| Bement Public Library District |
2011 no. 16 |
| Library Profile |
||
|
| What is unique about your library? |
|
Our library is unique because it serves patrons from both Piatt and Champaign counties. The district includes the small towns of Bement and Ivesdale, as well as many surrounding farms. Our population is approximately 2,400 people and we have about 1,600 patrons. We have a comprehensive genealogy collection for a library our size, with microfilm of newspapers dating back to the 1870s. We also have a very large selection of westerns, including large-print westerns. These are very popular with our patrons. |
| What are the primary goals and objectives of your library? |
|
Of course we want to fulfill as many of the needs of our community as possible. We would like to attract more people from the population, since we are one of the few local gathering places, especially for teens. Our primary goal is to become a greater resource for everyone in our area, including people who have not yet come to the library. We are offering computer classes for seniors. We want to help people get used to technology and be able to use it effectively. We have also created a new teen area and are working with the school district to increase youth involvement. We plan to establish a teen board and offer students community service credit by assisting with our programs. Our next goal is to organize and catalog the genealogical material this summer, if possible. |
| What cooperative efforts are you currently doing? |
|
|
|
| Tell us a story about your library. |
| I have only been the director of the library for six months, so my history is limited. When I came I decided that it would be good to change displays and freshen up the look of the library. We changed the new book display and put fiction and non-fiction together. We moved the DVDs and magazines to their respective areas and created new areas for our westerns and large-print items. We have added color and furniture to the newly-created teen area and the existing children’s section, as well as two new computers in the teen area. Additionally, all of the young adult materials are now part of the teen area. Each month we have been doing a display to create interest in our different offerings. Our March Dr. Seuss display and reading program has been the most effective display. We also converted our front doors to ADA-accessible doors just last week. Thus far, we have received much positive feedback about our changes. |
| If money were no object, what services would you add? |
|
|
| What is popular in your library? |
|
Best sellers are very popular and James Patterson is probably one of the most popular authors. Mysteries, westerns, romance and inspirational fiction are our most popular genres. Our DVDs and BluRays have high circulation, as well. |
| How does your library use online tools to connect to your users? |
|
We have a library website and are available by email. Our patrons can access LINC in the library on our new catalog computer or at home. The catalog computer also has links to some other local, state, and Federal resources. We are also adding educational software to our children’s and youth computers and hope to add further informational resources to the adult computers soon. |
|
Request a visit to your library Library of the Week Executive Director: Jan Ison, Editorial and Design Team: Michelle Ralston and David Lottes |
Comments