Programs

Summer Reading began June 1st!  Pick up a packet for Kid, Teen, and Adult Summer Reading at the Library through July 31st.  Summer Reading performers started on June 14th.  Tuesdays at Hoodland Library, Wednesdays at Sandy Library, and Thursdays at Vista Apartments.  Come join the fun from 2-3pm through July 19th in Hoodland, July 20th in Sandy, and July 28th at Vista.

On June 1st, we started our 4 week adult drawing class taught by Eileen Holzman.  This class had 18 attendees.  Coming soon, a display on the ramp wall of the art from this class!

June 3rd was our Library Coffee House.  We had music by Back Up and Push, edible treats, and a kids craft.  233 people attended.

17 people attended our first anime club cosplay contest event on June 22nd!

On June 27th, we held an informational meeting to gather volunteers to teach our upcoming English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes.  25 interested English speakers attended!  We will hold a student recruitment meeting (and sample class) on August 23rd.

City

The Longest Day Parkway was a great success for the Library!  We talked with 257 people, and gave out many Summer Reading packets.

LINCC (Libraries IN Clackamas County)

On June 16th, Chris Wilhelmi, Elaine Russell, and I went to the LINCC offices to begin testing of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tagging and checkout of items.   The RFID Implementation Committee has begun meeting.  We plan to have every circulating item in our collection tagged, and RFID check-out and security fully implemented by June 30, 2017.  The Sandy Library will need to close for up to a week (likely sometime in February or March 2017) to accomplish the tagging.

Community

On June 1st, Dianne Downey and I attended the Mount Hood Pedestrian/Bikeways Open House. This was an event hosted by Clackamas County to discuss pedestrian/bikeways of the Mount Hood area. There is a crosswalk across from the library, as well as a walking/biking pathway on Welches Road in the current Draft Plan.

Programs

Cellist Gideon Freudmann played at Library Coffee House on May 6th. 229 people attended.

Sandy and Hoodland Libraries participated in Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 7th.  We had a bat cave, made superhero cuffs and masks, and watched the Classic Batman Movie.  Oh, and gave away free comic books!  67 people attended at Sandy, and 29 at Hoodland.

20 people attended our second Reader’s Theatre program.  This program is presented by Actors Dojo.  You can find the Reader’s Theatre program at the library every 2nd Wednesday of the Month.  The July Reader’s Theatre will feature the play Star Spangled Girl by Neil Simon on July 13th, 6:30pm.

We held our first Scratch workshop on Saturday May 14th for Scratch Day!  15 people attended.  Scratch is a coding program for kids.  We will be holding additional scratch workshops throughout the summer on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 2-4 pm

Firwood’s first grade classrooms visited the Sandy Library on May 20th.  90 kids and 15 adults heard a story, learned what the library does, and found out about the Summer Reading program!

We held our Teen Art Night in Sandy on May 20th.  Eileen Holtzman helped the teens to create MC Escher inspired tessellations.  Stop by to see finished pieces of art from this night until July 1st.

Nature Walks for Creaky Knees met twice in the month of May.  We had 10 enthusiastic participants.  Everyone wore a name tag to  help with communication and comradeship. There was a broad range of abilities, some who don’t hike at all and were somewhat wobbly, as well as, those who claimed they wanted to do Dog Mountain!

Programs

April 1st was Library Coffee House for 1st Friday.

395 happy individuals listened to Terry Robb play his acoustic blues guitar.  There was a special exhibit opening and presentation by the artists of the Wy’East Artisans Guild.

On Thursday, April 7th at 6:30 pm in the Sandy Library Community Room, Dr. Scott Burns spoke on the “Dynamic Geological History of Oregon with special emphasis on the region around Sandy”.  25 people attended.

On April 9th, we celebrated Beverly Cleary’s 100th birthday at the Sandy and Hoodland Libraries with cupcakes and board games!

April is National Poetry Month!  We held the annual Poetry Slam at Sandy Library on April 14th, and an Open Mic Poetry reading at Hoodland Library on April 18th.  60 people attended the Poetry Slam, and 6 people attended the open mic poetry.  Photos of the Poetry Slam winners in the under 14, adult, and group categories below.

On April 28th we held a program for the National Day of Action for Transgender Youth.  Nunpa from Antfarm read the book, “I am Jazz.” Discussion followed led by Eric Overby and Lurissa Sponsler-Overby of PFLAG. Local resources from PFLAG, GLSEN, and HRC were available.

  April 30th was Dia de los Ninos!  143 people came to this Mexican celebration of children. We had fun and games, balloon animals, food, and the performer Chayag (Alex Llumiquinga).

Food For Fines April 10-16

We celebrated National Library Week by accepting Food for library fines.  All food was donated to local food banks.  Sandy Library collected 681.6 pounds of food for the Sandy Community Action Center, and Hoodland collected 236 food items for Neighborhood Missions food closet.

Library Advisory Board
At our April Library Advisory Board meeting, the Library Advisory Board voted to make the Presidents of the Friends of Sandy Library and Friends of Hoodland Library Ex Officio non-voting members of the Library Advisory Board.  We would like to officially welcome current Presidents George Hoyt and Judith Norval to the Library Board!

Programs

Friday, March 4th was the Library Coffee House featuring Irish Folk – An anthology of Folk chronologically arranged by Carolee and Romeo Carrara.  112 people came to enjoy the evening.

LEGO Club continues to be a big hit!  As the first Saturday of the month, as part of our Saturday Afternoon Kids’ Club, LEGO Club continues to lead the pack.  25 Kids and 10 adults created LEGO masterpieces on March 5th.  Remember to stop by the Sandy Library to see the LEGO display each month!

On March 19th, author Jane Kirkpatrick spoke at the Hoodland Library.  31 people were enchanted by her stories.

Tuesday, March 29th, We held a workshop: Gardening with Native Plants.  Clackamas County Master Gardener, Kris LaMar, shared information and ideas to spruce up your yard.  16 people attended the workshop.

Wednesday, March 30th, we held our monthly Anime Club for 6-8th graders.  Since we have started this club in January, we have had an average of 22 kids in attendance!  They are interested in meeting weekly, rather than monthly.

On March 31st, Heather Michet of Iris Healing Arts presented “The Spirit of Health” — The science of health is everywhere these days: “What’s ‘good’ to eat?  Avoid this!  Relax.  Sweat out the toxins!”  Ms. Michet outlined steps and techniques to help balance mental, emotional, physical and spiritual aspects to help you create a healthy life. 11 people attended this workshop.

Exhibits

The Photography Club hung their Spring Group Show on the entry ramp wall.  Three local photographers contributed eight photographs for this beautiful exhibit.

Training

On March 16th, Library Assistant Elaine Russell attended an all-day Train the Trainer workshop in Washington County.  Elaine is in charge of our Circulation area, and trains incoming staff and volunteers.

Programs

On February 4th, we started our Read to the Dog program again!  Come visit with Ananda every Thursday from 4-5. Ananda is very sweet. Call 503.668.5537 to sign kids up for 15 minute sessions.

February 5th started our Library Coffee Houses for 2016.  Rose City Hot Club played their gypsy jazz.  Dan Bosserman was in the lobby to sign and sell his new book: Images of America: Sandy.

On February 8th, 26 people attended Matthias Mantel’s presentation for our Mind, Body Spirit program on Herbs and Healthy Cooking.

On February 10th, we held the 2nd program in our sustainability series.  Composting with Worms for K-5 graders.

From January 2 – February 13th, Libraries IN Clackamas County (LINCC) ran a contest for Teens for Teen Summer Reading artwork.   The second of two HONORABLE MENTIONS for the 2016 LINCC Teen Art Contest was Erin Karl, an 11^th grader at Sandy High School, and a Sandy patron.  Her submission is to the left.

February 18th was our Anti-Valentine Teen-Lock in with Ant Farm.  78 teens came to sing karaoke at Ant Farm until 10:45, and then came to the library until midnight to watch their favorite Youtube videos and play minecraft.

On February 20th, authors MJ and Robin Cody spoke at the Hoodland Library.  33 people were in attendance.

On February 25th, the library held a workshop on Home Buyer Education.  18 people attended!  It was the largest Home Buyer Education workshop that this group has ever held.

On February 27th, national award winning storyteller, Christopher Leebrick came to the Sandy Library to help us celebrate Dr. Seuss’ Birthday.

Training

The Sandy Police Department came to our morning staff meeting on February 10th to provide their Run Hide, Fight training for library staff.  This was a great training.  Kudos to Chief Yamashita and the Police Department staff!  View a quick video here!

Programs

On January 7th, Molly Gloss spoke at the Sandy Library.  Molly Gloss is the bestselling author of The Jump-Off Creek, The Dazzle of Day, Wild Life, The Hearts of Horses and Falling From Horses. Her work has earned numerous awards, including an Oregon Book Award, a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, the PEN West Fiction Prize, the James Tiptree Jr. Award, and a Whiting Writers Award.

On January 11, Barbara Virgilio, MSW from Mt. Hood Hospice shared about care options for end of life. Barbara earned BA degrees in sociology and philosophy with a Certificate in Gerontology from Oregon State University. Barbara then attended Portland State University earning her Master of Social Work.  Barbara began working for Mt. Hood Hospice in 2007.  She often assists families in deciding about whether or where to move their loved ones when needed.

On January 16th, Brian Doyle spoke at the Hoodland Library. Brian Doyle is the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland, in Oregon. He is the author of many books, including the novels Mink River and The Plover. The Grail, is his account of a year in a pinot noir vineyard in Oregon. Mr. Doyle’s newest novel Martin Marten is set near Mt. Hood and the Zigzag river.  This event was standing room only, as 72 people attended.

A free show from The Sandy Actors Theatre!  Thursday January 21st in the fireplace room of the Sandy Library.  SAT presented a few scenes from their upcoming play.  The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr runs from January 29th-February 21st at the Sandy Actors Theatre.

On January 27, we held a Pajama Story Time and Teddy Bear Sleepover at Hoodland Library.  Kids Brought their second-most favorite stuffed buddy to the library for a special evening story time.  Their stuffed animal stayed overnight for a special party, kids picked them up the next day, along with pictures of their adventures! View the video (1:15)!

On January 27th we started a new Anime Club at the Sandy Library.  This club is specifically for 6-8th graders to come together to share their passion for anime.  We’ll watch some anime, talk about our favorites, eat snacks, and craft.  23 kids attended our first meeting.

On January 28th we held the first program in a Sustainability Series at the Sandy Library. It was for those interested in learning more about solar energy and the benefits, processes, costs and incentives associated with installing solar.  A free workshop by Solar Oregon, the region’s solar education non-profit.

On January 30th, Susan Blackaby spoke at the Sandy Library.  Susan Blackaby is local children’s author of the Brownie Groundhog series, Nest, Nook, and Cranny, and many others.  She spoke about the writing process, sharing her stories and illustrations, and offered a craft.  This program was geared towards parents and their 3-8 year old kids.

Administrative

In January, the library changed from using Square for Credit Card transactions, to using Propay.  Propay has a number of benefits for us, as it can be used directly through our library software program, has a simpler interface, and has additional security measures in place.

Planning for RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) continues for all Clackamas County libraries.  We may be tagging our items as early as May.  The goal is to have all items in our collection tagged by September 15th.  The RFID implementation will include new self-checkout units, RFID pads for staff stations, and possibly security gates.

Art Installation

The library is currently hosting Indian Art of the Northwest Coast from the collection of George and Colleen Hoyt.  This beautiful exhibit will be up at least through the month of February.

Programs

On December 3rd, Author – Dan Bosserman spoke at the Sandy Library about his new book- Images of America: Sandy.

December 5th was our Teddy Bear Tea at the Sandy Library.  Kids and stuffies had a great time at this special storytime, then the stuffies spent the night at the library.  Photos of their adventures were given to the kids when they picked their stuffies up the next day.

The Sandy Public Library was one of the sponsors of the December 4th Christmas Tree Lighting on the plaza.  We had a table at the event, and talked about library programs and services with many people.

On December 6th, we held our first Check-In Circle. The Circle (or council) is an ancient form that has been gathering us into respectful conversation for thousands of years in many cultures around the world.This provides a shift from informal socializing or opinionated discussion into a receptive attitude of thoughtful speaking and deep listening.
Be curious.  This program was so successful that we plan to continue it monthly.

On December 18th we held a DIY Holiday Gift Making for Teens at Antfarm.  This was a really great program, but had low attendance.  There were holiday parties going on this day.  We will likely not hold a program for Teens in December next year.

On December 20-21, we partnered with a local crafts person to hold a Holiday Bazaar.  This was very last minute, so also had low attendance.  Library staff were not convinced that we were the best venue for this event.

On December 27th, the Library Photography Group met.

Exhibits

The High School Art Students had their art on exhibit for the month of December.  It was a great show!  We plan to partner with the Sandy High School each December.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)

On December 2nd-3rd, key staff from the Sandy and Hoodland Libraries attended a two day RFID workshop/planning session. RFID will be implemented in every library throughout Clackamas County by September 15th.  This will streamline check-out and check-in, offer the possibility of easy inventory, and the opportunity for better security of items.

Programs

On November 6th, local singer/songwriter Steve Hale performed at the Library Coffee House.  He was a great interactive performer who engaged the audience in discussion about songwriting.

The new Mind-Body-Spirit adult programming continued for the second month with a 4-week yoga class presented by Nyssa Castle. There were 16 yogis on the class roster. Ms. Castle specializes in gentle therapeutic yoga. She teaches regularly at the Sandy Historical Society building, upstairs.

On November 12th, Folktime met at the Sandy Library for the first time.  In an ongoing partnership, Folktime will be meeting at the library once a month to allow their clients to socialize, and conduct a meditation and yoga class.  Folktime is about connecting individuals who share the experience of living with mental illness through peer support and community based activities.

On November 19th, we held our last class in our Financial Education series with Clackamas County Bank. It was on Identity Theft.

Building

The Friends of Sandy Library took the opportunity on Veteran’s Day to do a refresh of the Sandy Library.  They painted two walls in the Community Room to brighten things up and added some photos on one wall.  They touched up walls throughout the library, and placed plastic bumpers in staff areas that get high traffic use.

Programs

The Library Coffee House on Friday October 2nd was part of our Oktoberfest Series.   We featured Paul Bria, playing traditional polka and waltz on the accordion.  190 people attended.

We held our first weekly Baby Story Time on October 7th.  This is a special storytime to teach parents with babies up to one year old how to play with their babies to increase interaction and early literacy.

Our Oktoberfest Meet the Brewer Series ended with a great talk by Drinking Horse Brewing Company on October 15th at the Hoodland Library.  It was our highest attended of the Meet the Brewer programs, with 14 people in attendance.

Our first event in our ongoing series geared for adults over 50, Mind, Body, Spirit; Creating a Vibrant Adult Life was held on October 15th.  It was Talking about Dying organized by Oregon Humanities and The Cambria Health Foundation.  19 people attended this great program.

We held our first Haunted Library for teens on October 16th, and boy did we learn a lot!  Approximately 300 Kids came through, and about a dozen Teen Advisory Board kids with the help of Sandy Actors Theatre and Library staff managed to put together the show.  It was a great success, and we are already planning on how to improve it for next year.

In coordination with Clackamas County Bank, the library held a Budgeting Workshop on the evening of October 20th.

The Photography Group hung their first group exhibit this month.  Come by the Library through November to check it out. During the October 24th meet-up they practiced their skills with still-life photography.

The LINCC (Libraries IN Clackamas County) Library District held it’s first All Staff Day in more than 20 years!  This was a great day with speakers to get staff thinking about the current and future role of libraries, the User Experience, and Compassion Fatigue.  It was an excellent way to get LINCC moving forward on the same page.

Programs

Elvis is in the building! Mark Stevenz, locally renowned Elvis tribute artist played at the Library Coffee House on September 4th.  246 very happy members of the audience enjoyed a tremendous show.

On September 17th, our first Oktoberfest “Meet the Brewer” took place at the Sandy Library.  This series was five weeks of brewers, complete with beer tasting.  The fifth “Meet the Brewer” program took place at the Hoodland Library on October 15th.

September 18th kicked off our Teen Programming with a Lock-In.  The Lock-In was co-sponsored by Antfarm and the Library. We had 72 teens come to the program.  It was a great success! We had karaoke and gelato floats at Antfarm, and then walked over to the library to watch a movie and play Minecraft. View a video from the karaoke portion of the Lock-In here.

The first of our financial series programs happened on 9/23: Retirement Planning for All Ages. It covered basic investing, health care, social security, and long term care. Barb Clare for Clackamas County Bank facilitated the program.

A photo from Hoodland storytime is to the left.  Creating Green Monster Masks to go with our monster themed storytime!

Building

The photography of Paul Sivley of Lake Oswego is currently on display at the Sandy Library.  All photos were taken in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Training

Six Library staff members were trained on three products from the Adobe Creative Suite.  We now have Four licenses to the Creative Suite for staff to use to create fliers and brochures.  Step one of our marketing plan is complete.

Staff

We hired two new on-call library staff to work at the Sandy and Hoodland Libraries.  Rebecca Robinowitz (pictured left), and Barbara Bartel.  Rebecca previously worked at Estacada Library, Milwaukie Library and Gladstone Library (15 years total).  Barbara has worked at the Estacada Library for 12 years.  They are great knowledgeable additions to our staff.