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G.I. library honored for service, outreachLast modified at 11:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 29, 2003
clear="all"By Mike Bockoven
There have been a lot of cars in the parking lot of the Grand Island Public Library recently.
Cars belonging to library regulars, cars belonging to youths, cars belonging to those using the library's Internet access, cars belonging to those there for special events. In short, library director Steve Fosselman said, cars from just about everyone in the community.
"We're seeing a diverse population come in," he said. "We've really opened up our doors to become a community center."
It's because of that community base that the library has been awarded the 2003 Jane Geske Award from the Nebraska Center for the Book. The group will receive the award during the center's annual meeting on Sunday in Lincoln.
The award honors the library and the Grand Island Public Library Foundation for their "rich tradition of service, their outreach throughout Hall County and their variety of reading and literacy services provided."
Another reason for the award concerns what the library has done since 1991 to not only serve the community, but also reverse their fortunes. The center describes the library circa 1991 as an "underfunded, understaffed and underutilized entity."
Since 1991, the library has seen a 75-percent increase in checkouts, a 79-percent increase in patrons visiting the library, a 131-percent increase in the summer reading program and a 135-percent increase in bookmobile stops. The number the staff of the library is most proud of, Fosselman said, is the 423-percent increase in reference questions asked of the staff since 1991.
Rod Wagner, director of the Nebraska Library Commission, said those numbers, as well as all the state and regionwide programs the library is involved in, made it a leading contender for the award.
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Cars belonging to library regulars, cars belonging to youths, cars belonging to those using the library's Internet access, cars belonging to those there for special events. In short, library director Steve Fosselman said, cars from just about everyone in the community.
"We're seeing a diverse population come in," he said. "We've really opened up our doors to become a community center."
The award honors the library and the Grand Island Public Library Foundation for their "rich tradition of service, their outreach throughout Hall County and their variety of reading and literacy services provided."
Another reason for the award concerns what the library has done since 1991 to not only serve the community, but also reverse their fortunes. The center describes the library circa 1991 as an "underfunded, understaffed and underutilized entity."
Since 1991, the library has seen a 75-percent increase in checkouts, a 79-percent increase in patrons visiting the library, a 131-percent increase in the summer reading program and a 135-percent increase in bookmobile stops. The number the staff of the library is most proud of, Fosselman said, is the 423-percent increase in reference questions asked of the staff since 1991.
Rod Wagner, director of the Nebraska Library Commission, said those numbers, as well as all the state and regionwide programs the library is involved in, made it a leading contender for the award.
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