Tillsonburg Public Library Annual Report 2007

Prepared March 6, 2008

Matthew Scholtz - Chief Librarian

Part A: Statistics

Memberships:

These statistics represent active members only.

Residency:

Resources:

Projector Use

As expected, projector equipment use continues to decline, as new forms of technology becoming available. We remain, however, the only source of such equipment, so that some people remain grateful to have this access.

Other Services

Circulation

Annual circulation of VHS (7,712) has now been surpassed by DVD (10,370)

Interlibrary Loan

Part B : Highlights

Personnel

In June, Krista Overbeek joined the library as a Library Page, replacing Stephanie Schonberger who was off to university in September. Fanshawe College Library Technician student Mary Ellen Kyte spent March at the library on a work term.

Networking

In April, a new organization of area libraries was formed, including CEOs of Middlesex County, London, St. Mary’s, Stratford, Elgin County, Oxford County, St. Thomas and Woodstock. These meetings are intended for CEOs to share information as well as possibly lead to joint projects.

Automation System Migration

After considerable deliberation, the Board made the decision in August to accept the tender of Polaris Systems for an ILS to replace MultiLis. Following approval by Town Council, the implementation of the new system, together with selection of new furniture, was launched in the fall.

Polaris became operational on November 29th, preceded by training primarily in the cataloguing and circulation modules. The new system and procedures were extremely stressful for staff but by the end of the year, staff was fairly comfortable with the circulation system.

Cataloguing was a different matter. Due to the need for urgency, Gord Ripley was asked to prepare the database from the SOLS database records in mid-November. This he did at no cost to us, out of consideration for us as a database client for the past number of years. While the download did the job, it did create some weird records. For example, according to the new catalogue, we had more than 400 books in Braille. These and many other records will have to be cleaned up as time goes on. Another aspect of the cataloguing involved MARC training. We had been cataloguing in the very easy and serviceable MultiLis module, but with Polaris, we would need to do MARC. Fortunately, Mary Stevens had some MARC experience and was able to pass on that expertise to Carole Stephenson. This type of cataloguing, however, is very technical and painstaking. Accordingly, both Mary and Carole have added cataloguing to their job descriptions. To assist them, student Lauren Byl has been trained as a cataloguing technical assistant for some of the routine cataloguing. At the same time, other staff could no longer be involved in low level cataloguing, so that job responsibilities have had to be considerably shuffled for Polaris.

Of absolutely crucial importance to our migration as the first Polaris library in Canada has been the assistance of Robert Musty. As the key person in the Request for Proposal and the hardware/software implementation, Robert looked after the installation of the hardware in the Library and provided the staff with technical and trouble-shooting assistance throughout the entire process. We are very appreciative of his help and his continuing monitoring of Polaris in the post-installation months.

Children’s Programming

Thanks to the promotional initiative of staff, we once again had a successful summer reading program, with almost a dozen sponsors supporting the program. 470 children registered for the program, compared to 406 in 2006. Most encouraging has been the increase in the number of boys participating in the program.

We have partnered with a number of individuals and agencies to offer a broad range of children’s programs, such as the weekly Jumpin’ Jive program, and the highly successful Family Literacy Night, now an annual event. An Art Explosion program in conjunction with Station Arts was also well attended and tied in well with our Summer Reading Program.

Library Board

A new Board was appointed by Town Council for a four year term. New members included: Catherine Burke, Craig Brown, Cass Dagg-Murphy, Stephanie Hayes, and Mark Renaud. Craig Brown resigned in April. The Ontario Libraries Act requires a replacement appointment, but to date, this has not been made.

Appreciation

On behalf of the Library staff, I would like to thank the members of the Library Board, for their continuing interest in effective and efficient library service for our community.

I would also like to express my thanks to the staff for their dedication to the library and its patrons.

Finally, thanks are also extended to Cynthia Hildebrand, Director of Community Services, and other Town staff for their continuing support.

Respectfully submitted

Matthew Scholtz - Chief Librarian

2007 March 6