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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09222025 City Council - Library Presentation Seward Community Library & Museum Hello everyone, My name is Jolanta Ryan and I am the Library and Museum Director 1 Meet Our Team Director: Jolanta Ryan Deputy Director: Karen Cooper McLoughlin Museum Curator: Allie Stacy Library Technician: Lily Kornachuk Library Aides: Cara Schaeffermeyer Seasonal Library Aides: Luke Gunter, Laura Lopez, Teresa Bain Here’s a photo of all our awesome team that keep the museum and library running smoothly everyday. Staring at the bottom left is Karen Cooper Mcloughlin, our Deputy Director, myself, and Allie Stacy our museum curator, on the top left is Laura Lopez, seasonal aid, then Lily Kornachuk, library technician, Teresa Bain and Luke Gunter also seasonal aids and Cara Shaeffermeyer (Shafermyer)library aid. 2 Our Mission Connecting Our Community, Sharing Our Stories The Seward Community Library & Museum is a unique combined public library, museum, archives and community center serving Seward and the surrounding area providing opportunities for equal access to information, technology, lifelong learning, community enrichment, and the preservation of Seward’s heritage. Our Partners Seward Community Library Association (Friends of the Library) Resurrection Bay Historical Society (RBHS) Iditarod Trailblazers Seward Prevention Coalition Volunteers This slide highlights our mission, which is : We try and uphold this mission but we could not do all without support from our partners and volunteers. We are incredibly thankful to our partners Seward Community Library Association, Friends of the Library, RBHS, Iditarod Trailblazers and all of our volunteers. 3 Grants Alaska State Museums In addition to the amazing support we receive from the city, our partners and volunteers, we also apply for grants to help fund and expand our work. Some of the grants we’ve received—come from organizations like Online With Libraries which help fund our patron internet, the Public Library Association which helps fund our books and library services, Allie just received a grant from the Alaska State Museums for reader rails to help with reading accessibility in the museum, and recently we’ve received grants for various programs such as digital literacy and thinking money for kids 4 Recovery Corner Free Wi-Fi Resources For Everyone Faxing Laminating Beyond books, computers, and museum exhibits So while grants help us grow and innovate our core focus remains on serving the day to day needs of our community. This slide highlights some of the everyday resources we offer. Beyond books, computers, and museum exhibits, we offer a variety of essential services — including printing, faxing, laminating, and scanning — all available to the public. We also host a dedicated space called the Recovery Corner. This area provides information and resources for individuals seeking help with substance use, recovery, and mental health support. 5 Programs for all Ages Chess "Love the library! The current staff makes us feel so welcoming and comfortable. Grateful for the program coordinator for all the library events! Fun for the whole family which can be tough to find indoors in the winter here! " Bloom Play and Chat We also offer a wide range of programs for all ages, designed to educate, and bring our community together. Some of our ongoing programs include: Digital literacy workshops Chess Club Bloom: Play & Chat for childrend and parents Thinking Money for Kids, a fun financial literacy experience Storytime every Friday Tech Tutoring every Tuesday 10,000 Books Before Kindergarten And of course, our Summer Reading Program, which brings families together through reading and activities all summer long I wanted to share a quote with you left by one of the patrons this year. “Love the library! The current staff makes us feel so welcome and comfortable. Grateful for the program coordinator for all the library events! Fun for the whole family — which can be tough to find indoors in the winter here!” That kind of feedback reminds us just how important these programs are, especially in a place like Seward where indoor community spaces are so valuable in the winter 6 Snapshot of SCLM Reach in 2025 Hosted 344 Programs 3,643 Program Attendance This slide gives you a quick snapshot of the Seward Community Library & Museum’s reach in 2025. We had nearly 98,000 total visits this year — that’s a clear sign that people are actively using and valuing our space. KAREN We now have 9,924 registered users, and our collection includes over 31,000 physical items. Circulation remains strong, with more than 34,000 items checked out, plus an additional 7,177 e-books and audiobooks accessed through our digital platforms. We also hosted 344 programs this year, with a total of 3,643 attendees — a true reflection of the community’s engagement with what we offer. “This data shows how essential the library and museum are to our community. 7 Open six days a week Launched monthly events calendar Added online access to current newspapers Featured in NHK Japan documentary film (Harry S. Kawabe & Jujiro Wada) 2025 Highlights To Better Serve Our Community I also wanted to touch on some highlights from 2025 many of which we hope will help better serve the community We decided to open the library on Mondays so now we’re now open six days a week, giving people more opportunities to visit. We also launched a new Events Calendar, making it easier than ever to find and plan for our programs and activities. Another big addition is our online access to current newspapers, which keeps the community connected to daily news. And something really special — we were featured in a Japanese documentary produced by NHK, focused on local historical figures Harry S. Kawabe and Jujiro Wada. It’s a great honor and shines a spotlight on Seward’s unique heritage.” Allie has a big part in this documentary 8 Resurrection Bay Historical Society’s Collection is now online- photos and objects available online to everyone Launched Library and Museum Virtual Tour Launched Online Historic Newspaper Archive Expanded Foreign Language Collection Expanded Discovery Kits: -Fishing Kit -Birding Kit -Sewing Machines -Seed Swap 2025 Highlights Cont. Continuing with our 2025 highlights — The Resurrection Bay Historical Society’s collection is now available online, Allie has been working hard with the volunteers to upload historic photos and artifacts to the site allowing anyone to explore this information from anywhere. Allie was also instrumental in coordinated and launched our Virtual Tour of the library and museum, bringing our space to people digitally when they can’t visit in person. I am also grateful for Allie for getting the Online Historic Newspaper Archive online which is another new resource, making it easier to research local history from home. We expanded our Foreign Language Collection to better serve the diverse needs of our community. And finally, we’re growing our Discovery Kits program, adding new kits focused on local culture and interests, including the Fishing Kit,and soon to have a Birding Kit, Sewing Machines, and a Seed Swap are in the spring. These kits offer hands-on learning and connection with Seward’s heritage.” 9 Recent Programs WWII Celebration of Fort McGilvray Summer Reading Program “We’ve also had a really exciting year of programming. Our first-ever Garden Party was a huge success — it brought people of all ages together to celebrate summer, and we’re thrilled to make it an annual tradition. We also hosted a WWII Celebration of Fort McGilvray, honoring the history of the fort and those who served there —which was very well-attended. Founders Day was another highlight, where we celebrated Seward’s roots and the people who shaped our town. The Stuffy Sleepover was a big hit with our younger patrons — kids dropped off their stuffed animals for a weekend of library adventures and got a fun photo book of their stuffy's journey when they returned. And of course, our Summer Reading Program continues to be one of our most loved traditions — engaging hundreds of families in reading, learning, and fun throughout the summer. 10 Summer Reading Program "Fantastic program! Fun, creative, engaging, rewarding, challenging and competitive in a fun reading way. Loved the prizes and swag. " I want to take a moment to highlight our Summer Reading Program, which saw incredible growth this year — both in participation and engagement. We had 272 readers across all age groups, including: 21 Preschoolers 79 Elementary students 20 Middle Schoolers 11 High School students 21 Homeschooled students And 120 Adults Together, participants read a total of 221,594 minutes — that’s the equivalent of five months of nonstop reading. Just imagine someone reading continuously from the first day of summer all the way to Thanksgiving — that’s what our community accomplished. We also hosted 10 library events, partnered with local groups for 9 additional events, and gave out 1,479 prizes along the way —we could not have made this year as impactful with out the generous support of our sponsors: Seward Community Library Association, Seward Prevention Coalition, and Seward Ocean Excursions. 11 Good Neighbor Week -Art Project -Tea Party -Potluck and Recipe Share Passport Processing Event (Oct.25) Credit Card Payment Rollout Pumkin Decorating Contest Holiday Open House Just Around the Corner So we’ve had a fun and successful summer and we want to keep that positive energy going so here’s a preview of some of the upcoming events and things rolling out 12 Museum Now and Beyond I’ve already mentioned how much Allie and our dedicated museum volunteers contribute to the library’s operations, ongoing projects, and events But I also want to take a moment to highlight some of the museum’s summer activities and give you a look at what’s coming next. This summer, the museum was open seven days a week, with help from RBHS students running operations on Sundays. We showed 2@2 movies daily, featured rotating exhibits, and welcomed a wide range of tour groups — from the Smithsonian to local schools, Girl Scouts, and even local tour companies like Miller’s Landing and Liquid Adventures. As we move into winter, we’re focusing on behind-the-scenes work, including a Collections Management Fund Grant, exploring tools like Artwork Archive for our fine art collections, and planning future exhibits — including a major upgrade to our WWII and Benny Benson/Jesse Lee Home exhibit in 2026. And looking ahead to Summer 2026, we’re excited to host the America 250 Traveling Exhibit from the State of Alaska, titled ‘Field of Dreams: America’s Pastime in the 49th State.’ It will feature nine curated panels — with a special ‘10th Inning’ panel focused on Seward’s own baseball history.” 13 Thank You! I just wanted to say Thank you for your time and support. We’re proud of the work we’ve done and we’re excited about what’s ahead. 14