Butterfield Library Brews A Partnership

Last year, The Butterfield Library in Cold Spring, NY decided to offer coffee as one of the services to their patrons. As the idea caught on and word began to spread throughout the small community, local shopkeeper Cecilia Dinio-Durkin made a suggestion. As the owner of Women’s Work, a store featuring Fair Trade products, Dinio-Durkin sells coffee from Equal Exchange, a worker-owned co-operative that trades directly with democratically organized small farmer co-operatives around the world. She gave the Library the contact information for the company with the idea that if the Library decides to serve the coffee, they could have a sign directing patrons to her shop to purchase the coffee for themselves. She, in turn, would direct shoppers who possibly wanted to sample before purchasing to the Library in the hope that they might also become Library patrons.

After researching and comparing costs, the Library staff decided to use Equal Exchange--especially after they threw in bio-degradable cups at no additional cost.
Today, the Library is filled with the aroma of “Love Buzz,” a robust organic blend that is loved by staff and patrons alike. Dinio-Durkin reports that a number of people have come to her shop to buy the coffee after drinking it at the Library.

All together, this community connection has benefits that are far reaching; from the environment to small communities and farmers around the world. But most importantly, the local business, Women's Work and the Butterfield Memorial Library have created a setting and partnership that the entire community of Cold Spring is able to enjoy.

Click here for more information about Fair Trade Products & Equal Exchange

“Thursday’s with MacGyver” @ LaGrange Library

Thursday afternoon at LaGrange Library is going to the dogs! MacGyver, a registered therapy dog and his owner visit LaGrange Library once a week for two hours. The dog sits patiently and quietly while children read their favorite stories to him. Alison Francis the children’s librarian says this wonderful, relatively no-cost program is great for children who are reluctant readers especially when reading aloud. “The dog is an attentive, nonjudgmental listener and never makes fun of a child who stumbles over words.” The program is also very inexpensive to set up and run. The therapy dog and his owner are at the library on a volunteer basis and Alison, although always present during the reading sessions, is called on infrequently to assist. The program at LaGrange has become so successful Alison is thinking about adding another day to MacGyver’s weekly schedule so more children can benefit from this experience. You can read more about Alison Francis and MacGyver in ALSC’s quarterly magazine. Alison has just had her first article published in Children & Libraries the journal of the Association for Library Services to Children. This journal highlights programs and ideas that work well, written by librarians for librarians. Allison’s article entitled “Thursdays with MacGyver” emphasizes the benefits of children’s programming and therapy dogs. Readers can find Alison’s complete article in the Summer/Fall 2009 issue of Children & Libraries. For more information on therapy dogs visit www.therapyanimals.org/read/about.html or call 801-272-3439.

A Community Responsive Approach to Fine Collection @ Town of Esopus Library

Library Director, Kelly Tomaseski has instituted an unusual but community responsive approach to overdue fines at the Town of Esopus Library. She has created a program in which overdue library fines will be negotiable based on the patron situation. Patrons will still have to return overdue items but they will be able to pay off these fines in creative and unique ways. The month of April has been slated Fine Amnesty Month at Town of Esopus Library. During that month patrons can bring in non-perishable food items in lieu of outstanding fines. This collection of food is then donated to the local food bank. Kelly has also introduced a volunteer program that allows patrons to work off their fines by weeding gardens, putting away books or conducting other maintenance tasks that may be required around the library building. This volunteer program is available to both adult and teen patrons and can be utilized at any time of the year. “In light of the current economic environment the library has to be flexible to better serve our patrons” says Kelly. Many other member libraries within the Mid-Hudson System are following suit. By offering this type of fine alternative the “library” is once again perceived as a place of community with a deep understanding of local, national and global needs. Many patrons at Esopus are already taking advantage of the volunteer program to work off their fines. The Town of Esopus Library gardens have never looked better!

Howland Public Library Transformed into Art Gallery for School/Community Project

Second graders from Beacon City School District are currently displaying their artwork at Howland Public Library as part of a cooperative Social Studies/Language Arts project. The second graders from South Avenue Elementary School had to visit and draw a building or scene from their community for the assignment. This is the 7th year the school has partnered with Howland Public Library as host to display the student's final projects. Ginny Figlia, the Youth Services Librarian at Howland also provides an opening reception for parents, teachers and administrators to hear the students reports and view their work. This project which is called "My Community" provides the students with the opportunity to learn about their neighborhood by taking a series of field trips to various sites in the city of Beacon. While visiting, the students conduct interviews and take photographs. This research is then used as a basis for their final projects to be displayed at the library. Since the library is considered a hub of the community it is an atmosphere that best suits a collection of student’s artwork encompassing the theme “My Community”.

Marlboro Free Library Children’s Mural

An Example of School District and Community Library Cooperation

Many libraries have wall space above the stacks that can never be utilized for shelving because the books would be too high to reach by patrons. This is especially true of the children’s department. So what is a librarian to do with all that valuable wasted space in between the top of the shelves and the ceiling? Marlboro Free Library came up with a great solution turning a drab section of wall into a vibrant and exciting masterpiece, at no cost to the library itself!
James Cosgrove the Director of the Marlboro Free Library explains how his vision became reality.

“I guess it started with me and Susan Tumminia, the Children’s Program Coordinator to make our children’s area look a little less institutional and a little more whimsical (an ongoing endeavor here at Marlboro. The carpeting will be replaced with bright colored carpet tiles this fall). I have always liked the murals that were drawn in schools by the WPA (Works Project Administration) artists in the 1930’s. This became the inspiration for our mural project. As with many non-budgeted library initiatives, you look around for free or inexpensive solutions. We didn’t have to look too far for a creative solution at the right price – local student artists.

Each year we provide exhibit space in the Library community room for middle and high school art classes so parents can see their kids’ work in a non-school setting. Because of our willingness to provide space, we have always had a good relationship with the art teachers in the Marlboro Central School District. The Advanced Placement Art class exhibits were a Library staff favorite so we asked the high school art teacher if together we could provide an extra credit opportunity for the most talented students. The teacher and the kids were amenable to this. Since we were always willing to give the teachers exhibit space for their kids, they were happy to help us out with our need.

We all agreed that as an educational experience it would be important to give the artists design control. However as the director, this made me a bit nervous so I insisted on veto power over the design. Our original idea was to use art paper which would make the mural disposable if we didn’t like it. But then we thought, ‘what if we DO like it?’ We figured if we didn’t like it we could always have another class paint a new mural over it. The mural was completed in June of 2004 but the project started months prior in September. There were about seven to nine students in the AP program who worked on specific sites on the wall. Some had individual characters to draw and a few were responsible for tying it all together as one piece. They worked on the wall with self motivation and very little adult supervision which was quite impressive. As with any class project, these seniors scurried at the end to finish it before graduation but didn’t quite make it. We were relieved that three of them came back over the summer to put on the finishing touches and to sign the work. It’s been five years now and people still find it attractive. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to paint over it.”

Patterson Library and the Story Time Garden

A great Partnership of Library Youth Services and Community Outreach!

Upon visiting libraries, I discovered what a great community program Patterson library has embarked upon that became part of their summer reading program. Youth Services Coordinator, Ellen Clancy partnered with a local nursery to create a story time garden on the library grounds. Petersen’s of Patterson, a local nursery, donated most of the materials including: seeds, soil, lumber, labor and know how that helped transform the back lot of the library into a lovely setting that Patterson patrons can share. This project first began as a summer reading program about nature and gardening for preschool children. Staff members from Petersen’s built the enclosed garden and guided Ms. Clancy and the program participants in the plantings of several varieties of fruits and vegetables. When the children meet for story time they check the progress of their plantings while listening to nature related stories. Eventually, Ms. C. will hold a harvest program and the children will be able to eat a meal from the seeds they sowed at the beginning of the summer. Patterson library also intends to conduct future programming around the garden with hopes of building a gazebo to hold outdoor events for patrons of all ages to enjoy!

The Patterson Story Time Garden has now been highlighted on Rachel Ray's Yum-O website in the "How Cool is That Section". Check it out!