Former State Librarian Jo Budler's visited the following libraries in September 2007: Minerva Public Library,  North Canton Public Library, Massillon Public Library, Claymont Public Library, Gnadenhutten Public Library, Coshocton Public Library, Wayne County Public Library

September 5, 2007
Minerva Public Library

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The welcoming atmosphere of this library is immediately apparent when one enters the building. Director Bill Martino met Ashlee Clark and me at the front door and began our tour with the Children's area. As we entered the area we saw a visual recording of the books read during the Summer Reading Program -- 5,065 -- well over the goal set by Children's librarian, Mrs. Rose. Very impressive, indeed!

New fiction is displayed in a fireplace room named after British poet and critic Ralph Hodgson who was a resident of Minerva in his retirement years. Board member Roger Bartley gave us a brief history of Hodgson's life and accomplishments. He cited a quote of Hodgson's work: "Some things have to be believed to be seen."How true. A portrait of Hodgon reading a book is displayed in the library.

Roger and Bill also showed us where additions have been made to the original building, expanding it to four times the original size.

 The waterfall and garden area make a beautiful "get away" space -- both outside and inside the library as it can be seen through a large set of windows from a very comfortable reading area.

I have seen a variety of ways libraries have used bricks as fundraisers. At the Minerva Public Library, the bricks make up the path around the garden and waterfall. The entire community is represented here, including Director Martino (commemorating his marriage) and his staff.

This library was busy when we visited but we know that it will be even busier when the two elementary schools are combined into a new building to be built immediately next door to the library. It was wonderful to hear how excited the staff was at the prospect of serving more children with library programming.

Thank you, Bill, for taking time out of a busy schedule to show us your library and a piece of history with lunch at the Spread Eagle Inn.

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North Canton Public Library

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At our next stop, Director Karen Sonderman began our tour with the art gallery. This library is unique in that it has its own art gallery and curator who works 25 hours a week, specifically in the gallery. The gallery features local artists and has a formal opening with the artists in attendance. The library also has a permanent art collection on display throughout the building, and tries to purchase 3-9 pieces of work a year.

In addition, the library has an art classroom, which holds classes taught by local artists for all age groups. In the fall they will feature an interior design class. For more details about The Little Art Gallery, go to www.ncantonlibrary.org/Lag

When we entered the Children's area I felt like we were on a safari -- with all the animals painted around the room! It is always wonderful to see young children in action at their library. Here we found two youngsters playing dress-up and play-acting, utilizing the hand-puppet curtained stage. They were oblivious to the adults -- being much too busy enjoying themselves to bother with us.

I was fortunate to see firsthand how the North Canton RFID system works. This has clearly reduced the labor intensity of checking in and checking out items. Since this library's circulation, like so many other libraries in Ohio, is going up dramatically, I am sure that the staff appreciates this. I believe that North Canton is the only library in Ohio to have completely converted to RFID. If you are interested in learning more about this, I am sure that Karen would be happy to talk with you about it.

Of special significance is the work of the library in digitizing the North Canton Sun newspaper from 1940 – 1949. The paper is now defunct but the library has the paper from 1926 – 2001. The newspapers are digitized and microfilmed, then the originals are put in acid free storage. The library is also considering digitizing other collections, like the Hoover Company’s newsletter.

I want to give a special thank you to Karen and her staff for a lovely reception with punch and cookies. It was a great way to meet with staff and board members.

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September 6
Massillon Public Library

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The Massillon Public Library is very impressive, sitting as it does on an incline well above street level. Upon entering the building, one’s eyes immediately are drawn upward because the entry room is so large. The staff and Director Camille Leslie were quick to point out that the library hopes to remove the dropped ceiling so that the glassed cupola (above it) will be exposed. This will make for an even more impressive entry for library users.

  This library building began as the home and property of Mrs. Frank Baldwin. She bequeathed this to the library in 1930 on the condition that it be converted to this use within a year of her death. Wings were added onto the house and now make up the library.This was done in such a way that it looks planned from the outside and flows very nicely.

This library does a great job of outreach. In 2000 a bookmobile was purchased utilizing grants. The bookmobile visits daycare and senior centers regularly. The library also offers homebound delivery service to 70 individuals and staff and volunteers take bins of books to nursing homes twice a month.

Some other highlights include:

• Massillon Public Library is joining with other Stark County libraries in a One Book, One Community reading program of Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper.

• Massillon has chosen to partner with Stark County District Library and Louisville Public Library to form the Stark County Information Consortium.

• Massillon has a digital microfilm machine that can scan and send microfilm through email.

• Director Leslie hopes to digitize the library’s local high school yearbook collection.

• A local canal expert donated annotated maps to library and these can be seen hanging on the walls.

The library also partners with the public schools to award students with PRISM awards --Performance Recognition In Schools of Massillon. Awards are given annually, usually to a student in each of the schools.Anyone can nominate students. Mary Ellen Hawthorne, Public Relations Coordinator, gave us some examples of past awards:

A child who visited nursing home and played his violin for the residents;

A child who was the only English speaking person in family;

A child who arrives at school early to help unload handicapped children, organizes their books for their day, then puts them back on the bus at the end of the day.  No one asked him to do this. He just saw the need and started doing it.

Director Leslie pointed out that sometimes this is the only award a child gets. What a wonderful, positive way to make a difference in a child’s life.

We also met Barb Wittman, an archivist and scholar who is working with the Rotch-Wales Papers. The library has letters of Thomas and Charity Rotch, which present a social and economic history of NE Ohio.  Some are also featured in the Ohio Memory Project.

Thanks, Camille, for a terrific visit and for all that you and your staff do to serve your community. It is great to hear about all the partnerships in place across Ohio.

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Claymont Public Library

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Our second stop of the day was the Claymont Public Library which is located in downtown Uhrichsville.What a treat it was to be greeted at the front door by a personalized welcome sign and a smiling Library Director, Lorrie Wheeler.Director Wheeler took us on a tour of the building. The computers were being used at full capacity and there was a steady stream of users coming in to browse the collection. We noticed that many Playaways titles were on display and Director Wheeler told us that these are circulating well.

It is always nice to visit SEO member libraries and especially to hear firsthand how much directors of these libraries and their customers value their membership and the services provided by SEO. The Claymont Public Library is already at 33% over last year’s circulation numbers.

This library clearly serves all members of this community. There are 2 handicapped accessible workstations which were purchased with a 2005 LSTA grant award.

Approximately 10,000 people pass through the main library and the branch at Dennison.

It was great to hear how partnerships have been established and are maintained by Library Director Wheeler. One example is how she “appears” on a weekly radio show which is run by her Board President. This gives lots of visibility to the library and the services that it provides the community.

We also visited the Dennison branch of the Claymont Public Library. This branch is located near the train depo, www.dennisondepot.org/ -- a wonderful tourist stop should you ever be in the area and while you are there you will want to drop in at the library. This branch is 3,000 square feet, with a very open floor plan. It was wonderful to hear how happy the staff was with their facility. Again it was full of people not only using the computers but also browsing the shelves. And I loved the Welcome Jo, our State Librarian sign that greeted me at this branch. You sure do know how to make someone feel welcome!

It is clear that this library’s director and staff are doing what they espouse on their homepage, www.claymontlibrary.org/reference/libraryhistory.htm:
“The staff and trustees of the public library strive to provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources, to provide equitable access, and to provide accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all.”

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Gnadenhutten Public Library

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Coshocton Public Library

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Again this building did not start out its life as a library but rather was a post office. It lends itself quite nicely to being a library with its tall open spaces. Ann told us during our tour that the mezzanine was actually a catwalk at one time where the postal inspectors went to peek down on the postal workers to check their work.

It was a pleasure to meet RoseMary Honnold, teen and YA librarian. RoseMary has written books and travels the country to give presentations on library services to young adults. She has started an Animanga club (combines anime and manga) on myspace page www.myspace.com/cplmangaclub. This has proven to be quite popular with the age groups that she is trying to reach.

This library has an extensive outreach program. Not only does the library provide home delivery but staff also meets quarterly with local nursing home programming staff. I was pleased to hear that library staff also has a book discussion group at assisted living facility with a core group of seniors in attendance.

The Coshocton Public Library bookmobile visits all schools and registers every single school age child in either Kindergarten or first grade for a library card. The library also tries to get teachers to come on the bookmobile with students because bookmobile staff has found that the students are more likely to check out materials if the teacher is with them.

Ann is excited about WebJunction Ohio. This will allow her staff to take advantage of continuing education without having to travel. (The State Library hopes to have a timeline to share with the library community soon on this project.)

Other highlights:

• The library is in process of redesigning web site and incorporating new scheduling software.

• The library will soon be implementing a strategic plan that they created with the help of State Library consultant Jan Haines.

• Ann is also working within the community to spur an economic revival through arts and culture. The community has been loosing factory jobs since 1994.

• This library is a member of the SEO Consortium. Ann is very pleased with this arrangement.

I am always happy to hear that and to hear a library director say, as Ann did, “I have the greatest job in the world.” What a great way to end a set of library visits. Thanks, Ann, for taking the time to give us a tour and to share your thoughts with me. I appreciate it very much.

September 24, 2007
Wayne County Public Library

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• The lighting and artwork in the Children’s department that puts one in mind of a carousel; (to see picture click on the thumbnail image above)
• The workroom for the Children’s librarians is sure to be the envy of all who view it (it has incredible storage and work space!);
• Geneologists are sure to love the impressive new scanner in the genealogy room.  It is the only one of its kind in the U.S. and allows for the scanning of items as they lay open and removes the need to “guillotine” the spines off any books one wishes to scan.

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