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Librarian’s Report – March 17 2015
Ukuleles
Book Bike Fundraiser
CSL student Matias
Provincial Funding
Hurrah! Our provincial operating grant will be going up by $9,952 this year due to the increase
in per capita grant and the increase in population. This year: $100,111 (up from $90,159 in
2014).
Facility and Space
Our air exchanger and one of the outdoor security lights stopped working in early April. The
City maintenance crew arrived on April 14th.
Work continues on the Bunker under the stairs. Several loads of junk have been taken to the
ReStore and we have at least one more load to go. The advantage has been that we have also
cleaned out much of the excess junk in the furnace room!
Move the Book Sale
To make room for the Bunker, we have moved the Book Sale to a space under the spiral staircase
and housed part of it on a book cart by the front door. We also updated the donation collection
container to something a little more professional looking than the old peanut butter jar, and
donations have increased. They are still small, but sometimes the donations fold.
City Asset Manager
I met with Grant Egerdie, our City Asset manager, to discuss our facility needs/condition. The
ongoing discussion with him is that we need more space now and that it becomes a bigger issue
every year. I have not seen his report yet but he assures me it is on the way. He did share the
replacement value of this facility, though: $3,056,983
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Librarian’s Report – March 17 2015
Summer Staff
Summer staff are hired and good to go! They will all be starting between May 1 and May 8 with
the exception of Kaylin who will be starting on April 29th to help cover staff heading to the
Alberta Library Conference.
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Suham Elmi – Summer Reading Program (returning)
Caela Marynowski – Summer Reading Program
Morgan Sorenson – Summer Reading Program
Kaylin Veleema – Inventory, special projects, circ staff vacation coverage
Kelly Higgins – Book Bike Operator, service to Faith House
Outreach
We have not had an outreach service to the Faith House here in town, so we have started a pilot
project for a more service-oriented outreach to them. Traditionally, outreach has meant that our
staff gather materials and volunteers drop them off to the various lodges. This pilot project has
one staff member responsible for the entire process: she meets with the residents, determines
what they would like from the library, collects those items, returns to the lodge with them, helps
them learn new technology, reads to them, and has a little social time with them. Much more like
the service patrons get when they come to the library.
Kelsey, one of our part timers, has been responsible for this. She is an Augustana student who
wants to work as an occupational therapist, so she will revisit this in the fall as a CSL. Over the
summer, Kelly will visit the Faith House on the book bike and provide the same service.
CSL
Our CSL’s are done for the winter semester and I have nothing but praise for the work they have
done. It was a pleasure to watch this group in particular learn and grown during their time with
us. I will truly miss them.
I have met with Learning, Advising, and Beyond for our Fall 2015 placements and it looks like
we will have 7 CSL projects (including planning the Christmas Party) with between 1 and 7
people working on each project. I am ever so grateful for all the extra things that we are able to
do for the community because we have these willing and capable volunteers available to us.
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LGBTQ Safe Space Event (in Bunker)
Storytellers at Large
Christmas Party
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Librarian’s Report – March 17 2015
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Bridging
Enviropalooza
Waste Reduction
Newcomers
Rotary Club Grant Application
I applied for funding via the Rotary Club of Camrose’s 90th Anniversary Community Projects to
help us meet some of the Book Bike expenses. Now that we realize the Book Bike will not fit
into the library, it will need an overnight home. It is more than welcome to stay in my garage
(and I’ll ride it to work every day) but that might not be convenient while I’m on vacation and
unable to deliver it. If we are awarded the amount we have asked for, a storage shed for the bike
is a priority. I did not offer to put the Rotary Club logo on the shed, but if they happened to offer
to help us assemble the shed, I would happily do so!
Displays
The library continues to be recognized as a place for organizations to make contact with their
constituents. We’ve had a lovely donation gathering display for the Rotary Daybreak’s Days for
Girls, a fundraising display for the Women’s Shelter, and a Kidsport display. We are expecting
an FASD later this month.
Parkland Regional Library Strategic Plan
I spent March 26th at a strategic planning workshop at PRL working on stage 1 of several stages
of their strategic planning process. It was facilitated in a new way and I think generated some
truly unusual ideas that could take this region in exciting new directions. If you have time to join
us here at the Camrose Public Library on Friday, April 24th from 9:00 AM to noon (followed by
lunch), please do so. RSVP to Anna at aalexander@prl.ab.ca
Elections 2015
As one of the few institutions in the world where people have free access to information and
thereby the opportunity to participate in all aspects of society, the library truly is a symbol of
democracy. With Election 2015 just around the corner, we are information central for the parties
running in our riding. We appreciate patron comments about us making democracy a reality and
about easy access to information.
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