Fiscal Year report

NPLNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

2013-2014

Nashville Public Library

Mission Inspire reading, advance learning

and connect our community.

Vision All members of our diverse community

are empowered through limitless learning opportunities to enrich their lives.

We Value Extraordinary Customer Service

Love of Reading Lifelong Learning

Intellectual Freedom Innovation Excellence

Inclusiveness

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DIRECTOR’S MESSAGEKENT OLIVERLIBRARY DIRECTOR

It is our pleasure to present Nashville Public Library’s (NPL) annual report for the 2013-2014 operating year.

While this report is certainly a “data” summary, it is first and foremost an important snapshot of how NPL makes a difference in the lives of thousands of Nashvillians each year.

Nashville Public Library is your public library - a vital learning resource for meeting community needs, one person at a time. Our strength is in our staff and in the vital collaborations we develop with our partners in Nashville and Davidson County - and, indeed, all over the world.

We are intentionally developing services and programs that focus on the needs of our rapidly changing city. The directions our library is going are exciting and dynamic. If you have been following us recently, you already have an appreciation for this evolution - if not revolution - in public library service.

Nashville Public Library is a living example of the fact that public libraries are beyond just nice for a thriving community. Rather, they are necessary.

Happy reading and best wishes,

Kent OliverLibrary Director

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TABLE OF CONTENTSDIRECTOR’S MESSAGE 2

STATISTICS 4 - 5

LOCATIONS 6 - 7 MILESTONES 8 - 13 COLLECTIONS 14 - 16

PROGRAMS & SERVICES 17 - 20

COMMUNITY OUTREACH 21 - 25

LIBRARY SUPPORT 26 - 28

LEADERSHIP 29

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BUDGET STATEMENT July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014State and Federal Grants 144,198NPLF support 778,947

General Fund appropriations:Personnel 14,906,412Utilities 1,672,152Professional & purchased services 520,383Travel, tuition & dues 52,629Communications 599,155Repairs & maintenance services 523,389Internal service fees 1,263,284All other expenses 1,888,724

Total General Fund appropriations 21,426,128.00Total FY14 Non-Capital Budget 22,349,273.00

Capital BudgetBond funds - City libraries maintenance & upgrades 2,253,767New Bellevue Branch construction 4,334,985New Southeast Branch construction 12,065,462Limitless Libraries school library renovations 341,599

4% funds - Ongoing materials purchases 2,736,650

Total FY14 Capital Budget 21,732,463

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TOTAL VISITS 3,501,710

NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS 676

POPULATION SERVED 658,602

NUMBER OF PUBLIC COMPUTERS 575

TOTAL CIRCULATION 4,663,347

TOTAL NUMBER OF STAFF 312

TOTAL PROGRAM ATTENDANCE 302,133

TOTAL MATERIALS 2,117,252

NUMBER OF LIBRARY CARD HOLDERS 321,168

NUMBER OF LOCATIONS 22

STATISTICS IT’S ABOUT THE NUMBERS

6 Green Hills Branch Library

Goodlettsville Branch LibraryBordeaux Branch Library

Edmondson Pike Branch Library

Donelson Branch Library

Main Library

Bellevue Branch Library

Edgehill Branch Library

East Branch Library

OUR BRANCHLIBRARIES

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Inglewood Branch Library

Southeast Branch LibraryNorth Branch LibraryHermitage Branch Library

Looby Branch Library

Thompson Lane Branch LibraryOld Hickory Branch Library

Pruitt Branch Library

Talking Library

Watkins Park Branch Library

Madison Branch Library Richland Park Branch Library

Hadley Branch Library

22 LOCATIONS

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A YEAR OF MILESTONES

Hispanic Heritage Month Launches

September 2013

Hunger Awareness Month Launches

January 2014

Final Four Launches

March 2014

Artober Launches

October 2013

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Library-wide Milestones

Nashville Reads Launches

March 2014

African-American History MonthFebruary 2014

Community of Many Faces Launches April 2014

Summer Reading Launches June 2014

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A YEAR OF MILESTONES

NPL Breaks Ground on New Southeast Branch Library

June 17, 2013

NPL Breaks Ground on New Bellevue Branch Library

October 22, 2013

Civil Rights Room turns 10

December 2013

Wright Middle School Library Reopens

August 16, 2013

Main Library Reopens on Mondays

October 14, 2013

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Old Hickory Branch Library Reopens

January 16, 2014

Edgehill Branch Library Reopens

January 24, 2014

Location Milestones

Pruitt Branch Library Reopens

June 9, 2014

Metro Archives moves to the Main Library September 2014

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A YEAR OF MILESTONES

NPL Wins Agency of the Year Award for AccessibilityOctober 2013

NPL Launches Lucky Day Collection

December 2013

NPL Launches Seed ExchangeFebruary 2014

StoryCorps Comes to NPLOctober 2013

NPL Hosts Tribute to John Egerton

December 8, 2013

Bringing Books to Life Wins TN Reading AwardDecember 9, 2013

Your Favorite Best Sellers!

It’s Your

Lucky Day!

• No Holds• 14 Day Checkout• No Renewals• First Come, First Served

Lucky Day CollectionNashville Public Library’s

Look for the Shamrock & Lucky Day Sticker!

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More Notable MomentsNPL’s Liz Atack wins Teacher of the YearFebruary 18, 2014

Library Opens First Studio NPL

April 7, 2014

Dollar General Literacy Foundation Limitless Libraries $350,000 Grant

May 7, 2014

americanscornernew

NPL’s “Picture Me” Wins National Bullying Prevention Award

February 25, 2014

Library Welcomes NAZA

July 24, 2014

NPL Launches New Americans Corners

June 2014

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COLLECTIONS

Lucky Day

Seed Exchange

Your Favorite Best Sellers!

It’s Your

Lucky Day!

• No Holds• 14 Day Checkout• No Renewals• First Come, First Served

Lucky Day CollectionNashville Public Library’s

Look for the Shamrock & Lucky Day Sticker!

We serve our American

democracy by providing free, equal

access to information. Our diverse collections

are key to NPL’s mission of inspiring reading, advancing

learning and connecting community.

Collections that Launched This Fiscal Year

NPL Makes Patrons’ “Lucky Day”

To put high-demand titles into patrons’ hands more quickly, NPL launched the Lucky Day collection, giving patrons yet

another reason to check Library bookshelves often.

Extra copies of popular titles, bearing a “Lucky Day” sticker, would appear without

notice - and get snatched up quickly. Patrons lucky enough to get them first

could borrow them for up to two weeks.

Library’s Collection Goes Green – Literally

NPL launched a Seed

Exchange, stocking its supply of heirloom seeds

with donations by area farmers and food

cooperatives.

In the first five months, patrons “checked out” more

than 4,000 packets of seeds. They were encouraged to

bring in new seeds from what they planted, in order to grow

the Seed Exchange collection and Nashville’s

access to a sustainable, local seed crop.

NPL launched “Nashville’s New Faces,” a year-long oral history project, in

partnership with StoryCorps @ your library.

The project was designed to expand NPL’s oral history collection to better represent

Nashville’s changing demographics, including new

immigrants and first-generation Americans. NPL recorded 69 interviews

and forged 9 community partnerships through this

project.

StoryCorps

StoryCorps Comes to NPL

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Digital Exchange

COLLECTIONS

Civil Rights Art

Collections That Excelled This Fiscal Year

Digital Collection Drives Up Total Circulation

Tech-savvy patrons of all ages streamed or

downloaded 915,317 items (up 62 percent from last fiscal year). In fact, these streams and downloads

accounted for 20 percent of NPL’s total circulation.

NPL also added free streaming music, video,

television shows and movies with Freegal, Hoopla, and Overdrive subscriptions

for patrons.

Civic Pulse Throbs In Civil Rights Room, Collection

Award-winning journalist and writer Michele Norris

headlined the 10-year anniversary of NPL’s Civil

Rights Room and Collection, discussing her book and the Race Card Project. Nearly 20,000 scholars, visitors,

patrons and students came to, studied in or attended a

program as part of this one-of-a-kind space and

collection.

Art Thrives at NPL

Through a book art exhibit called “20 Collaborations,” the Library showcased top artists currently working in Nashville. With a second

exhibit, “First Flight Out,” the Library partnered with the

Metro Nashville Airport Authority to display works by

major Tennessee artists.

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PROGRAMS & SERVICESCOLLECTIONS

Metro Archives Moves, Forming Downtown

Research ZoneMetro Archives, which

houses 5 million historic documents, moved to the Main Library in downtown

Nashville. One floor up from the Library’s Special

Collections Center - and less than a half-mile from the Tennessee State Library

and Archives – the relocated Metro Archives formed a research quadrant. In this

zone, researchers and patrons could more easily do scholarly work and trace their

personal histories.

Metro Archives

High-quality programs, free and open to all, are another

cornerstone of how NPL fulfills its mission. As we

bring people together, we also inspire them to read,

encourage them to learn and help them connect

as neighbors.

Moreover, as we provide programs and services, we

keep our eye on diversity and accessibility.

For example, this fiscal year, NPL increased the number of

its multilingual staff and expanded accessibility

services with more real-time captioning of public

programs. NPL also received the Agency of the Year Award

from the Mayor’s Advisory Committee for People With

Disabilities.

Celebrating the Written Word

Connecting Readers and Writers

The Library joined the Nashville Public Library Foundation, Humanities

Tennessee, and Parnassus Books to bring top-selling

authors to Music City. Writers such as David

Baldacci, Anna Quindlen and Robin Roberts joined those who have come to Nashville for Salon@615 book talks

and signings.

Salon@615

Collections That Changed This Fiscal Year

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PROGRAMS & SERVICES

Nashville ReadsMeanwhile, diverse after-hours events drew

people into the Library; these Night At the Library programs

featured political historian Keel Hunt,

Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat, comedienne Annabelle

Gurwitch and the Neelys, a celebrity chef couple.

Night at the LibraryWriter’s Circle Connects

Emerging, Premier Authors

This series, created for people with a “serious intent

to write,” gave emerging authors the chance to learn from acclaimed writers. The

Library paused this programming upon the death of its founder and leader, the

late and beloved John Seigenthaler.

Citywide Campaign Inspires Reading Across the Map

NPL joined the Mayor’s Office, the Nashville Public

Library Foundation, Humanities Tennessee and

Parnassus Books, encouraging residents to

read Karen Joy Fowler’s “We Are All Completely Beside

Ourselves.”

Readers engaged in community dialogue about

this tale of family and science. They participated in more than 40 programs and book events, a short story

contest and two social media promotions. In April, Fowler visited NPL for a book talk

and signing.

Writer’s Circle

Salon @ 615Nashville Reads Edition

Salon @ 615Nashville Reads Edition

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Library Creates Community Through Music

NPL’s summer Courtyard Concerts made a popular

return as performers brought the musical spectrum –

everything from gypsy jazz to classical music – alive in the Main Library’s Robinson

Courtyard.

Courtyard Concerts

The Library’s Virtuoso Showcase Classical Guitar

Series also made an anticipated return, featuring

international musicians at four free

Sunday-afternoon concerts.

Finally, NPL revived its That

Nashville Sound series. Fans flocked to the Library to hear

country music icon Ralph Emery interview Grammy-

winning musician Ray Stevens.

Virtuoso Showcase Classical Guitar Series

That Nashville Sound

PROGRAMS & SERVICESCelebrating Music

PROGRAMS & SERVICES

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Celebrating Lifelong Learning

Using Puppets to Inspire Learning

Wishing Chair Productions, the Library’s troupe of

professional performing artists, performed 500

literacy-based puppet shows. Their audiences numbered a

total of 67,361 people.

Wishing Chair also gave popular return performances of “String City,” a 70-minute,

90-puppet musical production that tells the story of country music in Nashville. In June, the troupe was the

only American ensemble invited to perform at the

International Puppet Festival in Magdeburg, Germany.

Wishing Chair

Wishing ChairProductions

Program Puts The Brakes on Summer

Break Learning Loss

A team of determined librarians headed into

summer 2014 with a mission: to mitigate “summer slide.” This learning loss occurs

when students stop reading during school break.

Readers of all ages were challenged to earn a citywide

total of 500,000 Summer Challenge points by reading, visiting parks, doing science

projects, and otherwise “discovering their way”

through summer vacation.

Nearly 23,000 people stepped up to the challenge,

earning prizes and library fine amnesty. What’s more,

NPL’s team of dedicated children’s librarians took

programs to more than 3,500 kids in the community.

Summer Challenge

Library Advances “21st- Century Learning”

NPL opened its first “makerspace,” called

Studio NPL. This ultra-modern space for

art and digital invention opened in the

Library’s Green Hills location.

Studio NPL is designed for local middle and high school

students to discover new interests and develop their current passions through

mentor-guided activities and programs of their choice.

The opening was the first step in a plan to build more Studio NPL spaces across the system and to take a

traveling Studio NPL into the community.

Studio NPL

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Celebrating Community Pride

Showcasing Nashville’s Diversity

Here are some of the programs NPL offered to

celebrate the diversity of our great city:

Hispanic Heritage Month:A celebration of Latin

American and Caribbean art and culture

Artober:A month-long celebration

featuring free arts and crafts, writing, music, theater and dance experiences for all

Community of Many Faces:A spring celebration

of Nashville’s linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity

Promoting Female Athletes

NPL took advantage of having the NCAA tournament in Music City by hosting free

movie screenings and tournament poster making, as well as a special exhibit

on Middle Tennessee’s women’s basketball legends.

Final Four

NPL is committed to our neighborhoods

and our neighbors. We provide high-quality

programs and services at our 22 locations across

Davidson County. We also make a

deliberate effort to get outside our Library halls and walls and into our community.

Programs & Services CommunityOutreach

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Patrons Unite in Service

Every year, when temperatures drop and

local food bank supplies are depleted, we give patrons an opportunity to wipe out library fines and support neighbors

in need.

During our January Food for Fines campaign, patrons

earned $1.00 in “fine forgiveness” with every

non-perishable food item they donated. The Library collected nearly 41,000

pounds of food for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle

Tennessee.

Food for Fines

Students Stand Against Bullying

NPL is serious about offering programs and

services for teens, designed by teens. Our team, called Totally Outstanding Teen Advocates for the Library

(T.O.T.A.L.), led anti-bullying workshops for their peers

across the city.

These events featured photography and essay

writing, channels for participants to process their own experiences and edu-cate others about bullying.

The project, called “Picture Me,” won the 2014

Exemplary National Bullying Prevention

Award from the School Safety Advocacy Council.

T.O.T.A.L.

Nurturing Young Bookworms

The Library’s early literacy outreach team, called Bringing Books to Life,

brought workshops to more than 40,000 students,

parents and teachers at more than 250 schools and

childcare centers across town. These literacy events also included popular visits from the Library’s traveling

puppet truck.

In February, the National Center for Families Learning recognized Bringing Books’

leader, Liz Atack, as the 2014 Family Teacher of the Year –

the first librarian-based educator to ever win this

award. BBTL also received the Tennessee Reading

Association’s Literacy Award in December 2013.

Community Outreach

BBTL

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Library Reaches Students On Campus

Limitless Libraries (LL) is a shared program of NPL, the

Mayor’s Office and Metro Nashville Public Schools

(MNPS). From their school libraries, students order from

NPL’s catalog, and the Library delivers daily.

MNPS students and teachers at 126 schools

borrowed 128,000 books, movies and CDs through LL during the 2013-2014 school year. Nearly 20,000 students signed up for the program,

and about 7,000 teachers joined.

Additionally, through LL, the Library poured $1 million

into public school libraries, purchasing laptops, books and learning databases for students. In May, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded LL $350,000 to buy

more resources for kids.

Finally, NPL brought its expertise in library design to the LL partnership. The

Limitless Libraries

Library worked with school leaders and architects to

renovate the school library at Wright Middle School, part

of the LL network. Thanks to a generous donation from John and Stephanie Ingram,

Wright Middle’s library reopened in August 2013,

bright, modern and unrecognizable from its old

self.

Library Reaches Kids During Critical

After-School Hours

The Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA) is a network of coordinated after-school sites. There, Metro middle-school students do home-

work, study, read and participate in enrichment

activities during after-school hours that studies show are

critical to kids’ safety and success.

The program, which launched in 2010 in the

Mayor’s Office, moved to NPL in a strategy to

ensure NAZA’s sustainability and boost students’ reading

scores.

NAZA

Community Outreach

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Library Gives Patrons Better “Shopping” Experience

NPL unveiled a new online catalog, which made the online browsing process more like the Amazon or

Google experience. Through this open-source system,

developed by Marmot Library Consortium,

e-book checkout and browsing became possible.

Users no longer had to go to a separate website to browse e-books; instead, they could

borrow from NPL’s digital collection and get similar

reading recommendations on one screen.

Online Catalog

In A Changing City, Library Emerges as Diversity

Champion

Nashville joined the federal government in a Pathway to Citizenship partnership, becoming one of only three U.S. cities to belong to this

network.

For its part, NPL established New Americans Corners,

information kiosks with free information on learning

English and earning U.S. citizenship. NPL also partnered with local

organizations to host 26 ESL classes, nine EL civics classes and four U.S. citizenship classes.

Pathway to Citizenship

Library Opens Its Doors to Healthcare Information

Initiative

NPL joined a network of sites across Davidson County

where residents could get information about

healthcare coverage from certified volunteers. ACA volunteers helped 1,200

people at the Library.

Community Outreach

ACA

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Meanwhile, NPL broke ground on two new sites in

Bellevue and Southeast, both busy areas where growth had far outpaced existing

facilities.

Finally, NPL hosted community input meetings at

two regional branch locations, Bordeaux and

Edmondson Pike, to gather feedback on redesigns and upgrades planned there in

2015.

NPL Pushes Forward in Creating

“Tomorrow’s Libraries”

The Library moved forward in an unprecedented

renovation, modernization and construction campaign,

reopening three branch libraries – Old Hickory,

Edgehill and Pruitt – after modernizing these locations.

Pruitt Branch Library

Edgehill Branch Library

Old Hickory Branch Library

NPL Engages Talented People

Fifteen interns and practicum students completed projects

at the Library, while 677 volunteers contributed

27,769 hours of service to NPL.

Bordeaux Branch Library

Edmondson Pike Branch Library

Community Outreach

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Library Leads The Way to Digital Access, Digital

Literacy and Employment

People came to NPL to use free public computers

808,419 times and free Wi-Fi 223,850 times.

What’s more, NPL helped people of all backgrounds

and ages build their technological literacy

during 166 free computer skills classes.

In today’s digital world, most career building must be

done on a computer. That’s why NPL also helped

local job seekers build their resumes, search online job listings and apply online for employment during 97 free

jobs help sessions.

Community Outreach

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NASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION

When Andrew Carnegie helped Nashville establish its first public library more than a century ago, books were the only story. Today, Nashville Public Library serves the community in ways and in numbers that Carnegie couldn’t have imagined. The Nashville Public Library Foundation has been part of the library’s phenomenal success since 1997. Since the inception of this thriving partnership between local government funding and private philanthropy, the foundation has raised more than $30 million to enhance the library’s programs, facilities and collections.

Gifts to NPLF help create a more literate, educated and connected Nashville community by funding award-winning early reading programs, employment services, teen spaces, after school programs, outdoor concerts, author series and more.

Everyone can be part of the story at Nashville Public Library. Make a donation, become a member or volunteer your time. Your support will ensure that more than 650,000 Nashville children, teens and adults have access to free educational opportunities for years to come. Visit nplf.org to learn more!

In FY14, the Library Foundation allocated more than $2.4 million dollars to support the public library’s growing programs, facilities and collections. Outcomes from NPLF funding include:

- Studio NPL now open at Green Hills Branch: Gifts to NPLF helped develop and create the first studio space for teens at the Green Hills branch library. The first of several such spaces to open in the library system, Studio NPL provides teens with mentor-based after school programming and access to state-of-the-art technology.

- Wright Middle School Library Renovation: Thanks to a generous gift from Stephanie and John R. Ingram to the Limitless Libraries

- program, the Wright Middle School library received a major transformation including new books and materials,upgraded technology and a modernized space renovation to provide students with a fun place to hang, explore and learn. The library is also open after hours for parents and community members to learn English, take classes, read and more!

- - $14 Million Raised: With the support of campaign honorary co-chairs Mayor Karl Dean and Nicole - Kidman, NPLF announced it was just $1 million away from reaching its $15 million campaign goal to

benefit the public library. For the first time, NPLF launched a grassroots community campaign to invite the entire Nashville community to help cross the finish line and be part of the story.

-

- Literacy Programs in High Demand: Award-winning early reading program, Bringing Books to Life, saw a steady increase in demand for its services benefitting both children and adults. Gifts to NPLF funded the addition of an Adult Literacy component to the program, purchased a second Puppet Truck and hired new puppeteers to support greater need in the community. Thanks to the new truck and team, the library can provide more puppet performances to agencies serving children and teachers. In the afternoon, the truck does double duty as an Adult Literacy mobile lab.

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StaffTari Hughes, President

Claudia Schenck, Director of Operations

Elizabeth Sherrard, Director of Development

Amanda Tate, Director of Corporate and Community Fundraising

Mackenzie Grosser, Marketing and Communications Manager Rene Hill, Donor Database Manager

Carra Jacox, Administrative Assistant

Contact information:Nashville Public Library Foundation 615 Church Street Nashville, TN 37219 p: 615-880-2613 e: admin@nplf.org

In 2013, NPL awarded Robert K.Massie with the tenth annual NPL Literary Award. The weekend’s events raised a record $594,484 in support for the Public Library.

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Friends of the Library“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

Friends of Nashville Public Library is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 organization that

supports the work of our wonderful public library. We are committed to enhancing the library’s rich resources and culture by advocating within the community, providing financial support for special programs and projects, administering gifts on behalf of donors to the library, and sup-porting volunteerism. Every branch library has Friends, and all are joined together under the group’s charter.

Friends host programs which enrich the library’s offerings, such as the Virtuoso Showcase Classical Guitar series and the Thinking Out of the (Lunch)Box series. The Friends of the Library also help by administering grants and directly financing several key library initiatives, such as volunteer support.

Friends also sponsor the Second Saturday Bookstore, held the second Saturday of every month at Donelson Branch. Proceeds from this sale support a myriad of projects throughout the year. This is in addition to smaller booksales that branch Friends of the Library groups hold at other area branches throughout the city.

To find out more about Friends, talk to your branch library manager, or visit www.friendsof-nashvillelibrary.org.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

FRIENDS

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NPL Administrators

NPL Board of Directors

Kent Oliver, Director

Susan Drye, Administrative Services

Elyse Alder, Community Engagement

Jenna Schmid, Main Library Services

Larry Price, Branch Services

Tricia Bengel, Collections & Technology Services

Keith B. Simmons, Library Board Chair

Lucy D. Haynes, Member

Francie M. Hunt, Member

Sepidiah C. Khansari, Member

Ronert K. Oermann, Member

Margaret Ann Robinson, Member

Joyce Searcy, Member

LEADERSHIP

3031

NPLNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

3031

NPLNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

WE’RE ALL UNIQUE, BUT OUR LOVE FOR THE LIBRARY UNITES US.

Fiscal Year report

NPLNASHVILLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

2013-2014