REPORT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Mathews Memorial Library
Bette Dillehay, Director
October 9, 2012

This report is intended to provide the Chairman and members of the Board of Trustees with a report of activities during the period ending October 9, 2012.

Again this month, the library staff deserves a vote of thanks for service above and beyond. By all accounts the Tech Fair 2012 held on Saturday, September 29th was a resounding success. In particular, praise and thanks are extended to Greg Lewis for conceiving and providing leadership in producing the Fair. More than 100 visitors "attended" the event. We continue to receive positive feedback from those who attended. Because of their presence, they gained knowledge of various library technical services. They also had the opportunity to meet with several vendors and some even had fines removed as a result of dancing with the Wii gaming console.

Financial Report
Operating expenses for the report period totaled $3,920.05. This includes an honorarium of $200.00 for author and curator, Christopher Semtner, who will be appearing at the library on Wednesday, October 10th to discuss his book, Edgar Allan Poe's Richmond. Funding to support such programs was provided by Friends of the Library ($4,000) and authorized by the Mathews County Board of Supervisors as carry-forward funding.

Information maintained by the Office of the County Administrator regarding salaries and related benefits was not received for the period ending September 30th.

Library Construction Fund. The restricted account established by the Board of Supervisors for receiving donations to the renovation project remains at $12,720.00. I have been advised by Maree Morgan, president of the Friends of the Library, that the Friends will now accept checks made payable to the library and endorsed to them. In addition, Ms. Morgan sent a letter to the County Administrator requesting that all funds in the restricted account be provided to the Friends. This request is presently on hold pending your review and confirmation of the amount to be provided.

State Aid Budget
The library has received approval of its requested budget for using State-Aid Funds. A copy is available for review by members of the Board of Trustees.

Patron Update
The total number of patrons now stands at 9,816, with 62 new patrons added overall during the report period. Our goal is to reach 10,000 by year-end.

eBook Stats
To date, the library has provided 239 of its patrons with access to eBooks. During the report period, 41 of them checked out137 titles. For the new audio service, One Click Digital, 27 patrons are registered and during the same period, checked out 57 titles.

Literati Public
Among the more exciting services announced during the Tech Fair was the introduction of Literati Public which has been made available to library patrons by the Library of Virginia. Through access to the service, students (grades 3 through 12) needing help in math, reading and writing can access Homework Help and be connected to a state-certified teacher. The online teacher will work through homework problems with the student. Literati Public also offers a rich database of information resources and can be accessed through the library at any time from any computer connected to the Internet.

Using another library innovation, patrons will now be able to use their mobile devices to search the Mathews Memorial Library catalog, place items on hold, download library eBooks, access Literati Public and explore library databases. An app for gaining access to this "any phone, any network" service can be downloaded from http://va.boopsie.com.

Pop-Up Library
The colorful pop-up library continues to be very popular with patrons and guests of the library. True to its name, the facility has been moved to a new location. Currently, it is located at Liberty Square where those who visit county offices will have immediate access to a variety of books. Jamie Wilks, the County's new director of Buildings and Grounds Maintenance, assisted by Reese Hudgins, facilitated the move.

Coming Events
The library, with the support of Mathews Main Street Committee, is planning a special Halloween celebration for October 27th. The events to take place on Main Street will include a variety of activities beginning with a parade at 3 p.m. and concluding with a party at the library from 4 – 5 p.m.

A special treat planned for this year is the chance for young trick or treaters to visit the "not-so-scary" Spooky Shack to be located in the soon-to-be library addition. The space will be decorated and haunted by community teens and open from 3- 5 p.m.

Local merchants will create a festive atmosphere with spooky window displays, making them eligible for "best window display" award. Throughout the afternoon, they will welcome little ghouls into their shops for trick or treat and entice adults with in-store raffles.

Also enhancing the festive occasion will be a pumpkin-carving contest with judging held at the library at 4 p.m. Pumpkins for the contest will be available for pick-up from the library beginning Monday, October 16th.