2005 Board of Chosen Freeholders

George B. Melick, Freeholder Director Nancy I. Palladino, Deputy Freeholder Director Marcia A Karrow, Freeholder George D. Muller, Freeholder Frank J. Fuzo, Freeholder

Cynthia J. Yard, County Administrator

2005 Library Commission

Kenneth Jagel, Jr., Chairperson Nancy Fuchs Lucille Hornby Thomas Valasek Dr. Peter Craig

Library Director - Mark Titus Assistant Director - Floyd Saums

Libraries in the Hunterdon County System

Hunterdon County Library Headquarters 314 State Route 12, Bldg. #3, Flemington, 08822 908-788-1444 Monday-Friday, 8:30-9:00; Saturday, 9-5 [Open Sundays 1-5 in Sept-May]

North County Branch 65 Halstead St., Clinton 08809 908-730-6262 Monday, Friday, Saturday, 9-5; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 9-9

South County Branch 1108-A Old York Rd., Ringoes 08851 908-782-3564 Tuesday, Wednesday, 9-9; Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 9-5

Bunnvale Library 7 Bunnvale Rd., Califon 07830 908-638-8884 Wednesday, 1-8; Thursday-Saturday, 10-5

Frenchtown Public Library 29 Second St., Frenchtown 08825 908-996-4788 Monday 9:30-12:30; Tuesday, Wednesday, 3-5, 7-9; Friday, 9:30-12:30

High Bridge Public Library 71 Main St., High Bridge 08829 908-638-8231 Monday, Wednesday, 10-12, 3-8; Friday, 10-12, 3-7; Saturday, 10-2

Holland Alexandria Free Public Library 129 Spring Mills Rd., Milford 08848 908-995-4767 Monday-Friday, 9-12, 3-8; Saturday, 9-3

Readington Township Library 105 Route 523, Whitehouse Sta. 08889 908-534-4421 Tues, Thur. 12-8, Mon., Wed., Fri. 9-5, Sat. 9-12 (closed August)

Tewksbury Public Library 31 Old Turnpike Rd., Oldwick 08858 908-439-3761 Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10-6; Thursday, 12-8; Saturday, 10-3

Three Bridges Library 449 Main St., Three Bridges 08887 908-782-2908 Mon., Fri. 10-5, Wed. 3-8, Thurs. 1-6, Sat. 9-12 (closed August)

Message from the Director

“The fates have given mankind a patient soul.” – Homer, The Iliad The events of 2005 left no doubt in anyone's mind that Hunterdon County Library is a dynamic organization. These events are a testament to our com-mitment to growth and change as a vibrant public institution. This transfor-mation is a long-term process that sometimes tests our patience and, surely, yours, too. We continue to believe that the rewards are well worth the wait. We made considerable progress in 2005 in finalizing the expansion/renovation of our Headquarters Branch Library at the County Complex on Route 12. This project is a tribute to the hard work and vision of the Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders; the County Administrator; the Library Commission; County Architect Frank Bell; and the Library staff; especially my predecessor, Janet Friend, and Assistant Director Floyd Saums. This expansion/renovation project represents the first phase of a long range plan for the countywide development of library facilities. This plan recognized the unique character of public libraries and the important role they play in Hunterdon County. Public libraries are a shared resource. Their inclusionary nature acknowledges that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It is in this spirit of cooperation that we look forward to the continued evolution of library services in Hunterdon County. I would like to thank all our library users and supporters for their steadfast belief in us. I especially want to thank the Friends of Hunterdon County Li-brary for all their energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to our mission. They are one of the most highly organized, successful Friends groups in the coun-try! Establishing and nurturing long-term relationships with a wide variety of com-munity partners will remain a major component of our strategy for the future. As much as we have accomplished in 2005, I am confident that our momen-tum and achievements will continue throughout 2006 and beyond. Working together we can attain our goal of providing quality library services for all li-brary users. -Mark Titus, Library Director

Adult Programming There were no adult programs held at the Hunterdon County Library Head-quarters in Flemington due to year-long renovations. There will be a new and enlarged Meeting Room at HCL Headquarters ready for Spring 2006. The Hunterdon County Library again received a matching grant from the New Jersey Council on the Arts administered through the Hunterdon County Cul-tural and Heritage Commission. Nineteen musical programs were presented at the North County Branch in 2005. These programs were attended by a total of 1,325 people, with an average of almost 70 people attending each concert. Popular performances included singer/pianist/narrator Fred Miller and his afternoon concert series, The Eric Mintel Jazz Quartet, Classical Gui-tarist Lawrence Del Casale, and Latin musicians Eco del Sur. The North County Branch Library also hosted 7 speakers in 2005. Over 150 people attended these events, which included Investment Seminars, Re-searching Your Home, and local author Ilene Beckerman. The free concerts and lectures at the Library continue to be a popular choice with residents of Hunterdon County.

Pianist/singer/narrator Fred Miller performs

2005 Annual Friends of HCL Book Sale

Friends of the Hunterdon County Library The Friends continued their great success in 2005. Membership remained high, just over 680, and the Book Sale proceeds jumped by $27,000 from 2004 to a net of $79,000. Gifts to the Library included a 6-volume set, “Lands and Peoples,” a 16-volume set, “Animal Families” and a ten volume set, “Amazing Animals of the World” to Headquarters, North County and South County as well as to each of the 7 member libraries in the county system. The Friends also donated money to equip a computer training room at Headquarters and for additions to the DVD and Books on CD collections at the 7 member libraries. They also continued financial donations to the member libraries to assist with their wish lists. In addition to the Outreach Program, (library service to the homebound), and the Book Discussion Group, a completely new program called “Books for the College Bound” was launched. It offers graduating seniors from Hunterdon County high schools the opportunity to apply for a scholarship for college text-books.

2005 - The Year in Review The year proved to be an especially challenging one for the Library. With the additions and renovations well under way at the Headquarters Library, library service there proved increasingly difficult to provide, as more areas of the building were being worked on. The Library staff strived to provide as much service as possible throughout the process. As more and more of the books had to be packed away and removed from the building, every effort was made to provide at least some selection by having some temporary shelving in-stalled in the art gallery and in front of the circulation desk. The Youth Ser-vices room and the Reference room remained usable until October, when the entire library had to be closed so the contractors could finish renovations to all of the main floor areas. Efforts were made to make library services more con-venient for our patrons by increasing the hours at our North and South County branches. By the end of 2005 the Library was nearing completion, and the staff was able to begin the enormous work of getting all of the books and other library mate-rials back in order on the shelves. While construction delays pushed the com-pletion date forward, the staff and patrons were able to anticipate the opening of the transformed library in early 2006. The Headquarters closing in the Fall, while inconvenient to our patrons, did have a positive benefit; many people discovered the community libraries in their own area, and circulation rose significantly at many of those libraries. The Library was concurrently making plans to upgrade its com-puterized circulation system which is shared by all of the li-braries in our service area, and by planning the replacement of all of the pub-lic internet computers at Headquarters and the North and South County branches, to insure faster, more trouble-free service.

Circulation system wide remained remarkably high, with a final tally only slightly less than the million that has been the benchmark for the previous three years. The Library is confident that this number will be exceeded again in 2006, with the Headquarters Library back in business, with even greater availability of books, DVDs and audio materials, and a full compliment of in-teresting programs to enrich the lives of both children and adults.

The other major change for the Hunterdon County Library was the arrival of a new Director, Mark Titus, in October. The Library Commission began an ex-haustive search in the winter of 2004/05 for the new director. Many highly qualified applicants responded, and the interview process lasted into the sum-mer. Mr. Titus previously worked for the Ocean County Library System as Chief Librarian of the Main Library. His innovative ideas and team building style of management have made him a very welcome leader of our library system. -Floyd Saums, Assistant Director

Youth Services Department In 2005, the Youth services Department presented 425 programs to over 6,400 children and young adults around the county. Over 3,200 adults ac-companied the children to these programs. The programs presented tour, story times, and special performers. Special summer performers included musicians, a magician, a theatre company, and a live reptile show. In spite of limited programming due to the construction at Heaquarters, the 1,099 members of the Summer Reading Club read over 23,000 books!

A New Offering: Computer Training Classes 2005 marked the first year that computer training classes were offered by the Hunterdon County Library. Due to renovations at Headquarters, the classes were only offered at the North County Branch and were filled almost as soon as they were announced. Because the sessions involved hands-on instruction, enrollment was limited to 4-8. Often people were put on waiting lists because classes filled so quickly. Four types of classes were offered. PC Basics, Internet Basics, Email Basics, and Searching Basics. Three to four classes were held each month with a total of 23 classes given to 150 participants. Attendees felt that the content was useful and that they attained a good level of confidence with their newly learned skills. Many became regular users of the Branch’s public Internet stations. This instructional program will expand to include Microsoft Office applications in 2006.

Electronic Resources In 2005 the Hunterdon County Library subscribed to twenty four online data-bases. Funding for many of these electronic resource products was provided by the New Jersey State Library and discount pricing for several others came from the Highlands Regional Library Cooperative. These databases offer a wealth of information on a variety of subjects from art to business, genealogy, history, medicine, and science. Two products, Ebscohost and Proquest, provide access to thousands of full-text magazine and newspaper articles. We also subscribe to the World Book encyclopedia online. One of the most exciting aspects of these electronic resources is that the ma-jority are available remotely. A student can do his assignment and a person searching his family history can work from home. Someone recently diag-nosed with a medical condition can read about it in Health Source Plus. To do this, all that is required is the library’s web address (www.hclibrary.us) and a ten digit library barcode number. Because of this potential for gaining a tremendous amount of information and their ease of searching, usage in 2005 was significant. The total number of logins was 20,160 and the total number of searches was 143,531. This repre-sents a 30.76% increase from 2004 and illustrates the growing importance of these products.

Renovations continued at HCL Headquarters in 2005

241,927

442,327

97,419

70,032

37,687

23,300

25,925

24,914

11,588

9,841

6,050

995,010

597,819

24,062

39,564

34,732

23,743

123,828

125,759

4,603

$3,296,801

$432,975

$60,550

$123,000

$57,500

$122,400

$15,500

$415,000

$120,000

$16,700

$30,500

$5,581,766

2005 Budget Highlights Salaries & benefits

Books

Newspapers, magazines, microfilm, indexes

Music, DVDs, books on tape, etc.

Online database subscriptions

Furniture, equipment, supplies

Youth & adult programming

Capital reimbursement

Library development reserves

Conferences & training

Bookmobile maintenance and gas

Total Library Budget for 2005

Circulation Statistics for the Year Books

Magazines

Music (CDs, cassettes, LPs)

Books on Tape

Books on CD

Videotapes

DVDs

CD-ROMs

Library Staff Certified Professional Staff 19

Total Staff 73

Items Borrowed Per Library Location Headquarters

North County

South County

Readington

Holland Alexandria

Tewksbury

Three Bridges

Bunnvale

Bookmobile

High Bridge

Frenchtown

Total

Childrens’ Programs are very popular at HCL HCL at the Fair! - August, 2005