2000-Annual Town Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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Objectives for the Coming Year • Remain active in the development of afford- Report of the able housing in the town of Mashpee Library r • Become an active member of the town's Affordable Housing Committee To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and the Citizens of the Town of Mashpee • Move forward with the development of the Asher's Path property It is with pleasure that I report on the activities of the Mashpee Public Library during the year 2000. • Remain active in all community organiza- Circulation activity continued to grow with 107, 492 tions,boards, and coalitions transactions reported to the Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) on the Annual Report • Continue to supply resident services, a resi- Information Survey (ARIS) submitted at the close of dent newsletter, and recreational activities each fiscal year. This was an increase of 7% more transactions than the previous fiscal year. In addition, In keeping with its tradition, the Mashpee the library has 8,338 library cardholders, 12% more Housing Authority will continue to work to achieve a than in FY 1999. There were 61,846 patron visits balance of housing policies,programs and resources to made to the library and 4,304 attendees at our chil- serve its community. We hope to be prepared for the dren's programs. Our collection contains almost future and have confidence in the ability of the Town 33,000 items, housed on shelf space designed for of Mashpee to assist in providing affordable housing 25,000 items. Many of our shelves are so over- opportunities for our residents. Quality, economy and crowded, so we have to use the top and bottom efficiency will be the guiding principles. shelves.We would like to add new collections formats such as DVDs or books on CDs, but will have to wait " Gratitude until we expand the building,to gain more shelf space. The Mashpee Housing Authority wishes to express its gratitude and thanks to the Board of The library applied for and received an $8,000 Selectmen, Fire Department, Police Department, mini-grant from the MBLC for a series of Connecting Highway Department, Council on Aging, and Cultures programs. The programs are currently on- Mashpee Human Services for all of their support and going and will run through the summer of 2001. The cooperation during this past year. programs are aimed at families and are intended to spotlight the diversity found in our community. We The Mashpee Housing Authority hopes to work began with a focus group of parents and community with federal, state, county, and local offices to make leaders and asked them what types of multi-cultural 2001 a successful year as we strive to provide safe, programs they would be interested in attending and decent, and affordable housing to all Mashpee resi- what were the most convenient times to hold pro- dents. We look forward to working together to meet grams. Our schedule has been based on the responses the challenges of the coming years and firmly believe we received. At the conclusion of the grant year, we that our success will only occur through a cooperative will redo the focus group to evaluate the success of the community effort. grant program.Thus far,we have featured storytellers, Staff a puppet show, and participatory art programs for chil- dren. We will be incorporating music and dance into Leila Botsford, PHM, Executive Director future programs.All programs are free and open to the Florence Roberts, Administrative Assistant public. Paul Antil, Maintenance Laborer Respectfully submitted, We were able to increase Internet access at the library for our patrons. We now have three worksta- Lord Finton, Chairperson tions with graphical access available for public use. E.Stuart Peoples, Vice Chairperson We would like to add more stations but are limited by LaVeme Williams, Treasurer the size of our building.The workstations are available Mary Likins, Commissioner on a reservation basis and are constantly busy. The Leila Botsford,Executive Director library is the sole access point for many residents who are not able to afford home access. We also get many of our summer residents who want to check their email while vacationing in Mashpee. The Internet has also proved to be invaluable as a reference source. Patrons 'L 119