A busy summer

A lot has happened since I last sat down to write.    I’ve been out and about with lots of branch and department visits, we’ve had the summer reading program and work on a new strategic plan continues. 

Summer reading was a huge success.  More than 34,000 children, teens and adults particpated and found the new online tracking software, purchased by the Friends, to be easy to use and a huge help.  While many kids and teens enjoy reading and earning prizes for their efforts, including a book for those who reach the top tier reading level, the real benefit of the summer reading program is best seen in the reading skills of those who participate.   A study by Dominican University entitled “Public Library Summer Reading Programs Close the Reading Gap” talks about the many advantages of participation in a public library summer reading program.  From improved reading test scores to more enjoyment of reading and reading beyond required reading, children who participate in a summer reading program benefit in many different ways.  While we in public libraries have believed this to be true, this study proves this to be the case.  Everyone who helps to make a summer reading program possible from children’s librarians to donors who provide the funding to make a good summer reading program possible need to know that this program makes a real difference to the children who participate.  Our staff team is already hard at work on next year’s program and I’m also working hard on ways to get even more of our community’s children to participate.  We need every child to be taking advantage of this free, fun program that provides so many educational benefits.  Send me your thoughts on how we can do more to reach out so that every child joins next year’s program.  I’d love to hear your suggestions.  Following is the link to the full report:

http://www.dom.edu/academics/gslis/downloads/DOM_IMLS_book_2010_FINAL_web.pdf

Work on the strategic plan continues and we’ve found out some really fascinating information about our cardholders and how they use the Library.  Through online surveys, in-person surveys, observation of people using the Library and interviews, we learned that by far the primary use of the Library is to browse and borrow books for adults.  When we looked at what formats of materials were being checked out we found that of the nearly 600,000 items in cardholders hands on a given day, the vast majority, nearly 400,000 were boooks.  We’ve looked at the age of our cardholders and found that our range of services for all ages are keeping cardholdersof all ages active Library users.  A cardholder snapshot showed that 43% of our cardholders had something checked out on a given day – far more than we expected.  The customer satisfaction portion of our surveys ranked the friendliness and helpfulness of staff higher than any other factors.  A question about what would increase use of the Library told us we needed more copies of new materials, so we’re making changes to our collection development to meet this need.  We’re still on track to have the new plan completed later this year.  Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate in a survey for us.  We appreciate the feedback!

The results of the surveys and other data collected during the strategic plan help us to understand how our Library achieved a remarkable accomplishment in 2009.  I’m so very proud to announce that our Library is the only Library in the country to appear on three top 10 lists.  First, we were ranked number 7 in Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings for libraries serving a population of 500,000 or more.  A review of 2009 circulation statistics for public libraries showed that our Library ranked number 10 for overall circulation (the number of items borrowed in a year) and finally, in a list compiled by the American Library Association our Library ranked in the top 10 for overall collection size for all library types.  With a collection of 9.2 million items we were one of only three  public libraries to be included in the list.  The other two were Boston and New York Public.  So for 2009 our Library was ranked among the top 10 for best libraries, busiest libraries and biggest libraries, and was the only Library in the country to be on all three top 10 lists.    

I won’t even try to talk about each visit individually but I’ve been to so many branches and departments over the last few months.  I’ve also been out to organizations with whom we partner to just keep in touch.  I recently visited three of our library colleagues, the Lloyd, the Mercantile and the Cincinnati Historical Society Library.  I traveled with others from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh as part of the Chamber’s Leadership Exchange – a great experience.  I came back with both new contacts in the community and some great ideas to try out.  I also visited the Taft Museum, we’re cataloging their collection, and enjoyed a lunch and brief gallery talk with the new Director.    

No blog would be complete without a mention of the Wired article on the Library’s famous 1848 daguerreotype of the Cincinnati riverfront.  This article talks about a project long underway to preserve and display this unique photographic treasure.  In 1993, I became Assistant to the Deputy Librarian – Main Library.  My first task was to assist conservators from the Eastman House with photographing the daguerreotype.  This assignment involved first manuevering the daguerreotype out of the stacks – no small feat given it’s length.  We had to remove shelves to do it.  It was then removed from its storage unit, original frame and matting and photographed, then returned to the stacks.  Several years later I had moved to Director and utlizing a bequest we again began work on preserving and preparing for the display of the daguerreotype.   The Wired article discusses a portion of the work done.  Here’s a link to the article and to the article that later appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/07/ff_daguerrotype_panorama/

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100807/NEWS01/8080334/162-years-later-famous-photos-restored

It is amazing to see how much detail is visible form that long ago day.  A Library Services and Technology Act grant pending at the State Library of Ohio would provide the remaining funding needed to construct a case to display the daguerreotype in the Main Library’s Cincinnati Room and a web page that takes advantage of the detailed photographs taken as part of the preservation project.  We expect to hear by the end of September whether or not our grant will be funded.  When the daguerreotype does go on display it will be the first time in more than 50 years the daguerreotype has been on public display.

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