Author: Decorah Public Library

Tuesdays
02/08, 02/22
4:30-5:30 pm

Independent readers are welcome to join us in reading to some adorable four-legged friends. Our visitors are certified therapy dogs (with their trainers), and are more than excited to see you.

What you can expect:  This drop-in program invites emerging readers to read with a certified therapy dog and their trainer.  Dogs and trainers will be available on a first come first serve basis in DPL’s children’s section.  Readers can select a book of their choice to read with a dog.  Participants can read a book with the dog…or more than one book if their aren’t other readers waiting.  It’s an opportunity to both practice skills and to have positive and affirming experiences with books and with the library.  Readers are “old enough” to participate when they can engage with a book independently and be safe and respectful with our animal visitors–we’re not necessarily looking for a specific level of phonic fluency.  Readers under 8 should be accompanied by an adult.  Please feel free to reach out to Rachael at rbutton@decorah.lib.ia.us for any additional questions about accessibility, accommodations or logistics.

Saturday 3/5
11 am

This show will leave all ages feeling like a kid again. If you liked Absolute Science’s Big Bang Bubbles Show, you’ll LOVE Bigger Bang Bubbles!  It has smoke bubbles, helium bubbles, fire bubbles and MORE!  Watch our exciting, educational show that will take ordinary bubbles into the realm of extreme and learn the science behind it all! 

Appropriate for all age groups. Sponsored by the Friends of Decorah Public Library and the Marion E. Jerome Foundation. 

Registration is required and space is limited. Please use form below to register.

Celebrate Black History month with a Take-and-Make. 

We provide the supplies for a project–you pick them up at the library and do the project at home.

— :   Alma Woodsey Thomas inspired Art

Please pick up materials at the library Tuesday 2/15 between 9 am and 7 pm. Supplies are limited. Register early to guarantee a space. Registration ends 2/7 at 3 pm. 

Registration required please use form below to register.

Text only version below image. Click here for a downloadable pdf version.

Decorah Public Library Annual Report Jan 2022

Decorah Public Library Annual Report

Kristin Torresdal, Director

Board of Trustees:

Andrea Beckendorf, Ed Brooks, Bob Felde, Scott Fjelstul, Andrew Hageman, Shannon Horton Elliott Johnson, Cheryl Pellett, & Shanna Putnam Dibble

LIBRARY UPDATES

Staffing: DPL staff were hard at work this year finding new and inventive ways to meet community needs in an

ever-shifting environment. The library filled several vacant staff positions that are key to helping the organization better serve the community.

Programs: Our 2021 programs took us outdoors, indoors, online, and a mix of all the above as library staff responded to the ebbs and flows of the pandemic and direct feedback from library users.

Library staff offered weekly

take-and-make activities for kids and their caregivers, in-person, online, and hybrid book discussion groups for adults, and ongoing drop-in programs for children and families.

Building: We were able to reopen the building to the public this year after being closed for interior renovations and the pandemic. Library users have commented repeatedly about how good the building looks after the renovations. The library also began replacing all signage in the building to align with updated branding guidelines.

Technology: Thanks to a grant through the State Library, staff were able to install a videoconferencing platform in the library’s public meeting room that allows groups to participate in virtual and hybrid meetings.

Other: Library staff created a new marketing plan and rebranding effort to attract new and inactive library users.

UPDATE FROM THE CHILDREN’ S AND YOUNG ADULT DEPARTMENT

This year we collaborated with Decorah Public Schools, Winneshiek County Conservation, Decorah Parks and Recreation, Root to Rise Community Wellness, ArtHaus, HSAP, the Decorah Volunteer Firefighters, Crave Dance Studio, Brittany Todd Photography, Vesterheim, Absolute Science, the Mississippi River Museum, the International Owl Center, and others to offer distanced and in-person programs indoors, outdoors, and at home.

Some highlights include

• Creating Take-and-Make projects for over 3,000 registered participants (that’s over twice as many as we did in 2020!)
• Curating 3 Book Walks around Decorah with Parks and Recreation and Decorah Public Schools
• Hosting over 150 Decorah middle schoolers on field trips to the library this spring
• Field Trips on Foot in June and Biking Field trips this fall
• Outdoor parties, storytimes and yoga at Phelps park, the Decorah Middle School playground, and the Decorah prairie’s butterfly garden
• Reintroducing Dog Tales and welcoming a pack of Papillon puppies into the Dog Tales crew
• Having a firetruck visit the library parking lot
• Costume making at ArtHaus
• Seeing over 300 of you at the Absolute Science Bubble Stations this fall
• Co-hosting book clubs with the Decorah Home School Program and Decorah High School
• Outreach storytimes at John Cline, Carrie Lee, Sunflower, and St. Ben’s
• Seeing so many kids and grown-ups petting a corn snake during the Mississippi River Museum’s visit
• Crafting after school on Thursdays throughout November & December

We couldn’t have done any of this without your interest, ideas, energy, curiosity, and enthusiasm. Our library
community amazes and inspires us. Thank you for being part of it!

STATISTICS

Library Staff and Population Served:

• Library staff: 12 (10.48 FTE)
• RSVP staff: 2 (1.4 FTE)
• Library users: 6,778 (up 3.7% from last year)

Circulation:

• 91,618 (total checkouts of all items, both physical and digital) (down just 11.5%, despite being closed to the public July-February and offering curbside only)

Interlibrary Loan:

• We lent 731 items to other libraries and borrowed 859 items for our patrons

Large Print Collection:

• 9,395 items were checked out 16,124 times to local patrons, care facilities, and over 120 libraries across the state.

Programming and Outreach:

• 264 programs with 6,592 attendances (in person, hybrid, virtual, inside/outside/distanced) despite being closed to the public until late February, 2021.

Technology:

• 981 wired internet sessions and 5455 wireless internet sessions
• Usage of BRIDGES (free digital audio books and e-books) increased 15% over the year prior- on average 496 library users checked out nearly 2600 items per month

note: all statistics are from our official state reporting period, July 2020–June 2021

Community Services:

• The Northeast Iowa Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) for which DPL serves as host and fiscal agent has grown from 451 to more than 500 volunteers; these volunteers meet critical community needs at 70 nonprofit stations in a 3-county area (the majority in Winn. Co.). Volunteers served over 23,000 hours this year.
• Certified Notary Public services available free of charge (Mon-Fri 8-5, by appointment)
• Long Distance Learning test proctoring available free of charge
• Local Public Access TV- the library runs the TV channel which assists local municipalities,  schools,  and nonprofits with publicizing  local events and broadcasting programming (i.e. City Council meetings and local church services)

Funding:

• City of Decorah
• Winneshiek County
• Friends of Decorah Public Library
• State Library of Iowa
• Marion E. Jerome Foundation
• Joey Headington Memorial
• First United Methodist Church Trust
• Individual donors

Looking Ahead

In 2022, Decorah Public Library is renewing its accreditation with the State Library of Iowa, launching a new strategic plan, rolling out new children’s and adult programs, and continuing to find new and innovative ways to serve library users.

Starting January 11, 2022, Decorah Public Library will no longer be collecting fines on any materials and all existing fines have been deleted from library users’ accounts. Why go fine free? Well, lots of reasons. DPL exists to provide equal access to materials and fines get in the way of that by creating a financial or social barrier for some users. Fines also disproportionately affect the finances of lower-income library users because fines only punish people who can’t easily repay them. There is also little evidence that fines make people return things on time. Fine free libraries report fewer overdue materials and a decrease in the number of days materials are overdue.

Fine revenue was only .3% of the library’s annual budget (and it takes staff time to collect overdue fines, so any revenue brought in was pretty much cancelled out in staff time.) We know some of you liked paying fines because it was your way of supporting the library. Great news! You can still do that, but just call it a free will donation. If you want, toss us a few bucks when you return things late, we’ll use that money to add new things to the collection, pay for fun and interesting programs, etc. If you don’t ever have cash, you can donate to the Friends of Decorah Public Library with a credit card and they’ll route those funds to the library for programs and collections.   

You must still return your materials by their due date. Anything that is 28 days overdue is considered lost and library users will be billed for the replacement fee of those materials. And accounts with materials that are 28 days overdue will be blocked from future checkouts until materials are either returned or paid for. Feel free to reach out to DPL staff if you have any questions!

Decorah Public Library is back open for regular hours. Follow DPL on social media for the most up-to-date information about building closures and other important information. This will be especially true over the next several weeks as COVID cases continue to rise locally. Thank you for your flexibility as we continue to monitor and adjust staffing levels according to City of Decorah policies.

We provide the supplies for a project–you pick them up at the library and do the project at home.

— :  Valentines

Please pick up materials at the library Tuesday 2/8 between 9 am and 7 pm. Supplies are limited. Register early to guarantee a space. Registration ends 1/31 at 3 pm. 

Registration required please use form below to register.