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Happy New Year! I am looking forward to a new year that is at least as successful for the library as the past year was.
There seems to be a greater focus on libraries recently and ours in no different, in that sense. Libraries continue to be important beacons of democracy and freedom of thought, equity in offering of knowledge, information and experience to all. Additionally, libraries have become community centers with various offerings for inclusion to those who participate. The Hyde Park Library strives to provide such resources, including a comfortable and welcoming place for all.
During the past year, the Hyde Park Library has expanded and developed in its offerings and outreach. It has been a successful year in many aspects. We completed out “Turning Outward” project in which input and ideas were elicited and collected town-wide and used as a foundation for our new Five-year Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan was developed during the past year and was approved by the Board in October. (Thank you to the Board members and Director for their attentive work on that plan.) With our Director, Jesse Chance, new offerings have been added to established programs and programs were expanded. Programing has focused on delivering to varied age groups and interest, from pre-school to activities and information services for retirees and “seniors”, from story hours, book selections and on-line books and movies to language courses, music, cooking demonstrations, and author events and artists’ shows. (See the report from the Director and monthly calendars.) The establishment of our “Collaboratory” was a major accomplishment of the year.
A highlight of the year was the completion of the renovations of the adult non-fiction “stacks” area. What a beautiful transformation into an area for community gatherings and events, and comfortable reading and work space. The September ribbon-cutting brought together various community members who may not have been in the library in many years. The Chamber of Commerce joined in the event as did the Town Board Supervisor, a Town Board member, and a County Legislator. It was a great success!
The architect of the renovation was present with his concept plan for our next project- the installation of an elevator. This is a significant project for the overall development of the library since it will bring us into ADA compliance, which assures all community members will have access to the various areas of the library. This is the goal of the new year. It is a very important and substantial project for the library. Accessibility is key to an open and equitable society and, therefore, must be so for the library.
Equity and fairness are foundations of our society and, therefore, are themes for our library. Policies have been rewritten and updated during the past year. (Thank you to all Board members and the Director for their extensive work on that project.) This year the policies for the Collaboratory will be completed. We are focused on bringing wages for the library’s dedicated staff up to more equitable levels; this will be a continuing effort. We have undertaken an experiment in equity through our “fine free” pilot study. If books are returned in a timely period, there will be no “punishing” late fees. The goal is to let people have access to books while assuring the library continues to have the books to offer. Sharing resources so all can benefit is the goal. (Soon we will have the initial results of the experiment.) We also have been working in collaboration with Meals on Wheels to develop a way to deliver books to people who may not be able to come out to the library to get them.
The responsibility of the Board of Trustees is to maintain the financial stability of the library while it serves the community and societal needs. During COVID, the library continued to provide services. The Board decided to hold the tax levy at a stagnant level for the first year so as not to burden people further during such a trying time. Last year (2022) we needed to raise the tax levy and chose as minimal an amount as was sustainable. In order to accomplish the various things that I have set out above while also maintaining a tight budget, we needed to raise the tax levy this year while planning to increase revenues through grants and enhanced assistance from the Friends of the Library.
This year we were honored to receive special, sizable gifts from Gloria and John Golden and from Michael Fleisher and Michael Dupree. We thank them with warm gratitude and appreciation. They have significantly added to our elevator account with their support. I also thank the various community members who donated to the library and its events. Your help is needed and appreciated so that the library can continue to serve our community.
This year, we added two new members to the Board of Trustees, for which we are very happy-Karin Armstrong and Mark Campbell. We bid “thank you” and adieu to loyal members of the Board as they “retired”- Colin Chen, Ruth Hurd, Brian Woolsey, and Beth Kolp. I thank all the members of our hard-working Board of Trustees for their commitment to the library and to the many volunteer hours they so freely share.
Sincerely,
Lynn Ruggiero, President of the Board of Trustees
Hyde Park Library
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