMRLS), free Henna Tattoos, and facepainting.

Staff
Everyone seems to have adjusted to the new schedule, and most staff are taking a vacation week in August or September.

Plans for Next Month

1) Conclude the Summer Reading Program

2) Complete the State ARIS form.

3) Rotate some titles back down from storage, and remove others from the collection.

Report of the Library Director for June 2008

2008-07-03T14:11:00.002-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for June was 5,157, not quite as high as last June but still reflects the large increase of library use that comes with the summer program. (13.6% higher than May 2008).

Collection Development
We added 113 items to the collection in June.
In the past, I have asked all our materials suppliers to not send any items in the last two weeks of June, so we can be sure all our accounts are paid and cleared for the new fiscal year. This year I decided not to put any stops on new shipments. The one week into July before vouchers are due should give us enough time to take care of the financial side without having to impose an interruption in our flow of new materials.

Magazine Subscriptions: I have seen some negative comments posted by other librarians about the service they received from EVA subscriptions. I had a telephone conversation with one local director who is using EVA for the second year, and based on that discussion I am going to proceed with moving our business to EVA for the next year, but I will be keeping a careful eye on our magazines and will be prepared to look elsewhere in FY10 if we don’t receive excellent service.

Programs
Library book group: met on June 25th.
Senior book group: 7 people met on June 3rd.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session. For the rest of the summer, we are holding only the morning 10:30 storytime. Afternoon session will return in the fall.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 16 participants, significantly higher than usual.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 13 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 4 patrons and 9 items, which is an increase over previous months.

Special Events
Roughly 50 people attended the presentation and book signing by local author Ann Davidson on June 17th.

All of our animal programs were well attended. The longer duration and “walk through” format worked very well this year, wait times and crowding were greatly reduced from previous years, even though attendance was higher. Holding four programs was a strain both financially and on staff time. Next year we expect to reduce to two or at most three of these animal events.
David Polansky animal songs: June 4th, attendance 50
New England Aquarium tide pool: June 11th, attendance 223
Lil Folk Farm petting zoo: June 18th, attendance 432
Rainforest Reptiles: June 25th, attendance 224

Curious George visited the library on June 13th. Thank you to Barnes and Noble bookstores for lending us the costume free of charge, and to Jody Vaughan for wearing it. We did not get an exact count of attendance at this event, but estimate 200.

15 more pre-teens attended the Red Cross Babysitting course on June 19th and 20th. This class always generates a waiting list, and we are holding another session in August, which is nearly full just from the waiting list. Participants pay $50 to the Red Cross, and the library organizes registrations, reserves a meeting space, and provides equipment.

Summer Program
293 people attended our kick-off theatre performance of “The Ugly Duckling” presented by the theatre department of UNH. Thanks to all the patrons who came together and helped us move the set inside the auditorium when it started raining.

4 children participated in the first session of the gardening book group for ages 9-12.

32 children participated in the first session of the Magic Tree House book group for ages 5-8.

As of June 30th, we had 564 children registered for the program (compared to our final total of 514 for last year), and they had logged 504 hours of reading time.

Volunteers
15 items were delivered to 2 patrons on June 25th.

Upcoming Events in July
BubbleMania, July 7th at 7:00 in Nipmuc Auditorium.

All our summer book groups and storytimes continue, including our new Spanish Storytime.

Staff
Eileen has completed her six month probationary period, and the trustees have voted to accept her as a regular part time employee. Congratulations!

After some discussion and revision, I have worked out a consistent schedule to reflect our new hours. The staff and I are not happy with the required reductions in hours, but everyone understands that we have limited control over our budget constraints.

Book Groups
Several new book groups in town have asked the library to help supply multiple copies of titles to their members. I am happy to have more residents make use of our interlibrary loan services, and we have settled on a recommended system for book group requests that is working well. (each group has a single contact person and identifying name, requests are placed by the library instead of on individual patron’s accounts.)

Community Information Display
Two parts of the CID are up and ready at the Library: the copies of town bylaws and committee reports, and the calendar of upcoming public meetings.

I have been receiving our DVD copies of videorecorded meetings, but am still working to get them correctly cataloged in the circulation system.
The Selectman’s office has informed me that the library will still be able to receive copies of these recordings, even with the budget reductions to the cable advisory service.

Plans for Next Month

1) Summer Program continues.

2) Finish the last vouchers from FY08, and begin gathering the information needed for annual reports to the state.

3) Finish the implementation of the Community Information Display

BubbleMania: 7/7@7!

2008-07-02T17:58:00.001-04:00

Don't miss this exciting FREE event!
click here for more info

Library Hours for July 4th weekend

2008-06-18T13:53:00.001-04:00

The Upton Town Library will be closed on Friday, July 4th.

We will be open our regular hours on Saturday, July 5th. (10am-2pm)

New Hours starting July 1st, 2008

2008-06-18T13:48:00.002-04:00

Due to town-wide budget reductions for fiscal year 2009, and the failure of a prop 2 1/2 override proposal, the Upton Town Library must reduce its hours of operation from 40 to 38 hours per week.
We will be closing 2 hours earlier on Friday afternoons.

Starting July 1st, 2008 our new hours are:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10am-8pm
Friday and Saturday: 10am-2pm
Sunday and Monday closed.

If you have any questions about our change in hours of operation or other effects of the town budget reductions on library services, please contact Matthew Bachtold, library director.

Closing Early

2008-06-06T11:23:00.002-04:00

The Upton Library will be closing early on two evenings in June.
Thursday, June 12th
and
Wednesday, June 18th
the library will close at 6:00pm.

June 12th is the adjourned annual Town Meeting at 7:00pm in Nipmuc HS auditorium, and June 18th is our Summer Reading Kick-off at 6:30pm on Nipmuc HS courtyard.

We hope you will attend these events!

Report of the Library Director for May 2008

2008-06-03T16:54:00.001-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for May was 4,538, an increase of 5.9% over last month, and a slight increase of 1.9% over May of 2007.

Collection Development
We added 193 items to the collection in April.
This is significantly higher than usual, due to several things. First, Lisa and I cleaned out some back cataloging that had been waiting for us, and second, we happened to do two large book orders this month (beginning and end), instead of one in the middle.

Shakespeare DVDs from the BBC: For several years now, I have wanted to purchase some of the BBC’s film productions of Shakespeare’s plays. This version of Shakespeare is very traditional, using the original language with little or no modernization. The company that sells them is having a half price sale until the end of June, offering the entire set of 37 plays for $750. Once I prepare the vouchers for our June 16th meeting, if we have the funds remaining in the expense account or State Aid, I would like to order this set.

Magazine Subscriptions: I have changed vendors for our annual magazine subscriptions. We previously used Demco, Inc, a national company. I received a price quote from a competing company, EVA Subscriptions, which was 10% lower than Demco’s prices. EVA is a local company based in Shrewsbury, and is used by several nearby libraries including Milford and Grafton. I hope that using a smaller company will result in better customer service.

Programs
Library book group: 8 people met on May 28th.
Senior book group: 6 people met on May 6th.
Music and Movement averaged 59 participants per session for 2 sessions.
Deb Hudgins has taken a full time position, and will not be available to run the music program. We will consider our options for a replacement or different program in the fall.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 11 participants.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 12 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 2 patrons and 5 items.

Special Events
The third grade classes at Memorial school visited the library as part of their annual field trip to Town Hall and the Knowlton Risteen Building.

Volunteers
16 items were delivered to 3 patrons on May 14.

Upcoming Events in June
Flyers are being distributed to advertise the summer reading program. They will be sent home with students at United Parish Pre-school and Memorial Elementary school the first week in June.

Registration begins June 10th, and the kick-off is June 18th with the theatre troupe from UNH performing an adaptation of “The Ugly Duckling” at 6:30pm, Nipmuc High school courtyard.

We have animal events every Wednesday in June.

Booksigning and presentation by local Author Ann Davidson has been moved to June 17th, instead of June 10th.

Staff
Eileen will complete her first six months of employment at the end of June. If you have any comments to contribute to her probationary review, please send them to Matthew by June 15th.

New Staff Computer
The new staff computer has arrived and is installed. I needed to purchase a new bar-code scanner to be compatible with the new system, and I also bought a combination printer / fax machine / scanner for the office. This replaces our old fax machine which had very poor print quality and a broken feeder, so it could only take one page at a time.

Music Funds
We received a check from the office of the Attorney General for $325.86. This money is Upton Library’s share of the settlement of a lawsuit against several large CD distributors. The funds must be used for music related materials or programs that are an addition to our regular services, and cannot be used as a replacement for existing funds. The two best options I would suggest are to either; purchase new music CDs for our collection, or, use the money to fund whatever program we choose to replace the weekly Music and Movement program in the fall.

Community Information Display
I have talked with Kelly McElreath, the Town Clerk, about what types of community information is publicly available through her office, and what would be most helpful to our patrons.
To start with, my plan for the community information display in the library is to include: a calendar of upcoming town meetings and public hearings, bound circulating copies of the Town bylaws, archived non-circulating copies of minutes and proceedings from Town Meetings, Selectmen’s Meetings and School Committee Meetings, and circulating DVD copies of filmed Town Meetings, Selectmen’s Meetings and School Committee Meetings.
Jon Miguel, the cable coordinator for the Town of Upton will make the DVD copies for the library at no cost, all we have to do is supply the blank DVDs.
The next step to consider would be making a searchable index of the contents of the DVDs. This process would be time consuming, but would be an amazing historical resource for the future. For example, an index would allow a patron to locate and view all the discussions about a third water source during Selectmen’s Meetings and Town Meetings. If we decide to pursue this project, it might be an excellent proposal for grant funds.

Plans for Next Month

1) Summer Program, Summer Program, Summer Program!

2) End of the Fiscal Year cleanup, and finalization of our budget for next year.

3) Implementation of the Community Information Display

Annual Town Meeting

2008-05-09T10:52:00.003-04:00

Upton's Annual Town Meeting was held on May 8th.

Voters approved the creation of a Town Manager position to be funded at some future date, and established Enterprise funds for Water and Wastewater.

They also approved a Proposition 2 1/2 Override in the amount of $486,000. These additional tax revenues will be needed to maintain Municipal services for next fiscal year. The override is not final until it is approved at a ballot vote, which will be held on June 9th at Nipmuc High School.

All the monetary appropriations have been delayed until another Town Meeting on June 12th at 7:30pm, so that voters will know the results of the override before they discuss spending any money.

The library has copies of all the informational handouts that were presented at the meeting, available for review on the Reference Shelf.

New Movies for May and June

2008-05-06T13:53:00.000-04:00

Here are the new release DVDs the library will be purchasing in May and June. Stop by the library and ask for the 'movie binder' to see the descriptions and add your name to the reserve list.

National Treasure 2 20-May PG
The Flock 20-May R
Rambo 27-May R
Grace is Gone 27-May PG-13
The Air I Breathe 27-May R
Control 3-Jun R
The Eye 3-Jun PG-13
Semi-Pro 3-Jun R
Jumper 10-Jun PG-13
The Bucket List 10-Jun PG-13
Witless Protection 10-Jun PG-13
The Other Boleyn Girl 10-Jun PG-13
Be Kind, Rewind 17-Jun PG-13
In Bruges 24-Jun R
10,000 B.C. 24-Jun PG-13
Spiderwick Chronicles 24-Jun PG
Definitely, Maybe 24-Jun PG-13

If you have suggestions for upcoming movie releases that would be a good addition to the Upton Library collection, let us know by posting a comment, or writing on the suggestion page in the movie binder.

Report of the Library Director for April 2008

2008-05-05T13:43:00.002-04:00

Circulation
Circulation for April was 4,285, a decrease of 9.4% from last month, but slightly (2.7%) higher than April of 2007.

Collection Development
We added 87 items to the collection in April.
Our non-fiction order from Sebco Books has arrived, but has not yet been cataloged.

I would like to reconsider our decision to maintain an updated full copy of the M.G.L. This set is used extremely rarely (1-2 times per year), and is available to our patrons through other CWMARS libraries. Including the invoice we just received for the spring updates, we have spent $2,037.50 on M.G.L. this fiscal year.

Programs
Library book group: met on April 30th.
Senior book group: 6 people met on April 1st.
Teen book group: meeting on April 25th had no participants. Lisa has tried several times to build attendance at a teen book group, with limited success. We will not be holding this bookgroup over the summer, and will try again in the fall.

Music and Movement averaged 58 participants per session for 3 sessions.
Thursday storytime averaged 7 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 11 participants.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 12 young adults.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 4 patrons and 8 items.

Special Events
Lisa visited all the students at United Parish preschool, and got them excited about the summer reading program and our upcoming visit by Curious George.

Volunteers
2 items were delivered to 1 patron on April 2nd, and 14 items were delivered to 3 patrons on April 23rd.

Upcoming Events in May and June
A local author, Ann Davidson will be holding an author signing and presentation sponsored by the library, and held in the Senior Center on June 10th.

The Library is hosting another session of the Red Cross Babysitter Training class on June 19th and 20th.

June is the beginning of our Summer Reading Program events. Don’t miss our Kickoff theatre event “The Ugly Duckling” Wed, June 18th 6:30pm at Nipmuc HS courtyard.

Staff
Matthew attended a workshop on the social bookmarking site “del.icio.us”. There is one more workshop in this series on library applications of new web-based tools and sites. The information has been helpful, but aside from the new blog (uptonlibrary.blogspot.com – go subscribe), most of the tools have limited usefulness for a library of Upton’s size.

New Staff Computer
I have received a quote from Worldband communications with a price of $1,000 for a new staff computer. This price is slightly higher than I was expecting, since our last two replacement computers were $700. However, the system has the latest version of Windows, and staff computers require faster processors than our public access computers, because of the cataloging and circulation software we use. I have instructed Worldband to place the order.

Music and Movement
Deborah Hudgins, who has presented the highly successful “Music and Movement” program, sponsored by the Library for the last six years, has accepted a full time position, and will no longer be able to come to Upton on Wednesday afternoons. The last session of Music and Movement will be May 14th.
In the fall, after the end of the Summer Program, Lisa and I will discuss our options for replacing this program. Deb Hudgins might be able to come on a different date, we could look for a similar performer, or we may decide that the library should put those resources towards other services.

Plans for Next Month

1) Advocate for the Library at upcoming Town Meetings, and finalize our FY09 budget, based on the results of town votes.

2) Publicize the Summer event schedule. Our big summer programs start in June.

3) Review our Magazine subscriptions and place our order for next year.

Public Hearing on the FY09 Town Budget

2008-04-28T11:19:00.002-04:00

To all Upton Residents:

The Upton Finance Committee will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 30^th, at 7:30pm in the Fire Station.

The FinCom and Town Department heads will present information about next year’s town budget, and its effects on our tax rate and public services.

If you can attend, this hearing is an excellent opportunity to ask questions and become aware of the issues that will be decided at the upcoming Town Meetings on May 8^th and June 9^th.

For more information about public hearings and Town Meetings, contact the Upton Town Library (529-6272), or visit the Town of Upton webpage at http://www.upton.ma.us/pages/town-clerk.php

Closing early for Annual Town Meeting

2008-04-27T12:50:00.001-04:00

The library will close early on Thursday, May 8th for the annual Town Meeting.

Our hours on May 8th will be 10:00 am - 6:00 pm.

New Movies for April!

2008-04-09T19:44:00.000-04:00

Here are the new release DVDs the library will be purchasing in April and early May. Stop by the library and ask for the 'movie binder' to see the descriptions and add your name to the reserve list.

Cloverfield 22-Apr PG-13
The Orphanage 22-Apr R
The Savages 22-Apr R
Charlie Wilson's War 22-Apr R
The Golden Compass 30-Apr PG-13
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly 30-Apr PG-13
27 Dresses 30-Apr PG-13
I'm Not There 6-May R
P.S. I Love You 6-May PG-13
Mad Money 13-May PG-13
Bella 13-May PG-13

If you have suggestions for upcoming movie releases that would be a good addition to the Upton Library collection, let us know by posting a comment, or writing on the suggestion page in the movie binder.

Privatized Libraries?

2008-04-09T17:28:00.003-04:00

There was an article in the Boston Globe a few weeks back about two towns in Massachusetts that were considering privatizing their public libraries.
Privatizing a library involves hiring a for-profit company which is paid an annual sum by the Town, and takes over the responsiblity for running the daily operations of the library. The company would decide what materials to purchase, what hours to be open, what services to offer, and the library staff would be employees of the company, not employed by the Town.
The usual reasoning for considering privatization is the claim that a company can operate more effeciently and cheaply than a municipality can.

The company that is usually mentioned in discussions about privatized libraries is called LSSI (Library Systems and Services, LLC)
LSSI runs several library systems in California, Texas and Oregon, but so far none in New England.

The ALA (American Library Association) has issued a statement opposing the "shifting of policy making and management oversight of library services from the public to the private for-profit sector."

The MBLC has posted some information in response to numerous queries resulting from the Globe article at http://mblc.state.ma.us/advisory/trustees/privatization_pl.pdf

MBLC also recommends several periodical articles on the subject which can be accessed through the "online research" button.

"Public Library, private management" by Mark Hemingway. The American Enterprise, Vol.13, no.5 July-August 2002

"When LSSI comes to town: public libraries, private company: the outsourcing compromise" by Norman Oder. Library Journal, October 1, 2004

"The Selling of the Public Library" by Patricia Glass Schuman. Library Journal, August 1998.

2008-04-04T12:27:00.000-04:00

Report of the Library Director for March 2008

Circulation
Circulation for March was 4,727, an 8.1% increase over last month, and slightly (3.8%) lower than March of 2007.

Collection Development
We added 144 items to the collection in March.
Lisa and I met with a sales representative from Sebco Books and ordered about $1,000 worth of non-fiction materials, mostly juvenile with a few adult items. We will need to make at least one more large order like this to fulfill our materials requirement. Usually a rep from Apple Books visits us in the spring.

Programs
Library book group: 8 people met on March 26th.
Senior book group: 8 people met on March 4th.
Teen book group: 2 teens met on March 28th.
Music and Movement averaged 61 participants per session for 4 sessions.
Thursday storytime averaged 8 children per session.
TinyTots lapsit averaged 19 participants. This is a large increase from previous months.
Teen Tuesday was attended by 12 young adults.
Library Table: 4 visits, averaged 4 patrons and 6 items.

Special Events
The library continues to organize an intergenerational music program presented by Apple Tree Arts. This program is held at the Senior Center and has averaged 20 participants. Registration for the March session is low. We will not be organizing this program in the summer months and will re-examine it in the fall to see if it can be improved.

Volunteers
12 items were delivered to 1 patron on March 12th. The use of the home delivery program has declined now that we can offer item pickup at the weekly visit to the Senior Center.

Upcoming Events in April
Lisa visits United Parish preschool for national library month.

Staff
Matthew attended a workshop on library use of the photosharing website “flickr” I have begun work on modifying our current blog at http://uptonlibrary.blogspot.com/. My goal is to combine the blog and our static webpage into a single resource for patrons.

New receipt Printers
I have installed both the new printers, and we are now making use of the ability to print “routing slips” instead of writing them by hand. A routing slip is an address label that must be attached to each item we put into the interlibrary delivery system. Printing them saves our staff time and makes delivery easier for the regional sorters.

Account Access Policy
The revised account access policy goes into effect on April 15th. The new policy boils down to:
If you have a library card, you can access that account.
If you don’t have a card, you can present picture ID to gain access to only your own account.
The important thing for patrons to understand is that if you want to pick up a held book that was requested on a family member’s account, you will be required to have that person’s library card. So if you want your husband to pick up your items, give him your library card.
We have prepared several options to help patrons adjust to the new requirements. Staff will offer key-chain cards or multiple cards on the same account. We will also offer a one-time exception to the requirement, but those accounts will be marked so the second time we will be unable to make any exceptions.

New Staff Computer
The computer in the office needs to be replaced. This computer is used for staff word processing and email as well as cataloging functions. The current computer is infected with viruses and pop-up adware, and its hardware is below the new specifications recommended by CWMARS. As CWMARS software is expanded and improved, it requires more computing power to operate effectively.
I will ask the Trustees to vote to spend up to $1,000 from the State Aid funds to replace this computer. This replacement should be in addition to the one computer per year we request from the Town Technology Expense funds. I will make the purchase through Worldband communications, the last computer we purchased from them cost $700.

Plans for Next Month

1) Redesign the library Blog and begin using it as a library resource.

2) Complete the new Library information brochure for new patrons.

3) Finalize the Summer event schedule and begin assembling registration packages.

2008-04-04T12:16:00.003-04:00

Town Crier Column April 4th, 2008

Feature Films for Families: DVDs Donated
The Upton Town Library has a new ‘special collection’ of DVDs, recently donated by library patron Linda Cofske. The set of 20 movies, from Feature Films for Families, was purchased by Ms. Cofske, for the Library, with “hope that children and their families enjoy watching them over and over again.” Some of the titles in the collection include Borrowed Hearts; Jacob’s Harvest; and Summer of the Monkeys, to name just a few. Thank you, Linda, for your thoughtful generosity!
Feature Films for Families is a group “committed to providing quality entertainment that lifts the spirit”, and providing an alternative to typical Hollywood productions. More information about the group can be found at their website: www.familytv.com

Library Book Discussion Group
The library supports a book discussion group, which meets monthly in the Upton Senior Center. Book titles are chosen by the members and are available at the library. The group alternates between fiction and non-fiction titles. Meetings are held at 7:00pm on the last Wednesday of each month. Copies of the book are available at the Library. Library Book Group will meet on April 30th to discuss “I’ll Fly Away” edited by Wally Lamb. “I’ll Fly Away” is a collection of 20 short essays written by female inmates at a maximum security prison.

Senior Book Group
The Senior Book Group meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 12:45 in the Upton Senior Center. Donna Kempton from the library staff leads the casual, entertaining discussions. Titles chosen are usually gentle, character-driven novels. Copies of each month’s book are available at the library in both regular and large print. Please call the library directly at 529-6272 to request a copy of the Senior book group title.

Library Table at the Senior Center
Each Wednesday from 11:00-12:00, a librarian will be at the Upton Senior Center with a small selection of our materials available. If you have difficulty getting to the library and it would be more convenient for you to pick up books, movies, audiobooks or magazines at the Senior Center, call us at 529-6272 and we’ll bring a personalized package of suggested titles for you.
This program is free of charge, and is open to all Upton residents.

Children’s/Young Adult Programs

Please contact Lisa Stratton, the Children’s/Young Adult Librarian, with any questions regarding the following programs, at 508-529-6272, or email UptonStoryTime@yahoo.com.
For more info, check out the following site: http://UptonStoryTime.blogspot.com

“Music & Movement”
“Music & Movement”, held every Wednesday at 1:00pm in the Upton Town Hall, is a free, library-sponsored event, funded, in part, by the Beginning Years Family Network. Designed for children ages 1-5, this program is half an hour of songs, stories, dancing and fun, led by the very energetic Deb Hudgins! No registration is required. PLEASE NOTE: This program will NOT be held on April 23rd, during school vacation week.

Story & Craft Time for children ages 3-6, is held in the library on Thursdays at 10:30am and 1:30pm. Each week has a different theme. Parents are asked to register for either the morning or afternoon session, on a monthly basis.

TinyTots LapSit StoryTime for infants and toddlers, birth to age 3, with a caregiver, is held Friday mornings in the library, at 10:30. This 20-30 minute program is enjoyed at least as much by the adults as the children, since it gives new parents a chance to meet other parents, and babies an opportunity to ‘socialize’ with new friends! Registration is requested, but we understand the constantly-changing needs of this age group, and invite you to stop by any Friday morning to join the fun, as we sing and stretch and read some stories!

Teens @ the Library
ULTRA will hold their next monthly meeting on TeenTuesday (April 15th), beginning at 4pm. Please come prepared to discuss something you have read during the past month, and feel free to bring a friend! TeenTuesday is open to all 12-18 year olds who are interested in helping to make the Upton Town Library an “ULTRA-cool” place for teens, by planning and/or assisting at events, making suggestions for material purchases, and volunteering on an as-needed basis. Free pizza and snacks are provided to all participants.

The ULTRA Book Club for Teens!
The Upton Library’s Teen Readers’ Advisory has its very own book club! The group meets on the last Friday of each month, from 3-4pm, at the library, and is open to all 12-18 year olds. For the next meeting, on April 25th, we will be discussing The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt, a 2008 Newbery Honor book. Copies of this book are available at the circulation desk.

This Summer …
Plans are already underway for another fun-filled Summer Library Adventure. Watch this column next month for the dates and times of all our special events planned for June! This year’s theme will be “Wild Reads @ Your Library”!

"Join the Circle of Knowledge @ Your Library"

2008-04-03T16:57:00.004-04:00

That's this year's theme for National Library Week which will be observed April 13-19, 2008.

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate.

National Library Workers Day
is April 15th.
"Libraries Work Because Wo Do!"