ANNUAL
REPORT
July 1, 2005 - June 30, 2006
prepared by
Keith Stavely
Library Administrator
ANNUAL
REPORT OF THE
FALL
RIVER PUBLIC LIBRARY
REPORT FOR THE YEAR
BEGINNING JULY 1, 2005
AND ENDING JUNE 30, 2006
BOARD
OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES
Mr.
Irving H. Zangwill, Chairperson
Mrs. Theresa Esposito,
Vice-Chairperson
Mr. Ronald Bettencourt
Mr. Antonio DiBenedetto
Mrs. Martha Howarth
Mrs. Maria Igrejas Matos
Mrs. Marilyn Roderick
Mr. Tony Rodrigues
Mr. James Brown (non-voting Student Member)
LIBRARY
DIRECTORY
Main Library
Phone:
508-324-2700
Fax:
508-324-2707; 508-324-2706
Monday
- Thursday 9:00
a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Friday
- Saturday 9:00
a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
(Closed
Sat., June – August)
South Branch Library
Phone/Fax:
508-324-2708
Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday 11:00
a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Friday - Saturday 9:00
a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
(Closed Sat., June - August)
1386 Pleasant Street
Phone/Fax: 508-324-2709
Monday - Wednesday 9:00
a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thursday
12:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Friday - Saturday 9:00
a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
(Closed Sat., June - August)
LIBRARY STAFF
Administration
Library Administrator Keith Stavely
Assistant
Administrator
for Public Services
Assistant Administrator Vacant
for Technology
Administrative Secretary Liane Verville
Reference
Services
Supervisor Vacant
Assistant Supervisor Vacant
Assistants Daniel
Lelievre
Mui Kathryn
Pong
Daniel
Sheahan
Part-Time Librarian Joel Marks
Pages Kimberly Silva
Vacant
Vacant
Adult
Services
Supervisor Vacant
Assistant Supervisors Cheryl Modzelewski
Vacant
Assistants Eleanor
Carrolton
David
Moquin
Matthew
Lawton
Vacant
Part-Time Assistant Heidi Garcia
Pages Elizabeth Medeiros
Hans
Henrikson
Sarah Oliveira
Vacant
Children’s
Services
Supervisor David
Mello
Assistant Supervisor Vacant
Assistant Sandra
Guimar
Part-Time Librarian Mary Margaret Kelly
Part-Time Assistant Joyce Pinsonnault
Pages Ashley Cabral
Vacant
Technical
Services
Supervisor
Assistants Vacant
Vacant
South
Branch
Supervisor Elizabeth
Washburn
Assistants Debra
Baptista
Vacant
Page Vacant
Supervisor Gabrielle
Reed
Assistant Marguerite
Martin
Part-Time Assistant Ann Marie Medeiros
Page Vacant
Senior
Aides Margaret Dion
Eleanor
Bartleson
Custodians Jeffrey Lavoie
Tom
Davenport
Volunteers Dorothy Deschenes
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Staff
In the summer, James
Knowlton began working as Supervisor of Adult Services, while Joyce Pinsonnault
returned to the Library (she had taken early retirement in 2002) in a
newly-created position, that of Part-Time Library Assistant in Children’s
Services. In the spring, Supervisor of
Technical Services Maryanne Walsh unexpectedly passed away. She had worked for
the Library for almost forty years.
Physical Plant
Further progress
was made with the historically valuable material on the attic/skylight level of
the building mentioned in the reports of the past two years. Material appropriate for the Fall River Room
was re-shelved there. Other material that
is valuable for the collection but neither local history-related nor suitable
for circulation was shelved in the staff-only area of the Reference-level stack
(level 5). Students in the Metal Fabrication, Sheet Metal and Welding Department
of Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, under the guidance of
teacher Richard Vickrey, constructed and installed additional shelving on the
attic level; this shelving is expected to make it possible to sort through and safely
store all the remaining attic level material.
Project REFRESH
This project to
restore and display the Library’s collection of paintings received yet another
generous grant from the Rodgers Family Foundation. The funds were put to use in
restoring some additional paintings.
William Vareika,
of the William Vareika Fine Arts gallery in
Mr. Russell
Burke, co-author with William Gerdts of the 1971 book, American Still Life Painting, that established the significance of
the
Good Neighbors
In October, the
Library joined with residents, property owners, and businesses in the area in
which the Main Library building is located to form the Lower Highlands/Historic
Downtown Neighborhood Association. The purpose of this organization is “to
foster pride in our community by making our neighborhood a good, clean and safe
place to live and work.” Several
meetings of the group were hosted in the Meeting Room, and the Library
Administrator attended these and other meetings.
Ongoing Services and Activities
The staff of the
Library continued to cope creatively with the challenge of maintaining a high
level of service with diminished resources. In the Adult Services Section,
Trustee Chairperson Irving Zangwill’s volunteer program continued to provide
the staff with indispensable support in managing the extremely popular main
floor computer room. An electronic method of managing registration for use of
the public Internet computers in this room and elsewhere in the building was
installed; this software made it possible for the staff to manage Internet
access more efficiently and effectively. Towards the end of the year, the
Library received from the City’s cable TV provider, COMCAST, high-speed
Internet connections for each of its three facilities. These will be used to
provide Internet access to patrons with their own portable computers.
Children’s
Services continued its tradition of imaginative and energetic programming, of
hosting visits from many school and other groups, and of providing outreach
visits to many schools and other agencies.
The summer reading program (this year with a fairy tale theme, Read Happily Ever After) received once
again a generous infusion of support from Slade’s Ferry Bank, under its
education initiative, T.E.A.C.H. (Targeting Education and Children) that
focuses on pilot programs and capital campaigns that positively impact the
educational experience of public schoolchildren in grades K-12. In the spring, Slade’s Ferry indicated its
interest in continuing to support the summer reading program for another year. Another highlight of the year in Children’s
Services was a series of programs in April, Myth,
Magic, and Mazes, funded in part by the Fall River Cultural Council.
Funds for
purchasing new books and audio-visual materials remained, like those for
staffing, at a reduced level. Assistant Administrator Paula Cullen nevertheless
did a fine job of coordinating the acquisitions process, so that the community
continued to be provided with a diverse selection of the best new books,
videos, DVDs, CDs, and other items.
Friends of the Library
The Friends of
the Library continued its indispensable support to the Library, making frequent
and effective use of the meeting room for its program offerings for adults, and
facilitating a great variety of projects and programs such as Project REFRESH. The
Friends Annual Book Sale netted the usual handsome sum for the Library’s
benefit. A delegation from the Friends accompanied me to
The Friends program
offerings were particularly diverse this year: local researcher Leonard
Rebello’s lecture on noted Fall River painter Mary Lizzie Macomber; personal
chef Yvonne Rogers’s talk about French diet and cuisine, complete with delicious illustrative
examples; area teacher Ellyn Gaspardi’s informative recollections of growing up
in Saudi Arabia; pianist Richard Hughes’s delightful re-creation of the era of
silent movies; and, at the annual meeting in January, Linda Monchik’s
enrapturing rendition of The Belle of
Amherst, a one-woman play about Emily Dickinson, performed before a
standing-room only audience.
Library Foundation
In partnership
with the Friends and the Board of Trustees, the Foundation embarked on a
fundraising effort, the Second Century Campaign, to provide the Library with
supplementary resources. An appeal
letter was sent in May to a mailing list of approximately 700 people. By the end of June, 120 contributions had
been received, totalling almost $12,000.
Such a proportion of positive responses, more than 17%, is unusually
high for a direct mail campaign and indicates how much the
At year’s end,
plans were being made for a combination thank you reception for contributors
and program event to attract new contributors.
Nathaniel Philbrick, National Book Award winner and author of the
currently bestselling Mayflower: A Story
of Courage, Community, and War, had agreed to be the featured speaker for
this gala occasion, scheduled for November, 2006.
VISITS AND OUTREACH
Visits to the Library
Child World Daycare
Cub Scouts of
Cub Scouts of
Daisy Scout Troop 1233
Family Services
Kids'
SER Jobs for Progress ESL Classes
UMass./Dartmouth:
History 104
Outreach by the Library
Fall River Children’s Film Festival
Health First Family Care Festival
King Philip Preschool
Lifetime
Learning
Rotary Club of
Sts. Peter and
WIC Family Day (
YMCA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Library
wishes to thank the following individuals, groups, and institutions for their
contributions during this past year—of time, effort, money, knowledge, skill,
and every other imaginable kind of resource and asset.
Pat Abdallah
David Adamides
Nancy Arruda
Eleanor Bartleson
Casey Bernier
Helen-Marie Booth
Courtney Buckley
Ashley Cabral
Betsy DeLeiris
Dorothy Deschenes
Elizabeth Doherty
Mianna Dombek
Shawn Elliot
Theresa Esposito
Fall River
Children’s Film Festival
Nancy C. Fell
Liz Floen
Tom Flynn
Liz Frazao
Paul Frazao
Angie Gastall
Burney Gifford
Sandra Guimar
Councilor Raymond
E. Hague
Vickie Hathaway
Martha Howarth
Harrison Ingham
Harry Ingham
Kathryn Jensen
Bette Johnson
Laurel Jonas
Robert Lecomte
Daniel LeLievre
Richard Lemay
Phyllis Lepage
Benjamin S.
Little
Little Theater of
Andrew Lizak
McDonald’s
Corporation
John P. McMahon
Victoria
Mathieson
Eleanor Mayo
John Mayo
Ana Mello
David Mello
Dorothy Mello
Nicholas Mello
Steven Mello
Zachary Mello
Cheryl
Modzelewski
Bailey Payer
Tori Pelletier
Joyce Pinsonnault
Roberts House of
Formals
Rhonda Plourde
Police Athletic
League of
Kathryn Pong
John L. Pontes
Quaker Fabric
Corp.
Monica Ragonesi
Brianna
Rebelo
Ricardo Rebello
Riverside Art
Ann
Rockett-Sperling
Marilyn Roderick
Rodgers Family
Foundation
Delaine Rose
Andrew Schofield,
Jr.
Daniel Sheahan
Philip T. Silvia,
Jr.
Slade’s Ferry
Bank
Susan Smith
Sarah Soares
Southcoast Music
Together
Stillpoint Comics
Bernard A. G.
Taradash
Patricia Taylor
Al Turgeon
William Vareika
Verizon
Haile Verville
Taylor Verville
Marion Wilner
Myron Wilner
Richard Wolfson
Maryanne Wordell
Irving H. Zangwill
STATISTICS
% comparisons are with FY2005.
Circulation
Main Library South Branch East Branch
Adult 69,688 (-10%) 15,382 (-18%) 11,956 (-4%)
Child 50,197 (+2%) 5,441 (-16%) 6,403 (-.5%)
Totals
119,885 (-5%) 20,823 (-18%) 18,359 (-3%)
System Total 159,067 (-7%)
Other
Reference Transactions 27,667 (+1%)
Programs
Children’s 243
Adult 19
Total 262 (+22%)
Program Attendance
Children’s 8,183
Adult 400
Total 8,583 (-4%)
Internet Use
Reference 11,346
Adult 21,682
Children’s 5,133
South 4,344
East 7,606
Total 50,111 (+10%)