Content tagged with: "Fontana Flyer - Winter 2017"

On October 26^th, Asheville based architect, Keith Hargrove, and Marianna Black Library Board Chair, Ellen Snodgrass presented to a series of renderings of a new library to the Swain County Commissioners.  The presentation began with Snodgrass running down a brief history and timeline of the new library project, including new information regarding a reduction in size to save on building costs and ongoing operational costs.  Hargrove then presented several renderings including a topographic look at the site development (patron and staff parking, D.O.T.  right of way  and outdoor reading areas) and birds-eye view of the interior, including a computer lab, expanded youth services spaces (including a teen area), and several tutor and conference rooms for collaborative work. 
 
After the presentation was completed, Swain County Commissioners, library board members and staff, and members of the community had a public discussion concerning the future of a new library.  Though a financial commitment was not put forward by county commissioners, they agreed to become more involved in the project by appointing a member of the commission as a liaison between the library planning committee and Swain County.
 
Please stop by the library to see a display of the renderings in the library reading room.
 

Operational Excellence - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

In keeping with the Long Range Plan, the Library continually strives to provide the infrastructure and resources to provide excellent service and convenient access for the community.
 
Through a generous contribution by the Macon County Public Library Friends, the Nantahala Community Library has been able to replace their TV. The funding provided
for the purchase of a new 65 inch curved 4K UHD TV for the public to use in programs and activities at the community room.
 

Operational Excellence - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

On September 9^th, 2017, Macon County Public Library held its 4^th annual Read Local Book Fair.
 
The big change over last year was moving the date from November to early September.  This was done to try and capture more of the “seasonal” population, as it was pointed out that most of this potential audience is gone in early November.
 
Approximately 345 attended the fair (about 150 more than last year); we will probably continue with the earlier date, due to this increase. 
 
Promotion was done inside the library, in downtown Franklin, two featured newspaper articles, and on the internet.  We were able to get radio coverage and an additional newspaper article beyond what coverage we had last year. Posters were also displayed throughout the community, including ‘real estate’ signs, and social media (such as Facebook) was employed more than ever before.
 
Feedback from our 29 authors was uniformly good; sales figures, as reported by our partner Books Unlimited, were also improved over last year.
 
As always with this event, our intent is to support our local economy (part of our long range plan)  [Employment and Economy] with book sales of local authors, as well as creating a community event highlighting books and reading [long range plan of Education/lifelong learning and also Recreation/Leisure Services].
 

Employment & Economy - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Did you know that the Library offers Notary services in each of our counties? We currently have 9 Notaries on staff, with at least 1 Notary in most of our branches. We recognize that this is one of those services that no one thinks about until you need it. And when you need it, you really need it. So we are striving to have this service conveniently available to our patrons. The cherry on top of this hidden service sundae is that we provide this service completely free of charge. For more information on Notary services provided by the Library, call your local branch.
 

Operational Excellence - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Libraries throughout Fontana had displays to promote Mental Health Awareness Week during October.  These were done in partnership with the local chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health), NAMI Appalachian South. Displays combined resources such as informational pamphlets from NAMI and local mental health providers, with items from our collection, such as books, DVDs, and audiobooks. The goals of this display were to provide a greater understanding of the range of symptoms and treatment possibilities for specific mental illnesses and addictions, and to make patrons aware of local resources for treatment, evaluation and support.  
 

Health & Mental Health - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Need assistance with your taxes? Look no further! All the libraries in Fontana Regional Library system provide basic Federal tax forms and instructions as a service to our customers.  Although we do not carry paper forms for State taxes we do have access through the Internet to forms for the State of North Carolina and the IRS at a cost of 25 cents a side.
 

Libraries Offering Tax Assistance Near You:

 AARP Tax Preparation Assistance at both JCPL and MCPL are by appointment only. Please call 586-2016 (JCPL) or 524-3600 (MCPL) for assistance.
 

Check Out Our Self-help Books and Online Resources to Help You With Your Taxes:

J.K. Lasser’s Your Income Tax – prepared by the J.K. Lasser Tax Institute
The Ernst & Young Tax Guide
Lower Your Taxes – Big Time! – Sanford Botkin
Deduct It! Lower Your Small Business Taxes – Stephen Fishman
How to Pay Zero Taxes – Jeff Schnepper
Every Non-profit’s tax guide – Stephen Fishman
 
E-Government Resources – Tax Information can be found on our e-Gov Resource Guide at https://fontanalib.libguides.com/egov/federal
 

Employment & Economy- Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Matthew Bateman is a personal fitness instructor at the Franklin Health and Fitness Center. He tagged MCPL in a Facebook post stating how grateful he was for a study room at the Macon County Public Library to help get organized for his clients at the fitness center.

Operational Excellence - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Have you been seeing libraries popping up on every corner?  Little Free Libraries are a growing phenomenon!  As of 2017, there are over 60,000 registered Little Free Libraries in all 50 states and 80 countries. 
 
Little Libraries run on the premise of "take a book, return a book."  Rotarian Todd Bol built the first little library in 2009 in memory of his mother, a teacher who loved to read, on this premise.  Now Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote a sense of community, reading for children, literacy for adults, and libraries around the world.  Through Little Free Libraries, millions of books are exchanged each year, profoundly increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds. 
 
And why does access matter?  Studies show that one of the most successful ways to improve the reading achievement of children is to increase their access to books, especially at home. But according to the U.S. Department of Education, up to 61% of low-income families do not have any books for their kids at home.  Little Free Libraries play an essential role by providing 24/7 access to books (and encouraging a love of reading!) in areas where books are scarce.
 
Fontana Regional Library works to provide convenient access to books in many ways.  Part of fulfilling that mission has been to partner with community organizations and individuals in establishing Little Free Libraries.  We opened our first Little Free Library in 2014, the same year that the Little Free Library organization began partnering with public libraries. 
 
Two new Little Free Libraries will open in Macon County before the end of the year.  Partnerships with the Friends of the Library, Macon County Schools, Duke Energy, Beale Construction, Read2Me, and the Macon County Crawford Senior Center have made it possible to install Little Libraries at Union Academy and the Crawford Senior Center. But it doesn’t stop there.  Many dedicated community members steward these and other Little Libraries to be sure that everyone will find something good to read when they visit a Little Free Library. 
 
If you’re interested in starting a Little Free Library in your corner of the world, contact your public library to find out more.
 

Recreation & Leisure Services - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Did you know that language learning is an important and popular library service? We offer physical language learning tools like books and audiobooks, and we also now have access to Mango Languages. Mango Languages is provided to all library patrons free of charge through NC Live. It is one of the most popular web based language learning tools and even has an app so you can learn anywhere, anytime.
 
We also provide programming in other languages to help build skills for both ELL and foreign language students. Our Spanish programs are the most popular. Several branches offer bilingual storytimes for children and families. We  offer outreach programs to local schools where we support language learning in the classroom. The branches have also been growing their Spanish language collections for children and adults. These collections help Spanish language learners become fluent and support ELL learners with popular books in both Spanish and English.
 

Diversity - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Macon County Public Library hosted a Women in Science Career Fair on September 14^th for families, children, and teens to learn more about science career opportunities.  The Women in Science Career Fair was an official event of the NASA @ My Library grant that the Fontana Regional Library recently received.  At this event, attendees had the opportunity to speak with seventeen local female scientists and learn more about a variety of scientific fields.
 
The Women in Science Career Fair also provided a variety of hands-on science related activities for kids and grown-ups of all ages, including robotics, engineering, green screen photography, 3D pens, circuit boards, and more.
 
The NASA@ My Library program is designed to increase and enhance science, technology, engineering, and math learning opportunities around the country, especially for geographic areas and populations currently underserved in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education.  The NASA@ My Library project is led by the National Center for Interactive Learning at the Space Science Institute. Partners include the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, Pacific Science Center, Cornerstones of Science, and Education Development Center. NASA@ My Library is made possible through the support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate as part of its STEM Activation program.
 

Education - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Back in mid-September, Hurricane Irma dealt a surprisingly ferocious blow to the Cashiers area. Thousands in the area were without power, running water, and internet for nearly a week. Luckily, Albert Carlton – Cashiers Community Library managed to keep power, water, and internet through the entire ordeal. We provided a safe haven to charge devices, check email, start insurance claims, and entertain children that were out of school.

While several staff members had no power or water at home either, we still braved the road closures and came together to make sure our community had someplace to go. We hosted special programs including an all-day movie marathon of family movies for all the children that were out of school. We also hosted impromptu bridge games, chess games, and our community puzzle was more popular than ever. We provided power and internet access for telecommuters and families that had come to Cashiers to get out of Irma’s path. Through the week we set up telecommuting stations, charging stations, distance education stations, and our very popular information station. We dedicated one of our staff machines to real time updates on power and internet restoration, live road closure maps, live weather feeds, and news stations from across the hurricane’s path. 

Through the ordeal, the Library definitely embodied the heart of the community.

Operational Excellence - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Wish you had free access to 30,000+ films? Wish that included award-winners, foreign films, documentaries, selections from the Criterion Collection? Wish you could just stream them without leaving home? Well, your wishes are answered! Fontana Regional Library now offers Kanopy, a film streaming service that you can view on your computer, tablet, Roku, or even your smartphone. Kanopy debuted across FRL this fall, and patrons are enjoying the wide range of quality films available, up to 10 films per month. Check it out today! Free with your library card. View our Videos & Movies page for more information.

Recreation and Leisure Services - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

Libraries in the Fontana Regional Library system are proud to be sharing the vision and mission they have for their communities. New signs and decals will be installed at all member libraries. Our smallest library, the Nantahala Community Library in Topton, was the first to install their new sign.

Vision:
The heart of our community, enriching lives and inspiring the future.

Mission:
The Fontana Regional Library system provides the public of Jackson, 
Macon and Swain counties with excellent service and convenient access 
to resources for their educational, informational, and recreational needs.

Operational Excellence - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan

The Reading Rover Bookmobile recently received grants of $2,500 from the Macon County Community Foundation and $1,370 from the Jackson County Community Foundation. Last summer, the Swain County Community Foundation also awarded $1,000 to support Rover services to area children. All three county Community Foundations are affiliates of the North Carolina Community Foundation but make their own funding decisions.

The grants will help sustain the Rover’s storytime visits to preschools and daycare centers, encouraging the development of essential pre-reading and school-readiness skills.

Education - Fontana Regional Library Long Range Plan