October 2009

Story time : (10:00 am on Thursdays)
Dinosaurs Oct. 1
Fire Safety Oct. 8
Pizza, Pasta, Popcorn Oct. 15
Bats Oct. 22
Halloween Oct. 29
Bread & Butter Nov. 5

Homeschool Book Talk will be held in early December and will be a holiday workshop. Reduced staff time will limit this program, but materials have already been assembled for this popular workshop and the library is pleased to offer it.

The Bookmark Society will meet on October 22, 6:30 - 7:30 at the library. The reading selected is The Glass Castle : a Memoir by Jeanette Walls. All readers and book lovers are welcome.

Scarecrow Workshop will be held October 10 from 2:00 - 4:00 at 201 South Street (same location as last year). Bring appropriate (your choice!) child or adult scarecrow clothing. Stuffing and posts and help will be available. Register for the Ashley Scarecrow Contest at the library or Ashley village office. Any handmade scarecrow can be entered in the contest; you do not have to participate in the workshop to be eligible. Judging will be done October 22.

Donations for the purchase of books and movies have totaled over $350. We are extremely appreciative of our patron support and will order in early October. We have also received several DVDs and books from patrons which have already been added to the collection. We especially want to thank the generous donation in memory of Rick (Walter) Heine, a long term board member. Participating in the school Halloween Parade is a small but much desired aspect. The Heines also maintain the tree line on the east side of the library.

A Friends of the Library is being organized by Haley Leonard and others who are trying to help the library. This group could raise money for materials, help look for grants, provide some additional programming, and even help campaign for a levy if that seems to be the best approach. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Friends, have ideas for projects, or would be willing to contribute money and/or skills in any way, please call (7040-747-2085) or sign up at the library.

The decrease in library funding (30%) has resulted in cuts in both library hours (closed Wednesdays) and staff time (30%). No materials will be purchased with library funds through the rest of 2009 and the materials budget for 2010 will be cut in half . This means that the library has much less time and fewer resources to use for services including programming.

Neighborhood Health Center comes to East Elementary the second Monday of every other month from 2 - 4 pm in the music portable. Services include blood pressure and blood sugar screenings. Flu shots can be scheduled by calling 740-203-2040 in advance. This is a partnership between the school and the Delaware County Health District. The next clinic is Nov. 9. The school also provides a food pantry which is open Tuesdays 9:30-11:30 and Thursdays 1:30-3:30.

Preservation Parks program will be rescheduled .

Book Donations : The Delaware County District Library invited both Ashley and Sunbury to look through books slated for their upcoming book sale. Three boxes of books were selected including many recent large print novels and some different authors. The Sunbury Community Library also shared a children’s books donation.

Magazine subscriptions will be reduced by one half for 2010.. We will be evaluating circulation patterns and making decisions about what subscriptions to continue. If you are interested in donating your personal lightly used magazine copy or in paying for a subscription please let us know.

Reader’s Advisory : Our “new” book shelf will try to feature “new to us” donations and “new to you” titles that may have been lurking unnoticed on the shelves. Authors to try or revisit include Janice Holt Giles and Earl Hamner for early 19th century family stories, Dudley Pope for seafaring action, Judith Michael for high stakes romance, and Dominick Dunne and Thornton Wilder for drama. Please alert us to your own discoveries during this time. It’s a good opportunity to promote old favorites. Other patrons will appreciate your help.

Meet the Candidates is scheduled for Thursday October 15 from 7:00-9:00 at JVS North. This event sponsored by The League of Women Voters, Farm Bureau and others will feature candidates for the Buckeye Valley school board and information on the state issues. Be informed.
Library levies for November across the state total 37 and include The Community Library of Sunbury and Selover Library in Chesterville. The Delaware County District Library barely passed one last spring to maintain and expand their services. It’s sad to see hard won state support deteriorate (perhaps never to return) but with few alternatives available we wish them well… and may join them in the spring.

HEAP applications can be picked up at the library. A Community Action representative is here once a month. Appointments are available.

Youth Catfish Tournament for all youth under age 12 is set for Saturday October 10 from 5:00-8:00 at the Newman Park Reservoir. Bring your own fishing poles and bait. Adult supervision is required. Children can register on-site.

Read Beyond Reality is the theme for Teen Read Week, October 18-24. This recognizes the current popularity of the Twilight series and hearkens back to classics such as Lois Lowry’s The Giver and generally encourages reading to stretch one’s imagination which is good advice not just for teens.

September 2009

Story time
Friends Sept. 3
Grandparents & Grandfriends Sept. 10
Bee My Honey Sept. 17
Fall, Leaves & Apples Sept. 24
Dinosaurs Oct. 1

Storytime programs are designed for all preschoolers and feature stories, finger plays, craft activities, and (usually) snack. Programs last about forty-five minutes. Parents are encouraged to stay with their children and there is time for socializing and playing - and for checking out books and movies- afterwards. No registration is required. Programs start at 10:00 and are located in the basement meeting room accessible from the northeast ramp.

The Summer Letterbox Adventure hosted by Delaware County’s Preservation Parks introduced children to nature. Five children from the Ashley area were among the 67 who visited all seven local parks and were eligible for a drawing. A.J. Shilt was a prize winner.

Preservation Parks will present a Family Night program on Tuesday, September 15th at 6:30. The topic will be announced but is sure to be of interest to all family members. Even though school has started and evening daylight hours are shorter September and October are wonderful times to explore the outdoors. Having an appreciation for local wildlife and knowing what to look make the experience that much more enjoyable.

The Delaware County Fair is September 19-26. It’s the 90th anniversary and sure to be special. Don’t forget the All Horse Parade on Sept. 13.

The Morrow County Fair is Aug. 31 - Sept 7.

Library Austerity Measures
(in effect Sept. 6 - Dec. 31 2009)
Changes in hours : closed Wednesdays
Staff hours : Reduced by 30%.
Purchases : No library materials will be purchased.
Copies will be 15 cents.

These strict measures will be in effect until 2010 when we plan to resume regular hours operating with a 20% staff time cut and begin 2010 purchasing with a 50% materials budget cut.
You can help. Donations for (and of) book and video purchases will be accepted and used. A request to purchase list will be kept. Our magazine subscriptions are paid through July but the list is due by February. Gift subscriptions can be added to our current subscription or money can be donated for a specific magazine. Storytime and summer reading supplies and prizes and general supplies will also be helpful.

Your suggestions and donations will help us maintain library service for the community.

The library has tried to be conservative throughout this year but has not made any significant cuts. The mid-August statement of total library funds for the year of $125,000 (2008 library expenditures were $172, 577) was the proverbial wake-up call. The library board in consultation with the staff and fiscal officer established the above economy measures.

Banned Books Week is Sept. 26 - Oct. 3. Celebrate by reading whatever you want to read. Take a look at the variety of books that have sparked controversy over the years. BannedBooksWeek.org includes a map of where challenges have occurred.

Copy prices will be raised starting Sept. 2. Most library fees essentially cover costs for what might be considered “extra” services. Our printing charges have been the same for years and years partially because they did cover our costs. Our recent scrutiny of expenditures (and recent increases in copier maintenance charges) has revealed that this is no longer the case. Standard 8 ½ x 11 copies will be raised to 15 cents per page. Double sided 8 1/2 x 11 and 8 ½ x 14 copies will be 20 cents. We will charge 30 cents per page for 11 x 17 copies.

What can I read ? All Ohio libraries are affected by this cut in funding. One service that has been maintained is Interlibrary Loan. It doesn’t seem fair, however, to not purchase new books and expect another library to loan their copy to our patrons rather than to their own. But we can all share resources and YOU can help. Now is a good time to tout those old or less publicized favorites. Have you read everything in the library? I don’t think so. That’s especially true if you are under fifty. Not too many years ago people were standing in line to read books that are unknown to you. We’ll be trying to publicize good books available right now in the Wornstaff Library. We hope you will help in this effort. Get out those lists of books you intended to read. Write a good review of one we do own.

Why close all day Wednesday? Closing one whole day maintains consistent hours the rest of the week, offers better building maintenance savings, and makes staff scheduling easier. Tuesday is actually our slowest day but it’s an interlibrary loan delivery day. Monday seems to be pretty busy with faxes and copying. Thursday is story time. Friday seems to cover some local library gaps especially with the Cardington Library now closing Thursday evening and not opening until Monday. What are students going to do for computer and Internet access? Besides, we hope to resume full time hours in four months and this provides the least disruption. Thank you, thank you all for your tolerance and cooperation.

August 2009

Storytime resumes Thursday Sept. 3.
Preschool story time will be back at 10:00, the first Thursday in September and will continue weekly. These programs are geared for all younger children. Finger plays and reading aloud plus theme related craft activities and (usually) a snack. Parents are welcome to stay with their children. No registration is required. Programs last about 45 minutes with time afterwards for checking out library materials and socializing for both children and parents.

Read with Me, the library’s preschool summer reading program had 52 children enrolled. Children kept track of hours of reading to them and received MacDonald coupons for both child and reader upon the completion of 8 hours of reading. The program was very popular and seemed to achieve its goal of encouraging reading to young children. Parents did comment that it was difficult to keep track of the time so books read will be used next year. Summer story time programs had a total attendance of 152.

Chip Richter, songwriter and musician, entertained 83 children and forty some adults for the closing program of Summer Reading. 123 children had enrolled in the program and 61 completed ten hours of reading which earned them a prize ticket for the drawing which concluded the program. All 1357 hours of reading are chronographed in pointillism on our paint by number poster of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jette by George Seraut. First through sixth graders enrolled in the summer reading programs totaled 123 and total program attendance was 295.

Forty teens signed up (bribed with a candy bar) and 17 of them read at least 5 hours with a total of over 555 hours. Five teens braved a dark and stormy night to attend Teen Night and deemed it well worthwhile.

Fifteen adults turned in 69 reviews. Cindy Shamp again topped the list with the most books read. Three men participated this year, one with a very negative review of a requested book. (Don‘t believe all the publisher’s hype.) . Approximately 1000 fiction and non-fiction adult books were checked out during that time period so participation is limited. Those reviews are appreciated . Maybe we should expand the candy bar offers.

Donations of prizes, supplies, and volunteer help all contribute toward our summer programs. This year the help has been especially needed and we are especially grateful.

Encyclopedias for sale. Make a bid on the Academic American (1995) or The New Book of Knowledge 1993). These are full sets and have not circulated. Bids can be made until Sept. 1.
Kids Discover and Cobblestone magazines have been moved to the juvenile reference shelf. History and a variety of science related topics are covered in individual copies - suitable for both school reports and general reading. This resource should now be more visible and accessible.
School supply lists for BVEE are available online and we have printed copies at the desk. It’s almost time to replace the puppet theater in the children’s room with the school bus.

The Bookmark Society will meet on August 27 at 6:30 at the library. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, a novel about Frank Lloyd Wright, is the book for discussion. Copies are available. Anyone who likes to read is encouraged to attend.

Library supporters who contacted state legislators and officials were also especially needed. We were amazed at and appreciative of the patrons who responded. The response across the state was overwhelming - an often overused term but very descriptive in this case. In the budget’s final version library funding was cut by an additional 11% - not the originally proposed 30%. This was accomplished by reducing the library funding from 2.22% of the general revenue to 1.97%. This is called a temporary measure and does mean that as the economy improves, library funds should increase - just not as much. Keep in mind that funding was “temporarily” reduced in 2002 and then frozen until this past year when reduced tax collection meant that libraries experienced a 20% cut in funding. As a more explicit example The Wornstaff Library received $170,368 in 2001; basically $156,000 years 2002-2008, and a projected $134,770 for 2009 (half of $142,614 for Jan. - June 2009, and half of $126,926 for July - December 2009). The Wornstaff Library has been supplementing state funds with reserves since 2004 and it is time to make some big cuts in expenditures. The library‘s biggest expense is staff. Significant reduction will probably be made in staff time, the purchase of new books and movies, and some programming. Copier costs have risen and our charge to patrons no longer covers them. Copies will probably be increased to 15 cents. We hope to maintain hours and general service.

How the library works addendum to above. The library uses taxpayer money to purchase materials that can be used by everyone. Materials that are not returned are a loss to everyone. Thirty-four patrons have 74 items (14 DVDs, 60 books) due between Nov. 2008 and April 2009 worth over $1000. Not returning library materials steals from everyone.

The Library Board meets on August 10 at 7:30. All meetings are open to the public. Comments and suggestions on how best to cope with this decreased funding would be welcome. It’s your library, here to provide services to the community.