Annual Report 2004

ANNUAL REPORT - 2004

 HIGHLAND COUNTY DISTRICT LIBRARY

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HILLSBORO, GREENFIELD, LEESBURG, LYNCHBURG

Hillsboro

Children's

Greenfield

Leesburg

Lynchburg

Donations

System Statistics

 BOARD OF TRUSTEES: 

Fred Yochum, President
George Roush, Vice President
Margaret Hudson, Secretary
Stephen Hunter
Craig Turner
Sara Lukens
Jeff Cloud

    

 Judith B. Lindley, Director
Jennifer West, Assistant Director
Emily Evans, Clerk-Treasurer

 

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The Numbers:

County Population (estimated):  41,963

Circulation:   586,232  

Per capita circulation is 14 items.

System Circulation:
	Hillsboro	297,659	Approx. 51 % of total
	Greenfield	139,802	Approx. 24 % of total
	Leesburg	74,787	Approx. 13 % of total
	Lynchburg	74,074	Approx. 12 % of total

 Outreach was provided to 583 elderly or disabled residents at Laurels of Hillsboro, Heartland, and Highland House by Shirley Foster.

 

Highland County District Library, as member of the SEO Library System, shipped 85,371 items among other libraries in the system during 2004, an increase of 8% over 2003.  This count includes books shipped among the four Highland County libraries as well.

 We own 162,153 books and audio/visual materials, adding 18,329 items in 2004.

 25,705 registered borrowers equals 63% of Highland County’s population.

18,949 are adults.  6,756 are juvenile.

 

 

PROGRAMS: 

  

The Storytelling kits reached over 4,600 children in 2004.

 

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Hillsboro 2004

 HILLSBORO ADULT PROGRAMS:  Black History Month - Black Civil War Veterans,  Jane Molter - Alzheimer Care, Susan Gingerich – Weight Loss; Ray Foeller - Ohio Consumer’s Counsel; Ralph Vanzant – Pottery of the Zanesville Area, the Legend of Robert McKimie, Antique Pressed Glass, All About Auctions, Postcards, Photographs and Paper Ephemera, Selling On the Internet; Jeanne Read - “Antique Evening”; Plant Swaps; Al Martelotti – Casper Collins; Veterans Appreciation Day; Robert and Leoula Beck - Lewis and Clark slide presentation; Jan Blair – “Floss Angels” craft program; Local Authors Booksigning with Janice Amburgey, Bev Braun, Jim Ellis, John Fitzgerald, Frank Hedges, Susan Holzheimer, Sherry McKenney, Elouise Postle, Teresa Slack, Willa Stanforth, Elmer Williams and Lois Williams; Jared Warner/Highland County Health Department – Bio-terrorism Preparation.

 ARTISTS’ DISPLAYS:   Nancy Green; Velma Zink; Mike Bick; Sandy Copper Pence;  Glenn Aber;  Cecile Baird; “Film Foggers” photography group entries from the 2004 Highland County fair;          Connie Barrett; Jared Timble

  EXHIBITORS AT HILLSBORO:  Coins, African-American Awareness Research Council – Black History Month, Farm Bureau – Agriculture Month, Dolls, Peanut Butter jars, artwork by Mary Steinmetz Lowery, D-Day Anniversary, Festival of the Bells, Collectible Jewelry, China and Minton Display, Constitution Week, Annie Oakley, Highlands Nature Sanctuary, Scrapbooking, Mineral Springs, Rocky Fork Decorative Artists – Crafts, James Thurber.

AUTHORS:  Hillsboro hosted book signings for local authors Janice Amburgey, Bev Braun, Jim Ellis, John Fitzgerald, Frank Hedges, Susan Holzheimer, Sherry McKenney, Elouise Postle, Teresa Slack, Willa Stanforth, Elmer Williams, Lois Williams and Paul Young.

 

CHILDREN’S DEPARTMENT

Hillsboro

 

             The year 2004 was another busy year for the Hillsboro Children’s Department.  We continued to offer a variety of programs for children 2 years through 6th grade.  Children 2 through 10 years old enjoyed story times with stories, finger plays, songs and crafts.  Our 6-10 year old story time children also looked forward to games and “gross grub.”

             In October we welcomed Colleen to our staff.  She tells stories to our 2 & 3 year olds.  Betty  and Faye  continue programs for our older children.

            We presented 296 programs for children in 2004.  Story times in the library were presented to over 2,800 children and outreach programs were presented to over 800 children.

Visitors to story time were: 

• Mr. Kretschmer brought pet ferrets for the children to see and learn about their habits.

•  The Brinker family presented a program on water safety through puppets and a play.

•  Mr. Howard “the snake man” brought snakes and discussed their habitat and safety around them.  The children could also touch the snakes.

•  Hurd Latimer, a park ranger, presented 3 informative programs about animals and brought animal furs and skeletons for the children to touch and to guess the animal that wore it.

•  Dawna Jo Kiesling, a nutritionist, presented 2 programs on nutrition and made ice cream with the children during dairy and ice cream months.

•  Heidi Devine, a Naturalist, presented an interesting program on wild animals in this area.

•  Melanie Hall, a nurse, read a book and talked to the children about germs.  After washing their hands the children put their hands under a black light to see how clean their hands were.  The children and adults were amazed by the results.

•  Officer Jeanne Crouse and Police Chief Nick Thompson from the Hillsboro police Department read to the children and discussed Halloween safety with them.

•  The Hillsboro and Greenfield Fire Departments talked to the children about fire safety and demonstrated how to leave a smoke filled room with their smoke trailer.

•  One week 2 baby goats visited for the children to see the play with.

             We celebrated A. A. Milne’s birthday in January with Winnie-the-Pooh stories and registering for prizes.

             In March, we celebrated Dr. Suess’s birthday with Dr. Suess week.  The staff dressed as Dr. Seuss characters and the children registered for Dr. Seuss prizes.

            In April, we celebrated National Library Week with special library stories at storytimes and book giveaways. 

            In May, we got ready for our Summer Reading Club by visiting pre-schools, Bright Local School, Highland County Christian School, and all classrooms in the Hillsboro City Schools up through 6th grade.  We had over 700 children and teens sign up to read with us during the summer and had over 100 children come to our closing game night. 

            Brenda presented 2 computer programs during the summer with our Summer Reading Club theme: Playing with Lewis and Clark and Discover New Trails at Your Library. 

            In October, we had a special visit from Curious George.  The children enjoyed sitting on his lap, getting their pictures taken and visiting with him.  Also in October we had a pumpkin decorating contest with the patrons voting and selecting the winner. 

            In November, we celebrated National Children’s Book Week with a special storyteller.  Rosalind Engle returned to tell stories at storytimes and 30 children, some her former students, were able to return and hear her.  We ended the week with a stuffed pet show.  There were stories, prizes and a parade.  Also in November the library had a float in the annual holiday parade which had Clifford, Miss Spider, a dragon, and an elephant representing the library. 

            The ASTRA Club (high school students) planned and presented 2 Harry Potter programs for children 2nd through 5th grades.  They had crafts, games, trivia and prizes for all who attended.

             In December, we presented a Polar Express night with 60 enjoying stories, games and crafts.

            We participated with displays and information at Kindergarten Registration, Washington Family Night, Webster Math Night, and Hillsboro Middle School Reading Night.

            Storytelling kits went out over 260 times system-wide with over 4,600 children enjoying them.   We had a variety of passive programs for the children and over 4,200 children participated.    We dedicated 25 books to new babies.

 

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 GREENFIELD  BRANCH LIBRARY

 2004 at the Greenfield Public Library was a really great year!  Our statistics show a circulation of 136,295, a 9% increase over 2003.  We registered 849 new patrons, borrowed 12,065 items on inter-library loan and loaned 5,535 items to other libraries across the state.  We presented 333 programs for children, teens and adults with an attendance of 4,575, as well as group tours and programs outside our facility.

 Our adult programs included: 5 WCET Ready to Learn workshops for preschool parents and caregivers, the Bookworms adult book discussion group, computer classes, monthly health screenings provided by Edgewood Manor, monthly Alzheimer’s support group, monthly eating disorders support group, monthly adult craft club that did projects to include: scrap booking, quilting, stenciling, making greeting cards and other paper crafts, tablescapes & gingerbread houses, Weight loss groups, Genealogy training, Boat and water safety classes, hunter safety classes, a perennial exchange, Community Action information program, Dawna Jo Kiesling from the Highland County extension office with a program on pumpkin recipes and healthy holiday eating, Matt Williams – Civil War Drummer, CPR classes, Breast health and Heart health workshops, Concerned Veterans of Greenfield presented D-Day remembrance, Poet Ray McNiece, Chautauqua programs that included Harry Houdini, Henry Ford, H. L. Mencken, Zora Neale Hurston, Zelda Fitzgerald and the 1920’s, a Celebration of Grandparents, and Teacher Appreciation Breakfast.

 Our teen YAB group was busy this year.  They led a children’s craft club for 4 months, ten a library camp in the summer, they also presented a couple of programs for children – Curious George and at Christmas – Santa and the 3 Bears.  They also presented a skit at the elementary school to promote Summer Reading – “Discover New Trails @ Your Library” which also was the theme for the year.  They also had teen activities in the summer – game, movie and craft afternoons.

Children had lots of programming as well.  There are 3 story hours each week for ages 2 – grades 3.  Summer Reading program that had a total of 386 registered, and Season Readings Christmas Club that had 175 participate are the most popular.  We had a yearly attendance of 680 Head Start children attend story hours.  We also did a monthly preschool story time at the Buckskin school.  We gave school, 4-H, Scout, preschool and club tours and programs.

 We have worked with many local agencies to provide more and better services.  We worked with a McClain committee to get a grant from the Ohio Humanities Council to bring a Poet to our community.  This was successful and Ray McNiece worked with the school and library for 2 weeks in April.  We collaborated with Cindi Pearce and the city of Greenfield to present Chautauqua performances in July.  We also worked with Adena Medical Center, Paint Creek Family Physicians, Edgewood Manor, Community Action, Concerned Veterans of Greenfield, Head Start, Ohio Division of Water Safety, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Highland County Extension Service, WCET, Greenfield McClain teachers, Rocky Fork State Park, and others.

 We received grants for Summer Reading and Grandparent’s Day from Pamida and Wal-Mart.  We also received donations from many of the businesses in town for Summer Reading and Season’s Readings promotions and incentives.

 We have been working on and are completing a Reading Garden for our facility.  It is beautiful now, but will truly be a wonderful area when the weather is warm and all is green again.  This was an addition paid for by the citizens and businesses of Greenfield, and will be really used and appreciated.

 It has been a very busy and exciting year.  A great staff, wonderful patrons, and a caring community all work together to make a tremendous team to enhance our community.  I can’t wait to see what 2005 will bring!

 GREENFIELD ADULT PROGRAMS:  Monthly health screenings, monthly Alzheimer’s support group, Eating disorders support group, CPR classes, Scrapbooking, Genealogy, Making greeting cards, Book discussions, Weight loss, Breast health, Poet Ray McNiece, Boat safety, D-Day veterans, WCET Ready to Learn workshops, Computer classes, Perennial exchange, Chautauqua programs (1920’s), Teachers’ breakfast, Adena heart health & smoking cessation, Grandparent Celebration, Hunter safety, Civil War drummer – Matt Williams, Community Action programs, Making gingerbread houses, Dawna Jo Kiesling – pumpkin recipes & healthy meals.

 EXHIBITORS AT GREENFIELD:  Snowmen, Antique Valentines, Cheryl Collier photography, Black history, Genealogy, Scrapbooking, Gardening, Spring projects, Joan Arnold paintings, Baseball, Child abuse prevention, Perennials, Mother’s Day, D-Day, Summer Reading, Memorial to President Reagan, Grandparent’s Day, Voting, Constitution Week, Breastfeeding, Football, Curious George, Seasons Readings Christmas Club, Local Artisans: Dennis McMurry, Irma Kelley, Linda Fugate, Daniel Estell, Halloween/Scary Books, Candy corn contest, Christmas crafts, Breast cancer awareness, Gingerbread houses, Christmas, Adoption, Smoking cessation, Dioramas of favorite books from 2nd grade and 5th grade, Children’s book week artwork of children’s favorite book characters, cookbooks.

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LEESBURG BRANCH LIBRARY

      2004 was another busy year for us!  Leesburg Branch Library has begun having monthly health screenings with Edgewood Manor on the second Friday of the month, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.  We are averaging 12 adults coming in for blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol screening.  We prepare the room the night before, then make coffee upon arrival so everything is ready for the nurses when they arrive.

We also have a number of groups which meet at the Library.  The Investment Club meets the last Monday evening of each month at the library at 7:00 p.m.  Two members of our staff attend this meeting that averages around 12.

 The Reading Group meets the third Thursday of the month at 1:30 p.m. and averages 14 members this past year.

 The Wednesday Club meets on the second Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. from October to May and averages 16.

 The Artisan Folk Fair Planning Committee meets regularly at the library on Wednesdays also.

 The adults in charge of soccer meet sporadically in the library and have their soccer sign-ups which brings in a large crowd many of whom do not normally frequent the library.  An estimated 104 people attended on March 16 and 83 on June 5.

 January 27 we were pleased to have 34 people turn out on a wintry evening for an informational session by Jon and Candace Hansford about their upcoming work in Tanzania, Africa.  In January we also had a huge bookmark contest that had 361 entries!  The Letter Shop in Greenfield printed the winning bookmarks for FREE!  This was very exciting for the children.

Teens are a difficult group to gather at our library but I have continued to try and talk with them at school.  I had a passive Valentine candy program reaching 158 teens in February.  I returned to school in May to have a summer reading survey that 107 teens filled out to encourage more teens to read!  We hosted a poetry pub one Monday evening in April with zero attendance.  We have scrap-booking workshops with only 2 or 3 attending.

 I have weekly programs for Wee Ones from 0 to 36 months each Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m.  This has grown to approximately 10 children and ten caregivers.

 

Tater Tots also meet each Thursday after the Wee Ones and we have from 6 to 10 weekly plus caregivers.  They are a delight and the highlight of my week!  It is a lot of preparation but well worth it!  Becky prepares the craft each week, to help remind the children what they have learned.

 I continue to host programs at school – dressing up as Clifford, Franklin, and of course the Cat on the Hat this year as he celebrated Dr. Seuss’ 100th birthday!  I also went dressed as the Cat in the Hat for our school to a rest home and Highland District Hospital.  We also had a Dr. Seuss birthday party here at the library with 57 children and 31 adults in attendance!

 I went to 3 RALFF (Reading and Learning Family Fun) nights at the elementary school where I get to speak about the library and our programs.

 On April 14 we hosted a local Library Antique Road Show with 3 ladies from our downtown antique store, “One West”, appraising items brought in by the public.  We displayed our many antique price guides.  We had 50 community members present plus 5 from the store. 

We hosted Delma Fairley’s retirement party on April 15 with 45 in attendance.

 Rosalee Morgan came in May 13 to talk about V. I. P. Croswell bus tours.

 At the end of May I was able to have the library time 30-45 minutes for each class for all the K-4th grade classes in the elementary school.  This enabled me to go dressed as a cowgirl, read to the class and present the summer reading theme to a group of 25 or less, with prizes and logs.  This is a busy time of year to squeeze all those classes into my work schedule but it is well worth the time and effort involved. 

Our Veterans program for Memorial Day has been our most successful adult program with 184 in total attendance.  The second grade music class, and the K. I. A. entertained us.  We had more veterans than ever before and more community members.  The men introduced themselves and told where they served and when as well as what branch of service.  We served refreshments afterwards to give them a chance to visit among themselves as well as look at our display case and book displays.

 We had a number of nature-related programs during the year.  Scott and Vince Howard had a snake program on May 26.   Jared Warner talked about cicadas on May 27 and June 8.  Dawna Jo Kiesling made a healthy trail mix for us on June 15.  Zack Jacob and Hurd Latimer, Rock Fork naturalists, appeared on June 22 and 29.

 We tried something new with our Red Hat Club Tea party!  15 attended in full purple dress and red hats of all shapes and sizes!  I made cookies and brought different flavors of tea from home and it was enjoyed thoroughly!  The ladies all brought their own china teacups.  We read some poems from the book by Sue Ellen Cooper and had a fashion parade and voting for Best Outfit and Hat!

 We had scheduled WCET workshops but after poor attendance they were canceled.

 We have some passive programs for patrons to fill out at the library as well as an adult summer reading contest.

 In July we held a financial workshop plus our normal monthly meetings for Investment Club, the Reading group, and Edgewood’s Health screening.  Louise McKamey had several one-on-one computer classes for adults that request tutoring in July and August.  Kert Larkin had an excellent program on Trains July 20th and Mr. Higgins came with bees on July 13th.  Scott and Vince Howard brought live turtles to the library and Zack Jacob brought fish.

 I visited school and spoke to all the elementary teachers at their staff meeting the day before school started.  I had a packet for each of them plus a display of books I left that could enhance their curriculum.

 One September 15 Jared Warner spoke on Bio-terrorism preparation.  September 16 we were pleased to have a book signing by Teresa Slack, author “Streams of Mercy”.  She spoke first to the reading group and then open to the public for signing and selling books.

 The Wee Ones and Tater Tots had a great day celebrating Grandparents Day with a tea and old-fashioned hats.

 On September 29 we had another Library Antique Road Show where One West ladies valued people’s treasures.  This is a great way to show off our antique guides and have people come to the library that normally don’t darken our doors! 

The Wednesday Club met here in October, November and December.  The children had a special pumpkin decorating night in October. 

The WENDY ladies Red Hat Club held a tea at the library in October and a cookie exchange in December.  Luminaria night was a huge success on December 12.  It was a very cold evening so many came indoors for the crowning of the king and queen at the library! 

--Leesburg Branch Manager's Report

EXHIBITORS AT LEESBURG:  Snowmen, Antique Valentines, Illustrator Cleveland, Mary Lowery’s paintings, Scott Howard’s snake display, Roger Grimsley’s Air Force display, Bugs and Butterflies, Summer Reading Prizes, Antiques, Halloween decorations, Thanksgiving Turkeys, Angels.

 

LEESBURG ADULT PROGRAMS:  Health screenings by Edgewood Manor, “RRR” Reading group, One-on-One computer classes, Investment Club, Wednesday Club, WCET programs, WINDY Ladies Red Hat Club, Teresa Black booksigning, Jared Warner/Highland County Health Department – Bioterrorism Preparation, Veteran’s program, Croswell Bus Tour program, Antique Road Show, Preferring Planning, Luminaria Open House, Jon and Candace Hansford program on Africa.

 

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 LYNCHBURG BRANCH LIBRARY

 

Although programming was scaled back quite a bit at the Lynchburg Branch Library due to the maternity leave of the Branch Manager  we had a very interesting and enjoyable year at our branch. 

The Lynchburg Historical Society voted in 2004 to once again hold their regular monthly meetings at the library.  Elaine Williams was named the official liaison between the library and the historical society.  As a member of the Society, Williams wrote a successful grant in October 2004 for the Hope Taft Make a Difference Day Initiative, and the Historical Society used the funds to clean up the historical Morrow-Bobbit Cemetery within the village limits.  Volunteers were recognized during a luncheon at the library.  A local Daisy Scout troop also utilized the meeting room for their bi-monthly meetings.

 For the annual Covered Bridge Festival Parade, we used our Summer Reading Club theme “Discover New Trails at Your Library” to decorate the library’s float.  The staff donned life jackets and pith helmets, sat in a rowboat on a trailer decorated with “water” balloons, and “rowed” down Main Street.  The weather was perfect for a boat ride!  As always, the float was pulled by Mr. Lyle McLarty.

 Besides regular storytimes for toddlers through grade three, special programs this year for children included a stuffed pet show, a Spiderman trivia contest, a Captain Underpants program, an indoor campfire, and a visit from Curious George.  Peter Rushton of PT Reptiles came as part of the Summer Reading Club to show us some of his magnificent menagerie of alligators, snakes, and spiders.  Teens gathered at the library to play word games, decorate mini-totebags, make button bracelets & gobbler pins, and to enter various contests and volunteer their time.

We offered adult programs as well, such as a dream workshop, a genealogy class for beginners, a plant swap, an antiques appraisal, On the Trail of a Union Soldier, an Adult Summer Reading club, a Vote to Read contest for the big election year, our annual English Christmas Tea, and a sign language class.

 The library continued to be involved in the school’s Ohio Reads program, with two staff members reading to elementary school children twice weekly.,  Two visits per month were also made to the Belfast Head Start for preschool storytimes.

The Lynchburg Branch Library is looking forward to adding even more programming for the entire family in the coming year, along with more outreach opportunities in the community.  We appreciate our patrons, and we hope to see more of you in 2005!

 

LYNCHBURG ADULT PROGRAMS:  Dream workshop, Genealogy for beginners, Plant Swap, On the Trail of an Union Soldier – Matt Williams, Antiques Appraisal, Vote to Read, An English Christmas Tea, Adult Summer Reading Club, Sign Language Class.

EXHIBITORS AT LYNCHBURG:  Snowmen, Angels, Easter and Spring, 4-H exhibit, Elvis Collectibles, Dogs, Red Hat Club and hatpins, Birdhouses, I Love Lucy collectibles.

 

 

 

Gifts – 2004

 

 Our many friends who donated books to the library.
 Joellen Byerly of the Ohio Virtual Academy donated a copy of “A Wind In The Willows Christmas”
Altrusa of Highland County, Inc. donated $100.00 in support of the summer reading program.
Sally Davis donated $100.00 in memory of the mother.
Teri Sharp donated a copy of “My Soul Looks Back in Wonder: Voices of the Civil Rights Experience”.
Herrick Stickney donated a DVD copy of “Fahrenheit 9/11”
James Curtis for donating a copy of his book, “Computer Ministries”
James Leslie donated a copy of “Memories of My Ancestry”, a genealogy of the Highland County Roades (various spellings) family.
Bea Turner donated $25.00 in memory of Joyce McGee.
Mr. and Mrs. William Shirley donated $75.00 in memory of Joyce McGee.
Pat and Ralph Kelch donated $40.00 in memory of Joyce McGee.
Janet and Pamela Limes donated $25.00 in memory of Joyce McGee.
Ruth S. Penn donated $20.00 in memory of Joyce McGee.
Sherry McKenney donated a copy of her book “A Taste of the Murphin Ridge Inn.”
The ODJFS donated $78.00 in memory of  Mrs. Joyce McGee.
Ocie Wakefield donated a copy of “Journey With Jeanie – In the Good Old Days of Bright, Indiana.”
Wal-Mart donated $1,500.00 Literacy Grant for the summer reading program.
James and Emily Evans donated $100.00 to Doctor Suess program.
 
 
Greenfield Branch
Pamida donated $500.00
Banta donated $150.00
Jeffrey Scott and others donated $169.00
Greenfield Research donated $50.00
Wal-Mart donated $500.00 grant
Greenfield Weastec donated $167.00
Home Building and Loan donated $25.00
Waddell Company donated 25.00
Leesburg Federal donated $50.00
The Letter Shop donated $100.00
New Sabina Industries donated $100.00
Banta donated $75.00
Book Sale donations - $100.00
 
 
Leesburg Donations
The Wednesday Club gave $50.00 for the summer reading program.
Local businesses give prizes for the summer reading program
5th 3rd Bank
Leesburg Federal
Sowder's Bakery
Leesburg Market and Meats
Poor Bob's Deli
 
 
Summer Reading Prizes
Dairy Queen, Hillsboro
Domino’s Pizza
McDonalds’ Restaurant
Great Scot
Arby’s
Burger King