with D. R. Moon Memorial Library Director Elizabeth Miniatt

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season. Please read on for the January news and updates from the library. The library board meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 5PM in the lower level of the library. The meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to attend. If you are unable to make it to the meeting, you can find the information I share with the board each month here.

It’s a new year, which means it is Annual Report season for Wisconsin libraries! Each year in January libraries begin preparing the Annual Report for the previous year. In the coming months I will share with you all some of the statistics we gather for the annual report, and how these relate to the library and the community. One of our most significant statistics is “total circulation”. Total circulation is the number of times physical items, such as books or magazines, are checked out from our library, plus the number of times those items are renewed. For the year of 2022 we had a total circulation of 35,859, an increase from our total circulation in 2021. Statistics like this are useful because they help show the use of library resources by community members. I’ll talk more about circulation in February’s column.

Speaking of showing how the library is used by the community, we are currently collecting “Library Love Stories” for library representatives to take to our legislators on Library Legislative Day in February. Community voices like yours are essential for library advocacy. As a member of the community served, your story can be more impactful than a librarian sharing what the library offers. Please share your library story here https://forms.gle/p7GgEhGpaSRdGKLH6 or call or stop into the library to share your story with library staff.

Join our Winter Reading 2023 challenge for the month of January! The Winter Reading challenge is sponsored by Beanstack and can be accessed at the library’s Beanstack site. Register at stanleylibrary.beanstack.org to log your reading and activities to earn badges all month. Please talk to library staff for more information.

Other programs this month include Storytime on the 12th and 26th at 10:30AM, Creative Writing Guild on the 17th and 31st at 2:30PM, Teen Creative Writing Guild on the 19th at 4PM, Play & Learn on the 23rd at 10AM, and Girls Who Code Clubs on the 25th at 4PM. Just Create It is also on the 25th this month at 2PM and features wood burning art! The book club is reading My Story by Elizabeth Smart and will meet on February 2nd, at 2PM.

The library has closed several times in the past few weeks due to the severe winter weather in our area. Closure notices will always be posted on the library door and on our website. The library does not charge overdue fees anymore, so please don’t worry about getting that book or movie back to us when there is a winter storm warning or bitterly cold temperatures as we’ve been experiencing recently.

The library is open for you Monday through Friday from 10AM-6PM. Come in any time to use the computers, find a book or movie, borrow a WiFi hotspot or iPad, or use our printer to fax, scan, and copy. We are also still offering curbside pick-up to those who wish to use that option, as well as home delivery for the elderly and home-bound. We hope to see you soon!