Gilbert Hart Library
Kevin House, Library Assistant
14 South Main Street
Telephone/Fax: 446-2685
E-Mail: ghlib@comcast.net
Activities around
the Library are focused on the 2010 budget.
If you have been reading the Wallingford News or seen the article
a few weeks ago in the Rutland Herald you know that the Library is
currently operating with a deficit budget. In
a Wallingford Selectboard meeting on January 5, the Selectboard voted to reduce
Town funding to the Library by $2,000. In
a meeting on January 18, after the Library submitted additional budget
information, the Town approved level funding in the amount of $32,000.
Contributions and donations are down; cost of books, audios, and other materials
are up; the Library had some unexpected repair costs last year such as repair to
the roof; and investment revenues are down.
All this has led to the Library currently operating with a deficit budget
of over $18,000.
During the Board
of Trustees meeting on January 12, the Board and Director took another look at
the budget and made some hard decisions. These
decisions include budgetary cuts as well as proactive initiatives.
Here is a summary of those decisions:
Budgetary Reductions:
Materials (books,
periodicals, audios, videos)- $3,000
Technical
Support for computers - 600
Children’s
Programming - 2,000
Projected
Increases to Revenues:
Effective April
1, 2010, a $5 annual fee will be charged
for all library cards. Estimated
income for 2010 based on 500 library cards: -
$2,500
Patrons
requesting interlibrary loans will be asked to pay postage when
ordering more than one (1) book per year, i.e., $2.50 for each book: - 600
Individuals or
groups using the Klock Room will be asked to make a min. donation of $1
per person: - 300
Patrons with an
overdue item would be required to pay
$.25 per day for each overdue item: - 600
Fire District exemption
of water & sewer costs: - 700
Estimated
Savings: $10,300
We still have a
ways to go to reduce the $18,000 deficit. We
are researching grant opportunities, exploring other ways to reduce
expenditures, planning fund-raising activities, and looking for other
opportunities for increasing revenue.
This is a good time to let you
know what YOU can do to help YOUR community library:
Monetary
donations are ALWAYS welcome.
Membership
drive letters will be mailed in a few weeks.
PLEASE CONTRIBUTE.
Participate in
the First Read program. Buy a
book through the library; read it first; then donate it to the library.
There is also the First Listen (audios) and First View (movies)
programs.
Give a magazine
gift subscription to the Library. Call
the Library for suggestions.
Share your books, audios and movies with your neighbors by donating them to the library when you are finished with them. If they are in good conditions, we will take them. This will provide some relief to our materials budget.
Donate your
time! As an example, we had to
cut our technology budget and could use help in troubleshooting problems and
developing computer programs, e.g., fund-raising.
Call the Library for more information.
The Children’s
Program budget has been cut. We
need help in planning and presenting programs. Call
Kevin at the Library for more information.
Your suggestions
and ideas are always welcome. Call
us at 446-2685 and let us know what you are thinking.
New Arrivals:
Title
Author
Remarkable Creatures
Tracy Chevalier
The First Rule (book and audio)
Robert Crais
Pursuit of Honor (First Read)
Vince Flynn
Knit the Season
Kate Jacobs
Treasure Hunt
John Lescroart
A Fair Maiden
Joyce Carol Oates
The Unbearable Lightness of Scones
Alexander McCall Smith
The Lion and the Mouse
Jerry Pinkney (children)
How Do Dinosaurs Love their Cats
Jane Yolen (children)
Angels & Demons (DVD)
Food, Inc. (DVD)
Book Review: True
Tall Tales of Old
Kevin and David Klock will be
holding a children’s program on Saturday, February 6th that starts
at 10:30 a.m. that includes music
and poetry reading.
Library
Hours
M
– closed
Tu,
Thu, Fri – 10:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Wed
– 10:00 – 6 p.m. (effective 11/25/09)
Sat
– 9:00 – noon
Su
– closed
Linda
Reeves, Library Director
Kevin
House, Assistant
Telephone:
446-2685
Hart Lines by the Friends of Gilbert Hart Library
“In 1886 a shy, middle-aged piano tuner named Edgar Drake receives an
unusual commission from the British War Office: to travel to the remote jungles
of northeast
Whist parties in February are on Friday, February 5 and Friday, February
19, starting at 7 p.m. Carol Pratt
is in charge of these parties. Any
questions, please contact Carol at 446-2843.
Rug-Braiding workshops begin on
January 30, and take place on Saturdays, 9-12.
Workshops will also be held on February 20, February 27, and March 13.
The focus this year will be on braiding in the round – making chair
pads, a basket, a bowl, or a tote bag. Call
Lois Johnstone at 446-2442 to register and to inquire about materials to bring.
Sad News:
Those of you who know Ginny Hallblom, a long-time member of the
Friends and an avid booster of the Library, will be sorry to hear that she has
died in
The next Friends meeting is on February 10 at 1 p.m.
We have several new members and would enjoy having more join our group.
The Congregational Church is having their Soup ‘n’ Such at noon, and
there’s time to do both.