FORBUSH MEMORIAL LIBRARY

                             Annual Report 2000

 

      Reference requests by email, lines at Internet terminals, and commuters with stacks of audiobooks are commonplace at the Forbush, but so are rare books, voracious readers, story hours and students that do homework. Information and entertainment come in many formats and the Forbush strives to keep everybody happy.

         In February of 2000, water damage was detected in several locations inside the building.  Efforts were made to understand the source of the problem which began shortly after the 1997 construction was completed.  After much debate over the proper fix, the gutters were relined and holes were patched by Pioneer Services. No leaks were detected in the violent wind storms in December.

            Inside the building, the 750 music CD’s were repackaged for easier access.   New shelving was purchased and assembled on the first floor. Peter Remelius designed new shelving for the Eloranta Room. Metal inserts were installed in the cabinets to better preserve the rare books.  Phil Young reconstructed two of the columns at the parking lot entrance that had been repeatedly hit by cars.   Lally poles were placed in front of these by B & B Fence to protect from further damage.   Advance Glass fitted screens to the exterior windows of the original building.

            Collection improvements: an increase in the number of audiobooks to accommodate demand from commuters, the visually impaired and people who work at home.  The Lions Club again supported this action. The Fine Arts Collection was appraised by James B. Hand.  The collection of stuffed birds was transferred on permanent loan to the Athol Bird and Nature Center for exhibit at their newly renovated building.  The Aalto/Salo Fund given by Mrs. Adele Goddard continues to fund the medical reference section of the library.  Mrs. Goddard also funds purchases of Finnish materials and books and videos on women who have fought in the wars. E. Thor Carlson donated his Leavenworth Farm painting (1965) to the library, and proposed an art project in memory of Thelma Lebeaux.

 

Friends of the Library

 

The Friends hosted the annual Ice Cream Social on August 13th.   The Town Band performed, children played games, and the book sale brought in revenue for the Friends projects.  A Halloween Bonfire, co-sponsored by the Westminster Fire Department, included a costume judging contest and cider with donuts on a cold and windy night.  On December 2nd, the Friends sponsored  a bake sale and photos with Santa. The Friends of the Library executive board includes: Beth D’Onfro, president, Deborah Foss, treasurer, Martha Rainville and Rita Daley. Membership increased this year. The Friends continue to fund passes to the Fruitlands Museum and the Higgins Armory.

           

Volunteers

 

The trustees and staff appreciate all volunteers and community service workers who gave so much to the library. We estimate over 700 hours of service given.   492 hours were recorded on the volunteer log.

 

The Staff

           

The 2000 staff included: Barbara Friedman, Director; Barbara Despres, Children’s Librarian; Jay Janell, Adult Services Librarian, Jo Ann Helenius, Sr. Technician and Susan Yraola, Library Technician; Mary Bassett, Ian Camacho, Mary Ann DeMarco, Marta Klemetti, Richard Lawrence, Brad Mettey, Kerry Miller and Carol Young, all Library Assistants.    Dave Buteau and Robert Cramm, Maintenance.

     

Trustees

 

Fae Remelius resigned from the Board of Trustees,  having served as secretary of the Board since 1998. Eileen Aldrich joined the Board, and Lorraine Emerson served as Advisory Board liaison.  James Graves has recently taken this position.

 Circulation                  1980     1990       2000

                        Adult                         18,553   22,657   37,524

                        Juvenile            12,845   19,725   30.891

                        Total                 31,398   42,382   68,415

            Yearly Circulation has risen 38% in 10 years

             Yearly Circulation has more than doubled in 20 years!

 

             Internet Use (average 1 hr. per use)              2,054              

Finances

                         State Aid                                         $  10,695.

 Operating expenses                            $  74,552.   

                         Salaries                                           $121,791. 

                                                                               $207,038.

Building Fund Revenue and Donations

 

The Building Fund continued to grow with interest and  pledges totaling $2872, including a $1000 pledge from Aubuchon Hardware and $105 in sales of  the 1892 map reproduction.

 

Grants Received During 2000

                $10,695           State Aid

                $  6,000           Early Childhood Grant

                $  1,045           Westminster Cultural Council

                $  1,000           Preservation Survey Grant

                $     250           CMRLS Technology Grant

            

              Contributions from:

$250        Tom Fredette

$629        Lions Club for audiobooks

 

            Contributions in Memory of :

$ 175       Ann Howard

$1000      Thelma Lebeaux (Given by Friends for Memorial Art Project)

$ 500       Martha Mossman (Royal Steam’s contribution to the Endowment)

$1000                Anonymous donations to the Alfreda Altobelli for programming for                 children & young adults

$500.      Contribution from Mr. & Mrs. John Maryz for the Altobelli Fd.

$100.      Contribution from Dorothy Hicks for the Altobelli Fd.

$xxxx     Memorial  contributions from the Grahams to the Graham Fund  

$300        Joyce and Lloyd Hannula and the NY Times to the Endowment Fund,

               the Altobelli Fund and to the Building Fund

In-kind donations of books and other media account for many thousands of

dollars, but the library does not appraise individual donations.

               

Preservation

 

The Preservation Survey, completed by Beth Patkus offered several recommendations, some of which have already been followed.   The wooden shelves in the Eloranta Room were lined with metal.  A water detector was placed in the Hurd Room closet, which will beep if water is present.  Rare books have been rearranged in a more logical way, and re-shelved in the proper direction to prolong the life of the books. 75% of the Hurd Room has been cataloged, making the titles accessible in the Forbush’s Winnebago catalog and also on the Internet (C/W MARS).  More costly preservation efforts will be completed if grant money becomes available.

 

Archives

 

The Westminster Archive’s Project reported that the Forbush Library should adopt a record’s management plan and return the following materials to Town Hall when proper storage conditions are reached. Tax Collector records (1894, 1898, 1900, 1904, 1919, 1924), the Treasurer’s Ledger (1760-1795), the Treasurer’s Book (1791-1809) and Account of Money Received for School District (1830-1888).

 

Adults

 

The Library sponsors programs and offers meeting space  for community groups including: the Westminster Women’s Club, the Westminster Lion’s Club, the Advisory Board, Cub Scouts, Westminster teachers, Westminster Elementary School Colonial Days, the Westminster Historical Commission and the Wachusett

Winds. The Library co-sponsors Great Decisions under the direction of George Lane and the Great Books Club under the direction of Liz Nyman. The Trustees hosted a Newcomer’s Night.  Vicky Vivianno coordinated the summer program Ends of Civilization, a five-part discussion series funded by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. A monthly “new” book club was started. Stretch exercises to reduce stress are offered weekly by Diane Lyall Moore.

 

Children’s Room

 

Story times are held for children aged three, four and five. Toddler- time is for children two to three. A Lapsitters story time began in September.   P.J. Story time is held for children ages 4 to 7 on Monday evenings once per month.  School visits are scheduled on a weekly basis for the afternoon kindergarten students of Meetinghouse School.  Academy Hill Preschool makes monthly visits, and students from the Masters Christian Academy. Fun@Forbush was an after school program for school-aged children students offered in cooperation with students from Oakmont High School.  Winter Reading is a reading incentive program offered with sponsorship from Town House of Pizza.

 

The Tots 2000 program funded by a $6000 federal grant from Library Services and Technology Adminstration allowed the library to offer programming for very small children and their parents.  Reading Railroad, a group which promotes reading enrichment for the very young gave several workshops.  Music and Movement with Diane Lyall Moore was  very successful.  The grant was used also used to purchase books, puppets, interactive play equipment and promotional materials.

 

Summer Programs funded by the Altobelli Memorial Fund and the Westminster Cultural Council included: Origami (Haruo Shiga), Mad Science of Western New England, Earthtunes (Barbara Herson), Toying with Science (Garry Krinsky), Clayworks (Ann McCrea), Dominos (Peter Bloom) and Science Magic (Museum of Science).  Doug Greenlee shared a life-sized robot with Summer Readers. An Astronomy Program was presented by Frank Despres and Jim Zebrowski.        Barbara Despres, Carol Young, Mary Ann DeMarco and volunteers offered storytimes, science exploration and craft sessions.

 

Outreach Services

The library provides summer reading books through a cooperative program with Overlook Middle School. Public access to the Internet is offered on three computers and the library maintains a homepage at www.westminster-ma.org/library.  Internet Classes are offered for adults. Displays are featured in the Eloranta Room. This year a Holocaust exhibit was designed by the Oakmont students of Candace Anderson and Michele Feinsilver.  Sue and Jim Andrews displayed items from Japan.  The  Westminster Historical Society’s Veterans Committee continue to add to their display, and Ron Brough’s model ship collection is frequently changed. 

 

Regional and State Affiliations

 

The Central Massachusetts Regional Library System (CMRLS) provides staff education, consulting services, interlibrary loan,  rotating books, audio and video tapes, DVD’s, etc.   The Library

is presently an  affiliate  member  of   Central/Western Massachusetts Resource Sharing (C/W MARS).  C/W MARS provides the Forbush Memorial Library with an electronic connection to other libraries and to the Internet.

 

The Library is a member of the New England Library Association, Massachusetts Library Association, the American Library Association and the Massachusetts Library Trustees Association.        

                                    Respectfully Submitted,

                                                Juliette Bedard, Chairperson

                                                Robert Sampson, Vice-Chairperson,

                                                Ruth Wojciak, Treasurer                              

                                                Eileen Aldrich, Recording Secretary

                                                Leola Leger, Corresponding Secretary

                                                Dana Altobelli, Trustee-at-large