Caldwell Public Library - The Heart of Our Town

1. Caldwell Public Library - The Heart of Our Town There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration.- Andrew Carnegie

2. Caldwell Public Library – The Heart of Our Town • One of 36 New Jersey libraries built with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie between 1900 and 1917. • Dedicated October 12, 1917. • Considered a Carnegie gem – a building of historic simplicity providing a wide range of services to the community. • Featuring the Local History Archive – containing: • Core archive of photographic materials gifted to the Library in 2007 • The CollerdCollection • Books, maps and papers dating to the area's development in the late 18th century.

3. Increase in Library Services Usage Children's Materials Circulation - an increase of 2,037 Library Visits - an increase of 984 (despite the reduction in hours) Users of Public Internet Computers - an increase of 889 users (many creating resumes and searching for jobs) Increase in DVD and other electronic media. Non-print, electronic materials now 23.33% of total circulation.

4. Decrease in Library Funding – loss of hours and positions Total Library Budget - a decrease of $90,826.52 State Minimum Library Appropriations (Library tax) - a decrease of $23,886 State Aid Received - a decrease of $3,424 Current loss: $8,000 from the Borough of Essex Fells Loss of Library Hours: from 53 to 49 per week Positions lost: Full-time MLS Children's Librarian, Bookkeeper, Library Program Coordinator

5. Essex County Libraries Comparison • Caldwell Public Library: • Least amount of funding of 20 Essex County libraries • (Fairfield, Glen Ridge and Roseland all have fewer residents) • Lowest total expenditures of all 20 libraries • 10th in per capita expenditures in 2009 and 12th in 2010 • Source: NJ Public Library Statistics 2010. http://ldb.njstatelib.org/statistics/2010_data Current Professional (MLS) FTE Staff Comparisons:West Caldwell: 6.4Verona: 4Glen Ridge: 3.2Cedar Grove: 3Roseland: 2.5Fairfield: 2.1Caldwell: 1.2

6. Value of Library Services • A typical library patron who borrows... • 20 books • 25 children's books • 50 DVDs • Performs 6 database searches • Attends 6 children's programs • Uses the internet for 20 hours • Orders 3 books from inter-library loan • Reads 5 magazines in the library • … receives a total value of $1,291.00 in services in a year Source: http://ldb.njstatelib.org/libvaluecalc

7. Library Shared Services • PalsPlus • Consortium of 20+ libraries who share library services and computer resources. • Membership gives Caldwell patrons ability to borrow from almost any library in NJ via Open Borrowing. • Jersey Cat Statewide ILL • Access to Interlibrary loan services state-wide Shared services mean much lower costs for our circulation database hardware and software, group library purchases for items such as computers and library cards, and access to audio and e-book downloads.

8. Library Shared Services – cont’d • Jersey Connect • Free website hosting, free access to email for all library staff and board members, and new service - free Cloud storage (100GB). • Email service savings: 20 log-ins, $5/month = $1,200 savings per year. • Cloud storage savings: 100GB =$100 savings per year (based on Amazon's Cloud Drive). • Website hosting savings: $120 savings per year based on HostGator.

9. Library Services to the Community – Camp Caldwell Summer Reading Club programming 2 hours per day - including story times, Jeopardy-style trivia games, and access to special events. Average attendance - 25 campers per day. Cost to the Library $16/hour for a full-time library assistant $10/hour for the summer teacher/library assistant Total per day = $52 Total per week =$260 Total value for campers for 10 weeks = $2,600 Camp Caldwell has allowed Summer Reading Club participants to attend Special Events at Camp Caldwell. We look forward to this continued partnership.

10. Library Services for Local Businesses Support for local small businesses through access to business reference databases including: • Frost & Sullivan • Reference USA • Small Business Resource Center

11. Library Services to the Community – Giving Back Food For Fines – patrons’ library fines redirected to donations to Caldwell Food Pantry Girl Scouts Soles4Souls Shoe Collection Boy Scouts Coat Collection Meeting rooms for the public Shelter and support during weather emergencies. During the aftermath of the October 29th snowstorm, residents filled the library to capacity, taking advantage of the building’s heat, electric, internet access and plumbing.

12. Library Services to the Community – The Big Read National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) program intended to restore reading to the center of American culture and to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Addresses accelerated decline in literary reading in America. Provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. Includes innovative reading programs, comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature and an extensive website providing comprehensive information on authors and their works. Community events lasts approximately 1 month and include kick-off, major events devoted specifically to the book (including panel discussions and author reading); events using the book as a point of departure (including film screenings, theatrical readings); and book discussions 949 Big Read grants were awarded by June, 2011 (beginning in 2007) Caldwell Public Library presented 3 Big Reads – in association with community partners Approx. $5,000 received from NEA plus matching grants from the Kellogg foundation, and money from local sources – for each event

13. Library Partnerships with the Community • Caldwell-West Caldwell Board of Education • School Visits, School Exhibits, Art Shows • Essex County Vo-Tech • Interfaith Alliance • Kiwanis • Rotary • Caldwell Live • Community Non-Profit partnership that provides health-related programming for seniors • Environmental Commission • Hosting Programs; Annual Essay Contest • Children's Institute of Verona via the Community Based Work Experience Program • Women's Club of Caldwell • Historical Commission • Caldwell College • Day of Service and College Work-Study Students

14. Community Outreach Activities Participation in Caldwell Street Fair Book clubs at Marion Manor Senior Housing and the Chelsea at Montville Assisted Living Facility Grover Cleveland Middle School Book Club Monthly visits to Harrison School

15. Measurement of Library’s Value to the Community • CEOs for Cities study released in 2009: • Walking the Walk: How Walkability Raises Housing Values in U.S. Cities by Joseph Cortright – economist from Portland, Oregon • Analyzed data from 94,000 real estate transactions in 15 major markets • Found that in 13 markets, higher levels of walkability, as measured by Walk Score (see below) were directly linked to higher home values. • Key Finding: • Homes in close proximity to multiple destinations, such as stores, libraries, parks, coffee shops, restaurants, are more valuable than similar homes in neighborhoods where there are fewer community services in walking distance. • Walk Score, calculates the closest amenities to an address, then assigns a "Walk Score" from 0-100, with 100 being the most walkable and 0 being totally car-dependent. Walk Scores of 70 or more indicate neighborhoods where it's possible to live without a car.

16. Summation • The Caldwell Public Library is grateful to the Mayor, Council, and people of Caldwell for their continued support. • We are committed to delivering essential services - from books, programs and computers to archives, meeting space and movies - as effectively as possible. We also appreciate the Town's interest in reducing costs and are proud to be part of those efforts. • We will continue to: • Provide the highest quality and most cost-effective services. • Work on ways to better serve users without increasing costs and explore ways to meet new challenges. • Support the Caldwell Public Library Foundation's fundraising efforts and approach them for project funding. • Explore grants and other ways to increase revenue. • Investigate options such as a Joint Library, District Library or Shared Services Agreements.

17. A library book...is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, is their only capital.- Thomas Jefferson