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Checking in with the library
3/17/2010 11:10:22 AM
By Tammy Kimberley
Splash Staff Writer
During her time as a volunteer at the Liberty Lake Municipal Library, Anna Purser said she's observed a growing trend.
Patrons linger longer. They wander around to look at the artwork hanging on the walls.
Students spread throughout the building to study and tap on their laptops.
Kids lounge on beanbags while adults relax in the comfy chairs out front and read.
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Purser, who helps out weekly by shelving books, sanitizing computers and helping in the children's area, said the library has something to offer just about everyone.
"I think the new building is very conducive to being used by the public," she said. "I see a lot more people in there just using the space. It's so welcoming and a great place to socialize."
Since opening the doors to the new facility a year ago, Library Director Pamela Mogen said they've expanded their current programming, offered new services and realized the need for more staffing hours to handle their growing patronage.
How the numbers read
In the year since it opened, the library is enjoying more space, more usage and more volunteers, Mogen said.
The city purchased the building, which also houses the Liberty Lake Police Department, in July 2008 after voters rejected a bond to build a community center and library.
The library moved to its new location, 23123 E. Mission Ave., in March 2009. The 8,500-square-foot facility nearly tripled the space previously occupied.
User stats also went up in the past year. The circulation count, a number calculated by a computer each time a resource is checked in or out, was up 20 percent from 2008 to 2009.
Mogen said this is a more reliable representation than patron counts, which was up only 4 percent. This is mainly due to the old facility having counters for both the adult and children's sections that didn't discriminate between people who visited both suites, Mogen said.
The library currently issues an average of 100 new cards a month, Mogen said.
Since their transition to the new facility, Mogen said they have maintained the same staffing hours although they have fewer employees. However, the number of regular volunteers has doubled to more than a dozen people who cover around 24 hours in the library per week.
"This first year has been an experiment to see if we could we do it with what we had," Mogen said. "We're realizing that we need more. It's stretching every staff member to their level and beyond."
Special programming, Web offerings expand
Having additional open space in the new building has encouraged more people to attend events and programs, said Tracy Rebstock, librarian for young adult and adult services.
In 2009, programming participation increased by 55 percent from the previous year. Rebstock said that story times are hitting peak numbers, with as many as 20 toddlers at one sitting.
"When we were in the previous building, I think people felt like they couldn't attend an event because they knew we were bursting at the seams," she said. "And since there's now a dedicated young adult space, we see more teens hanging out in the library."
One new event the library added in the last year is hosting movie release parties regularly.
Last summer, about 700 people signed up for the summer program, which provides eight weeks of activities and summer reading challenges. Mogen said that although their summer reading program grew by 5 percent last summer, it was the first year it didn't grow exponentially.
"Our programs have been growing by leaps and bounds," Mogen said. "We're wondering when we might be reaching our upper limits."
Angie Cader, whose family visits the library most weeks, said her children enjoy the summer reading program as well as attending activities such as the library's annual Halloween party. Her two older children complete their school community service by volunteering at the library, and she utilizes the various aspects of the library's Web site.
"I like the fact that it's so easy to put items on hold and do other things from their Web site," Cader said. "I used their online tutor.com with one of my kid's writing assignments, and I was really impressed with it."
More and more people are taking advantage of the online options, said Circulation Supervisor Georgette Rogers.
"You can do just about everything now from the Web site," Rogers said. "You can place holds or interlibrary loan requests, change your information and even ask for the library to purchase resources."
Audio books are also available via the Web site for play on computers or MP3 players. The library even has six MP3 players available for patrons to check out.
Although this service became available about six months ago, Mogen said the library recently gained access to NetLibrary, a download service that extends their downloadable collection by more than 2,000 titles and provides additional children and young adult titles.
Library "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry "Duma Key" by Stephen King "Breaking Blue" by Timothy Egan "Dune" by Frank Herbert "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" collection by Alexander McCall Smith - Compiled by Tammy Kimberley
Space offers community more
staff picks
Georgette Rogers, circulation supervisor
Ronda Gimlen, library clerk
Pamela Mogen, library director
Daniel McDermott, library clerk
Tracy Rebstock, young adult services and adult services
Katie Wiykovics, library clerk
The availability of space has allowed the library staff to work toward being the prime meeting place in the community, Mogen said.
"We've always considered ourselves to be the community center in Liberty Lake," she said. "In the other space it was awfully hard, but in our new facility we have the space to do it. It's happening naturally now."
While the staff tried hard to get book clubs started in the old facility, Mogen said they now have two clubs that meet regularly in the library and they provide space for another that meets independently.
Mogen said a personal goal of hers was to have the library involved in displaying local artwork. When local artist Natalie Gauvin approached her about this idea, the library purchased the hanging system while Gauvin agreed to coordinate the artists who are on display each month.
The public meeting room has also brought in additional groups of people, Mogen said. The space has been used for homeowners association meetings, training groups, community organizations and even a Gonzaga business class.
The library recently received funds from the Renew Washington grant that will allow them to install the meeting room with a screen, audio system and laptops.
"It will be much more versatile and friendly for people to come in and do classes in the future," she said.
Funding for these grants, provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, also allowed the library to convert the study room into a job center.
Mogen said they have purchased three computers, invested in relevant software and pulled items from their own resources to develop a center that contains a variety of material on job hunting, writing a resume and skill building. Although people have already been using the career center, she said she plans to have it fully open in April.
On the shelf in the future
While Mogen is pleased with the new facility, she said she would like to see some a welcoming entranceway that signals the library as a significant public building.
"I'd like to see more landscaping and benches out front - a little more welcoming and not so sterile," she said.
Her other goals include hiring more full-time staff, offering rotating art collections that people could check out and working toward a reciprocal borrowing agreement with Spokane County.
And she hasn't given up the possibility of still building a library/community center with more floor space and additional storage in the future.
"This building is great for right now, but as Liberty Lake continues to grow, we would like to offer more," Mogen said.