| St. Joseph Swearingen Memorial Library |
2010 no. 1 |
| Library Profile |
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| What is unique about your library?
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The St. Joseph Woman’s Club decided in 1929 that the
community needed a library. It took them 4 years to raise the resources and
funds and the library was run completely by volunteers and donations until 1953
when it became a tax-funded library. At that time, a permanent librarian
position was established. This has put the library as a central part of the
community. We also have a tiger in the library. Hobbes was donated by
Maude Swearingen David who also donated the land for the library. The story is
that it was bought as a skin off one of the boats at the World’s Fair, which
would make him about 100 years old. He likes to dress up for the holidays and
special library events. |
| What are the primary goals and objectives of your library? |
| We really focus on serving the people of St. Joseph with the materials that they need and want. We do as much as we can to provide the materials and services that people request. We also try to provide programming that is interesting and useful to our patrons. |
| What cooperative efforts are you currently doing? |
The library is very active in the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. Psi Iota Xi is a philanthropic sorority that has a chapter in St. Joseph and they donate money and resources to the library. We work with the grade school and high school librarians, and are the drop off point for LTLS delivery. Our patrons use LTLS a lot from their homes to request the materials we don’t have in our library. They also use OCLC as well. |
| Tell us a story about your library. |
Our old book drop had rusted and one of our board members
took it to be refinished and painted for a couple of weeks. A few days after he
had taken it, we had high winds, and a patron came in and asked if the book
drop had blown away. We recently had a patron who was diagnosed with a gluten problem.
She came into the library to look for cookbooks that the doctor recommended. I
was able to help her find some cookbooks and materials that would help her to
change her lifestyle. To me, that’s what the librarian is today, a modern day
bartender, someone people can talk to about their troubles. We have positioned
our library at the center of the community. We make our patrons not only feel
welcome, but also give them a reason to come back to the library. |
| If money were no object, what services would you add? |
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| What is popular in your library? |
| Audio books are the most popular collection in my library. My Medial Mall is also very well used. The new best selling fiction is always popular as well. I am seeing more women checking out sci-fi and fantasy books. For the younger readers, the Magic Tree House and American Girls series are very popular. |
| How does your library use online tools to connect to your users? |
| We have a website that we update with information and events at least once a week. Our patrons email the library. I have a personal Facebook page, but the library does not. Our patrons like using LTLS and OCLC to get materials we don’t physically own, and love My Media Mall. |
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Request a visit to your library Library of the Week Executive Director: Jan Ison, Editorial and Design Team: Michelle Ralston and David Lottes |
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