Survey revisited

We have gotten a lot of surveys returned either from the webpage or in hard copy and I want to thank everyone that has done one. There is still a couple of days for you to fill one out if you haven't taken a moment to do so. Pick up a survey at the library or take a quick moment to go here to do it. Why? Because we want to hear what you think. A few minutes of your time will have a big impact on your library. You can be confident about one thing, I pay attention to what our users are saying and follow through. Your time is far too valuable to waste. I already know some things we will be doing in response to this survey: expand the audiobook collection focusing on new titles and big authors; expand our large print focusing on best sellers, big authors and non-fiction; and we will be keeping videos of movies that we don't have and/or can't get in DVD. You told us, we listened.

Outreach

One of the many services offered by the Kelley Library is one that not many people know about. However, it is a service that has a huge impact on those that benefit from it. For many years now, the Library has offered home delivery of books and other materials to residents who are unable to get to the library due to age or infirmity. Anne Pepin (who you probably know from her work at the main desk and is famous for her work on our garden) has been doing the home delivery for over 25 years after taking it over from someone who had also been doing it for years. Home delivery is now an expected service of libraries, but Kelley has been doing it longer than most.

It is an enormously rewarding service. The people who get home delivery have a limited world beyond contact with caregivers, family and trips to the doctor. A visit from Anne with a fresh supply of reading is a bright spot in a quiet life. It is someone new to talk to, a fresh source of news about the community, and a chance to have something new to read or listen to. Anne has many stories that she will share here at a later date, but it all comes down to a deep understanding of how important this service is to her people. It makes it worth trudging and driving through snow, ice and rain to make her monthly visit.

Soon after I started here, Joan Fardella, now a Library Trustee, came to me with an idea for providing this service. She knew I had worked with a bookmobile service which brought books to elderly people in assisted living facilities, and thought we could start our own 'bookmobile' - Joan in a car. When she discovered that we already provided that service, she was delighted that she would be able to help expand the program. That idea has grown over the past months to Mobile Books, an extension of the fine work Anne continues to do. Joan is providing home delivery to anyone who can't get to the library due to illness, physicial handicap or any limitation. The program kicked off on May 1st, and Joan is now accepting requests for service. Interested in arranging for home bound delivery to someone you know? Please call the library at 603-898-7064 or email me at abaker@salem.lib.nh.us and we will get the process started.

Book: The Camel Bookmobile, by Masha Hamilton
Book: Mystery of the Bewitched Bookmobile, by Florence Parry Heide
Website: Floating Bookmobiles
Website: Camel bookmobiles - (scroll down the page a bit)
Website: Mule Bookmobiles