1 00:00:00,834 --> 00:00:08,924 - I'd like to call to order the Monroe County Public Library Board of Trustees meeting for September 16th, 2 00:00:08,924 --> 00:00:16,629 - 2026. Do we have any public comment at this time? Nobody online? Okay, great. Can I get a motion to 3 00:00:16,629 --> 00:00:24,488 - approve the consent agenda from the minutes from August 19th, monthly financial report, monthly bills 4 00:00:24,488 --> 00:00:29,342 - for payment, personnel report, and the board meeting calendar? 5 00:00:30,530 --> 00:00:37,276 - All in favor say aye aye those opposed say nay eyes have it and next we're gonna hear from Greer for 6 00:00:37,276 --> 00:00:43,955 - the directors monthly report You're probably sick of me saying this by now, but overall circulation 7 00:00:43,955 --> 00:00:50,634 - continues to be incredibly strong in 2026 We have now seen 12 consecutive months of six-year record 8 00:00:50,634 --> 00:00:54,174 - circ stats for overall sir. It's really fantastic. I 9 00:00:55,074 --> 00:01:00,945 - We have launched the indie author project through our biblio board subscription This is a service that 10 00:01:00,945 --> 00:01:06,929 - allows local authors to submit their own ebooks for inclusion in our local author collection page online 11 00:01:06,929 --> 00:01:12,629 - Lisa Champelli our collection development manager will be here in November I believe we rescheduled 12 00:01:12,629 --> 00:01:18,442 - her annual department update and she'll have more details to share on this new service But it's great 13 00:01:18,442 --> 00:01:24,370 - to see so far and we've been kind of looking at the indie author project through biblio board for about 14 00:01:24,370 --> 00:01:25,054 - seven years 15 00:01:25,218 --> 00:01:31,653 - So we finally got it in place, and we've talked to a lot of other libraries that have done this, so 16 00:01:31,653 --> 00:01:38,152 - it's kind of exciting to see. Preliminary summer reading numbers. I'll just share the stats, because 17 00:01:38,152 --> 00:01:44,843 - I don't wanna steal the thunder from Angelica or Kathy, who are gonna give some cool department updates 18 00:01:44,843 --> 00:01:51,407 - today. But here are the preliminary participation numbers. Children's Services had 3,267 participants 19 00:01:51,407 --> 00:01:54,238 - for summer reading this year. Teen had 726. 20 00:01:54,370 --> 00:02:01,567 - which is an all-time high for teen summer reading. Adult services had 3,329, which is phenomenal. 473 21 00:02:01,567 --> 00:02:08,623 - of those, by the way, were digital participants, so that's worth noting. And this is the first time 22 00:02:08,623 --> 00:02:16,103 - we did outreach house calls with summer reading. So for our house call patrons through outreach services, 23 00:02:16,103 --> 00:02:23,582 - we had 111 participants. That's pretty great. So overall, very strong numbers for summer reading in 2026. 24 00:02:24,802 --> 00:02:30,885 - Here at Southwest, the start of the new school year saw BMS students returning to our teen space faster 25 00:02:30,885 --> 00:02:36,852 - than ever, which is another indication that this branch is indeed a successful and safe space for our 26 00:02:36,852 --> 00:02:42,877 - teens. CATS officially assumed oversight of our downtown level up digital creativity space. CATS staff 27 00:02:42,877 --> 00:02:48,726 - have been training for this role for a few months while shadowing adult services staff during their 28 00:02:48,726 --> 00:02:49,662 - regular shifts. 29 00:02:49,762 --> 00:02:55,845 - We are happy to bring CATS back into an active role in providing this type of frontline digital creativity 30 00:02:55,845 --> 00:03:01,643 - tools and support for the community. And we are grateful to our adult services team for managing that 31 00:03:01,643 --> 00:03:05,054 - space and its resources so well these past five plus years. 32 00:03:05,890 --> 00:03:11,105 - As you all know, our annual public hearing on next year's budget takes place at County Council this 33 00:03:11,105 --> 00:03:16,321 - evening. Right now, in fact. So Gary is attending that meeting and we look forward to the next step 34 00:03:16,321 --> 00:03:20,702 - in seeking approval for the twenty twenty seven budget following tonight's hearing. 35 00:03:22,466 --> 00:03:28,057 - Staff day was held yesterday at our downtown library. All MCPL staff attend this annual event. Some 36 00:03:28,057 --> 00:03:33,815 - of you are in attendance as well, so thank you for that. It was a very successful day. We'll have more 37 00:03:33,815 --> 00:03:39,406 - details to share at the October meeting after we've tallied session and attendance numbers and have 38 00:03:39,406 --> 00:03:45,052 - also completed our annual staff day follow-up survey. We do that every year almost right after staff 39 00:03:45,052 --> 00:03:50,867 - day to gauge how well it went and what people wanna see us do differently or better the following year, 40 00:03:50,867 --> 00:03:52,432 - and that staff survey gives 41 00:03:52,432 --> 00:03:58,063 - really critical feedback to help us figure out are we going to do more or less of certain things? Should 42 00:03:58,063 --> 00:04:03,533 - we try something totally different? Is the time of year still right? Because we shifted from February 43 00:04:03,533 --> 00:04:08,895 - to September a few years back. So that staff feedback survey is going to go out very soon. And once 44 00:04:08,895 --> 00:04:14,419 - we get all of that tallied, then we'll tell you more about staff day. And finally, I want to highlight 45 00:04:14,419 --> 00:04:19,889 - a unique anecdote in the director's report. I usually pick one every month. This one really stood out 46 00:04:19,889 --> 00:04:22,302 - to me. It's from outreach services in a way. 47 00:04:22,818 --> 00:04:29,408 - So a staff member was at a local gas station and happened to be wearing an MCPL t-shirt, the much coveted 48 00:04:29,408 --> 00:04:35,812 - MCPL shirts, right? And the cashier there shared that they were never much of a reader until they were 49 00:04:35,812 --> 00:04:42,091 - incarcerated in the Monroe County Correctional Center and discovered our jail library collection and 50 00:04:42,091 --> 00:04:49,054 - its services. And that turned them into a reader. And since they were released, they're still an active reader. 51 00:04:49,218 --> 00:04:55,918 - So the staff member shared that with our outreach services manager, Chris Jackson, who decided to submit 52 00:04:55,918 --> 00:05:02,362 - it to the director's report. And that wouldn't really suck out because I think it's kind of a unique 53 00:05:02,362 --> 00:05:09,062 - example of the feedback we hear from the community on the impact that our collections and services have. 54 00:05:09,062 --> 00:05:11,806 - It's an under, not underutilized, but it's 55 00:05:11,970 --> 00:05:19,561 - an under-celebrated collection in service, the jail library that we have. It was great to see an interaction 56 00:05:19,561 --> 00:05:27,081 - with a member of the community that came back to us with a notion that this is a really valuable collection 57 00:05:27,081 --> 00:05:34,602 - that we have. That personal impact was great to see. I'm happy to answer any questions about the director's 58 00:05:34,602 --> 00:05:41,566 - report. I just want to say that staff day was really ... I could only attend the early session, but 59 00:05:42,178 --> 00:05:49,124 - I was so impressed. Everybody was just milling around. They were talking to each other. I was talking 60 00:05:49,124 --> 00:05:56,070 - to several people. And it was just really so great how everybody just interacted with each other. And 61 00:05:56,070 --> 00:06:03,356 - they were so happy. It was wonderful. So kudos. Well, kudos are for the person sitting behind me. Lorraine 62 00:06:03,356 --> 00:06:07,646 - Martin is our mastermind, but she leads a staff day committee. 63 00:06:07,842 --> 00:06:15,466 - With a small group of staff every year who really do the heavy lifting and they do everything from planning 64 00:06:15,466 --> 00:06:22,666 - the agenda to reaching out and Identifying and booking a keynote speaker to figure out what the foods 65 00:06:22,666 --> 00:06:29,726 - gonna look like the pacing of the day Everything comes from that committee. So they're the ones who 66 00:06:29,726 --> 00:06:36,926 - do the real work, but Lorraine Martin deserves a real acknowledgement Any other questions or comments 67 00:06:40,610 --> 00:06:47,010 - I liked your story. I just want to also comment that it just goes to show the library is for everyone 68 00:06:47,010 --> 00:06:53,660 - at any age. People who were not library users as children, there's still so much here to be found. That's 69 00:06:53,660 --> 00:06:59,934 - exactly right. I really like that. Next up, we're going to hear from Greer about the elevator bits. 70 00:07:00,258 --> 00:07:06,187 - Yes, so quick update on the elevator project and the bids the bids for updating our downtown elevators 71 00:07:06,187 --> 00:07:12,058 - were opened on Tuesday September 8th in a public meeting at the downtown library at 1 p.m We received 72 00:07:12,058 --> 00:07:17,814 - three bids which we opened and read aloud during the meeting all three bids came in around the same 73 00:07:17,814 --> 00:07:23,685 - price point We're looking at between four hundred and five hundred thousand dollars, which is more or 74 00:07:23,685 --> 00:07:25,182 - less what we expected and 75 00:07:25,474 --> 00:07:31,508 - Our elevator consultant is currently reviewing these bids and will advise us on the next steps. And 76 00:07:31,508 --> 00:07:37,783 - so we will share the decision on the preferred vendor and what those next steps look like in the coming 77 00:07:37,783 --> 00:07:43,998 - weeks. And then once we have done that, we can then schedule the work to occur at a time that is least 78 00:07:43,998 --> 00:07:46,110 - inconvenient to patrons and staff. 79 00:07:46,274 --> 00:07:52,076 - As a reminder, these are three elevators downtown the two main public elevators. Everyone thinks of 80 00:07:52,076 --> 00:07:58,226 - in the center of the atrium that go from the first floor up to the third and then another elevator around 81 00:07:58,226 --> 00:08:04,087 - a back corner, which is a staff elevator. It goes down to the first floor in the teen space and goes 82 00:08:04,087 --> 00:08:07,742 - up second and third floor and then up to a little known space. 83 00:08:07,906 --> 00:08:15,250 - At the downtown library called the penthouse which has all of our surplus shelving and other stored 84 00:08:15,250 --> 00:08:22,889 - items So very important elevator all three of those need more or less a gut update and that's what this 85 00:08:22,889 --> 00:08:30,968 - project is going to be I'm not sure we always prefer to be done all at once rather than to phase a renovation 86 00:08:30,968 --> 00:08:36,990 - or construction project because phasing takes more time and then we have to shift 87 00:08:37,250 --> 00:08:42,142 - around where people can go and not go. But a lot of that depends on the vendor. 88 00:08:48,002 --> 00:08:54,024 - can you remind me where the funding for this if this was an anticipated expense that I Recall you have 89 00:08:54,024 --> 00:09:00,046 - been expecting for a while where the funding will come from. Yes So so this was going to be a building 90 00:09:00,046 --> 00:09:06,302 - improvement project that we often use capital outlay funds for if you look at the beginning of the finance 91 00:09:06,302 --> 00:09:12,324 - report, you'll see that we're in a very very good position heading into the back half of the year with 92 00:09:12,324 --> 00:09:14,078 - respect to likely surplus and 93 00:09:14,242 --> 00:09:19,951 - And particularly our local income tax revenue checks are strong enough And I want to say it's twenty 94 00:09:19,951 --> 00:09:25,717 - two thousand a month For the rest of the year that that combined with our existing surplus will allow 95 00:09:25,717 --> 00:09:31,709 - us to use operating funds To fund that particular project. So it's a little early to say for sure. That's 96 00:09:31,709 --> 00:09:37,022 - how we're gonna do it But that's what we would prefer is to use our own operating funds. Yeah 97 00:09:42,434 --> 00:09:49,273 - Can I get a motion to hear about our surplus items? Okay, we have five items to surplus this month We 98 00:09:49,273 --> 00:09:55,977 - have two black metal cabinets that were previous previously used in vital if you remember vinyl had 99 00:09:55,977 --> 00:10:02,816 - a soft renovation over the summer And we have two black metal cabinets. We just don't need anymore we 100 00:10:02,816 --> 00:10:09,118 - also have two large ping-pong tables that were previously used in the downtown teen space and 101 00:10:09,218 --> 00:10:14,637 - They're hidden in a back hallway that leads to an emergency exit. It's actually not a safe place to 102 00:10:14,637 --> 00:10:20,164 - put them. We don't do the ping pong programming we did once upon a time, and we've got two large ping 103 00:10:20,164 --> 00:10:25,800 - pong tables. So I can't recall who the local entities we've reached out to to see if they're interested 104 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:31,273 - in taking these, but as you all know, we typically do that with large surplus items rather than say, 105 00:10:31,273 --> 00:10:33,278 - well, we're just going to junk them. 106 00:10:33,634 --> 00:10:39,210 - But we don't have a guarantee yet as to who wants all of those items But we do need to surplus them 107 00:10:39,210 --> 00:10:45,010 - and then finally we have a set of particle board lockers that were originally Installed in the downtown 108 00:10:45,010 --> 00:10:50,642 - teen space. We're gonna probably replace those with more traditional metal metal lockers They didn't 109 00:10:50,642 --> 00:10:56,498 - really work for us in terms of their size and ability to hold students backpacks when they come in after 110 00:10:56,498 --> 00:10:59,230 - school and they're also in that same hallway and 111 00:10:59,362 --> 00:11:05,432 - Presenting a little bit of a safety hazard. So we're looking to surplus those five items And as we do 112 00:11:05,432 --> 00:11:11,501 - I will read the resolution aloud and then pass it around and we'll have to pass it that way and bring 113 00:11:11,501 --> 00:11:17,868 - it back so whereas the equipment listed below is no longer needed by the library and whereas the estimated 114 00:11:17,868 --> 00:11:23,878 - value of the items listed below is less than a thousand dollars and the library has the authority to 115 00:11:23,878 --> 00:11:28,222 - sell transfer demolish or junk the items under Indiana code 5 22 22 6 or 116 00:11:28,386 --> 00:11:35,838 - public or private sale or transfer without advertising or Indiana code 5-22-22-8 worthless property. 117 00:11:35,838 --> 00:11:43,290 - Now therefore be it resolved that the Board of Trustees of Monroe County Public Library declares the 118 00:11:43,290 --> 00:11:51,037 - following item surplus and authorizes disposition of the items. All in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed 119 00:11:51,037 --> 00:11:52,734 - say nay. Ayes have it. 120 00:11:57,186 --> 00:12:00,766 - Next up, we're going to hear from Angelica in Children's Services. 121 00:13:05,858 --> 00:13:12,786 - Hello, everybody. My name's Angelica Candraria, and I am the children's services manager at the downtown 122 00:13:12,786 --> 00:13:19,450 - branch. So what everybody's here is to hear about summer reading. That's our biggest event all year. 123 00:13:19,450 --> 00:13:26,246 - And just as a reminder, we did split up four years ago. We used to just have one children's board, and 124 00:13:26,246 --> 00:13:33,240 - then we started to cultivate a tween area inside of our children's downtown area. So we thought splitting 125 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:34,494 - them up would give 126 00:13:34,658 --> 00:13:41,162 - autonomy to those tweens who don't feel like a teen but are not children. And so for the children, zero 127 00:13:41,162 --> 00:13:47,667 - to six, we do it based more on just creating that habit of reading. So it's a number of books. And then 128 00:13:47,667 --> 00:13:54,296 - tweens, it's based on minutes. Just because when you're getting into school, that's when you start seeing 129 00:13:54,296 --> 00:13:56,798 - more of a progression of how kids read. 130 00:13:56,962 --> 00:14:05,086 - Someone can read it in three hours, a 300-page book, but someone else might take a couple of days. So 131 00:14:05,086 --> 00:14:13,050 - we didn't want to make any of those tweens feel bad for not being able to accomplish things just as 132 00:14:13,050 --> 00:14:21,094 - fast as their peers. And this year, it was unearth a story. So you can only imagine all the facts we 133 00:14:21,094 --> 00:14:26,590 - learned about dinosaurs. Oh, and beef, actually. Forgot some things. 134 00:14:27,138 --> 00:14:35,341 - Some popular activities, which are jokes, art, and storytelling. And so jokes are one of the things 135 00:14:35,341 --> 00:14:43,545 - we look for every year. And so I have some here. Why didn't the toilet paper cross the road? It got 136 00:14:43,545 --> 00:14:51,994 - stuck in a crack. Why don't fish play basketball? They're afraid of the net. And last one, why did the 137 00:14:51,994 --> 00:14:56,670 - banana go to the doctor? Because he wasn't peeling well. 138 00:14:58,626 --> 00:15:04,606 - So we love hearing those kind of anecdotes. The children love doing it. Some we have to pretend because 139 00:15:04,606 --> 00:15:10,644 - they don't quite make sense. You know, they did make them up. But we do like having that kind of concept 140 00:15:10,644 --> 00:15:16,222 - of them going over that barrier of talking to us and seeing us as people and not as authorities. 141 00:15:25,218 --> 00:15:33,504 - This year we asked them to write a letter to a dinosaur. And so I have one here and it says, Dear Rex, 142 00:15:33,504 --> 00:15:41,790 - I hope you're having a good day in Jurassic Park. Have you found new humans or friends? See you later. 143 00:15:41,790 --> 00:15:49,996 - From Luke. And I have several other long ones here that the tweens and children decided to give us so 144 00:15:49,996 --> 00:15:53,214 - I could bring them here for you to see. 145 00:15:55,906 --> 00:16:01,601 - And so we just like them to be creative, and we love seeing it so everyone can see. And we like to see 146 00:16:01,601 --> 00:16:07,241 - what they like to do. They love giving us things and hearing that praise from us, especially from all 147 00:16:07,241 --> 00:16:12,771 - of our staff. So we like to do the jokes, art, and storytelling, and we do keep them up in the back 148 00:16:12,771 --> 00:16:18,522 - because staff do really like looking at them. Can you make sure they know how to say the words? Because 149 00:16:18,522 --> 00:16:21,950 - when they always like to tell me, no, you're not saying that. 150 00:16:22,786 --> 00:16:29,202 - Oh, believe me, we had a weekly challenge where they had to determine if a dinosaur bones was extinct 151 00:16:29,202 --> 00:16:35,680 - or extant, which I didn't know extant meaning it was still alive, so I learned something too. And then 152 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:42,473 - another one had to tell us which dinosaur it was from different pictures and how many times I got corrected 153 00:16:42,473 --> 00:16:44,926 - by a child was I could not keep count. 154 00:16:48,898 --> 00:16:56,789 - All right, and this year we did have an all-time high of 3,200 sign-ups for all of the branches system-wide. 155 00:16:56,789 --> 00:17:04,028 - And then here is the breakdown. We are pretty close to what we were last year for completion. We're 156 00:17:04,028 --> 00:17:11,774 - just slightly under, but that is due to that we had more sign-ups and more completions overall. We did see 157 00:17:12,834 --> 00:17:18,447 - an increase for tween. As you can see here when we did start doing it, it was a slow climb, but this 158 00:17:18,447 --> 00:17:24,005 - year I think they really did like the dinosaur theme and they got used to having their own board so 159 00:17:24,005 --> 00:17:29,563 - more kids came, especially in that tween area. So we are seeing a progression of an increase, which 160 00:17:29,563 --> 00:17:35,454 - is really good. After the pandemic, a lot of libraries are really struggling to get back to their numbers 161 00:17:35,454 --> 00:17:38,622 - and we will reach that probably in the next year or two. 162 00:17:42,466 --> 00:17:49,463 - And this is our overall stats. I know you're all gonna ask again why we have 99 programs. Last year 163 00:17:49,463 --> 00:17:56,810 - was 85. I tell my staff every year, don't try and beat last year's number. We want you to survive summer 164 00:17:56,810 --> 00:18:03,807 - reading, but they just love our community and wanna give them the best experience. And so we had 99 165 00:18:03,807 --> 00:18:07,166 - this year, and that is with one member missing. 166 00:18:07,522 --> 00:18:14,820 - So we do have a new staff member, Kristen, so it might increase next year. And then we had about 3,100 167 00:18:14,820 --> 00:18:21,905 - participants throughout the summer. I'm really proud of that we did increase the partnerships. Last 168 00:18:21,905 --> 00:18:29,486 - year it was eight, and this year it was 11. So we were partnering with more organizations like the Natural 169 00:18:29,486 --> 00:18:36,926 - History Museum and trying to find those partners that can enhance our summer reading theme for our kids. 170 00:18:40,450 --> 00:18:48,305 - And the next is our second annual Battle of the Books. And the kids really love this program. And so 171 00:18:48,305 --> 00:18:56,237 - last year, a fourth grader, I believe, came to the desk and asked if we could do Battle of the Books, 172 00:18:56,237 --> 00:19:04,480 - because I believe it was at Rogers. They only do it for fourth grade. And she had so much fun, she wanted 173 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,902 - to keep on doing it. And so we told her to, 174 00:19:08,482 --> 00:19:16,156 - give us a comment card and she didn't believe us that we read these comment cards. So this is her comment 175 00:19:16,156 --> 00:19:24,048 - card that I'll pass around. So Paul and Drew did it this year and we had about 17 teams and 85 participants. 176 00:19:24,048 --> 00:19:31,360 - They outdid themselves with partnering with an abundance of organizations as you can see. One of the 177 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:36,862 - ones I do want to point out is that we did get a free haircut for everyone. 178 00:19:37,026 --> 00:19:44,687 - who participated. So that's a really good thing for when they go into school. They can get a fresh cut, 179 00:19:44,687 --> 00:19:52,568 - look really clean, and it's provided by the library. We also had Morgan Stearns, Batonese did our t-shirts 180 00:19:52,568 --> 00:19:59,935 - for us, and Wonder Lab also gave free admission to all the kids. And this is some of the stuff that 181 00:19:59,935 --> 00:20:07,006 - we had during the summer. We did an interactive story walk, and so that was done by Joe Barber. 182 00:20:07,138 --> 00:20:15,388 - who used to be here at Southwest. She thought that she would like to do one indoors, because it's so 183 00:20:15,388 --> 00:20:23,883 - hot, and some people cannot go to the parks that they're located at. So she did interactive story walk, 184 00:20:23,883 --> 00:20:28,702 - and I have. And it was the Octopus Escapes by Mahi Malloy. 185 00:20:28,834 --> 00:20:34,951 - And so she created just a really good immersive experience for the kids. She paper mache'd huge hands 186 00:20:34,951 --> 00:20:41,368 - and also a huge octopus that I was going to bring, but we cannot locate it. I think it is hiding somewhere 187 00:20:41,368 --> 00:20:47,785 - in her back stalk room. So it was really nice to give an alternative if they were just too hot or couldn't 188 00:20:47,785 --> 00:20:53,182 - make it to any of the vocations, they could come to a branch that was accessible to them. 189 00:20:53,730 --> 00:21:00,407 - And then the dinarific partnership, as you can see, a child is very happy about seeing a inflatable 190 00:21:00,407 --> 00:21:07,151 - dinosaur. We partnered with our circulation staff, who willingly got into those costumes and paraded 191 00:21:07,151 --> 00:21:13,829 - around during story times and just randomly, and the kids loved it. I will say we did kind of scare 192 00:21:13,829 --> 00:21:20,974 - about two kids, but the odds are still in our favor. The Fancy Princess Dress Up Tea Party, we did partner 193 00:21:20,974 --> 00:21:22,910 - with Royal Encounters at IU. 194 00:21:23,522 --> 00:21:31,130 - And it was just a tea party for everyone. So we had princesses of all sorts come and talk to the kids, 195 00:21:31,130 --> 00:21:38,739 - read to them, and also drink tea with them. And then Marmot Madness, we partnered, which is down here, 196 00:21:38,739 --> 00:21:46,568 - with Peep Squeakery. And it was groundhogs Delilah and Edna. And so the kids loved being able to interact 197 00:21:46,568 --> 00:21:53,438 - with the groundhog, touch them, and also just talk to their handlers on what a groundhog is. 198 00:21:53,634 --> 00:22:02,217 - We have Tween Reads, and this is one of the participants of Tween Reads, and for the third year in a 199 00:22:02,217 --> 00:22:10,799 - row, a Tween Reads book club patron did her 4-H reading project on one of the book clubs and earning 200 00:22:10,799 --> 00:22:19,297 - a championship ribbon. And then the last one is Read to a Dog, which I personally love because they 201 00:22:19,297 --> 00:22:22,526 - come on Sundays. We usually get about 202 00:22:22,914 --> 00:22:30,354 - 30 to 50 people coming in for this. And they just love it. And so I have some of their baseball cards 203 00:22:30,354 --> 00:22:37,648 - here. So you're more than welcome to take one. Usually two to three. And so they do about 15 minute 204 00:22:37,648 --> 00:22:45,016 - sessions. I love Dickens. He looks like he just came back from the war in the winter. And we're just 205 00:22:45,016 --> 00:22:51,070 - redoing everybody's pictures. And they'll be all reading with books in their laps. 206 00:22:55,938 --> 00:23:02,428 - We did some sprucing up since we are kind of far down the line of any revamping or anything, but we 207 00:23:02,428 --> 00:23:09,177 - do still want to keep the spaces fresh and full and reaching the needs of our patrons. So Kathleen Reed 208 00:23:09,177 --> 00:23:16,315 - and Wyatt Reed did laps because we had a baby space inside and that was predated before we had an independent 209 00:23:16,315 --> 00:23:23,454 - baby space. And so we had constantly toddlers going in there and staff had to go in and do a negative kind of 210 00:23:23,586 --> 00:23:29,608 - interaction by telling them to leave. They didn't understand why they couldn't be in there. So we decided 211 00:23:29,608 --> 00:23:35,459 - to take it out. And so what we did is we flipped that baby space, made it into a reading corner, which 212 00:23:35,459 --> 00:23:41,311 - is this middle picture, and then gave them a bigger interactive space to pretend in this kitchen slash 213 00:23:41,311 --> 00:23:46,878 - shop area. And so we've had some really good feedback that they really do like this sitting area. 214 00:23:47,074 --> 00:23:52,809 - and just the overall space. And she is still trying to kind of develop more interactions where they 215 00:23:52,809 --> 00:23:58,601 - can be physical in the space because kids love running, throwing. So she wants them to give a better 216 00:23:58,601 --> 00:24:04,336 - kind of feeling for the library where they can do that in a safe way. She's also incorporated light 217 00:24:04,336 --> 00:24:10,185 - fixtures. So those are just little banners that go over the light. And the parents and kids have also 218 00:24:10,185 --> 00:24:12,766 - told us they love those because they kind of 219 00:24:12,930 --> 00:24:20,600 - makes the light a little bit softer, especially if you have those sensory issues. And then we did get 220 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:28,269 - Joe Barber earlier this year. She came here to downtown from Southwest, and she's really just hit the 221 00:24:28,269 --> 00:24:33,758 - ground running. She's really revamped what our pre-K areas, which needed 222 00:24:34,050 --> 00:24:40,294 - a much loving hand to them, since they hadn't been touched in quite a while. So what she did is she 223 00:24:40,294 --> 00:24:46,912 - added a dress-up area, which is right outside our programming room. So they can be doctors, construction. 224 00:24:46,912 --> 00:24:53,280 - Right now, they're postmen, and they're just delivering an oodle amount of letters to us, filled with 225 00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:59,773 - stamps. And also, she did develop Explore Your Senses, which the kids are loving, because they can just 226 00:24:59,773 --> 00:25:03,582 - touch things, and they're allowed to push things on and off. 227 00:25:03,778 --> 00:25:10,861 - What I really like is the white in kind of the middle is, those are light fixtures, so they can turn 228 00:25:10,861 --> 00:25:18,014 - them on and off, and it does turn on and off. So kids love, you've had kids turning things on and off 229 00:25:18,014 --> 00:25:25,026 - as well, so they've really gravitated to that area. And then our last space is the tween space. And 230 00:25:25,026 --> 00:25:29,374 - Drew joined us, I believe in November, December of last year, 231 00:25:29,538 --> 00:25:35,708 - And she's really taken this under her wing and trying to make it a space that tweens can really call 232 00:25:35,708 --> 00:25:41,939 - their own. And so what she's done is she's added a lot more cushion spaces. This month she added some 233 00:25:41,939 --> 00:25:48,170 - weighted yoga balls, because kids like to bounce. They like to move. And so they weren't liking those 234 00:25:48,170 --> 00:25:54,279 - chairs very much because they were too stiff for them. She's very intentional in what she puts into 235 00:25:54,279 --> 00:25:58,494 - that cabinet next to the TV. And she's always updating that monthly. 236 00:25:58,818 --> 00:26:05,616 - She's also doing a junior librarian program and she's asking kids, what do you want in that space? What 237 00:26:05,616 --> 00:26:12,546 - do you want from us for summer reading? And they've been very vocal about what they want. So we're really 238 00:26:12,546 --> 00:26:19,279 - looking forward to next year, 2027 in a whole, just so we can incorporate those things in and the kids 239 00:26:19,279 --> 00:26:26,012 - can see that their voice matters. And so this is our yearly stats from January to August. So far we've 240 00:26:26,012 --> 00:26:27,646 - done about 266 programs. 241 00:26:28,514 --> 00:26:35,051 - We've served about 6,500 people coming to all those programs. And then, again, our partnerships were 242 00:26:35,051 --> 00:26:41,653 - at 28, which is much higher than last year. We are trying to not do all the work, maybe shoulder that 243 00:26:41,653 --> 00:26:48,125 - half and half with a partnership, just trying to realize we might not want to do it all and partner 244 00:26:48,125 --> 00:26:53,950 - with someone who can bring an expertise that we may not have or strengthen our expertise. 245 00:26:54,754 --> 00:27:00,299 - So overall, our stats are going up. And we're having a little bit more, if you can see this pie chart 246 00:27:00,299 --> 00:27:05,952 - over here at the bottom left, that we are trying to even out what we do for infants and tweens. Before, 247 00:27:05,952 --> 00:27:11,388 - it was a lot skewed to the infants, like story times, that kind of thing, where tweens would have a 248 00:27:11,388 --> 00:27:16,879 - lot less programming. So we're trying to shift it a little bit more to 50-50, so that way they don't 249 00:27:16,879 --> 00:27:17,694 - feel left out. 250 00:27:21,282 --> 00:27:28,325 - And then before I ask if anybody has questions, one of our library assistants has now commandeered a 251 00:27:28,325 --> 00:27:35,299 - fish tank, which she does a monthly frog and toad display. And it gets very detailed and intricate. 252 00:27:35,299 --> 00:27:42,342 - For this one, if you see the one in the middle, the red painting, that was done by a teen who visits 253 00:27:42,342 --> 00:27:49,455 - the Children's Department a lot. And they got into a discussion with our library assistant, Paul. And 254 00:27:49,455 --> 00:27:51,198 - she said that, you know, 255 00:27:51,298 --> 00:27:58,940 - Contemporary art isn't real art. You can just scribble something, and you can't call it art. And so 256 00:27:58,940 --> 00:28:06,736 - she made that red painting. And then Paul, to just vex her, made a description on the side, making it 257 00:28:06,736 --> 00:28:14,378 - sound very artsy, giving it some angst, some depth. And so that's the kind of things that our staff 258 00:28:14,378 --> 00:28:19,422 - does. They want to give kind of a fresh take on what the desk is. 259 00:28:19,554 --> 00:28:26,797 - creates more talking points with the kids. But then also, if a child does have a conversation, it sticks 260 00:28:26,797 --> 00:28:33,695 - with staff, and they can see, oh, they care. We matter to them. So it was a very funny interaction. 261 00:28:33,695 --> 00:28:40,731 - And also, those paintings in the back were done by library staff as well. And as you can see, we took 262 00:28:40,731 --> 00:28:47,422 - the frog in tow theme very, very seriously. Does anyone? Oh, so I have the winners for the youth 263 00:28:47,842 --> 00:28:56,523 - art month contest, and I have one for each of you all. And then I brought a example of one of the tween 264 00:28:56,523 --> 00:29:04,870 - programs. This is done by Drew, and she does a miniatures club. And so she made miniature cat posts 265 00:29:04,870 --> 00:29:12,382 - for all the kids to do. And there was also dog houses, and you could pick a dog or a cat. 266 00:29:18,338 --> 00:29:26,832 - And then I do have a couple of thank you notes, one from a partner. And then also, we do wonder totes. 267 00:29:26,832 --> 00:29:35,078 - And that's where we pick out books based on children's appeals and interests. And one is to Lily. A 268 00:29:35,078 --> 00:29:43,902 - child actually gave her a thank you note for an excellent job that she did. Did anyone have any questions? 269 00:29:52,034 --> 00:29:59,292 - I got to tell you this in person, but I wanted to share it. I really appreciated the bilingual aspect 270 00:29:59,292 --> 00:30:06,550 - of the summer reading program this summer as someone who's trying to raise bilingual, biliterate kids 271 00:30:06,550 --> 00:30:07,902 - in this community. 272 00:30:08,002 --> 00:30:15,680 - It was amazing to have the program available in English and Spanish. I did lie to my kids a little bit 273 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:23,806 - and told them that they could only do the Spanish one if they read Spanish books. So my kids, we read a lot. 274 00:30:23,938 --> 00:30:30,392 - But they took it very seriously because it was a challenge, but it was truly a big highlight of our 275 00:30:30,392 --> 00:30:37,104 - summer. So much so that when my son started kindergarten, he told his teacher that he had read, I don't 276 00:30:37,104 --> 00:30:43,622 - know how many books, and he said, and in Spanish and English. So thank you for integrating just that 277 00:30:43,622 --> 00:30:50,270 - bilingual aspect. I know there are other languages in our community, but I really did appreciate that. 278 00:30:50,658 --> 00:30:57,498 - Thank you for reminding me. I just realized I didn't put that on there. This is the first year we did 279 00:30:57,498 --> 00:31:04,203 - bilingual in English and Spanish. We also had English and Spanish books for them to choose as their 280 00:31:04,203 --> 00:31:11,177 - final book prize as well. And those went very, very fast. So Emmy is now very encouraged, and she wants 281 00:31:11,177 --> 00:31:18,017 - to get more Spanish books to have in that prize selection. Thank you for all you've done. It's really 282 00:31:18,017 --> 00:31:19,358 - amazing. Thank you. 283 00:31:19,938 --> 00:31:48,638 - Thank you. Thank you. Next up, we're going to hear about the Southwest branch from Kathy. Expecting now. 284 00:31:49,090 --> 00:32:13,022 - I know, I know. Okay, I'm moving around. Oh my gosh. Okay. 285 00:32:13,122 --> 00:32:19,569 - Thank you for this opportunity to talk to you a little bit about what we experienced at Southwest this 286 00:32:19,569 --> 00:32:25,954 - year. I thought I would make it a little more interactive, a sort of choose your own adventure story. 287 00:32:25,954 --> 00:32:32,464 - So on this handy-dandy library cart, which I consider the backbone of the library because we have moved 288 00:32:32,464 --> 00:32:38,787 - so many materials on there, and using some scars from story time. I had to wait to assemble it today 289 00:32:38,787 --> 00:32:41,854 - because I was taking key pieces from the branch. 290 00:32:42,242 --> 00:32:48,670 - We've got this opportunity to, what story do you want to hear? And I numbered them because I ended up 291 00:32:48,670 --> 00:32:55,034 - using multiple scarves because I couldn't hide all the items. So, who would like to get started here 292 00:32:55,034 --> 00:33:00,958 - the first? And I'm going to try not to whip it off so dramatically that I fling the artifact. 293 00:33:28,130 --> 00:33:35,100 - the library, which makes us more accessible for all. And because, oh yeah, I wanted to also have a few 294 00:33:35,100 --> 00:33:42,003 - things. I partnered it with how this month is also Library Card Sign Up Month, which means we're more 295 00:33:42,003 --> 00:33:49,379 - accessible, we're making more library cards. Let's celebrate. Marketing department, CNM, they make wonderful 296 00:33:49,379 --> 00:33:56,214 - stickers, and I brought the two that we have for this month so that everyone can have a sticker. How 297 00:33:56,214 --> 00:33:56,958 - do I enjoy 298 00:34:02,530 --> 00:34:09,087 - We're now a bus. So, yay, round of applause, because it was a minor miracle, because we didn't expect 299 00:34:09,087 --> 00:34:15,579 - it to happen, and when it did, we're just like, I was like, that's a bus! You know, like at the info 300 00:34:15,579 --> 00:34:22,200 - desk. And I was like, oh my gosh, check the website, see what's happening, and we got all excited. So, 301 00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:28,821 - yep, that's the first one. And I'm trying to keep it short, so maybe we can do all of them. All right, 302 00:34:28,821 --> 00:34:30,878 - seven. Dun, dun, da! All right. 303 00:34:44,578 --> 00:34:53,161 - awarded a grant from the wall at the wall grant and we were able to buy multiple robots along with iPads 304 00:34:53,161 --> 00:35:01,335 - and now we're able to do programming leaning into stem and we were able to buy enough that they can 305 00:35:01,335 --> 00:35:09,182 - partner together and really get their hands on robots. So they all got literacy based names and 306 00:35:11,266 --> 00:35:16,905 - And when we were like, oh my gosh, can we come up with names? And then we were like, but it's gotta 307 00:35:16,905 --> 00:35:22,770 - be a really good name. And we're like, Corduroy, yes, that works. But it was really interesting because 308 00:35:22,770 --> 00:35:28,973 - also when you're put on the spot, you're like, can I name multiple characters from the children's department? 309 00:35:28,973 --> 00:35:34,613 - Yes, I can, but are they the ones we want to put on our robots? So we were quizzing a lot of people 310 00:35:34,613 --> 00:35:35,966 - on who's your favorite. 311 00:35:41,410 --> 00:35:48,880 - This is when I debated. All right, here we go. All right. I came back from vacation and Puppet Cathy 312 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:56,793 - was on my shelf. And the reason I included Puppet Cathy is not only how well they've got me nailed because 313 00:35:56,793 --> 00:36:04,485 - usually there's a pencil behind the ear, there are Post-it notes. If you know me, I stay organized with 314 00:36:04,485 --> 00:36:09,662 - Post-it notes. But the real reason that I brought this out is because 315 00:36:10,018 --> 00:36:16,913 - The creativity that the staff brings to the programming is incredible. Often we're talking about what's 316 00:36:16,913 --> 00:36:23,675 - your passion? What do you really like doing? Can we partner it up with the need we're seeing from the 317 00:36:23,675 --> 00:36:30,570 - community? How can we use recyclables? How can we get really effective with how we're using our budget? 318 00:36:30,570 --> 00:36:37,332 - How can we bring people together to create and create a sense of community? And a lot of our crafting 319 00:36:37,332 --> 00:36:39,454 - programs now are very much like 320 00:36:40,130 --> 00:36:45,880 - seeing intergenerational. We've had people say, you know, like, I've only been in town a little while. 321 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:51,797 - And then everybody in the room was like, oh, have you been too? And they started talking about highlights 322 00:36:51,797 --> 00:36:57,379 - around the community. And it's this sense of welcome. We're glad you're here. We hope you like some 323 00:36:57,379 --> 00:37:03,016 - of the things that we think are really important in our community. And we're also going to be making 324 00:37:03,016 --> 00:37:08,766 - things. And we're also going to be leaning over and being like, how did you figure out how to do this? 325 00:37:09,090 --> 00:37:16,514 - And this is the skill that they're bringing to these programs that just get everyone excited. And we're 326 00:37:16,514 --> 00:37:23,653 - trying to make some of our descriptions a lot more open-ended. It's not our crochet and knit group, 327 00:37:23,653 --> 00:37:31,077 - it's craft club. And then we see an increasing range of crafts that people bring in and they feel like, 328 00:37:31,077 --> 00:37:38,430 - oh, this definition includes me, I'm gonna come and join in. And it just made me laugh so hard because 329 00:37:38,562 --> 00:37:46,101 - I was just like, oh my gosh, yeah, that's me, because it's a Star Wars shirt. And it's got Post-It notes 330 00:37:46,101 --> 00:37:53,426 - all over the place, although I'm really in trouble if my Post-It notes start fluttering away from me. 331 00:37:53,426 --> 00:38:01,037 - And this is the kind of detail that they bring to their programming that I so appreciate. Because they're 332 00:38:01,037 --> 00:38:06,494 - excited, that shared when they go into the program, and that sense of, hey, 333 00:38:06,594 --> 00:38:17,030 - come spend some time at the library this is for you, is very apparent. And they also said, if I go on 334 00:38:17,030 --> 00:38:27,261 - vacation again, I should put Puppet Kathy right there. They could come get some advice and continue 335 00:38:27,261 --> 00:38:34,014 - on. And I was like, ooh. So, others? Bye. That one I can lip off. 336 00:38:34,466 --> 00:38:43,142 - and it's actually magnetic. All right. So we had an empty, can you see? Okay. We had a wall space in 337 00:38:43,142 --> 00:38:51,989 - the children's room designed for our magnetic wall. And the goal of the magnetic wall was to reinforce 338 00:38:51,989 --> 00:39:01,438 - early literacy through shapes, colors, movement. And we have this in plan and the space was set aside for it. 339 00:39:01,570 --> 00:39:09,035 - And then the Kiwanis said, we'd like to make a donation to the branch. And I was like, do I have a project 340 00:39:09,035 --> 00:39:16,361 - for you? And they really just went all in with generosity. And we got our magnetic wall right now. We've 341 00:39:16,361 --> 00:39:18,942 - got our gears, which are so popular. 342 00:39:19,170 --> 00:39:25,596 - But the goal is to keep changing out what we have there to reinforce early literacy. The boards go down 343 00:39:25,596 --> 00:39:32,084 - to within six inches of the floor, so it's very accessible. And then at the very top, we have some space 344 00:39:32,084 --> 00:39:38,387 - that people can't reach and I have to use a step ladder. And then we put an early literacy tip up for 345 00:39:38,387 --> 00:39:44,566 - the month. So using all the space for early literacy. But the generosity of the community continues 346 00:39:44,566 --> 00:39:45,246 - to be just 347 00:39:51,746 --> 00:39:58,788 - I'll try to be very careful of this. So we run a small seed library at this branch, and we have it in 348 00:39:58,788 --> 00:40:05,761 - a very small card catalog. And because we know we have to go small, what we do is it's themed around 349 00:40:05,761 --> 00:40:12,664 - the food for the year. And then we use those supplies in our teaching kitchen to make that food. So 350 00:40:12,664 --> 00:40:17,566 - the first year it was a salsa garden, and then this year it was chili. 351 00:40:18,210 --> 00:40:24,878 - Because we like to have visuals, we planted some of the seeds from our seed library behind the desk 352 00:40:24,878 --> 00:40:31,680 - and under our grow lights so that they could grow. And then the staff harvested them, dried them, and 353 00:40:31,680 --> 00:40:38,481 - then used them in one of our programs. So we're trying to say, okay, we do need to go smaller. We are 354 00:40:38,481 --> 00:40:45,150 - a branch, but can we use it in multiple places? And can we reinforce, you want to grow? This is how 355 00:40:45,150 --> 00:40:46,750 - you can use some of it. 356 00:40:47,490 --> 00:40:57,441 - So, seed library, but then also we have a living plant library where we do cuttings, and then once they 357 00:40:57,441 --> 00:41:07,392 - root, we have those out, and that's a secondary part for our plants. Oh, I should really pull the stats 358 00:41:07,392 --> 00:41:17,438 - out on that. We handed out over 35 hundred seed packets this year. So, it's growing, flowering, growing, 359 00:41:18,050 --> 00:41:27,373 - We focused on vegetables. And then we referred everyone on flowers to downtown. So anytime we can say, 360 00:41:27,373 --> 00:41:36,967 - hey, this is what we have here, but system-wide, these are all the resources, we really try and reinforce 361 00:41:36,967 --> 00:41:45,022 - that. Yeah. Still have a couple more. Nine. Nine. Oh, this is the tricky one. All right. 362 00:41:49,794 --> 00:42:01,223 - on escape rooms at the break. And what I love about this is adults like to play too. And what we're 363 00:42:01,223 --> 00:42:12,652 - trying to do is give them a lot of opportunities too. So we run RPG club, we've got a movies versus 364 00:42:12,652 --> 00:42:17,566 - books club, but we also have escape rooms. 365 00:42:17,794 --> 00:42:24,500 - And our staff member who creates these is incredibly thoughtful and detailed about it. And also thinks 366 00:42:24,500 --> 00:42:31,010 - about accessibility. So for this one, I was talking to them and they were saying, shape it in a way 367 00:42:31,010 --> 00:42:37,846 - so it's easy to grasp, but also low vision, two different colors. So there's a layer of being thoughtful 368 00:42:37,846 --> 00:42:44,812 - about, well, what is the community going to enjoy, but can I include everyone? And they just ran a session 369 00:42:44,812 --> 00:42:47,742 - on staff day about how to do an escape room. 370 00:42:48,226 --> 00:42:55,005 - And they're very generous in that way. This is what I learned. This is how you can shortcut and use 371 00:42:55,005 --> 00:43:01,852 - some of my resources. This worked out really well in the library. And come talk to me if you want to 372 00:43:01,852 --> 00:43:08,903 - dive in more, and I'll share these resources with you. I will say I understand escape rooms. I've never 373 00:43:08,903 --> 00:43:14,462 - really successfully escaped an escape room. I love the thought that goes into it. 374 00:43:15,106 --> 00:43:23,700 - how they then look at the adult escape room and they make a version for tweens and teens. And how that 375 00:43:23,700 --> 00:43:32,210 - looks different based on what is a good fit for that age. Yeah. Yes, and because we are the mascot of 376 00:43:32,210 --> 00:43:40,720 - the possums, the last escape room was rescue the possums, so. I do believe they voted on that and our 377 00:43:40,720 --> 00:43:43,390 - possum theme continues to grow. 378 00:43:44,354 --> 00:43:58,686 - All right, we're down to, oh. Four is left. I've got two of these. All right, Gordon Pike, Fullerton 379 00:43:58,686 --> 00:44:12,734 - Pike, it's done. Oh my goodness. It's done, we're so excited. We had our construction connoisseurs 380 00:44:12,834 --> 00:44:19,716 - from a preschool age who loved all that road work. We learned a lot, too. We also learned how to coordinate 381 00:44:19,716 --> 00:44:26,279 - talking points on what's happening, how it's updating. But when that road opened from last August, our 382 00:44:26,279 --> 00:44:32,842 - foot traffic increased. And we had always since the beginning heard a lot of people say, oh, I haven't 383 00:44:32,842 --> 00:44:39,341 - been to the library in a while. And we're welcoming them in, talking about how libraries have changed 384 00:44:39,341 --> 00:44:42,718 - in the past 20 years. But now what we're hearing is, 385 00:44:42,850 --> 00:44:48,679 - Oh, I come in on Fullerton Pike, and I didn't know there was a branch here. And I just thought I'd swing 386 00:44:48,679 --> 00:44:54,341 - in and get a library card. And so the visibility of that road has been great for us. Our foot traffic 387 00:44:54,341 --> 00:45:00,114 - continues to go up. We love that it's convenient for people. We will talk about all the little benefits 388 00:45:00,114 --> 00:45:05,776 - of stopping by the branch if this is convenient on the way home, how we move items around through the 389 00:45:05,776 --> 00:45:10,494 - courier. We're like, let us give you the pitch on how this library can work for you. 390 00:45:11,074 --> 00:45:17,821 - We have a lot of conversations where they're just like, I haven't been in a library in quite a while. 391 00:45:17,821 --> 00:45:24,700 - And so when we do our welcome in, and then we do our sales pitch. So we are delighted. The construction 392 00:45:24,700 --> 00:45:31,645 - and the detour did not slow us down on last summer meeting. And this year, we've definitely had a strong 393 00:45:31,645 --> 00:45:38,391 - summer meeting. The energy of our adult services department and everyone who works here at that front 394 00:45:38,391 --> 00:45:39,582 - desk, the goal is 395 00:45:39,682 --> 00:45:46,711 - Do you say welcome in when you're coming in? So we've had our first contact and that you know, 396 00:45:46,711 --> 00:45:54,258 - we see you, we're here to help. The right joke is if you catch me off guard and you're a staff member 397 00:45:54,258 --> 00:46:02,027 - coming in, sometimes I will say welcome in and they're like, I work here. I know, but it's in the buffer 398 00:46:02,027 --> 00:46:09,278 - and it just pops out. So with that, what we're always trying to convey is we are glad you're here 399 00:46:09,826 --> 00:46:16,542 - please come ask us questions, ask us about resources, how are we a good fit for you? And if you haven't 400 00:46:16,542 --> 00:46:23,064 - been to a library in 20 years, a lot has changed, and we are happy to tell you what's happening, how 401 00:46:23,064 --> 00:46:29,521 - we're moving and grooving, how we're right close to bachelor, what that means at 315, with our foot 402 00:46:29,521 --> 00:46:36,173 - traffic from 7th and 8th graders, how programming has changed in 20 years, how we're really interested 403 00:46:36,173 --> 00:46:38,110 - in the feedback on how we can 404 00:46:38,562 --> 00:46:46,238 - make it more accessible to you. So, Gordon Pike, Fullerton Pike, done. And while we don't have instruction 405 00:46:46,238 --> 00:46:53,483 - equipment for our youngest, there's still a lot going on here. All right, I've got two more. Anybody 406 00:46:53,483 --> 00:47:00,657 - want number two? Sure, I'll grab that. Okay, so we knew every year, I know, I'm gonna have to stop, 407 00:47:00,657 --> 00:47:07,902 - because like Storytime scarves, I'll be like, let's start shaking scarves, I'll put them right here. 408 00:47:08,866 --> 00:47:15,688 - Our teams, when they come in, often they will head straight to the team room and they've got video games 409 00:47:15,688 --> 00:47:22,381 - they wanna play, they wanna talk with their friends. They are focused on a couple of different things, 410 00:47:22,381 --> 00:47:29,073 - but this year we noticed with our new group, they were very into crafting. And we would go in and we'd 411 00:47:29,073 --> 00:47:35,765 - be in there and we would have a dedicated crafting group right there at our design table and spreading 412 00:47:35,765 --> 00:47:38,494 - out to where we needed to make more room. 413 00:47:38,690 --> 00:47:46,012 - And this was very exciting because they were taking advantage of all the resources we have. They were 414 00:47:46,012 --> 00:47:53,478 - coming to programs and then continuing on with crafting techniques because certain ones like the needle 415 00:47:53,478 --> 00:48:00,728 - felting, they do need to attend the session and learn how to use a needle safely. And I brought some 416 00:48:00,728 --> 00:48:06,686 - of the things they like to make. One of our goals, very much like in story time is 417 00:48:07,330 --> 00:48:14,501 - Come to a story time, learn some of the urban literacy, go home, and hopefully it becomes private daily 418 00:48:14,501 --> 00:48:15,742 - routine with you. 419 00:48:16,130 --> 00:48:23,353 - With the teens, if they latch onto a craft they like, and then they are making things at home, we get 420 00:48:23,353 --> 00:48:30,505 - really excited. We did have someone who really liked needle felting, and then when we went out to do 421 00:48:30,505 --> 00:48:37,233 - the summer reading talks at the schools, they're like, hey, this is what I was making at home. 422 00:48:37,233 --> 00:48:44,527 - We love that. We're like, come up and tell us about what you enjoy making. So I've got a mix of needle 423 00:48:44,527 --> 00:48:46,014 - felting, the 3D pen, 424 00:48:46,498 --> 00:48:54,459 - I don't know if you've ever used one. I am not very coordinated on getting the plastic to then stick 425 00:48:54,459 --> 00:49:02,342 - together and make things, so I'm always in awe of what they made with the 3D pen. Our button maker, 426 00:49:02,342 --> 00:49:10,461 - they love making buttons. I love that they wanna draw, express themselves, and then wear it. We've got 427 00:49:10,461 --> 00:49:15,742 - a jewelry kit. This is just a little bit of how they're coming in, 428 00:49:16,130 --> 00:49:22,422 - I think about they've been at school all day. How long has it been since they had lunch? They do want 429 00:49:22,422 --> 00:49:28,653 - to talk to their friends, but here they are creating. And we want to make sure we have the resources 430 00:49:28,653 --> 00:49:34,945 - so that they can keep on making whatever they're interested in. And the one thing they were hoping we 431 00:49:34,945 --> 00:49:40,990 - could get, somebody made a cheese bracelet. They used the Shrinky Dinks and then also Pony Beads. 432 00:49:41,218 --> 00:49:50,005 - And I'm like, oh my gosh, I was like, I saw that and I was like, I want a cheese bracelet. So the creativity 433 00:49:50,005 --> 00:49:58,228 - coming out of our seventh and eighth graders and now also high schoolers coming back, especially from 434 00:49:58,228 --> 00:50:03,710 - South, I love that because they are such a generous group of teens. 435 00:50:04,162 --> 00:50:10,944 - I love it when I'm sitting at the desk and somebody comes in and they're like, oh, both the PlayStation 436 00:50:10,944 --> 00:50:17,661 - 5 and the Nintendo Switch are busy. And our ask is, if you want to join, ask them if you can join. And 437 00:50:17,661 --> 00:50:24,378 - a lot of times they're scooting over on the bench and they're like, sure, hop in. We'll show you where 438 00:50:24,378 --> 00:50:30,900 - we're at. The kindness of inclusion that we're seeing from our teams is so hopeful. And I just love 439 00:50:30,900 --> 00:50:33,182 - having a big space for each other. 440 00:50:35,874 --> 00:50:45,369 - So we continue to add equipment to our teaching kitchen, and this year we added a fridge. And that has 441 00:50:45,369 --> 00:50:54,957 - been a good fit because what we're seeing is an increase in reservations from the public, organizations 442 00:50:54,957 --> 00:50:57,630 - to use the teaching kitchen. 443 00:50:57,858 --> 00:51:05,094 - we're very much listening to feedback because it is no small feat to get 12 people or a larger group 444 00:51:05,094 --> 00:51:12,401 - all cooking together. And we're always listening, what would make this space more accessible? What do 445 00:51:12,401 --> 00:51:19,565 - we need so that your organization can use this space and cook? So our comment card is going to work 446 00:51:19,565 --> 00:51:27,230 - out, but we're also listening when they're talking to us about it. So some things happening in the branch. 447 00:51:27,618 --> 00:51:36,515 - Yeah. Any questions? Thank you. Was this one handcrafted? I got the impression someone designed that. 448 00:51:36,515 --> 00:51:45,586 - 3D printed. That's a lot to 3D print. That's pretty cool. So we use that for programming. We have board 449 00:51:45,586 --> 00:51:54,046 - games and activities in the all ages space. And if a piece goes missing, we try and 3D print it. 450 00:51:54,338 --> 00:52:02,697 - What we're looking into is some feedback from patrons about accessibility for pen holders. We're looking 451 00:52:02,697 --> 00:52:10,657 - to print some of those and have those in our all-age space. But really taking the resources we have 452 00:52:10,657 --> 00:52:18,697 - and using them in a variety of ways. Yeah. Amazing. I am always learning. I've got a really fabulous 453 00:52:18,697 --> 00:52:24,190 - staff. They've got a lot of energy. They've got a lot of creativity. 454 00:52:24,610 --> 00:52:34,003 - And I would probably love for you to work with them. You have a lot of energy too. I gotta do my job 455 00:52:34,003 --> 00:52:43,675 - just to keep up with them. Yeah, some days I'm like, I am hustling to keep up with you as a collective. 456 00:52:43,675 --> 00:52:52,510 - But they're very impressive. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Any other questions or comments? 457 00:52:55,458 --> 00:53:05,214 - Do I have a motion to dismiss? So moved. Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Being adjourned.