INSIDE

2006 Point Roberts Library

By Kris Lomedico

Well, lots of changes in the past year in hours, staffing and technology!

 Very Good News: Additional open hours! Two more hours for Tuesdays, open now from 2 to 8 p.m. instead of 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays remain 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

We welcomed and then bid goodbye to page Terry Chan and assistant Mary Monaghan. Page Jean Burger Daniels stays on and the assistant position is yet to be filled. Many well trained substitutes from around the county filled in and enjoyed working here and meeting our patrons.

There’s a new neon “open” sign in the window, a new swinging sign outside, and thanks to the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce a new directional sign at the corner of Tyee and Gulf roads, pointing the way!
Now library internet users have “smart cards” that allow them half hour access to the internet, and a wireless connection for lap tops is expected soon. At the front desk a self-check out station allows one to do just that and most folks enjoy it. Because of ergonomic concerns staff no longer stamp due dates on items, though stamps are provided for do-it-yourselfers. Instead a print-out list is provided, and for a limited time a fridge magnet for posting.

Future expansion, on the wish list for now, could allow a larger area for teens. County library director Joan Airoldi met with the parks board to consider expanding present space, and a special meeting is planned for Monday, January 29, at 2 p.m. in the library. Members of the library board of trustees are visiting all library branches this month and next to meet the public, and trustee Donna Lee Elke just spent an afternoon at Point Roberts meeting and listening to people.

After much thought and discussion the storytellers decided to move pre-school storytime up an hour to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, and to keep it going year round to accommodate more parents and kids. 

The current crew includes Rose Momsen, Jean Burger Daniels, Jo Harrison, and Sylvia Branzei-Velasquez. Volunteers are welcome.

Kids loved the summer reading program Paws, Claws, Scales and Tales, where they got many small rewards for reading, and those who reached their goals earned a free ice cream cone, compliments of Dylan’s.  Teens read and wrote blogs for their program Creature Features. 

Craft programs for kids occur throughout the year and include Halloween mask making, participatory puppet shows, and making Valentines. This year Valentine crafts will be February 14 at 3 p.m.
Friends of the Point Roberts Library (president Davea Fisher, treasurer Sylvia Branzei) sell donated books during open hours in the hallway of the community center, and sponsor a joke telling contest every year.

Past events have included summer picnics, concerts, and unpublished writers.  Funds provide subscriptions to all the magazine subscriptions for teens and kids, and contribute to Dollars for Scholars. Future meetings will be posted.

It’s your library, check it out!