From the Director's Desk

The past year has been filled with excitement and frustration. Senator Schumer's above quote is the key to our frustration. We believe that the library services offered to the residents of the Goshen Central School District are as close to state-of-the-art as we can make them, but our building is too small to serve this community well. We have an energetic staff bursting with ideas, hampered by a lack of space in which to implement them. Our computer network serves as the model for networks maintained by RCLS, but the workstations are located in aisles and half are out of sight of the staff responsible for instruction and maintenance of their use. Library regulars clammor for more audio books, videos and best sellers but the shelves are already full.

We spent much of the past year evaluating a site on Scotchtown Avenue as a location for a new building. Unfortunately, the various engineering studies conducted indicated that there were too many environmental issues on the site for us to deal with successfully (quickly and cost effectively) as a public entity. The Board will thus have to revisit other sites and seek new possibilities. People ask all the time how the building plans are coming. The biggest frustration of all is having nothing new to say.

Use of the library continues to grow, as the statistics in our annual report demonstrate. The cooperation of our sister libraries allows us to provide you with materials we can't currently acquire. The patience and understanding of our customers has allowed us to use the building unconventionally for programs such as the Poetry Fest. The school district and the village have both cooperated with us to provide space for programs which outgrew our meeting room. Parents have been tolerant of the lottery and waiting lists for childrcn!s programs. We have increased all of our loan periods and relaxed many of our circulation policies so that more materials will stay out of the library longer. Hopefully we will hit on an acceptable building site before we run out of creative solutions.

- Pauline Kehoe, GPLHS Director

Some Library Facts Provided by Senator Schumer

• New York State has 1,080 public libraries
• Approximately 300 NYS libraries are at least 60 years old
• Nearly one-half of the state's libraries cannot fully accommodate users with disabilities
• One-third of the state's libraries arc not wired to accept the Internet
• Nationwide, 85 percent of America's 15,994 libraries require expansion or renovation
• The NYS Division of Library Development estimates statewide library repair, renovation and rehabilitation needs of $470 million
• l.3 million NYS residents do not have access to free basic library services
• New Yorkers visited libraries 96 million times in 1997

...yet New York State included no new funding for public libraries in its current budget!

Adult Programs

Coffeehouse Poetry - Saturday, Sept. 25, 1 PM

A relaxing afternoon highlighted with readings by Steve Hirsch and Donna Reis. There will be an open mike for those who would like to participate. Refreshments will be served.

Folk Songs from a Different Perspective - Sunday, Oct.24, 3 PM

Explore a lively tradition with the music and words of English folk singer Joe Stead.

Strains of the Past - Sunday, Nov. 7, 3 PM

John Sheehan will introduce you to the soft sounds of the Renaissance lute that speak of a younger, less complicated world.

Homemade Holidays - Thursday, Nov. 18, 6:30 PM.

Join Betty Lou Vis for some helpful gift tips as she demonstrates the making of traditional holiday crafts. Refreshments will he served.

Coffeehouse Poetry - Saturday, Dec. 4, 1 PM

Another opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of the spoken word with readings by Marilyn Lylle Barr and Howard Horowitz. There will be an open mike for those who would like to participate. Refreshments will be served.

Holiday Open House - Wednesday, Dec. 8, 6:30 PM
Snow date: Thursday, Dec. 9, 6:30 PM

The Gravikord Duo will treat guests to a concert of flute and electric harp music against a background of beautiful decorations. Refreshments will be served. Hosted by the Friends of the Goshen Library.

Two Decisive Decades: 192Os and 1930s
Book Discussion (Part II)
Tuesdays, Sept 28, Oct. 12 & Nov. 9, 7 PM

Explore the dynamic works of these authors which so successfully mirror the atmosphere in America during the 2Os and 30s. The books, in discussion order, are:

• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
  Moderator: Vara Neverow
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  Moderator: John Speight
• The Portable Dorothy Parker
  Moderator: Mark Seidl
• The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
  Moderator: John Speight

Teens & 12s

Internet Scavenger Hunt
Saturday, Sept.18, 10 AM - 12 PM, Limit 6

Practice your surfing skills while finding new sites on the web. Registration begins Monday Sept. 13.

Kick off Teen Read Week with a Book Swap & 'Read In!
Saturday, Oct.16, 2 - 4 PM, Limit 25

Bring a book you've read and want to swap. Then we'll spend some time reading together. Refreshments will be served. Drawing for prizes. Registration begins Monday Oct 11. (Yes, we are open on Columbus Day!)

Friday Night at the Movies: Books as Films
Friday, Nov. 5, 5 - 8 PM, Limit 25

October Sky based on the book Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam Jr. Popcorn and discussion. Registration begins Monday Nov 1.

Holiday Stamp It!
Wednesday, Dec. 15, 4 - 5:30 PM, Limit 15

Learn rubber stamp techniques, such as embossing, to use in creating holiday cards or gifts. Decorate a frame. Kathie Gaspard will be our guest expert. Registration begins Monday, Dec. 6.

Programs for Teens & Twelves

Monthly programs for Goshen Central School District Students grades 7 - 12. To register: Visit the library or call during the week before a program.

Children's Programs

Preschool Programs

Toddletime: 18-36 months
Circietime - 3 years
Preschool Story hour - Ages 3 1/2, 4 & 5 (not in Kindergarten)
Registration will be held Tuesday through Thursday, Sept 28. 29 & 30 during library hours.

WALK-IN REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

Come into the 1ibrary on any of the above dates; choose a lottery number and fill in a registration request form. Programs will be filled in order of lottery numbers. A valid Goshen Library card must be presented.

Click here for our calendar of children's programs.

Get Kids Off to a Good (Book) Start

Children's Services offers many ways to help children become successful readers. One of our most recent efforts was a program called Bookstart, funded by a grant from the Federal Library Services and Technology Act and conducted jointly with staff from Scotehtown Avenue Elementary School. This senes of workshops provided parents of young children with the opportunity to learn new ways to share books with their children, to encourage a love of reading and help them become lifelong library users. Families of children attending the pre-kindergarten summer program were invited to participate. We read books, looked at books, made books and shared books with each other. In addition, each family received several books to add to their home collections. Beyond these goals for parents, Bookstart, which is an initiative of Cornell Cooperative Extension, serves to foster cooperation between public libraries and other community organizations. This was definitely achieved here in Goshen with the help of Dana Murphy, now principal at Scotchtown. The families involved had a great time and we hope to offer this program again in the future. The parents and children who attended the workshops were not the only ones to benefit from the Bookstart grant; the library received over 100 new picture books, several book character dolls and other interactive materials to add to the collection for all library users to enjoy.

Another recent addition to our library collection is also targeted at making reading a fun activity, even for children having difficulty mastering this all-important skill. On our audio book shelves you will now find an expanded section of audio book kits, which include both tapes and a paperback book. These arc chapter books which will appeal to children in both elementary, intermediate and middle grades. A small number. called Smart Readers, have tapes read at two different speeds. These kits are especially helpful to children who are reluctant readers. We chose titles with a wide appeal, such as Ghost in the Mirror, Matilda, Weasel, and Sarah Plain and Tall. Ask for these and other titles the next time you come into the tibrary.

Staff Profile: Ann Roche

Ann Roche joined the library staff as a clerk in 1968. A graduate of Middletown High School with three children, she was second in comnand to then director Maisie Conroy as part of a staff of two. In the course of her 31 years, Ann has risen to the challenge of every task to which she was assigned, including serving as acting director several times. She is an integral part of this library's history, so who better to staff our local history room!

Ann's most recent assigninenr in the Elizabeth Sharts Historical and Genealogical Reference Room began in 1997. Under the direction of Anita Whitehead (head of Adult Services) and with the assistanec of volunteers she maintains the collection and helps genealogists and other researchers sift through our collection for the information they need. Her inquisitive mind and love of solving a difficult puzzle make her a perfect fit for this job. She is also the backbone of data entry for the indexing projects currently underway.

Ann and her husband Jerry live in Middletown, where she is active in the group Business and Professional Women. Her three children and seven grandchildren are close by, us is her mother and one of her two sisters. The only thing she loves more than time with her grandchildren is travel.

Adopt-A-Book

Six reference books have been adopted since the appeal in the last issue of Reference Point. The list is posted near the reference desk, with donors indicated. Recently, we had the reference service consultant from the Newburgh Free Library evaluate our collection. When we receive the written report, we will update the list of books seeking adoption. In the meantime, we have weeded out some of the outdated materials.