Montgomery City/County Public Library to Change Operating Hours
Beginning September 8, 2009, new hours of operations will go into effect at the Montgomery City-County Public Library. Two libraries will remain open until 9 p.m., and three will remain open until 7 p.m. nightly, Monday through Thursday. The main library, Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial will continue to operate its regular schedule and will serve as the homework help center, where students can get help with Homework Alabama, the free online tutoring service, Tell Me More, a language learning software program and AVL (Alabama Virtual Library), and other databases and reference materials. Besides being open until 9 p.m. two nights, E L Lowder and Rufus A. Lewis Regional Libraries will add two more hours by staying open until 7 p.m. two nights a week. Coliseum Boulevard and Governor’s Square Branches will add four hours by remaining open until 7 p.m. four nights a week. Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial, E L Lowder and Rufus A. Lewis will retain their weekend hours.
New Hours of Operation
Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library
Monday through Thursday 9AM – 9PM
Friday & Saturday 9AM – 6PM
Sunday 1PM – 6PM
Rufus A. Lewis Regional Library
Monday & Tuesday 9AM – 9PM
Wednesday & Thursday 9AM – 7PM
Friday & Saturday 9AM – 6PM
Closed Sunday
EL Lowder Regional Library
Wednesday & Thursday 9AM – 9PM
Monday & Tuesday 9AM – 7 PM
Friday & Saturday 9AM – 6PM
Closed Sunday
Coliseum Branch Library
Monday through Thursday 9AM – 7PM
Friday 9AM – 6PM
No weekend hours ________
Governor’s Square Branch Library
Monday through Thursday 9AM – 7PM
Friday 9AM – 6PM
No weekend hours ________ ________________
Ramer Branch Library
Monday through Friday 9AM – 6PM
No nights or weekends
Rosa L. Parks Avenue Branch Library
Monday through Friday 9AM – 6PM
No nights or weekends ______
Pike Road Branch Library
Monday through Friday 9AM – 6PM
No nights or weekends
Pine Level Branch Library
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 9AM – 1PM;
Tuesday & Thursday 2PM – 6PM
No nights or weekends __________________
Pintlala Branch Library
Monday – Friday 9AM – 6PM
No nights or weekends_______________________
Montgomery Public Library Reaches Out to Montgomery’s Newcomers
The library is one of the first places new Montgomery residents come. They were library users in their previous home town. They get their utilities turned on, their driver’s license and car registration, and their new library card. They ask questions about library service, and compare Montgomery’s libraries to those in other communities.
Kim Wilson Owen, Head of the Governor’s Square branch, joined Montgomery’s Newcomers Club in 2006, when she moved to Montgomery from Prattville. When she started work with Montgomery Public Library, she recognized an opportunity for the library to reach out to the families involved in the club. This spring Mrs. Owen was elected Newcomers’ Program Vice President.
As Program Vice President, Mrs. Owen schedules luncheon speakers on topics that are interesting and important to the Newcomers Membership. Topics range from helpful hints, to good causes and charities, to recreation and entertainment. Past programs have presented wine tasting, home organization tips, and ballroom dancing! In July for the ‘Smart Cool’ program, Trey Caton of Alabama Power shared many hints, from simple and free on up to major appliance purchases, to keep your home cooler and your electricity bill down.
Mrs. Owen’s other responsibilities include coordinating volunteers who provide table decorations, arrange for door prizes donated by local business sponsors, and serve as luncheon Chaplain. She welcomes and introduces speakers. This year, she is the Club Historian, preparing a scrapbook of of the Club’s activities and socials that will be given to the President in May. She actively invites local businesses to partner with the Club as sponsors.
When a Newcomers member suggested that Mrs. Owen ask someone from the library to come and speak, Mrs. Owen asked Jaunita Owes, director of Montgomery City County Public Library, to speak at the August luncheon about the many initiatives currently in place at area library branches.
These initiatives are a result of the Public Library’s recent and very thorough and public strategic planning process. All residents of the community, elected officials, business leaders, parents, educators and youth, were constantly asked for their input and feedback to help the library shape its services and priorities in a way that will truly meet Montgomery’s needs in the coming years. Many area residents, long time and new, have many questions about the action steps and facilities needed to meet goals outlined in that strategic plan.
Newcomers Club of Montgomery welcomes any woman who has lived in Montgomery for three years or less. Since its inception in 1965 It has evolved from a ‘ladies who lunch’ club, evocative of hats, pearls and white gloves, to a vibrant and diverse group of women from many walks of life, generations and career paths– from stay at home parenting to finance and the law and everything in between.
Newcomers is completely run by volunteers. The Club depends upon active membership and local business sponsorship to carry out its mission– “to welcome new residents into the greater Montgomery area, assist them in becoming part of the social and civic life of the area, and afford them the opportunity to make friends.”
Newcomers still lunch. Presently the club meets at Arrowhead Country Club, but luncheons have been held over the years at the Capital City Club, Wynlakes, and Montgomery Country Club. Luncheons feature plate or buffet lunches. Members have a chance to dress up a little, catch up with longtime friends, and meet new friends-to-be for the first time.
Newcomers Club strives to have something for everyone, individuals as well as couples, all ages and walks of life. If you have lived in Montgomery for less than three years, you are cordially invited to visit our luncheons and activities. The Newcomer’s Club of Montgomery’s monthly newsletter is available on the Internet at http://newcomersmontgomery.com/ . Membership is $15 per year.
The luncheon’s meet and greet starts at 11.30 am, when members socialize and make their selections from the buffet. The meeting and luncheon commence at 12:00 as the President brings the meeting to order and the Chaplain offers an inspirational thought for the day. At 12.40, the speaker begins. When he or she concludes, Club officers make announcements door prizes donated by local business are awarded.
As enjoyable and informative as luncheons are, Newcomers Club has many other groups that meet independently of the luncheons. Investing, Cooking Club, and Book Club are just a few. Many social events are open to members and their guests– dates, spouses, children, friends or family. Newcomers attend Broadway Under the Stars, attend local plays, and celebrate Mardi Gras and other holidays. In December the group takes a special tour of the Governor’s Mansion and a local group performs seasonal music or dance at the luncheon.
If you are interested in learning more about our Public Library or making new friends, August 28, 11.30 am at Arrowhead Country Club would be a perfect first meeting.
If you plan to attend, please make a reservation before Monday August 25 at noon. If your last name begins with A-M, Please call Pat Dunnewind at 409-9392. If your last name begins with N-Z, please call Marsha Preston at 409-9179. One trip to the buffet, including a selection of entrees and vegetables, salad, iced tea, coffee, and dessert, is 15.00. If you would like to request a vegetarian selection, please call Kim Wilson Owen at 334-284-7929.
Welcome to Montgomery, and we hope to see you soon, whether at our library branches across Montgomery County, or at a Newcomer’s Luncheon!
Worth Our Weight
Worth Our Weight
An Annual Report On How your Tax Dollars
Support the Services You have Come to Trust and Love
Your Library
The Heartbeat of the Community
Cost Benefit Analysis for MCCPL
October 2006 through September 2007
Access to information is a priority goal of service of your public library. That goal is achieved through the circulation of library material in varying formats.
Between 2006 and 2007 your public library’s major funding was provided by the City of Montgomery and the Montgomery County Commission. Additional funding is provided by the State of Alabama through the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) as state aid support. APLS also administers the Library Service & Technology Act (LSTA), a federally funded program of competitive grant awards made annually. Additional program support was provided by the Central Alabama Community Foundation, Friends of the Montgomery Library, Pike Road Friends of the Library, Ramer Friends of the Library, Pintlala Friends of the Library, Pine Level Friends of the Library, and citizens who truly believe in access to information for all people.
Circulation
Books ~ MCCPL circulated 457,640 printed items at a value of $25 per item. That circulation of printed items is valued at $11,441,000 savings to the citizens of Montgomery County if you had to go out and purchase each of those items.
Books on Tape ~ 28,502 books on tape were borrowed during this period. If you , our users, had to pay $3.00 per use, it would cost you $142,510. However because you are a citizen in Montgomery County, you saved the same amount.
Microfilm ~ 135 microfilm were used during this period at a value of $23.00 per use. The savings to those users is $257,300.
Microfiche ~ 3 microfiche were used during this period at a value of $23.00 per use. The savings to those users is $69.00.
CD/DVD/VIDEO/DVS ~ 20,573 items were borrowed which fell into the listed categories at a value of $5.00 per use. Those loans equate to $102,865 savings to the citizens of Montgomery County.
KITS ~ Kits is a category which might include a book and a tape, or a cd and a book. During this period the library loaned 745 kits at a value of $5.00 per kit. Our users saved $3,725 by borrowing these kits from the library.
Services
Services include the following:
Computer use
The library’s computers were utilized by 130,673 citizens at a value of $10 per use. The savings to those citizens is $1,306,730.
Computer Lab Use
The computer lab provided 25,730 Montgomery citizens the opportunity to use a computer to access information at a value of $10.00 per use. The savings to those citizens is $257,300.
Reference Questions ~ So many questions are asked by our citizens. Each time a question is asked, the Reference Librarian logs each new question answered. 56,627 questions were asked of your Librarians. If you had to pay for each question answered, we would value our answer at $5.00 per answer. The value of that service would be $283,135 savings to you, our patrons.
Reference Assistance ~ How we assist our patrons in finding answers to their questions does not take as much time as finding the answers ourselves, thus 86,735 times that your Librarian assisted you in finding your own answers saved you $173.470 at a cost of $2.00 per assistance.
Computer Classes ~ We value each time we are given to narrow the digital divide through teaching someone how to use the software provided by the public library. If you, the user, had to pay for the computer classes you would be charged on average $25.00 per class. Your public library presented 421 classes over the twelve months of this analysis. Your savings are valued at $10,525.
Dial-a-Story ~ Reading, Listening and Hearing a story read or told to a child helps to develop the child’s cognitive skills. We encourage all of our young people to call our Dial-A-Story numbers 24-7 and hear a story. 1,819 young people dialed the number at a value of $3.00 per call; that’s a savings of $5,457.
Telephone Renewal ~ In this time of high fuel costs, closed highways, etc. being able to call in and renew a book is essential to friendly library service. 32,470 library users called in to renew their books at a value of $1.00 per call yielding a savings of $32,470.
Programs ~ 1,493 programs were presented during this period, a value of $50.00 per program. The programs saved you, our users, $74,650.
Attendance ~ If you had to pay a fee to attend those 1,493 programs with an attendance of 35,982 at a value of $9.00 per person, we would have made $323,838. However we saved , you, our users, money by offering free programs which help improve the
quality of your life.
Web Visits ~ The second most visible image of the Montgomery City-County Public Library is its web page. It is seen and used by people all over the world. It provides a
glimpse of the value of the public library to the Montgomery Community. 379,716 users visited the library’s web site. The value of those visits is $1.00 per visit. The savings to the citizens of Montgomery is $379,716.
Patron Assistance ~ General help was provided to 52,637 users at a value of $2.00 per use. The value of the savings to our users is $105,274.
Media Viewings ~ 45,374 viewed items from the Media Department at an average value of $5.00 per viewing. The savings to our viewers is $226,870.
Interlibrary Loans ~The Library borrowed 743 books through interlibrary loan for its users. The value of each individual loan is $30.00, which is a saving value of $22,290
The total Savings Value to our citizens is $14,892,664. Money not spent by our users because you have decided that a public library is the place to borrow material instead of buying it.
Conclusions
For every dollar we spent, we returned a value of $3.47. From the $4,288,440 budgeted, the library returned a value of $14,892,664. A savings to the citizens of the City of Montgomery and Montgomery County of $10,604,224 for the period of October 2006 – September 2007
Worth Their Weight is a model utilized by public libraries in the United States to compare actual budget to services offered. It is a discipline which is still in development stages. The values of the services is pulled from documented sources, i.e. the actual average cost of a new book added to the library’s collection. Services, i.e. computer use, computer lab use, etc. is based on national figures provided by SW Ohio CBA in Worth Their Weight. The Americans for Libraries Council’s publication “Worth Their Weight” was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
