Mission
It is the Library's Mission to: Select, organize, maintain and make available to the entire community those materials and services required to assist its citizens in the pursuit of their educational, informational and recreational interests and needs.The MFPL is now open to the public 38 hours each week.
Annual Report 2006
Mattapoisett Free Public Library Annual Report for 2006
Our calendar year began with a Jan. 30th fundraiser at the Kinsale Inn that earned over $2000 from dinner and raffle receipts for a Bose Wave Music System, and ended with us back in our temporary quarters at the Center School. Connecticut-based contractor, Barr Incorporated, continued working on our building which architects at Durland Van Voorhis of New Bedford are overseeing. Fran Gordon and Robert Cattley shared the job of Project Manager, while Bob Atkinson and Seth Mendell headed the public-private steering committee for this $4.9 million dollar project. Library Trustees honored Building Committee Chair Fran Gordon as the 2006 recipient of the annual Philip J. Zeimetz Award.
Considering the library was closed for 8 weeks during our relocation, we still managed to circulate a total of 49,317 items, including 7,941 items loaned to other libraries. Because we loaned 1250 more items than we borrowed, the MFPL again earned “net-lender” status. We also managed to add 1,038 items to our collection, even in tight quarters, bringing total holdings to 33,877. We used a regional survey sampling system to track the number of reference inquiries at 2,244, and a battery-operated people counter to record an average attendance of 22,616 patrons last year. We registered 5,374 borrowers, of which 4,647 were Mattapoisett residents. We doubled our number of volunteers to 255, including many library movers last fall who donated 1581 hours of service. This was offset by lower than usual attendance at other library programs, but we still accounted for 2481 children having attending 88 programs and 400 adults at the 7 programs sponsored last year. All of our events are posted at www.mattapoisettlibrary.org.
The MFPL featured several special programs in 2006, including our Annual Library Day at Shipyard Park over Harbor Days in July, that featured a silent auction of paintings donated by many local artists (special thanks to Ruth Mellen and Diane Hudis for their assistance) and a return of the popular “Taste of the Town” that benefited the Mattapoisett Woman’s Club last year. A special thanks to Lois Ennis and Ellen Flynn for their hard work and to the Mattapoisett Lions’ Club for their ongoing support. Our Harbor Days booth was shared last year with the Mattapoisett Commission on Disability (our thanks to Diana Harlfinger, Deborah Ramos, and Gary Jezierski!)
The Friends’Annual Book Sale, which earned over $4,000, moved to Reynard Hall last year to ease the heavy burden of carrying all of those books back and forth! In addition to this yearly sale, the Friends of Mattapoisett Library raise ongoing funds with their Gently Used Book Sale inside the library. They also provided two author talks with Robert Linde and a poetry reading with Nancy Paquin and Margo Wizansky, and co-funded two special children’s programs with the Massachusetts Cultural Council featuring storytelling by Jackson Gillman and a presentation by Rainforest Reptiles. We appreciated the use of the Friends Quaker Meeting House and the Center School cafeteria for these special library-related events and encourage everyone to join the Friends.
In-house library programs last year included Norwegian language classes taught by Luana Josvold, and one-on-one Computer classes offered by staff member Jan Besse. Mary Anne Amoruso and Karen Gaspar joined our library staff which also includes Anne Bernard, Linda Burke, Katie Daener, Rebecca Duncan, Cathy Furtado, Lynn Haugen, and Jeanette Webb. At Center School, Jim and Adam Taylor, Bruce DeJesus, and Donald Green tended to our custodial needs.
Many gifts were received last year, from Birthday Book Club donations to the many incentive prizes donated, once again, by Nathan and Jennifer Zieske for our Summer Reading Program. The Eastman Charitable Trust donated $500, Barbara and Fran Gordon gave $100, and several anonymous gifts were received to memorialize the departed. A sizeable donation was also made to honor Dr. James and Lillian (Billie) Bonnar, former residents of Mattapoisett. We appreciate all of these gifts and look forward to providing beautiful and interesting displays in the renovated and expanded facility when we begin the next chapter of our library’s history.
Judith E. Wallace, Director
Policies
Policy for the Use of Computers
Closed and Decertified
Libraries
Goals
LIBRARY POLICIES
Materials Selection and
Collection Maintenance
Policies for the Use of
Computers
Closed and Decertified Libraries