Greensboro Free Library
2013 Town Report
Mary Metcalf, Librarian
The Greensboro Free Library offers programs and services to both adults and children throughout the year. Among our most active and popular programs are those for children. Emily Purdy is our Youth Services Librarian. She offersstory hoursfor preschoolers every Thursday at 10:00 am followed by a craft session here at the library. Area homeschoolers meet here every Tuesday at 10:30. We also do a weekly story hour at the Four Seasons of Early Learning, Care Bear Day Care Center and Wonder and Wisdom. Lakeview Elementary Kindegarten has a bi-weekly story hour.
Our summer programs for childrenhave been especially popular.These were a Bird Walk with Lucian Avery, Open Paper Mache Workshops, Fine Art for Kids, Storytime Yoga with Sophia Barsalow, Music with The Swing Peepers, Butterflies with Jerry Schneider, Clogging with the Brothers Harrell, andPuppet Shows and Storytelling with Modern Times Theatre, Mud Island Puppet Theatre, and Maria and Elka Schumann. We had249 children and 147 adults enjoy theseone-of-a-kind, fun, family friendlyevents from June-August!
The library also offers many services for adults. For Internet users, over 2600 adult audio books and 900 children’s audio books are available through the Vermont OneClickDigital Recorded Books. Over 500 online continuing education courses are offered through Universal Class. HeritageQuest Online provides a unique and growing collection of research materials for tracing family history and American culture. Over twenty-five on-line databases, including resources for business and community, health and wellness, and general reference are available through Gale Cengage Learning.These are all in addition to the more than14,000books the library has.
Book discussions in 2013addressed such books as“The Photograph” by Penelope Lively, “The Overcoat” & “The Nose” by Nikolai Gogol, “Black Dogs” by Ian McCuen and “American Insurgents” by Timothy Breen. Programs sponsored by the Library included“The Swing Peepers”, “Dig Into Nature” , a clogging workshop,“A Century of Greensboro Images”, “Religious Conservation in the Church Forests of South Gonda” and “Alzheimer’s and Holiday Celebrations“. Organizations such as the Historical Society, Lakeview Elementary, the Greensboro Association, and Wonder and Wisdom also used the library. Free tax help for low and moderate income taxpayers was available through the AARP Tax-Aide.
During 2013 the library had more than 11,500visitors- averaging223 per week. More than 11,000 volumes were circulated. Individuals with laptops are able to use the Internet in the library, on the porch, and in the parking lot. Others use the 12 public computers to do such things as surf the web, file for unemployment benefits, make travel reservations and for education. The Library’s website has been re-done. The library has a Facebook page and a Twitter account. The Library also sponsored a Chili Dinner in February and has an on-going book sale. Local groups are free to use the second floor Community Room which seats 49 people. Call 802-533-2531 to use the room.
Without our volunteers and the financial support of the Greensboro community, we could not keep the library open. We sincerely appreciate the continued support of the townspeople of Greensboro. Please feel free to make suggestions for the library. We value your opinion.