1999-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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libraries. The upgrade made our computer system same grant in 1999. We did our presentation at the faster and increased stability of the lines.The loop sys- Weston Public Library in October and it was very well tem made the libraries more vulnerable to power out- received by those attending. ages in other areas and recovery time was longer when multiple sites were involved. The 56k lines have also On a sad note, Charlotte Faneuil, a long-time allowed us to add to Internet workstations with graph- Library Trustee, volunteer and Friend of the Library I ics. The library will be moving more and more passed away in February. The library received many I towards a PC based environment. Patrons have found donations in Charlotte's memory. After consulting the graphical stations and PCs much more user With her family,we decided to use the gifts to purchase a small puppet theater for the children's section and to friendly than the PACs when doing Internet searching. I We still have some PACs for computer catalog sta- start a circulating collection of high quality puppet f tions, but other types of searching are easier on the kits. Each kit contains a plush puppet and a hardcover PCs. The telecommunications upgrade was funded by book. We were able to add about 25 kits in Charlotte's a major grant from the Massachusetts Board of memory and we've received many comments on how much the children have enjoyed taking the kits home. Library Commissioners (MBLC) and required no funds from the local libraries. Some of our part-time residents have been so impressed with the idea of the puppet kits that they The library continues to have access to a number of have asked their home libraries to consider adding this databases paid for by funds from the MBLC and the service to their libraries. Southeast Regional Library System (SEMLS). In addition,patrons have home access to these databases. I have talked about the need for library expansion for several years and it has now started to become a Instructions for home use can be found on the Massachusetts Library and Information (MLIN) reality. A Library Building Committee has been appointed by the Board of Selectmen and a Request homepage and require typing in your CLAMS card number. On theMLIN homepage for Proposals for the Library Feasibility Study was (www.mlin.lib.ma.us), follow the links to Indexes awarded to Powers and Company, an architectural firm from Cambridge, MA. The study will begin in and Databases and Regional Library Systems for January 2000 and should be complete by early spring. detailed instructions on how to obtain access from your home computer. Some of the databases available The study will help to clarify alternatives for expand- include full-text magazine & newspapers, ing the current building before a final option is chosen. i Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Information from the study will be presented in public Criticism, Books In Print, Hoover's Company forums for comments prior to taking the building pro- Profiles, Health Reference Center Academic, Electric ject to Town Meeting in October 2000. Library and SIRS. Friday afternoon hours were added as a pilot project It has been a busy and exciting year at the library. in October 1998. Usage has steadily grown and Friday I We completed a yearlong project of Early Childhood afternoons are now a permanent part of the library's programs, funded by a $6,000 mini-grant from the regular schedule. As part of the expansion project,we MBLC. Adding the Children's Librarian position last will be looking at the library's hours of operation to year and getting this grant provided an opportunity for see if we might be able to further increase the library's the library to begin offering programs for children schedule for our patron's convenience. This would i from birth to age o i r is g three. Previously, our programs require additional funds for staffing and would a started for children three and up. Mrs. Burke's pro- have to come before Town Meeting. grams have been highly successful and are being con- Respectfully submitted, tinued as part of our regular services. We also started a Parenting Collection as a resource for parents. This collection is housed in the children's section and con- Helene B. DeFoe tains information on a wide variety of topics like Library Director health, nutrition, schooling, pregnancy and child development. Mrs.Burke has made a number of valu- able community connections with the schools and groups such as the Mashpee Community Council Partnership. 1 Our Early Childhood Mini-Grant was so successful, Janet Burke and I were asked to do a presentation about our program for librarians slated to receive the 100