Image courtesy of the Millburn Patch
The Library ended the year 2010 successfully in both its public
operations and its financial condition. This was achieved in spite
of a $62,668 reduction in funding from the Township, which resulted
in a municipal appropriation of $2,998,384. Unfortunately, hard
times continue and the Library will have to cope with a further cut
of $56,569 in 2011 that will bring the appropriation down to
$2,941,815. This will necessitate a reduction in funding for
circulating materials and certain other expense lines, but the Board
of Trustees is committed to maintaining the current hours of
operation.
The budget detail for 2010 was as follows:
REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES FOR 2010
I. REVENUE
| Town of Millburn | $ | 2,998,384 |
| State Aid | $ | 9,379 |
| Grants | $ | 0 |
| Friends of the Library | $ | 13,050 |
| Other Revenues | $ | 117,210 |
| TOTAL | $ | 3,138,023 |
II. EXPENDITURES
| Personnel | $ | 2,375,698 |
| Library Materials | $ | 232,316 |
| Operating Expenses | $ | 503,148 |
| TOTAL | $ | 3,111,162 |
BCCLS
How did these financial details translate into operational effectiveness? Since 2003, the first full year of participation in BCCLS (Bergen County Cooperative Library System), the Millburn Public Library has experienced growth in circulation from 220,452 annual transactions to 255,690 transactions in 2010. Through BCCLS, registered Millburn users have both online and walk-in access to a total collection of nearly 5,500,000 books and non-print items held by 75 member libraries in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Passaic Counties. Without its membership in BCCLS and the resultant sharing of resources, the Millburn Library would find it much more difficult to deal with the current budget reductions and still have a hope of satisfying its users needs.
BCCLS offers Millburn other opportunities in subscriptions to foreign language materials. We already receive Bollywood DVDs and will soon be receiving Chinese DVDs. We also have a purchase subscription for Russian language books.
BCCLS is a major contributor to our adult programming effort. Twice in the past four years, they have contributed to the underwriting of a live performance of “SELECTED SHORTS” at the Millburn Free Public Library. Although not occurring in 2010, the last appearance featured Isaiah Sheffer as the host and the husband-and-wife team of Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry.
Jill Eikenberry performing a Dorothy Parker short
story.
Image courtesy of the Millburn Patch
USE OF THE COLLECTIONS FOR 2010
As of the end of 2010, the Library had a total collection of 81,963 items and a registered patronage of 12,072 individuals (9,815 adults and 2,257 children). Almost 60% of the township’s population are registered Library users. The circulation statistics for 2010 were as follows
| Books & Non-Print Media | Adult | Children | Total |
| Books & Magazine Usage | 86,940 | 78,795 | 165,735 |
| Non-Print Media Usage | 70,434 | 70,434 | 89,955 |
| Cumulative Usage | 157,374 | 98,316 | 255,690 |
CHILDREN’S SERVICES
The Library has increasingly strong children’s collection and programming efforts. Our story time series has been expanded to accommodate the growing demand. We offer ten story times per week, serving ages 9 months through 6 years. We also offer drop in story times on Saturdays for ages 2-4 years and on Sundays we have a story/craft program for ages 4-6.years. We offered a number of successful craft programs throughout the year for school-age children through young adults. These programs offered students a chance to learn about everything from cartooning and magic to origami and Indian henna tattooing. The Millburn High School Key Club has been involved in the Children’s Room the last couple of years offering a program of “Read and Learn” every Saturday. They offer homework help, storytelling & even puppet shows. And of course our major program each year is our ever successful Summer Reading Club. The program for 2010 (Make a Splash! Read!) was one of our most successful. We had over 900 registrants with over 800 active participants. Everyone loved our online registration and progress-recording program. Reading Club participants read almost 26,000 hours last summer.
How you can tell it’s Story Time at the Library!
Betsy Lewin, author of “Click, Clack, Moo…” and many
other children’s books admires her students’ works.
A gift to the children of Millburn from author/illustrator Betsy Lewin
NEW SCULPTURE
Installing “INSPIRATION”, by Julie Saypoff
In the Fall of 2010 the Library was privileged to receive “Inspiration”, a sculpture by township resident Julie Saypoff which came to the Library through the efforts of the Millburn Art Advisory committee. An explanation of the sculpture, written by the artist, appears on a poster in the Library’s gallery area.
“Inspiration is at home with the architectural structure of the library building with the trees and nature that surround it. The sculpture is mad of copper, mined from the earth. My goal is to recreate this metal into a ne, organic form, giving it a strong and uplifting voice of its own. Inspiration stands tall and proud, aesthetically referencing the knowledge of the past and the possibilities of the future. It represents Millburn’s belief in education and the confidence we hold in our youth.”
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY
The Friends of the Millburn Library is a fund raising
organization whose purpose is to
provide added support to the Library for ongoing programs, events,
and equipment.
As Ruth Binder, one the Friend’s Co-Presidents stated, “We offer
monthly book
discussions, have special programs such as a lecture by a curator
from the Metropolitan
Museum of Art and sponsor the Library’s annual summer reading
program. We also
sponsor a Children’s Chess Tournament, which has now been running
for over 25 years!”
The Friend’s annual book sale is a wonderful event not to be missed.
Mike Wojcio laying down the laws of chess at the Friends annual chess tournament!
Looking for literary bargains at the Friends’ book sale.