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FY 1983 Annual ReportANNUAL REPORT FY 83 Schertz Public Library "Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." Samuel Johnson FY 1983 has been a very exciting and extremely productive year for the Schertz Public Library; the main accomplishment being the building of a new library facility. On September 27, 1983, the library opened its new facility to the public and offered the usual services of books, magazines, pamplets, phono records, films and audio visual equipment for check -out. The new library has one add- itional service for the public and that is space. With the glorious addition of space, patrons can now browse, study, absorb the atmo -_ sphere and really appreciate the availatfle services and anticipate the future services that can and will be offered because of the availability of area to do so. The new library building is located at 608 Live Oak Road and has 6,000 square feet. It consists of a children's area, young adult and adult reading areas and tables for study and reference. The new building also houses a community meeting room which has kitchen facilities, a librarian's office and a workroom which pro- vides ample space for book processing and repair. The present hours of operation are: Tuesday and Thursday, from 2 to 8, Wednesday and Friday, from 10 to 6 and Saturday, 10 to 2, for a total of 32 hours per week. Schertz Library serves the 7,262 residents of Schertz plus the residents of surrounding areas of Guadalupe County, such as Marion, Northcliff and Cibolo. In addition the library offers its services to out -of- county residents for a user's fee of $10.00 per year for the individual or $15.00 for a family. J' 1 New Library Cards Issued 1978 -1953 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Res. 875 739 435 630 550 574 Non -res. 135 170 148 172 113 198 User's Fee NA NA NA 18 16 39 Total 1010 900 583 8Q0 679 811 At the present time the library has a total of 3,188 card holders. Circulation Circulation of library materials (both book and non -book) in- creased during FY 83 as the following table indicates. Items Circulated 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 4,542 15,504 19,819 24,416 26,325 29,294 Personnel The library is directed by a certified librarian with 27 hours in library science (15 of which are graduate hours) who holds a Texas "County Librarian's" certificate. On April 1, 1983, the li- brarian was given full time status with full city employee benefits, thus the librarian now works a 40 hour week. Schertz Library was blessed again in FY83 with dedicated and generous volunteers. Throughout the year 30 or more have con- tributed their time to the daily operation of the library and doz- ens more have contributed to special projects and programs. These volunteers represent a wide span in age groups from teenagers to senior citizens and the library simply could not operate without 2 their continued and generous support. The move from the old loca- tion at 100 First Street to the new library site at 608 Live Oak Road was a very good example of volunteer la -bor and how effective it is in our community. In a short four hour period, the entire library contents were transported and within twelve hours there was actually order to the uprooted materials. Continued Education Education on the operation and maintenance of libraries was regularly offered to the librarian, board members and volunteers by the Texas State Library System'of which Schertz Public Library is a member. In FY 83 the librarian took advantage of the offer- ings and attended workshops on collection development, storytelling and time management. The library board members attended a work shop entitled, "The Role of Trustees in the Public Library" which was presented by Barbara Gubbin, who is coordinator of District 10 of the State Library System. Books Despite the fact that libraries are rapidly becoming audio visual and information centers instead of simply collections of books, the written word has not lost its place of value in today's society. Because of this the librarian takes the development of the collection of books very seriously and strives to obtain books of permanent value as well as popular reading material. At the same time the librarian must provide the community with literature pertaining to the many trends of today's society and up to date reference sources. This is no easy task, but with the alloted city 3 book budget, funds from the State library system and donations from various organizations 728 books were purchased in FY 83. At the end of FY 83, Schertz Library had on the shelves 12,363 volumes, with another 2,000•items of circulating literature such as pamp+ts and periodicals. Despite the fact that the book collection continues to grow, the library can't possibly supply all the needs of the patron, how- ever the library belongs to•an interlibrary loan network through District 10A that enables patrons to borrow from other libraries those materials not owned by Schertz Library. A microfiche reader and the holdings of San Antonio Public Library on microfiche is available for all patrons to assist them in placing interlibrary loan requests. In FY 83 511 transactions took place which was substantial increase over the FY 82 figure of 346. Films, Filmstrips, Cassettes and Other A.V. Material �. Audiovisual equipment continued to be utilized in 1983 by individuals.and institutions. The library currently owns 105 film- strips /cassette sets, approximately 200 phonograph records, 2 16mm projectors, 2 filmstrip viewers, 1 slide projector, 1 cassette play- er /recorder, 1 record player and thanks to a generous patron, the use of 1 microfilm reader. All of this equipment can be checked out for individual use except the filmstrip viewer permanently located in the children's area. The Library continued to be on the District 10 film circuit and every month about 16 films were loaned for 30 days to the library for patron use. These films were utilized for library sponsored 1P 4 programs as well as patron check -out. District 10 also provided throughout the year, a free film check -out service consisting of approximately 1,500 titles. A full length feature film was shown at the library once a month and these films were also provided by District 10. Special Programs The library continued to sponsor special programs whenever possible for children and adults. The Saturday morning story hour entertained 369 children with stories, books, filmstrips and films and area schools and nursery schools took advantage of the library and its facilities for field trips and special activities. The summer reading club, sponsored jointly by Texas State Li4- brary and Schertz Public Library had an enrollment of almost 100 children with 53 completing their self imposed reading requirement. This year's theme was Reading Rodeo and thanks to the generosity of several guest speakers, the children were able to enjoy a horse show, learn about po''lo, see how boots are made and learn how to care for a horse. Special movies for the program included the original Lone Ranger, complete with popcorn. Special showings of the full length feature films at Autumn Winds provided programming for senior citizens in the community and the library was pleased to sponsor a special film for the Schertz Senior Citizens Day in May of 83. Also for senior citizens the library provided income tax counseling by a library volunteer train- ed in that field. 5 Publicity The library continued to use local newspapers as a major source of publicity, with numerous articles appearing in The Herald, The Recorder-Times and one article in the Express News. The librarian taped an,'�episode of Minding Your Business with Chuck Sharpe,- publi'= cizing the annual book sale and gained much insight into the world of public media. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the tape was not aired, but the experience was considered Valuable. Other publicity tools such as book marks, book bags, flyers and the r' use of a badge making machine are provided regularly by District 10. Sources of Income Schertz Library has the following basic sources of incomes 1. The City of Schertz furnishes operating expenses such as books, salary, supplies, audio visual equip- ment, periodicals and travel. In FY 83, the li- brary received $16,325.00 from the city. In addi- tion, the library receives "in kind" income or services from the city such as postage, mainten- ance, copy machine use and supplies. 2. The County of Guadalupe supports the library with revenue sharing and county budget money and in FY 83 $9,500.00 was received. 1 3. Donations - This includes memorial donations and donations from civic organizations such as the Lion's Club, who donated $10,000.00. In FY 83 a total of $17,746.00 was donated to the library. 6 4. Fines and user's fees. This includes money collected for overdue book penalities and fees collected for users who live outside Guadalupe county. 5. The Library Board holds fund raisers and the money is used for library purposes. $19212.00 was raised by the board in FY 83. 6. Interest income. $2,936.83 was earned in FY 83 by library money in interest. Expenditures 1. C ity Books $ 4,849.03 Memberships 15.00 Meetings and travel 264.29 Periodicals 489.63 Supplies 518.97 Salary 10,010.56 2. County New building 9,500.00 3. Donations New building 16,540.00 4. Fines and User's Fees New building 390.80 Books 419.05 Miscellaneous expenses (postage and office supplies) 449.95 5. Library Board New building 1,046.00 7 6. Interest income New building $ 2,936.83 Conclusion Now that the new library building has become a reality,' the librarian can concentrate on services to the public and collection development in order to make Schertz Library grow into its poten- tial. The building itself is a wonderful example of what a com- munity can do through cooperative efforts. Countless donations by the community were involved in the building process including money, r office furniture, rocking chairs,-contract labor, building equipment, landscape plants and trees, chairs, tables, lecterns, clocks and hours and hours of labor. Schertz has every reason to be proud of its new library because the city council, the city manager, the library board, city employees, and citizens of Schertz all coop- erated to create a concrete example of an abstract idea known as community spirit.