Director's Page

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
January 2019

Grants Awarded

• American Creed: Community Conversations Grant. CHPL was one of only 50 libraries in the US to receive this award from the American Library Association.

  We will be screening the documentary film American Creed and hosting events with TCNJ Professor Chris Fisher and the Network for Responsible Public Policy as part of this project centered around what it means to be an American.

  For more information on the film, please visit their website.
   

• 2018 Literacy Collection Development Grant from the NJ State Library!

  As a result of the grant, we will receive $1500 to expand ESL offerings in our collection for patrons. As most of you know, ESL classes and materials are in high demand so these funds will be put to excellent use.

New Game Table! You can bring your own games and the table is pre-set with a checkers/chess board and backgammon.

Jigsaw Puzzles are now available for borrowing!

Upcoming Literature, Lectures & Lyrics sponsorship series:

Organized for Life
Thursday, January 17^th at 7 PM
Nancy Underwood is a Certified Professional Organizer and home staging/redesign specialist serving Southern New Jersey since 2008. Nancy simplifies the organizing process and creates an atmosphere where everyone can easily transition her techniques to practical use. 

Genealogy: Quick Start
Tuesday, January 29^th at 7 PM
Based on a new television program, "Genealogy Quick Start," airing on PhillyCAM public access, this workshop will provide detailed coverage of the Quick Start methods genealogist Shamele Jordan employs to find your ancestors.

Finding African American Ancestors
Tuesday, February 5^th 
Uncover your family history with traditional genealogy sources using modern techniques. Learn to get the most out of oral histories, census, vital, and other records. We cover using search technology, accessing hidden records, what's free online, and much more to get you started.

Toddler Noon Year’s Eve Dance Party
Cherry Hill Sun photos in January 9 – 15 edition

Adult Services-

• 7 ESL classes since December 12th, varying levels- 8-12 students at each
• Coffee & Conversation: The Seeing Eye - 12
• Science Fair: The Movie screening - 10
• Stay Healthy Book Club: Keto - 10
• Philadelphia Sports: A Conversation – 230 attendees
• RefUSA training – 10
• ESL New Year potluck celebration – 50

Library Outreach Aging with Pride senior group

Collection Drives: Cherry Hill Township MLK Food Drive

Cherry Hill Public Library - Director’s Report
November 2018

True Crime MiniCon October 20

Special thanks to James R. Fitzgerald, retired FBI agent and criminal profiler, Detective Richard Nelms from the Cherry Hill Police Department, and Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman of the Philadelphia Daily News for being our featured speakers.

Upcoming:  Veterans Wall of Honor- Sunday, November 18^th ceremony at 2 p.m.
Courier Post article
The wall has been installed on the lower level of the library for public viewing.

Literature, Lectures & Lyrics sponsorship series:
Journey From Johannesburg (11/29)
Toddler New Year's Eve Dance Party (12/31)
Unique Eats & Eateries of Philadelphia (4/4)

• Breast Cancer Awareness (10/11) - 8
• How to Become a US citizen (10/16) - 20
• Journey into Essential Oils (10/18) – 16
• C&C – Chinese painting (10/18) – 9
• True Crime Mini-Con (10/20) – 120
• The Bride speaks (10/23) - 50
• Secret Philadelphia: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure (10/24) – 100
• Original Grimms’ Fairy Tales (10/30) – 55
• Grant Writing Workshop (11/5) – 23
• CHPL Book Club: My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me (11/6) – 15

Trick or Treat @ the Library - 370 people

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!