Cleveland Heights–University Heights Public Library Board meeting highlights 2-16-2015

FEBRUARY 16, 2015

  • Friday hours restored at Coventry Village Library
  • Clayworks to continue at Coventry Village Library
  • Balanced scorecard
  • Library spring newsletter available
  • User survey
  • Friends activities
  • Countywide summer reading program
  • Highlights of the January public service report

All board members were present.

Friday hours restored at Coventry Village Library

The board passed a resolution to restore Friday hours (9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) to the Coventry Village Library as of May 15. The passage of the library levy in November 2014 makes this possible. A full-time youth services associate position will be added to the library staff and almost $300,000 has been invested in improvements to the building.

Clayworks to continue at Coventry Village Library

The board approved a continuation of its license with Clayworks for use of part of the Coventry Village Library. Clayworks will remove its kiln from the boiler room and will vacate a storage room and the telephone room. Because of the reduction in space, the license fee will not increase. Clayworks will plan a display at the Lee Road Library in addition to its other community activities.

Balanced scorecard

The Balanced Scorecard Measures of Success for 2014–15 focused on: the 16th annual Poetry Slam, with 100 attendees; partnership with Church of the Saviour’s “Breath Respite” program for special needs children; Noble Neighborhood Library’s beginning readers storytime; and continued planning for renovations to the University Heights Library.

Library spring newsletter available

Sheryl Banks, marketing manager, announced that the spring 2015 edition of the library’s newsletter Check Us Out is in the mail to every household in Cleveland Heights and University Heights.

User survey

A user survey e-mailed to customers, asking how and where they found recommendations for material, yielded 400 responses, which are being tabulated.

Friends activities

Louisa Oliver, president of Friends of the CH-UH Public Library Board, encouraged library board members to join Friends and to attend the Feb. 22 fundraising event at The Wine Spot. Friends is sponsoring a film at the International Film Festival, but the name of the film could not be released as of the date of the meeting.

Countywide summer reading program

All public libraries in Cuyahoga County are meeting to plan, develop and evaluate a summer reading program that will reduce the loss of learning growth that most students experience over the summer. The program will focus on math, reading and exploration of cultural assets. A grant application will be made to United Way to cover evaluation planning. Common marketing materials will be shared.

Highlights of the January public service report:

  • The Art Study Group attended a docent-led tour at the Cleveland Museum of Art, looking at works involving warfare, including the Civil War, which was a theme of the library’s winter quarter programming.
  • In “Clevelanders in the Civil War,” Marge Wilson of the Civil War Roundtable looked at famous and not-so-famous local citizens who participated in the “War of the Rebellion.”
  • Clayworks offered a free class for school-age children, Creating with Clay: Winter Wonderland.
  • At University Heights Library, Valerie Vinson, outreach educator for the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals, presented two one-hour programs on cancer prevention.
  • “Big Chuck” Schodowsky opened the University Heights Library Senior Happenings speaker series for 2015. The Cleveland television personality spoke to 23 attendees about his life and career and showed clips from the “Big Chuck and Lil’ John Show.”
  • Peggy Hull, youth services associate, visited Roxboro Middle School with prizes for students who could identify silhouettes of characters from children’s fiction.
  • Librarians Jessica Robinson and Lauren Saeger began a quarterly Family Fun Night program with games, arts and crafts.

LWV Observer: Anne S. McFarland.

These meeting summaries are abstracted from LWV observers’ written reports. The summaries have been edited and prepared by Anne McFarland, Charlene Morse and Maryann Barnes. To receive e-mail postings of full reports, send an e-mail to mbarnes9515@gmail.com or join through Google groups using “lwv-chuh observer reports” as a search phrase.

These reports contain member observation and selected highlights of public meetings and are not official statements of the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland. This disclaimer must accompany any redistribution of these reports.

League of Women Voters

Observer Corps editor for the Heights Chapter of the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland

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Volume 8, Issue 4, Posted 6:47 PM, 03.17.2015