| West Union District Library |
2010 no. 4 |
| Library Profile |
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| What is unique about your library?
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In 1995, the community bought the library building and
remodeled it. It was paid for and completed in one year. This was the same year
we were in the process of becoming a district. The community volunteered many
hours working on the remodel, donating materials, and making sure the library
project was completed. It really showed me how much the community was committed
to not only having a library, but also maintaining it. We are a small
community, but the library now has over 1000 DVDs and 1600 VHS, most of which
are donated by the community. We also purchase new DVDs with fines. We have
23,000 items, but only one third of our budget comes from taxes. The rest comes
from donations and fundraisers. |
| What are the primary goals and objectives of your library? |
| Our goal is to provide services such as: fax, copy, internet, and WiFi. I am also a Notary Public. These services really aren’t accessible anywhere else in town. We also strive to provide the community with recreational and informational materials. |
| What cooperative efforts are you currently doing? |
Right now we are cooperating with the three school districts in the area. The schools offer the Accelerated Reader program, and so we categorize and mark the level and points for each book. It was quite the project at first, but we are just about caught up. We work with many community businesses and organizations throughout the year for fundraising and donations. |
| Tell us a story about your library. |
I have worked here for over 20 years and I have seen books
come back damaged with all different stories, but there is one that sticks out.
A little boy came into the library with his mother. She walked him up to the
desk and told him to tell me what happened. He had checked out a glow in the
dark night sky book and really wanted to get it charged up to glow. He put the
book on a halogen lamp and left it there. The book caught on fire. He asked me
if he had to pay to replace the book, but I didn’t make him. He continued to
come to the library until he went away to college. He now has a job as an
engineer out of state, but every month he sends a check to the library he grew
up in. |
| If money were no object, what services would you add? |
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| What is popular in your library? |
| We circulate books more than anything else, but DVDs are a very close second. I have noticed that audio books are also gaining popularity. The computers and WiFi get a lot of usage too. |
| How does your library use online tools to connect to your users? |
| I don’t have time or money right now to have a website or do too much with online tools. Most of my community calls with questions and requests. I send news and pictures to the newspaper via the internet when I have information for the whole community. |
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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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