What did your Belchertown family and friends do with their

in FY2006?

1. What a bargain!!! The FY2006 per capita support for the CML amounted to $23.40!

3. There are approximately 1,240 students currently attending Belchertown's High and Middle schools.  There are 1,124 CMLSC holders in that age range.  Similarly, there are approximately 1,373 students currently attending Belchertown's elementary schools, while there are 1,440 juvenile CMLSC holders in that age group (pre-school through grade 6).

4. In FY2006 CMLSC holders visited the CML more than 71,700 during its 2,077 hours of direct patron service for a weekly average of 1,380 visits each week, and an annual average per capita library visit figure of 5.1. 

5.  Throughout the school-year the CML remained accessible to Belchertown's students for 1,300 hours after the close of school libraries.  Each week the CML provided accessibility to academic resources for Belchertown students for an additional 25 hours which our schools simply cannot match.   

6. Last year the CML staff answered more than 3,000 reference inquiries for our juvenile CMLSC holders.

7. CMLSC holders borrowed more than 136,300 items for a per capita average of 10.4 items. General Adult and Young Adult patrons borrowed nearly 86,000 items. Our Juvenile CMLSC holders (pre-school through grade 6) borrowed over 50,000 items.

9. CMLSC holders found what they were looking for while borrowing more than 3,500 individual issues of the nearly 100 periodicals and newspapers subscribed to by the CML.

10. CMLSC holders can select items in a variety of formats in the Juvenile and YA/Adult collections including books, videos, DVDs, audio books, music CDs, CD-ROMS, periodicals, kits and more

11. Sadly, the items in these various collections number less than 26,000.  Of 366 Massachusetts public libraries, 359 have collections larger than that of the CML.

12. In an effort to compensate for the substantial weaknesses of our woefully inadequate collection, the CML collaborates with the Massachusetts Bd. of Library Commissioners (MBLC), the Central/Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing Library Consortium (C/W MARS) and the Western Massachusetts Regional Library System (WMRLS). 

13. Your CMLSC gives you full access to over six million items from the collections of 140+ C/W MARS member libraries.  

14. Together, the resources made available in FY2006 through these partnerships enabled the CML to deliver a record 14,617 items to CMLSC holders from libraries as far away as Alaska.

15. Your CMLSC enables you to satisfy your online information needs from the comfort of your own home 24 hours a days, seven days a week.  This "remote access" enables you to request the materials found in the C/W MARS database, and have those materials delivered to the C/W MARS library of your choice.  Returning items is equally convenient.

16. CMLSC holders also can boast of online access to the index and archive of full-text articles from the Boston Globe, Springfield Republican, Berkshire Eagle as well as our Sentinel print archive.

17. So too, CMLSC holders have access to over 25 million online full-text articles in magazines, reference books and newspapers.

18. While remote access is becoming increasingly popular, in-library use of the CML Information Technologies Network (ITN) has also demonstrated its continued utility in FY2006 with an average of 30.7 CMLSC holders using the Information Technologies Network (ITN) daily.

  19. Concurrently, in-Library use of the CML Home Page has soared from 26,000 hits in FY2005 to nearly 43,000 hits in FY2006.

20. CMLSC holders have access to a wealth of online databases including the eContent NetLibrary. eContent is the digital version of books, journals, and database content, and includes approximately 7,000 books on popular topics.  CMLSC holders were able to view electronic books and download audio books on topics including popular fiction, travel, computers, onsumer health, business on the web, etc.

21. The AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive is also available online to CMLSC holders.  Content includes over two million photographs taken as early as 1826, one million audio recordings from the 1920’s on, two million news stories from 1997on, and collection of more than 45,000 maps, graphs, charts, logos, flags, illustrations are older.

22. The NoveList, a fiction database that provides subject heading access, reviews, annotations, and much more for over 135,000 fiction titles is accessible with a CMLSC.  NoveList also includes biographical and bibliographical information for 100,000 U.S. and international authors.

23. MedlinePlus directs CMLSC holders to reliable information about health questions. MedlinePlus offers access to the medical literature, full-text drug information and an illustrated medical encyclopedia.

25. The Adult Summer Reading Challenge, in just its second year, attracted nearly 300 CMLSC holders with some winning prizes that included wildlife photos by Les Campbell and watercolors by Pauline Thomas. 

26. With FY2006 totals of 251 programs, spanning 401 hours, and attracting 6,484 participants Juvenile CMLSC holders had the opportunity, during an average week, to participate in one of 5 children's programs spanning almost 8 hours with an average program attendance of 25.

27. The PAWS to READ program addresses the juvenile literacy problem in a most unique and successful way.  Ms. Whitehead, in collaboration with Dawn Kimball, match youngsters who are experiencing reading problems with specially trained dogs.  While reading to a non-critical dog, the young readers relax, begin to enjoy reading and become accomplished readers.    

28. The CML offers free passes for the Holyoke Children's Museum, the Eric Carle Museum and the Springfield Museums.

30. In FY2006 the Clapp Memorial Library (CML) was able to deliver to the Belchertown community this popular and practical array of programs and services for less than 1% of the entire FY2006 Belchertown municipal budget. 

31. The FY2006 level of per capita support for the CML came to $23.40. The per capita borrowing average for CMLSC holders was 10.4 items, while the average cost of a single adult hardcover book was $33.54, and that of hardcover juvenile book was $20.52. 

Your CMLSC is the smartest card you own. Studies show that children who use their library do far better in school.  Can you afford not to give your child or grandchild the key to success – a CMLSC?!?  So too, your CMLSC is your very own ticket to a world of opportunity, and it continues to offer such opportunities throughout your entire lifetime.  Get it.  Use it @ the Clapp Memorial Library.

                                                                                          Sincerely,

                                                                                         OWEN MALONEY

                                                                                          Library Director

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