As I was out sick for the March Board of Directors meeting, I wanted to communicate a few things you might like to be aware of in regards to the daily functions of the library.
Programming continues to evolve and grow each month; the seed catalog is open and well-stocked and well visited! Coffee and Conversations on Thursdays has been consistently well attended and has spun off a Scrabble group which follows. Toddler Time, Adult Crafting, Crafternoon and a few tries at additional adult programs have kept us busy during open hours. The Gun Lock distribution program has been so successful that the Sheriff's office has to bring us more locks as they have all been distributed throughout the community. This is a win in my opinion!
Staffing is steady with Diane, Patty, and Ashley helping to cover all open hours- Paul of course has worked consistently Tuesday-Friday and filled in as a Sub when needed. He is a rock for the Varnum.
This past month I was able to submit the Varnum's Annual Library Report which is requested by the State. It has been many years since the report has been filed, so the State was easy to please. The data was incomplete as it was the reporting period of fiscal year 2021, but we did the best we could with the records Paul and I could find. Again, much gratitude to Paul and Hope for helping track down pieces of information.
There were a few grant opportunities that I applied for as well, most notably being a SPARK grant which I collaborated with the other Lamoille County Libraries on. This proposal, if approved, will allow the Varnum, Johnson Public, Lanpher Memorial, Morristown Centennial and Stowe Library to collaborate on a public art project at Lamoille County Field Days and then give each library funding for programming around our specified art project for the summer. The Varnum is the lead applicant on this so I have a lot of hope invested in this. Additionally, I have submitted applications for the Winnie Bell Learned non-competitive grant which will fund a tent (I know we've talked a lot since last summer about this need!); CLiF Summer Readers grant which would fund an author visit and talk with free book distribution similar to what we had last summer; and the Summer Reading grant available through the State. I'm hopeful that some of these will help us to offer more dynamic programming as we re-grow into our community.
We continue to look for and build connections with our community to be the resource we strive to be. We are in the process of building a program on bike maintenance with Bootleggers as well as developing a self-defense course with the Lamoille County Sheriff's office. Both of these needs have been identified in the community and we are responding. April will also see the entire CES kindergarten class visit as they did last year and we are so excited!
I would mention that our Inter-Library Loan participation has dramatically increased; since January 2023 we have processed 136 ILL requests from our patrons, 60 of which were during the month of March. In 2022 there were 58 total ILL requests from Jan-March; with only 27 for March alone. I think this demonstrates the value of this service and the usefulness to the community. It pleases me to see these numbers and I hope it does the same for you.
As always, please reach out directly to me with questions you might have- communication is highly valued and continues to be vital as we work towards the future. I appreciate all you do as Board Members, and I am grateful for the untold hours of work and dedication you each give. It matters, and you are appreciated.
Warmly,
Aurora River (she, her)
Library Director
Varnum Memorial Library
194 S Main Street
Jeffersonville, Vermont 05464
802.644.2117