We Get Messy and Smile

Every Thursday morning at 10am, we at the library do a storytime.  The first half-hour is Mark reading books, singing songs, dancing, and often making the noises of animals and machinery.  The second half-hour is devoted to crafts of one kind or another.  Sometimes they are simple, and sometimes more complex.  But we always try to make them fun! 

On Thursday, December 19th, for example, the kids decorated gingerbread houses that the library staff had built out of graham crackers and hot glue over several days leading up to the program.  The houses themselves were not suitable for eating, but the decorations certainly were!

Being at 10am on a weekday as it is, the program is mostly geared towards pre-K, although we have had some homeschool groups with slightly older kids come in the past and have a wonderful time!  

Like all library programs, storytime is free of charge.  Hope to see you there!

Milestones and Landmarks

 

After I got settled into my job as Berryville Library Director a couple of years ago, I looked at where we were in terms of the business we were doing, and set some goals for the future.  The goals were not extravagant, but they were unprecedented: 10,000 item circulations in one month, and 100,000 in one year.

 

In 2012, our best months saw us top 9,000 circulations, and at the end of the year we came in at just under 90,000 total item circulations.  There are certain trends throughout the year that we had come to expect: the summer is really busy, the fall and winter are slow.  But 2013 undermined all that we thought we knew.  We had a huge January - over 9,000 items, and the pace never slackened.  All year, we have maintained a 14% (give or take) increase in circulation over 2012.  We broke the 10,000 mark for the month of July, and then duplicated the feat again in August.  Those were exciting months, and put us well on track to break the yearly goal.

 

Tuesday, December 10th, was the historic day.  We left work Wednesday over 99,800 for the year, so I knew we'd break 100,000 on Thursday.  Then an epic winter storm shuttered the library Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, AND Monday.  The balloons I had purchased for the occasion the previous Tuesday were still floating, although the Mylar wasn't quite as tight as it had been.  Business started out slow in light of the continued poor road conditions, but early in the afternoon on Tuesday we reached our goal.

 

 





By the time Rod Rivera walked innocently up to the desk with his items in hand, we were ready.  The balloons were mounted to little gift boxes full of chocolate, and he was presented with a certificate AND a $100 credit on his account! 

 

I often find myself obsessing over numbers, but I suppose it goes with the territory in my job.  So, a town of 5,300 people, in a county of 27,000, with a library collection of 32,000 items, and we passed 100,000 item circulations on one year.  I am proud of that.  And I think Berryville and Carroll County can be proud of it, as well! 

 

With three weeks left in the year, who knows where we will end up?  And as for next year - who knows what it will hold?  But, whatever happens, I know our happy little library will rise to the challenge!