Welcome to the Director’s Page. Here you will find periodic messages from the Library’s Director, Laverne Mann.
CHPL is among New Jersey’s Busiest Libraries
Cherry Hill Public Library: 565,487 visitors
The CHPL is one of the state’s largest municipal libraries at 72,000 square feet. It has 30,187 total registered borrowers (28,785 resident and 1,402 nonresident) and 381,260 books in circulation.
In the state, there are 234 municipal libraries, 45 association libraries, 14 county libraries, and five joint libraries.
Click here for the full article.
Cherry Hill Public Library - Director’s Report
October 2018
September was National Library Card Signup Month
242 new cards issued!
Banned Books Week – Week of staff Facebook posts
Book It 5k/ 1 mile walk/ Kids Dash/Mayor’s Wellness Day (September 22)
- Fine free juvenile materials discussion
- CHPL donations, fundraising, Friends 2018
Upcoming: True Crime MiniCon - October 20
Literature, Lectures & Lyrics sponsorship series:
History of the Jersey Shore – 122 attendees
Philly Special with Sal – 120 attendees
Adult Services: events Sept 12- Oct 10
9/12 Fem Book Club – 9 attendees
9/15 Tai Chi in the Grove – 20
9/20 Coffee & Convo: Chocolate is it the new health food? – 16
9/25 Author Tom McAllister – How to Be Safe- 12
9/26 Inequality for All – 42
10/2 CHPL Book Club: Church of Marvels – 12
10/4 Coffee & Convo: Bone Health – 10
10/6 At Home in the World – 13
10/9 I Want a Fun Funeral – 37
Youth Services events:
Story Time (2 sessions) - 52
Rhyme Time (3 sessions) - 61
9/15 1,000 Books Graduation - 51
9/17 PiYN Story Time: Singer - 22
9/18 Little Listeners (2 sessions) - 47
9/18 Story Time (2 sessions) - 60
9/19 Benihana Sushi Lesson - 25
9/19 Rhyme Time (3 sessions) - 51
9/22 Book-It 5K Run Craft Table - 137
9/24 Barclay Back to School Night - 100
9/24 Bully Shield with Tiger Schulmann's Martial Arts - 10
9/25 Bilingual Story Time - 13
9/25 Junior Chef - 18
9/26 Horace Mann Back to School Night - 52
9/26 Woodford Cedar Run - 52
9/27 Toddler Dance Party - 67
9/29 Once Upon a Saturday - 3
9/29 Yoga Story Time - 5
9/30 Make-It Take-It Family Crafting - 8
10/3 Crazy 8s - 10
10/4 Rhyme Time (3 sessions) - 57
10/5 Explore on the Floor - 65
10/6 Kitchen Science - 14
Library Outreach
9/17 Cherry Hill Township Senior Festival - 187
10/4 - outreach to Cadbury assisted living for Vet Wall of Honor
10/7 - CH Mall for Veterans event, in support of Vet Wall of Honor
Collection Drive October – Mothers Matter
Cherry Hill Public Library - Director’s Report
August 2018
Summer Reading Program
June 25 - August 18
Summer Reading (birth – 18): 931 registrants
Combined Staff and Adult program stats: 391 registrations
1,972 books logged
547 books reviews written
150 event codes logged
Girlfriend's Night Out Fundraiser
Collection Drive for August: Stray Cat Relief Fund
Adult Services: July events
- 7/24 – Rock Paper Scissors crafting – full class of 12
- 7/25 – Golden Era of Girl Groups – 130
- 7/26 – A Peek Behind the Curtain: Life with the Metropolitan Opera – 60
- 7/30 – The Celtic Voyage: Tunes and Tales of Ireland and Scotland – 120
Upcoming:
- Music of World War II: War Songs & Their Stories - Aug. 21 @ 7pm
Library Outreach
- Music Under the Stars 7/31 - 50 people
- National Night Out 8/7 – Over 200 people stopped by booth
Cherry Hill Public Library - Director’s Report
July 2018
Summer Reading Program
June 25 – August 18
Family Fort Night “camping” in the library after hours!
Have you seen our NEW stamped concrete entrance?
Thank you to the 15 Cooper volunteers on 7/28 – Shelf shifting, craft prep, shelf reading!
Adult Services: June – July events
- Meditation Classes 6/2 – 15 people and 6/16 – 11 people
- Marijuana Legalization - June 18 - 45 people
- Balance a Healthy Lifestyle in a Busy Life - June 19 - 29 people
- The Making of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - June 26 - 75 people
- Songs of Protest, Songs of Peace - July 7 - 85 people
Upcoming:
- The Celtic Voyage: Tunes & Tales of Ireland and Scotland - July 30 @ 7pm
- Music of WW@: War Songs & Their Stories - August 21 @ 7pm
You can now reserve our museum passes!
Planning your trip to an area attraction just got easier since you can reserve up to ninety days in advance. Choose your day, choose your museum, make your reservation, and you're all set.
You may only have five reservations at any time and may make one reservation per month for each museum. You can still borrow a pass without a reservation if it's available. Some passes are Print on Demand: this means you can print out the pass at home and then take it to visit the museum.
Check our website for more info: www.chplnj.org/museumpasses
Here's a glimpse at how popular our Summer Reading Program is so far:
Library Outreach
- Working with township recreation to promote summer reading at township summer camps
- tabling at Pop Up Storytimes
Cherry Hill Public Library - Director’s Report
June 2018
Bobby Rydell: Teen Idol on the Rocks
160 Attendees
Summer Reading Program
Preregistration June 1! Begins June 25!
New Jersey Library Association annual conference.
Reference Librarian, Elby Wa
ng (left picture), received a Rising Star Award for her innovative and creative outreach work. Elby has worked to create partnerships with community organizations like the Cherry Hill Chinese Schools, Bilingual Families of South Jersey, and others which have lead to successful events such as Chinese New Year, Chinese Maker Day and Know Your Muslim Neighbor. Elby has also expanded CHPL’s partnership with the Literacy Volunteers of Camden County to offer seven different ESL classes, four days a week at the library.
Library Director, Laverne Mann (right picture), received the Intellectual Freedom Award which recognizes and honors outstanding contributions to intellectual freedom. Laverne is a champion of free speech, equal access to information, and working to ensure that libraries are a place for everyone.
Here & Now: Memory Café - Profiled in The Cherry Hill Sun
Have you heard about our Memory Bag Collection?
May Computer Classes included these topics:
Iphone, Ancestry, Social media, What is Machine Learning?
Marlyn Kalitan: Using LinkedIn to Power your Job Search (career coach)
Adult Services- Programs and attendance:
May 9 Protecting Your Savings from the Cost of Long-Term Care– 22 attended
May 21 Philadelphia Firsts: A History of Philadelphia Through Art – 56
May 22 Build Your Own Labyrinth – 15
May 23 Sewing Little Dresses for Africa – 19
June 4 Solitary Man: A Tribute to Neil Diamond – 150
Youth Services- Programs and attendance:
5/14 Night Owls, 51 attendees
5/15 Your College Application Timeline, 19 attendees
5/21 People in Your Neighborhood Storytime: Chicken Farmer, 29 attendees
5/26 Mess Fest, 247 attendees
5/31 Toddler Dance Party, 58 attendees
6/5 and 6/7 Barton School Visits, 108 students
Upcoming Fundraiser: Girlfriends Night Out
Click for more information.
CHPL's Pride at the Library series. June is LGBTQ Pride Month.
Library Outreach
5/7/2018 Cherry Hill Rotary Ponzio's 13
5/18/2018 Cherry Hill Montessori Fundraiser CH Montessori 34
5/26/2018 Woodcrest Swim Club Open House Woodcrest SC 20
6/4/2018 ISC Cherry Hill Summer Camp Open House ISC Cherry Hill 20
We’ll be doing outreach to the Cherry Hill Twp. summer camps by providing them with “mini libraries” of donated books from the Friends room, staff will encourage kids to bring in books, and will build in reading time during the week, and I’ll be stopping by locations periodically to encourage campers to sign up for CHPL summer reading programs.
New Jersey Library Budgets:
There are two budget resolutions right now that are for library programs.
The first budget resolution calls for an additional $7 million to fully fund the Per Capita State Aid program. This has been NJLA’s budgetary priority for many years
Here is the link to contact the legislators if you are inclined.
Cherry Hill Public Library - Director’s Report
May 2018
Volunteer Appreciation Presentation: Presidential Service Awards, Scholarships
Sisters in Crime: Author event, and a $1000 collection check for mystery collection
Amy Reade, a mystery author, writes women’s contemporary and gothic fiction. Her most recent work, The Malice Series, is set in the United Kingdom.
Food for Fines: 327 pounds of food collection, $353 fines forgiven
Teen Summer Volunteer Applications due May 19!
Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA):
CHPL Children’s Librarian Alia Shields is Co-Chair.
“The Notable Children’s Digital Media committee has excitedly embraced the expansion of our mission to include the evaluation of any high-quality, interactive media content or product that is available via digital device, that enables and encourages active joint media engagement while informing, educating, and/or entertaining in a developmentally appropriate way,” said committee co-Chair Alia Shields. “In an effort to maximize the accessibility of our list, for this first rendition of the committee, we focused our efforts on evaluating free or very low-cost apps across multiple platforms, resulting in a list of fifteen apps of commendable quality.”
CHPL Cryptocon:
CHPL's first ever Crypto Con, a day of celebrating cryptozoology, a pseudoscience that aims to prove the existence of entities from folklore. All events are open to all ages.
Is Bigfoot Real? / Making the Monster Map
The Legend of the Jersey Devil /Sasquatch in Native American Folklore
Food, Fashion, and Tea from Jane Austen to Queen Victoria
Partnered with Jane Austin Society of NJ: tea expert and historian Judith Krall-Russo on the similarities in tea, fashion, and more of the Regency and Victorian Eras.
Youth Services: Storytimes, Rhyme Time, Toddler Dance Party, Explore the Floor, Giant Games, Jr. Chef
People in your neighborhood: Fire Fighter
Sustainable Cherry Hill Earth Fest – Library Outreach 4/28
Library table, children’s craft, and library cards created on site.
Cherry Hill Public Library - Director’s Report
December 2017
Genealogy Research Center opening November 28, 2017.
Ancestry Library Edition database: 3406 users since October 2017
Dedicated computers and a scanner will be used for genealogy research.
Print and DVD resources
December Ancestry classes had 17 and 20 people registered. More classes scheduled.
Collection Drives: Cherry Hill Township MLK Food Drive and Camden County Women’s Center.
We will also be collecting pillowcases for ‘Little Dresses for Africa’ sewing project in February.
Program highlights:
Coffee & Conversation: Feeding Those in Need (Food Bank of South Jersey) - 15 attendees.
Alternatives to Traditional Cancer Treatment, Cherry Hill Twp Sharon Smith -10
Coffee & Convo – Autism: Under-diagnosed in Girls & Women - 7
Fem Book Club - 19
English as a Second Language – Conversation & Reading/Writing and Yoga
Youth Services: our weekly storytimes brought in some of the biggest crowds, with an average of 50 attendees per day for "Rhyme Time" (under 2 years old), 50 for Little Listeners (2 year olds), and 50 for Storytime (ages 3-6).
Two Martial Arts for Preschoolers on 12/8 partnering with Tiger Schulmann's Karate School had 39 attendees.
The first, People in Your Neighborhood storytime on 12/28 included a visit with a marine biologist. There were 18 attendees.
12/29 Toddler Dance Party had 79 attendees.
Is Bigfoot Real? 42 attendees!
Laverne Mann - Library Director
Director’s Message
The Cherry Hill Public Library is called ‘The Heart of Town’ and we truly want to live up to this standard.
We have created five strategic visions to broaden and enhance the quality of service we provide to patrons. These goals and tactics came out of a year of analysis, discussions, and community surveys.
The Cherry Hill Public Library wants to address the fast pace of change in society and technology. We want the community to use the library for reasons they told us were extremely important: for school reasons, entertainment, a quiet place to work or read, or to use the library computers and wifi.
To reflect the diversity of users in Cherry Hill we continue to evaluate our services, collections and programs. In the Cherry Hill schools, 30% of students are Asian, African American, Hispanic or other racial/ethnic heritage. More than 50 native languages are spoken by students and their families. More than 1700 students are bilingual, and more than 160 students receive ESL services.
Our surveys have found the community extremely satisfied with the staff courtesy and competence. The librarians and library staff are committed to rethinking collections and addressing societal and technological shifts. You will see us building more partnerships and on outreach in Cherry Hill.
The Cherry Hill Public Library has a bright future worth funding, and you belong at the library!
