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Annual Report
Fiscal Year 2004-2005 Library Hrs.: Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Tues. & Thur. 12 p.m.-7 p.m. (closed 3:30-4). Phone: -5588. Mailing address: P.O. Box 7. Email address: reading.public.library@adelphia.net. Board of Trustees: David Morse, Denise Dupuis, Kevin Forrest, Sarwar Kashmeri, Walter Mendoza. The board meets the 1st Thur. of each month at 6 p.m. Yearly Statistics:
Patron visits: 1464
The library renewed membership to the Vermont Online Library (VOL). This allows patrons free access (the regular cost would be thousands of dollars) to a dozen databases containing information on a variety of topics, including health, business, science, genealogy, and the arts. The databases contain articles from popular and scholarly journals, newspapers, and books. The information is checked for accuracy and is updated frequently, unlike much of what is found through a typical search engine. VOL is a great resource for kids with homework assignments and for adults researching a subject for work or pleasure. Patrons can even use VOL at home. The library sponsored 20 programs in 2004-2005. These included book discussion meetings for adults, a penny rug workshop, preschool story hours, a library visit by the K-1 kids to look at old photographs of Reading, a presentation for all ages on the Civil War, and several events for summer school students. The library also provided a space for tutoring sessions and for a local playgroup that continues to meet weekly in the childrens room. Additionally, there were 26 outreach transactions, including magazine and book deliveries to 17 patrons' homes, a visit to the school by the librarian, and a donation of new books to the Christmas Project. A wireless access point was installed at the library, creating a WiFi Hotspot here in town. Our high-speed cable Internet connection is available to patrons who own a PDA or laptop with a wireless card. Several patrons living in outlying areas are frustrated that broadband service is not yet available in their homes. We hope our latest upgrade is helping a little in the interim. Thanks to all who volunteered their services or donated materials and money: Juliet Tuck-Polaczyk, Cornelia Sanderson, Jane Philpin, Laura Griggs, Stephen Ells, Lea Stewart, Lisa Kaija, Cindy Baumann, Nancy & Jennifer Fielder, John Mitchell, Alan Davis Carleton, Karen Appleton, Colleen OConnell, Jill Mauldin, the Preservation Trust of Vermont, and the Freeman Foundation. A plan, approved this year, will result in an accessibility lift and a bathroom. Thanks to the selectmen, Charlie Howgate, Barb Acuna, and the historical society for their support in this effort. The renovations will help us better serve the townspeople by offering more and improved programming for patrons in all age groups. We will also extend the reach of the library to patrons whose disabilities prevent use of the building in its current state. Library staff believe it is imperative that we play a role in fostering community involvement. To that end, we remain committed to the notion of the library as a vital town space.
Cordially,
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