News

Raymond Village Library's Successes Lead to New Phase
By Sheila Jacobson

The Raymond Village Library entered a new phase in late October. The Raymond Village Library Club voted to change the library's operational structure to an incorporated non-profit organization. The library will now be overseen by a Board of Trustees, including one selectperson from the Town of Raymond serving as an ex-officio member. The board sets policy for the library and is responsible for maintaining funding for operations.

For continuity in the transition, the board of directors of the former club will make up the initial board of trustees of the non-profit corporation. However, through incorporating with the provision for a larger number of the trustees, the library opens the board to a broader-based representation from the community. To that end, the board is in the process of identifying complementary and additional skills desirable in new trustees that would strengthen the board's ability to adequately address the library's short and long- term goals.

The purpose of the Raymond Village Library remains steadfast. Its mission is to provide quality services and resources to the entire community in a welcoming atmosphere. The library has successfully met the challenge of Raymond's rapid population growth and the resultant influx of new patrons by expanding the library's collection, services, programs, and physical facilities. These successes were evidenced by the positive comments made during the neighborhood meetings conducted by Raymond's Comprehensive Plan Committee. In all three meetings, the library was cited as one of the town's best features and deserving of more municipal support.

The main reason for these positive comments is credited to the current Library Director, Barbara Thorpe, hired in 1998 and the part-time, dynamic Youth Services Coordinator, Sue Ellen Gendron who joined the staff two years ago. Ms. Thorpe is available to the patrons during all 27 hours a week that the library is open thereby providing a consistency of service to the patrons that was not possible previously when the Club ran the library with an all-volunteer staff. In addition to the library's stated mission, Ms. Thorpe's personal goal is to assure that every patron who visits the library leaves feeling well served and connected in a personal way to the library and community.

Through Ms. Thorpe's administration, the library's collection has been significantly upgraded to meet the varied reading interests of the library patrons and to update the reference materials. Her ability to learn individual patron's reading preferences and to inform the patron of new acquisitions or different authors that may be of interest is much appreciated by the patrons. Ms. Thorpe is working on supporting curriculum needs of Raymond's new middle school. The circulation of library materials is now 61% greater than it was just five years ago. The collection of books, audios, and videos has been expanded by 70% during the same time.

Ms. Gendron has demonstrated responsiveness to the community's needs in many ways. Early in her tenure, she identified the need for a program just for babies and their parents or caregivers to promote the Libraries are for Babies too program. At the same time, the single story time for toddlers and preschoolers became so popular that the participants outgrew the space available in the children's room and was divided into two programs. The parents or caregivers frequently remark that the socialization that these programs give them is an added bonus to the children's intellectual stimulation. In addition to remaining in close contact with the Raymond schools and beginning an outreach program to day care centers, Ms. Gendron also organizes annual programs such as the popular pajama storytime and Dr. Seuss night.

Both Ms. Thorpe and Ms. Gendron have collaborated with other Raymond organizations to maximize use of resources in providing programs of interest or enjoyment to the community. Such collaborations are numerous and include the annual tree lighting at the library with the Lions, the annual babysitting course, sponsored by the Raymond Rec program, work with the mentoring program on events at the library, and with the Hawthorne Association for the lecture at the Hawthorne House during last year's bicentennial celebration. To support the Raymond Food Pantry, the library will periodically hold a "Can Due" amnesty on fines for overdue materials; in lieu of paying a monetary fine, patrons are asked to bring canned goods that are then donated to the pantry.

New Raymond residents, particularly those moving from larger communities, are often surprised to learn that the library is not a municipal library. Like other community service groups in Raymond, the library requests financial support from the town at its annual meeting. However, the municipal funds cover only approximately 40% of the library's annual operating costs.

Raising the remaining funds is an on-going challenge. The library's Annual Appeal is the second largest source of revenue for the library, providing key financial support for its expanding collection and administrative costs. The remaining funds come through annual fund-raisers-a plant sale in June, a bake sale in December, and, in the summer, a book sale and art auction.

Local artists are generous in donating items for the art sale. The Raymond Lions Club has contributed generously for purchase of large print books and audio tapes for the visually- impaired. Patrons' donations of gently used adult and children's books, video tapes, audio cassettes and CDs help to both expand the collection of materials in the library and make the book sale a successful fund-raiser.

In the next several years, the library will continue to face issues related to funding and also with space. To adequately staff the library and to provide the services expected by the community, additional funding from current and new sources will be needed. Within the confines of the current building, the children's room is currently much too small to comfortably accommodate regular programs and to make the collection readily accessible for children.

Due to the expanding collection, the adult area is losing space available for meetings and programs. A committee, aptly named "Space Cadets," is currently working with the library staff and board to address these issues.


Along with Ms. Thorpe and Ms. Gendron, community volunteers devote their time and energy to the library's operation. Though patrons meet the volunteers that staff the circulation desk, they are, however, are only a portion of the volunteers who contribute to the community through their volunteerism at the library. Many other volunteers work behind the scenes with Ms. Thorpe on processing new material to add to the collection.

Others work tirelessly on fundraisers or develop adult evening programs. Volunteers have provided over 2,300 hours to these libraries activities in each of the last two years. The need for volunteers will only increase in the future as the trustees of the not-for-profit corporation establishes standing committees for the library's operation: house and grounds, public relations, finance, technology, program and fundraising.


The Raymond Village Library is excited about the new phase it has entered. The board of trustees encourages continuing support and involvement from the community through the annual appeal, through willingness to donate time to work on either short-term special project or to serve for longer-terms on a committee or the board itself.