Our conversation today with Michelle Ross, Executive Director at Samuels Public Library and Melody Hotek, Vice President/President-Elect of the library's board of trustees gave some insight into the current status of library funding, new policies, and how decisions are made about administrative matters.
In the first segment, Michelle & Melody explained the inner workings of the library that included where their funding comes from, how books are chosen for their collections, and who determines the category of those books. We talked about the role of the Board of Trustees as a governing board. Michelle also told us about her experience and education in library science and talked about how helpful that has been in a myriad of situations. The pair also discussed the library's commitment to transparency and emphasized that all their policies, staff information, book information, etc. can be found at ANY time on their website: https://samuelslibrary.net/
In the second segment, we talked about their current funding situation and the ongoing conversations with the Warren County Board of Supervisors. Michelle explained two of the policy changes that are currently in the works which include new card classifications that give parents more control over the types of books their young children can check out; and, a new adult collection in a new location that will include much of the content currently in question for young adults.
Before we wrapped up our conversation, Michelle filled us in on two upcoming programs/events happening at the library:
The Bigfoot Experience: Mike Familant LIVE! at the library on Thursday, June 15th, 2023, (tonight!) from 6pm - 7pm. A presentation about the search for Bigfoot from Mike Familant, a full-time bigfoot researcher, producer, and lead investigator from NorthWest New Jersey. In the Shadow of Big Red Eye is a show that travels to locations known to, or would make good habitats for a Sasquatch. They focus on the basics, research, and investigation techniques, evidence collection, and analysis. Register for this event online.
Finding Gobi Story Time on Saturday, July 1, 2023, at 11am; Finding Gobi Presentation on July 1, 2023 at Noon. Dion Leonard is a New York Times Bestselling author of Finding Gobi, his non-fiction memoir of a stray dog he encountered during a 155-mile race across the Gobi Desert. The small dog ran 77 miles with Dion, across the grueling desert, providing motivation and inspiration. He also turned his bestseller into a children’s picture book, Gobi: A Little Dog with A Big Heart. Come hear the author read his story and meet Gobi!
