Programs 

Saturday Afternoon Kids’ Club

October was our first month hosting a weekly Kids’ Club at the Sandy Library.  Kids’ Club is appropriate for Kids age 7-12.  All events are free, no registration is required.

• Week 1 – LEGO Club

Our very first Kids’ Club event was LEGO Club.  Three kids made fantastic LEGO creations which were displayed in the Library for the remainder of the month.  After the event we had a large number of people express interest in coming to our next one. Come in to see our current months’ display of LEGO creations in the Kids’ Room of the Library.  We expect that this program will grow considerably!

Week 2 – Card and Board Games

Ten people came to our first monthly board game afternoon.  This turned out to be a great family time.  Kids have been coming in all month to talk about the games they plan to bring to the next event in November.

• Week 3 – Drop-In Craft

Kids decorated pumpkins, did leaf rubbings, and created fall inspired art at our drop in craft. Ten people had a great time!

• Week 4 – Wii and Minecraft

14 kids come to play the Minecraft. Library Staff created a Minecraft server which 6 laptop computers connect to. Standard Minecraft can be played (Survival, Creative, etc.), or Minecraft.edu which allows creation of specials “seeds” where kids must complete specific tasks. Seeds can be used as a type of lesson plan. Staff plans to create seeds for upcoming months and build a replica of the Sandy Library within the game to be used as an information literacy instructional aid. Kids were also able to play Wii games and build  paper Minecraft characters.

Trick or Treat Trail

Sandy Library participated in the Main Street event Trick or Treat Trail.  We handed out more than 600 pieces of candy to trick-or-treaters and gave each one an opportunity to win a glow stick by playing corn hole.

Minecraft characters at Trick or Treat Trail

Library Coffee House

First Friday on October 4th brought the Coffee House into the library.  Local writer Dan Bosserman signed copies of his book Images of America: Boring.  In addition, Sandy residents we serenaded by Portland’s French troubadour, Eric John Kaiser who presented a lively evening of ballads and folk songs in French and English .

NaNoWriMo

November is National Novel Writing Month!  The Sandy Library has committed to getting the community involved in this national project, and providing coffee and space for writers to write in the Library. 14 community members came to our Kick-off party on October 23rd. 

Pirate Program – in partnership with retired teachers from the Oregon Trail School District

On October 28th three classes of 6th graders, each with 38 students visited the library to learn how to do research. Questions were designed to have students learn how to use the library catalog to locate books on the shelf as well as use databases that can help them with homework. 

Sandy and Hoodland Teen Advisory Board

The Teen Advisory Board met for the first time at the end of October.  Four kids came to the first meeting.  We brainstormed ideas for teen programs to hold at the library, talked about the results of the library survey that we gave out at both library locations, ate pizza, and talked about how to advertise to get more kids to come to our next meeting in November (spolier: November’s meeting had 14 teens attend!).  The first teen program we plan to hold will be in January.

The Evening Mystery Book Club has come to an end, leaving 3 clubs left active. Library Staff are working to meet the needs of the remaining clubs by offering additional services.

Display and Marketing

Patrons checked out 13 items from our October adult book display — Things that go Bump in the Night. Stephen King, Ann Rule, and Edgar Allan Poe are quite popular in Sandy.

Additionally, the library hosted a great display about personal collections.  The display featured books about collecting, and samples of teacups, depression glass, sea shells and more.

Staff

Library Staff got into the spirit and dressed up for October 31st.  Many came as book related characters.

In October, we said goodbye to a full-time Library Assistant who moved to join her family in the Midwest.  We interviewed nine candidates and hired two permanent half-time Library Assistants.  Katie Murphy and Thea Kuziemski may look familiar to you as they have been on-call staff at the library for years.  We’re so excited to have them officially join our permanent team!

Hiring Katie and Thea left a large hole in our on-call availability, which led to the hiring of two new on-call staff that had been identified through current and previous interview pools as good Library Clerk possibilities.  We welcome Kat Aden and Julie Steeves as on-call Library Clerks!  They have been fully trained and can be seen pitching in as we need them.

Exhibits and Events

On September 4th, The Clackamas County Arts Alliance set up an exhibit of watercolor paintings by Sandy artist Leslie Cheney-Parr.  The exhibit will run through December 4th.

First Friday on September 5th brought the Coffee House into the library. Sandy residents we serenaded by the enchanting songstress Caroline Hecht.

The beautiful ceramic art of Dulcie Linsoe-Johansen of Lindsoe Clayworks in Welches was moved from storage to hang in the lobby of the library.  Previously one season at a time was hung in the children’s area of the library.  All four beautiful seasonal portrayals are now on view as one stunning display.

Staff visited the studio of Francisco Bautista, Sandy artist who creates traditional Zapotecan weavings on his standing hand loom.  Look forward to seeing him with his loom at the Library Coffee House on the first Friday in November!  We will be celebrating the donation of his beautiful weaving Tree of Life to the Sandy Library.

On September 16th, storytime schedules for the Sandy and Hoodland Libraries resumed!  Parents and their little ones flooded into the libraries to enjoy songs, rhymes, and stories.

Training

On September 10th, ten staff of the Sandy and Hoodland libraries attended the second round of pre-school storytime training in preparation to assist in the presentation of this great program.  Staff presented a sample storytime to the group and shared tips for success.

Marketing

Our  book display set up for Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read (September 21-27) turned out to draw the most comments and interest of any of the adult book displays we have done so far.  Some comments overheard:

Programming – Sandy Library

August 1st was the monthly Library Coffee House as part of Main Street’s First Friday.  We hosted singer/songwriter Caroline Hecht to the great enjoyment of approximately 150 visitors.

Summer Reading – Sandy and Hoodland Libraries

August 17th  was the last day to turn in reading log from the Summer Reading Program.  Here are our final program statistics:

Sandy Library
Signups: 581
Finishers: 103

Hoodland Library 
Signups: 79
Finishers: 12

And for the Teen programs:
Sandy Library  Signups: 186    Finishers: 41

Hoodland Library  Signups: 17   HO Finishers: 4

The grand prizes for the kids and teens raffle were iPad Minis. We also gave away Lego kits, book sets, t-shirts, and “Robot Arm” toys. Each child who finished received a new paperback book. 

A photo of our Kid’s Grand Prize Winner with their new iPad Mini!

 Community Involvement

On August 4th, Library Director Sarah McIntyre attended the Hoodland Women’s Club luncheon meeting to give a quick update on the future move of the Hoodland Library.  Sarah will speak to the group in January to gather input on the building process.

Staff Training and Planning

On August 13th seven staff members met to discuss programming at the library and create a framework for the coming year.  Many of the libraries upcoming programs can be found on pages 20-21 of the City of Sandy Recreation Guide.  Stay tuned for additional programs!

On August 20th and 27th Staff training was offered by Librarians Maureen Skinner and Monica Smith to prepare for combining the Reference Desk and the Kid’s Service Desk.  Staff learned how to answer Reference questions, and how to troubleshoot the public computers.  On Sunday August 31st staff and the Friends of the Library worked together to remove the large desk at the entrance to the Kids’ Room, and created a smaller approachable desk in the same spot.   There has been a great deal of positive feedback on the more visible and accessible aspects to the new layout.

City-wide Events

Seven library employees helped set up and serve at the Volunteer Picnic, thanking our wonderful volunteers that do so very much for us.

 Marketing

Sandy Library – In August the theme of our adult display was Let’s Get Cooking. This was to acknowledge the harvest/canning season. There were a total of 9 items checked out.

Hoodland Library – We have an Oregon Battle Of the Book (OBOB) display!

Staffing

July 1 marked the official start of the new Sandy and Hoodland Public Library Director.  Each staff member met with the Director to give input and share information about the library.  A management team was created, and planning has begun to reorganize and create efficiencies so that staff can work on creating a dynamic program plan for the coming year.

Programs

Two out of our four book clubs took a summer hiatus. The women’s book club will start up again in September and the Evening Mystery club will reconvene in October.

On July 3 & 8, Alton Chung brought stories and tales to life at the Sandy and Hoodland Libraries.  Families enjoyed hearing traditional native american tales, as well as, coming of age stories from Chung’s own childhood.

 July 15 & 17  Mad Science at Hoodland and Sandy Libraries.  Crazy experiments presented by Molly Molecule.

July 16 Teen Program – All about Henna Tattooing.  Popular and fun.  Teens learned about henna tattoos and tattooed themselves and each other.

July 22 & 24 Red Yarn Hoodland and Sandy Libraries.  Great interactive stories, games, and dancing about how to be a Naturalist.

July 29 Dragon Theater at Hoodland

July 1 & 31 We started and ended the month with Bricks for Kidz LEGO program.  Families at Hoodland and Sandy Library had lots of fun! Though attendance was limited by those the presenter, those who did attend loved it. The success of the event has inspired the start of a (soon to be announced) LEGO club at the library.

Summer Reading sign-up  numbers:  Sandy: 581 kids, 186 teens. Hoodland: 79 Kids, 17 Teens

Marketing

Twenty-one books were checked out from the July “SUMMER FUN” adult book display.

We solicited community involvement in the process of choosing books, gathering pieces, and setting up a display featuring our great arts and crafts books with projects completed from them.  There are some beautiful projects, and it’s our best display yet!  Come in and see it in August.

Library Board Meeting

The Library Advisory Board met on June 16th.  The Board had lots of energy and ideas, and is looking forward to participating in a Strategic Planning process for the Sandy and Hoodland Libraries.

Summer Reading

• We signed up 531 kids for Summer Reading at Sandy and 63 at Hoodland
• We signed up 137 Teens for Summer Reading at Sandy and 17 at Hoodland

Programs at the Sandy Library

• June 19th was Greta Pedersen’s Science Of Sound Program. Greta sang and showed the kids the science behind sound. 56 kids and 25 adults attended.

• On June 26th the Dragon Theater Puppets presented the show “You’re Electric”.  50 kids and 25 adults attended.

Programs at the Hoodland Library:

At Hoodland Library Greta Pedersen did her “Science of Sound” show on June 17th. 10 kids and 10 adults attended.

New Library Director

New Library Director, Sarah McIntyre, worked closely with Beth during the first week of June to allow for a smooth transition for this big change.  Sarah, staff, and volunteer Alberta are pictured below.