The
Annual BookFest Helps to Make Things Possible at Your
Library!
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he
Friends of the Library annual BookFest is quickly approaching! This year’s event will be on Saturday, April 28th from 9:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We are excited
about our new location – First Baptist Church at 601 Main Street.
On the heels of last year’s resounding success, the BookFest
committee is hard at work to offer something for everyone – from local
bookworms and families to the area’s professional book dealers.
Your
Donations Help Make BookFest Happen
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ast
year, BookFest raised $7,500! We have sold more than 30,000 books over two
years! The proceeds from BookFest support many aspects of the Library’s operations,
such as exciting children’s programs, adult reading programs and building
needs, to name a few. We can’t do all
this without your generous donations of used books. That’s right, those books
on your shelves that haven’t been touched in a while are waiting to be read by
some other lucky soul. Those old-time
favorites and recent bestsellers alike are ready to find a new home. It’s time to make room for some new
books! Bring your used books to the
library during regular business hours:
Monday-Saturday: 10:00-5:00,
Monday and Thursday Evenings:
5:00-8:00. Then join us on April
28th to find some new gems.
Be
a Part of This Exciting Event
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ookFest
is so much more than a book sale. As in
previous years, we will have exciting book-related activities and events in the
morning. This year, we are also working
on some new additions, so watch The
Bennington Banner for announcements.
With all the planning and execution that surrounds BookFest,
our need for volunteers is greater than ever.
We are looking for folks who love to sort and organize, who want to get
a sneak peak at this year’s inventory, or who just love to be around
books! We also need strong arms to put
all those books, tables and chairs into place.
Being part of BookFest is a surefire way to
connect with your community and make a positive contribution to the library
that we all love and value. If you’d
like to be part of the event, please contact Brandy Bouchett
at (802) 688-4822 or brandybou@comcast.net.
Please
remember to renew your Friends Membership to enable us to support the
Library. See the membership form in this
newsletter.
.Amy Dobson, Friends’ Board
Letter from the Director…
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ow that we have celebrated the past--BFL's
70th Anniversary in 2006--and the present--over 20 new projects achieved with
Freeman Foundation Grant funds, most notably our state-of-the-art automation
system for collections and services, it's time to look to the future. We have set exciting new goals with emphasis
on
1. technology,
2. personnel development,
3. institutional development,
4. facilities improvements, and above all,
5. public service.
For the next three to five years, our new Long Range and
Technology Plans will guide us toward maximizing the resources we have or will develop
to keep our Library moving forward and meeting the needs of the towns we
serve. Beginning with the Long Range
Plan, our Number 1 Goal is and always will be Public Service.
Goal 1: We define PUBLIC SERVICE to include analyzing and developing our collections
[book, CDs, DVDs, etc.] and implementing the new Technology Plan. It means expanding our services through
outreach and collaboration with area organizations. We will focus on
researching teen use of the library and developing a strategy to meet their
needs, promoting the Vermont History Room and its genealogical resources, and
creating a Publicity Plan to increase public awareness of the library and its
many free resources and services.
Goal 2: FACILITIES. Our Library is a
historic structure bordering on a historic district in downtown
Bennington. A Facilities Study will
address the needs of this important building including a plan for growth as
well as Security and Emergency Plans. We
will conduct and implement an Energy/Environmental audit of our site and
space. And, 28 interior and exterior
issues have been identified which require attention such as wiring up-grades,
painting eaves, and parking.
Goal 3: INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
Financial security in uncertain times is a must for the Library. A Development Plan will be created to define
long-term goals and how to meet them. Grants will be pursued. The Annual Fund
Drive will be evaluated. We will create both a Library Bookstore Online
consisting of de-accessioned or donated good-to-high-quality books for sale,
and a Library Store in-house for patrons who need paper, pencils, computer
disks, and the like.
Goal 4: PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT. We will study
adding new staff positions to meet the growing and changing needs of our
patrons. We plan, also, to create a permanent endowment to improve salaries and
benefits for all staff.
This is a brief outline of our future Long Range Plan for
the next five years. It's ambitious yet
workable with the dedication and loyal support of our staff, friends, and the
communities we serve.
Anita Gauthier, Director
2006
Holiday Wish List Donors
Bennington Bookshop
Rose Bitensky (Dedicated to
Susan and Ted)
Heidi and Leo Carroll (Dedicated to Grace Carroll)
Loomis Dana
Mrs. Francis Englehart
Anita Gauthier (In Memory of Eleanor Harvey and
Charles Yoder)
Pankaj Goswami (In Memory of Elizabeth Goswami)
Robert and Cora Howe
Dylan and McKenzie Krawczyk
Marjorie S. LaRowe
Lucille C. Leamon
Jamie Lee
Stuart and Nathalie Libby
Marilyn Marrion
Marie Miller
Arthur and Eleanor Murphy
Loreen Niegoda
Emmely
Parks (In Memory of Richard Leake)
Marsha and David Pilachowski
(In Memory of Janice Pilachowski)
Edith Prandini
Sharon and James Stewart (In Memory of Teresina
C. Czarnecki)
Gloria Van Derzee
Pat Zemianek
NATIONAL LIBRARY
WEEK will be
celebrated this year from April
15-21. The theme for 2007 is Come Together at Your Library. Come together with your librarian this
week for trained professional assistance in locating the information you
need. Whether you are contemplating a
change of careers, researching an upcoming purchase, or looking for a DVD for
family movie night, your library has what you need and the librarians on staff
will help you find it. Come
together with the information you need at your library. Find
us online at:
http://benningtonfreelibrary.org
A message brought to you by the
American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries
and the Bennington Free Library
Counting on Grace Celebration Comes to Bennington
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e extend an invitation to all of our patrons to join us for a special kick-off event
to celebrate the 2007 Vermont Reads book, Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop.
Chris & I have been planning this program for months with the Vermont Humanities Council and The Bennington Museum. Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 19th - 1:00 p.m.. - for an interesting and fun afternoon at the Museum featuring:
·
Book talk and slide show by author, Elizabeth
Winthrop
·
Dramatic reading from the book with Elizabeth
& actor, Willy Jones
·
French Canadian music by The Flying Garbanzos*
·
Free copy
of Counting
on Grace (for each family) & book signing
·
Hands-on projects and learning stations include
child labor law exhibit*, gallery hunt,
one-room schoolhouse activities, diary books & pocket notebooks, weaving on
mini-looms, toy-making,
French hair-braiding & stick spinning
with Sadelle Wiltshire.
·
Tour the Museum & Grandma Moses Schoolhouse
·
Additional titles by Elizabeth Winthrop for sale
in cooperation with the Bennington Bookshop
·
FREE ADMISSION to the
program and to The Bennington Museum for participants
*Supported by The Friends of Bennington Free Library & the
Greater Bennington Tell Me a Story Project
…..Linda Donigan, Children’s Librarian
NATIONAL VOLUNTEER
WEEK 2007: April 15 – April 21
1,995 Volunteer Hours donated at the Bennington Free
Library in 2006
Thank you for all you
do!
The Bennington Free
Library is fortunate to have many wonderful volunteers. In 2006 they donated time in Technical
Services, the Children’s Room, Adult Reference Services, Circulation,
Interlibrary Loans, Administrative Services, Friends of the Library, BFL Board of Directors and Trustees, and the
Vermont History Room.
