Chairman's Report - excerpt

I am happy to inform you that we have had another very successful year.

Our library has had a face lift with a new interior paint job. The colours are great, due in the most part to the colour sense of our staff. (They absolutely refused to let me have a say.)

The Public Library Services Branch is encouraging a move by all libraries in the northwest to form a federation. We are just in the process of going through an excercise to identify what it all means.

I cannot praise our staff and volunteers enough. Their dedication makes my role as chairman easy and enjoyable. They are friendly, knowledgeable, and willing to serve the public. Service is the credo here, and our patrons really appreciate it.

One other group that I must thank for their help and guidance is the Board of Trustees, who willingly give their time.

To everyone involved - THANK YOU. THANK YOU!

Librarian's Report - excerpt

Public Programming was well attended in 2004. Twenty sessions of Story Time were held. Visiting puppeteers from the Kitimat Public Library gave four performances of Rumpelstiltskin. More than 60 entrants in our Poetry Writing Contest vied for prizes donated by local sponsors. Through a Writers in Libraries Grant, Chris Weicht gave a photo-lecture on BC's Aviation History. The Summer Reading Club held activities twice a week during July and August. The Summer Reading Club won third prize for its Pioneer Day float, which was decorated on an Olympic theme.

Although the library was not funded to provide public access to the Internet last year, it was able to do so, thanks to our volunteer technician Marvin Wardle, and Wesley Tetreau, a 3rd year Computer Science major at UNBC.

Internet service was improved when the library was able to make the change from dial-up to highspeed connection. Patrons and staff appreciate this new efficiency.

2004 saw the design of a database for our Local History Reference collection. Once complete, this database will allow searches of subjects within the Local History books, and will be of great help to researchers looking for specific, detailed information in this collection.

The interior of the library painting project was completed with no disruption to patron services, thanks to Yogi Belisle. Katimavik participants re-painted exterior doors, railings, benches and fence.

The Library Bursary was awarded to our Page, Robyn Bonneville.

A personal achievement for me last year, was a Certificate from the Community Librarian Training Program after I completed my fourth CLTP course in May.

Volunteers continue to contribute significantly to the successful operation of the Library. These individuals donate time, energy and skills on an on-going basis. I would like to acknowledge and thank Amy Brown for keeping the library open on Tuesday Evenings and Slawek Kochanek for opening on Monday nights. The availability of library services on these evenings is a real asset to the community.

Lastly, I would like to thank the staff who made 2004 a success. It is impossible to list all they do, but in part: Ruth Cooper, the Assistant Librarian, looks after InterLibrary Loans, grant applications, library tours, hundreds of e-mails, and more; Carole Sutherland, the Children's Librarian, promotes and plans Story Time, oversees Summer Reading Club, and keeps her eyes on the decor - inside and out; Maggie Carew opens the library on Saturdays, catalogues, and keeps the scrapbooks beautiful and up-to-date; Nicole Emmerton, the Page, works the Junior Department and cheerfully looks after anything she is asked to do. I am very pleased to be part of this team.

Contributions and Support

The Library wishes to thank the following businesses, organizations, governments, and individuals whose support assists the Library in many ways.

Businesses and Organizations

Apex Cleaning Services
Beertema's Furniture & Electronics
Boston Pizza - Smithers
The Bulkley Browser
BC Hydro HYDRECS Fund
Bulkley Valley Credit Union, New Hazelton Branch
Colour-Rite Painting
Community Access Program / Industy Canada
Cormorant Book Publishers
District of New Hazelton
Esther Miller Memorial Fund
Gitanmaax and Village of Hazelton Volunteer Fire Department
Hazelton Area Theatre Society
Human Resources Development Canada
Interior News
Learner's Opportunity Group Society
Legal Services Society of British Columbia
MacDonald's Red & White
Public Library Services Branch
Regional District of Kitimat Stikine
Royal Bank, Hagwilget Branch
SpeeDee/Interior Stationery and Books
Sears Canada Ltd., New Hazelton
Tri-Town Theatre
Upper Skeena Development Centre
Upper Skeena Hospice Society
The Riverboat Gallery and Café
Village of Hazelton
Wrinch Memorial Hospital Auxilliary

Individuals

Anonymous - Audio Book Fund
Dr. Frank Cassidy and Carol Ponchet - Local History Fund
Ron and Marilynne Lawrence - Book Fund
Jim Looney - Audio Book Fund
Maureen Woods - Audio Book Fund
and
the many patrons who donate
audios, videos, and books for the collection and/or for fundraising.

Library Trustees, Staff & Volunteers

Trustees

Fred Roisum - Chairman
and Representative of Kitimat-Stikine Regional Board
Ron Mould - Vice Chairman
Gil Wilson - Treasurer
Jill Holland - Secretary
Constance Kalapaca
Debra Sullivan
Jenny Lee
Mary Moran
Shirley Muldon - Representative of the Village of Hazelton
Bob Sturney - Representative of the District of New Hazelton

Staff

Eve Hope - Librarian
Ruth Cooper - Assistant Librarian
Carole Sutherland - Library Assistant
Maggie Carew - Library Assistant
Nicole Emmerton - Page
Rose Marshall - Janitor

Volunteers

Youth Employees and Volunteers

Robyn Bonneville
Alana Harrison
Kylee Henderson
Stephanie Howard
Amber Jackson
Ceci Larson
Wesley Tetreau

Statistics 2004

Circulation: 21,284
This is the number of books, periodicals, videos and audiobooks circulated. Of this number:

	32% of the items circulated were Adult Fiction
	24% - Easy Readers
	22% - Non-fiction
	12% - Juniors
	3% - Videos
	7% - Audio Cassettes

Inter Library Loans:
Our patrons borrowed 179 books through the Inter Library Loan service. We loaned 698 books to other libraries. There were a total of 877 books circulated through our Inter Library Loan service.

Volunteer Hours: 1,216
The library receives a huge amount of volunteer help: The Board of Trustees sets policy, gives direction, and oversees the financial well-being of the Library. There are individuals who schedule regular time to help with library operations. There are people with special skills who work on specific projects or help with library programmes. And, there is the staff, each of whom donates time and effort beyond their job descriptions. The library is immeasurably enriched by the volunteer work contributed

Collection: 28,795
The library acquired and catalogued 1,118 volumes during 2004. 551 volumes were withdrawn from the collection. Books removed from the collection were either donated to other organizations (such as the bookmobile and Wrinch Memorial Hospital), or sold to raise funds for the library.

New Members: 141
This is the number of new library memberships taken out in 2004.

Internet Use: 2900
This is the number of people using the public access computers.

Subscription Database Use: 150
The Ebsco Database is seeing increased usage by our patrons. Between January and October there were 52 (5.2/month) searches for information. Between November and the end of December there were 98 searches (49/month).