Wauconda Area Public Library District

 

Library Facts and Figures

Annual Report

 

Fiscal Year 2001 / 2002

 

The following report covers the time period of July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002.

 

 

Board of Library Trustees

Other Library Information

 

Administration

• Successfully budgeted for a lean year – the last year before the tax rate increase took effect

• Emergency Prevention and Preparedness Manual drafted

• Long Range Plan drafted

• Patron Behavior Policy approved

• Technology Plan F/Y 2002/2003 approved

• Staff Institute Day

• Coordinator of Adult Services hired

• Office Manager/Administrative Assistant hired

 

Public Relations

• Patron Appreciation Day Open House

• Library Card Sign-Up Month promotion with 45 local business partners

• Friends of the Library “Thank You” luncheon

• Comprehensive Library User Survey

• Participant in the “First Class Community” initiative with the United Partnership for a Better Community

• Annual School Librarian Breakfast

• Provided Internet access to information hub regarding proposed Volo power plant

• Three editions of FOCUS, the library newsletter, were distributed to every household and business in the library district

• Wauconda High School Homecoming Parade

• Food for Fines

• Voter registration

 

Building and Grounds

• Front stairway repaired

• 10 dead or dying white pine trees replaced

• Roof drainage problem repaired

 

Adult Services

 

The Adult services staff presented 80 programs and activities for adults and young adults this year, including 20 book discussions, four live music events, reading clubs for adults and teens, two field trips, and more than 50 instructional programs.  Of the many programs presented, highlights include:

• Summer Reading Club, “Paradise Found @ Your Library”

• Winter Reading Club, “Take a Step Back in Time @ Your Library”

• Annual Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale

• Field trip to the Van Gogh / Gaughin exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago

• Field trip to the Cleopatra exhibit at the Field Museum

• Field trip to a Chicago Cubs game

• Teen Poetry Slams

• Young Adult Advisory Boards

• Composting Awareness (Solid Waste Agency of Lake County)

• North Suburban Teachers and Librarians Tour

• Annual School Library Staff Breakfast

• “Forward in Time” game

• “Love Your Library” game

• “Scrumptious Soups and Stews”

• AARP Tax Assistance

• WHS Sophomore Research Paper Tour

• High School Literary Criticism Research

 

There were numerous decorative and instructional displays throughout the year, including some outstanding art exhibits in the Genevieve Lincoln Community Meeting Room and two dozen special book displays featuring special sections of the library’s collection.

 

Progress was made in “weeding” unused, obsolete or worn out books from the fiction and nonfiction collections. 

A DVD collection was established and is growing rapidly.

 

Children’s Services

• Attendance at programs increased by 27%. 

• The Children’s Services staff presented over 100 programs and activities for children over the course of the year.  Notable among these were the summer reading club entitled, “Feed Your Need to Read,” 110 sessions of preschool storytime and toddlertime, and three new programs: Unlock the Treasures of the Library (Library Card Sign-up Month promotion), the Reading Patch Club, and Bringing Babies and Books Together. 

• Four members of the Children’s staff contributed programming ideas to the Illinois Library Association’s IREAD Committee for inclusion in the 2002 Summer Reading Program Resource Guide.

• In order to make the various collections more accessible to patrons, 42 displays of books and audiovisual materials were created.  

• The Children’s department sponsored the third annual Art Fair featuring over 350 unique and colorful pieces of artwork created by third grade students in the school/library district. 

• The owners of six local restaurants were contacted to see if they would donate prize coupons to support the summer reading program.  They responded enthusiastically and generously.  Coupons for free food and desserts redeemable at Burger King, Culver’s, Dairy Queen, McDonald’s, Old Country Buffet, and Taco Bell were presented to children who achieved their weekly reading goals throughout the six-week program.

• The Children’s Services staff were recognized for their contributions to the Wauconda Community School District at the Awards and Recognition Night held at Wauconda High School on May 16th.

• New canvas tote bags were purchased to facilitate Teacher Book Bag service.  Over the course of the school year, 66 bags were prepared for local teachers, bringing library resources (both print and audiovisual) to numerous preschool through fifth grade children.

• Children’s staff visited local preschools, presenting special storytimes to 16 classrooms of children.  They also hosted 23 elementary and preschool class visits.

   

 

Circulation Services

• Checkouts, checkins and renewals totaled more than 736,000

• 1,564 new library cards were issued

• 69,775 information transactions were handled by phone or in person 

• $27,220 in fines were collected

• 150 voter registrations

• 48 notary public transactions

 

 

Library Automation and Technical Services

• New library catalog server

• 13 new workstations

• Internet bandwidth increased from 64K to 384K bauds per second

• Proquest News and Magazine full-text database

• 9,304 items were added to the collection

• 5,379 items were withdrawn from the collection

 

Library Holdings

 

 

 

Library Usage

 

Highlights of library usage statistics as compared to the previous year:

 

• Total circulation is up by 12%

• While video checkouts have increase by 9%, DVD checkouts have increased by 302%

• Children's video checkouts have increased by 29%

• Music CD checkouts have increased by 14%, including  68% increase in "Most Wanted" CD checkouts and a 53% increase in Children's CD checkouts

• Circulation of adult books decreased by 2% this year, while circulation of Young Adult books increased by 10% and Children's books by 3%

• Library web site traffic increased by 102%

• Children's program attendance increased by 27% while adult attendance was down by 10%

• Use of the library meeting rooms for non-library programs was up by 58%

• Interlibrary loans increased by 37%

• Total reference and information transactions increased by 19%, including a 26% increase at the Adult Services reference desk and a 40% increase at the Children's reference desk
  
  

 

Financial Highlights

 

 

 

Picture Gallery