The Annual Report of the Salem Free Public Library ... - Town of Salem

Staff
Jackie Hemond
Pat Aldrich
Jane Wellbrock
Millie Cullen
Sharon Geer
Susan Nye
Karen Sanquedolce
Kathy Sasso
Board of Trustees
Michelle Guertin, Pres.
Roberta M. Ziegra, Sec.
Elizabeth Householder, Treas.
Sharon Ann Sanders
Brenda M. Holmwood
Phillip G. James, Jr.
Friends of the Library
Executive Board
Sandra Teixeira, Pres.
Carole Eckart, V. Pres.
Michelle Guertin, Sec. to Nov. 2009
Martha Giegel, Sec.
Lori Tierney, Treas.. to May 2010
Mary Cikatz, Treas.
Salem Free Public Library
264 Hartford Road
Salem, CT 06420
860 859-1130
860 859-9961, fax
salemct.gov
The Annual
Report
of the
Salem Free
Public
Library
2009-2010

The Salem Free Public
Library
Annual Report
2009-2010 was a good year for The Salem
Free Public Library. In these challenging
economic times, it is clear that the Library
is more valuable and relevant to the
children, adults and families of the Salem
community. The support of the Town, the
residents of Salem and Bozrah, the Trustees
and Friends of the Salem Library has been
critical to our success this year.
Statistics
of 2009-2010
Comparisons to 2008-2009
• 20% increase in number of Bozrah and
Salem patrons to 3,481
• 15% increase in number of all patrons to
4,195
• 4% increase in Total Circulation to
71,437
• 12% increase in children’s book and
magazine circulationi
• 5% increase in adult book and magazine
circulation
• 9% increase in interlibrary loans borrowed
from other libraries to 2,540
• 97% increase in interlibrary loans sent to
other libraries to 2,644
• 330 Meetings by Community Groups
were held at the Library
• 2,100 volunteer hours were logged including
20 teen volunteers and 6 community
service volunteers
• 1773 Books were read during the Summer
Reading Program by children, teens
and adults. 63 adults participated!
• 3,725 attended 298 library programs,
which is an 185% increase in attendees
and 148% increase in programs. Programs
are funded by the Friends of the
Salem Library.
Popular programs were:
American Doll Party
Animal Sleepover
Self Defense for Women
Ballroom Dancing
Stories of Selden Island by Dave Wordell
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book Release Party
Mad Science Spooktacular
Meatless Meals by Dana Abetti
Herbal Appetizers
Valentine Day Cooking
Holiday Centerpieces by Anne Duncan
Craft Afternoons for Adults
En Plein Air: Paint Salem
Activities and Events
December 5...5th Anniversary Party
for the new library building. Over 85 people
attended the party. The 8-Mile River Band
performed. Eagle Scout Sean Chmielewski
displayed photos of the restoration of the old
library’s cupola, his Eagle Scout project.
Jennifer Wheeler presented her plan for the
two murals she would paint for the library.
“The Friends” sponsored a knitted goods sale
by the Salem Library Knitters and a quilt raffle
by the Clamshell Quilt Guild to benefit
library programs. Two iPods donated by
The Friends were awarded to lucky patrons.
Carl Nawrocki, who had recently stepped
down as President with the Friends, was honored
by naming the small meeting room for
him.

December 22...Water leaks
After a significant and wet snowfall, the
library suffered a serious leakage problem
to the staff area. The small meeting room
(the Carl Nawrocki room) was unavailable
to patrons for a few months as it had to be
used for a staff office and storage area
while repairs were made.
Allie Collins
February 18...Snapshot Day
Libraries all over Connecticut took a
‘snapshot’ of a typical day at the library.
We collected basic data – attendance, computer
usage, etc., comments and photos.
144 patrons (4% of our patrons) came
through the door, 83 of whom filled out a
survey filled with complimentary remarks
about the library and its services. 267
items were checked out during the day and
146 items were returned. In the morning
the library served coffee and cookies as
part of our usual Thursday Coffee program
and the Salem Library Knitters were happily
knitting and chatting all morning
long. The Clamshell
Quilt Guild was busy
making quilts for charities
in the large meeting
room for most of the day,
the Salem Land Trust
held a meeting there at
night and our ceiling tiles
Olive and Arn
were being replaced in our technical services
area and small meeting room due to
damage from leaks which occurred in December.
April...New Logo
Jeremiah Stover, a resident of
Bozrah designed the library’s
new logo.
Mural at entrance to the Children’s Room
April 24….Mural Dedication
Town resident and artist, Jennifer Wheeler,
created two beautiful murals for the library
for the entrances to the Children’s and Teen
rooms paid with funds from the Community
Foundation of Southeastern Connecticut.
Emily Crowley reading her win-
April 24...1st Annual Poetry Contest
The Library held its first annual Poetry Contest
for Children and Adults in May. The
winners were:
Gavin Duhamel
Emily Crowley
Paul Sanderson
Emily-Rose Zhou
May 31...Library in Memorial Day Parade

June 2...2nd Grade Visit
Every year we get a visit from the 2nd
grade as part of their Salem history curriculum.
We talk about the history of the Salem
Library and do a library scavenger
hunt to acquaint them with library materials.
June 14...3rd Grade Visit
Every year the 3rd graders come to the library
to get their 1st library card and for
further library instruction. They learned
how to use the library catalog and find
items on the library shelf.
Salem Library In Print
Municipal Land Use Commission Report
The Salem Free Public Library building
located at 264 Hartford Road was constructed
in 2004. Located between the Salem
Town Office Building and the Salem
Congregational Church it is a handsome
addition to the historic center of the town
and is fast becoming one of its most beloved
facilities. Its 7,000 square feet is a
sizeable increase over the Library's previous
facility. The current assessment of the
building is $1.6 million. The land on which
it is located is part of the larger parcel on
which rest several other Town buildings,
public work areas, and recreation fields and
is not assessed separately for the Library
portion.
Often referred to as the "new library" by
longer-term residents, it provides traditional
library services and hosts a vigorous schedule
of cultural and public service programs.
Its two meeting rooms, one small and one
moderate in size, are in constant demand for
meeting space. Early in 2010 Salem's senior
population began meeting there every Tuesday
from noon to 4:00 p.m. for a variety of
recreational activities. In this sense and others
the Library is assuming some of the
functions of a community center, and is seen
as having potential for even a greater role if
space allowed.
Like many of Salem's municipal buildings
the Library was built under tight financial
constraints with the result that it has no
basement and that storage space is limited.
The library staff manages this by strenuously
weeding the materials they keep; by
storing off-season and other material at the
old library, and by tolerating a fair amount
of inconvenience.
Although the Library is still a very new
building it has a number of problems, some
weather related and some of unknown origin.
The harsh winter of 2009-2010 caused
leakage on the side roofs resulting in the
temporary need to shift materials around
inside the building. Fortunately insurance
will cover the damage. Also, there are problems
with the heating and air-conditioning;
the temperature in some rooms has occasionally
been hot enough to damage the
computers; telecommunications problems
occur often; and there are frequent power
blips. In addition to attending to the above,
ongoing maintenance and upkeep will be
necessary to keep this new facility in good
condition in the years ahead.

Salem Library In the Newspapers
Hotary, Kevin. “Knitting Connects Generations.”
Reminder News. July 2009.
Butera, Karen. “Fun with Henna at Salem
Library.” Reminder News. July ?, 2009.
Falcone, Carol. “Adult Art Classes Encourage
Hobbyists.” Reminder News.
August 2009.
Cornell, Susan. “Knitting Keeps Young
and Old in Stitches Together.” Shoreline
Times. August 27, 2009.
Hotary, Kevin. “Hair Cutting Event Helps
Sick Kids.” Reminder News. October 9,
2009.
Hotary, Kevin. “Reenactor Discusses
Flappers, the ‘Heroines of the Jazz Age.”
Reminder News. October 16, 2009.
Appleton, Scott. “Local Author [Eileen
Kaplan] Talks about Reasons for Sharing
Her Personal Story.” Reminder News.
November 9, 2009.
Hotary, Kevin. “New Program Brings the
Library to Homebound Residents.” Reminder
News. November 20, 2009.
Hotary, Kevin. “Celebrating Five Years in
a New Home.” Reminder News. December
2009.
Hotary, Kevin. “[Dana
Abetti]...Demonstrates the Art of Making
Meatless Meals.” Reminder News. January
29, 2010.
“Salem Free Public Library is Offering
Homebound Service.” Norwich Bulletin.
January 31, 2010.
Groves, Emily. “Salem Public Library
Gets Romantic with Cooking Lesson.”
Norwich Bulletin. February 6, 2010.
Renczkowski, Amy. “Salem Library Starts
Offering Recreation for Seniors.” The Day.
February 14, 2010.
“Seniors Gather for Cards, Wii Games.”
Norwich Bulletin. March 2, 2010.
Renczkowsi, Amy. “Community Snapshots.”
Shoreline Times. March 4, 2010.
Hotary, Kevin. “Salem Public Library Collects
Information on Snapshot Day.” Reminder
News. March 5, 2010.
“Teen Advisory Group at Salem Library.”
Rivereast News Bulletin. March 2010.
Benson, Adam. “Newsmaker of the Day:
Jennifer Wheeler. Artist Creates a Pair of
Murals for Salem’s Public Library.” Norwich
Bulletin. May ?, 2010.
Renczkowski, Amy. “Salem Takes Advantage
of Program to Get Free Solar Panels.”
Shoreline Times. June 2, 2010.
Renczkowski, Amy. “Salem’s Spirited Volunteers.
Locals Log More than 2,000 Hours
at the Library” Shoreline Times. June 3,
2010.
New Services
Homebound Service
Books to Bozrah Seniors
Books to Babies

Donations
The Salem and Bozrah communities support
the libraries in many ways through
volunteering, donations of materials for the
Friends Book Sale and the library. We also
have received very generous donations
from these organizations and Friends:
Dana Abetti
The Mom’s Club
Propbusters Club
Mary Ryley Memorial
Salem Library Knitters
The Helen and Archie Sanders Collection
Peter Sielman
Bobbie Ziegra
Comments from Snapshot Day
"(Salem Library) is like a blockbuster for
books!"
"I read as a hobby, and you have a wonderful
library with a great selection."
"Great resource for study, able to retrieve
additional material, great movie library,
well-stocked new book selection."
Awesome resource for the whole family;
welcoming environment."
"I use the library to learn English."
"helps with materials for grad school &
student teaching"
"it's the most important space in town."
"love to read, have attended programs; our
girl scout troop slept over."
"a community gathering place, very important
for town and people's spirit"
"I like the atmosphere, friendly staff, good
selection of books and movies"
"a place where so much happens, books,
programs, etc."
"I love to read and the staff is so friendly
and helpful."
Library Hours
Mon-Wed. Noon-7:30 p.m.
Thurs. 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Fri. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Sept.-June)
Sat. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (June-July)