THE CHIEF LIBRARIAN’S REPORT

LIBRARY NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

JULY 23, 2008

1. RICHARD HUFFINE HONORED

Dow Jones & Company and the Special Libraries Association recognized Richard
Huffine, national library coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey, as the winner of
the Dow Jones Leadership Award at the SLA 2008 Annual Conference in Seattle in
June. Congratulations, Richard!

2. ON-LINE HOMEWORK HELP USE UP!

Tutor.com provides students with Live On-line Homework Help through the
Library’s web site. Tutoring sessions increased 111% this year! More than 4,300
tutoring sessions have been held since DCPL first offered this service in 2006. Over
90% of students who used the service reported that it helped them complete
homework assignments, improved their grades, and gave them more confidence about
their ability to achieve in school.

3. D.C. PUBLIC LIBRARY IS FIRST!

On June 25th, DCPL was the first library in the nation to offer popular audio-book
titles in MP3 downloadable format, a format that is compatible with iPods and all
other MP3 players. The collection is supplied by OverDrive, Inc., and includes more
than 700 popular novels, children’s books, foreign language learning titles, and
classic works. Available via the Library’s web site, all the audio-book borrower needs
is a D.C. Public Library card.

4. LONG-TIME LIBRARY BOARD MEMBER NORA DREW GREGORY HONORED

On July 10th, at a ceremony held at MLK, the Library joined the Friends of the
Francis A. Gregory Neighborhood Library and the friends and family of Mrs.
Gregory to unveil a portrait of Mrs. Nora Drew Gregory, which now hangs next to the
portrait of her late husband in the fourth floor hallway at MLK. About 50 people
attended, including Mrs. Gregory. Her son, astronaut Frederick Gregory, D.C.
Council Chair Vincent Gray, and several other people spoke. Lunch was served. It
was a warm celebration.

5. DCPL PROMOTES LIBRARY SERVICES AT THE ANNUAL STONE SOUL PICNIC

DCPL will participate on Saturday, August 9th, in the 18th Annual Stone Soul Picnic
at RFK Stadium. This event is organized by five radio stations and has offered free
admission to as many as 100,000 visitors to their noon to 6 PM party. Festivities
include rock bands, food vendors, and information about services around the District.
The Library will have a tent at this event for the first time, and the X-treme Mobile
will be there, too. Library services, including Tutor.com and Homework Help, will be
promoted, and those who come by will find library cards and fun give-aways.

Document #7
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
July 23, 2008
 6. STORYTIME WORKSHOP FOR STAFF GENERATES IDEAS, ENTHUSIASM
In early June, DCPL hosted a training session on Visual Thinking Strategies led by
educators from the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA. This
method prepares library staff to improve reading motivation and achievement. The
workshop included active engagement in the Visual Thinking Strategies process, and
our staff left eager to implement new techniques at Storytimes throughout the
Library. Staff member Wendy Lukehart arranged the workshop.

7. DISTINCTION FOR DCPL’S REACH OUT AND READ ACTIVITY GUIDE

At a workshop at the ALA Conference, a noted trainer for early literacy used the D.C.
Public Library’s Reach Out and Read (ROAR) Activity Guide as an example of what
librarians can do to provide information for parents and caregivers about early
literacy skills and ways to incorporate them in their daily lives. ROAR is the
Library’s early literacy program and the Activity Guide was developed by staff
member Mary Phelan.

8. YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM UNDERWAY

There are 40 teens working at DCPL in the District’s Summer Youth Employment
Program on short-term, team-centered projects that introduce them to the diverse
range of tasks that make a library operate. The summer program provides training
every two weeks in library and life skills. One project is to create PSAs for the
Library in a video production class. In addition, 37 more teens are in the Library’s
Teens of Distinction Program, which will include 100 participants this fall.

9. WOODRIDGE LIBRARY PARTNERS WITH COALITION FOR ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT
Woodridge Library and the nonprofit Coalition for Economic Development are in
partnership for a weekly summer program to assist teens in defining the kind of work
they want to do and learning how to meet that goal. The workshops are held at
Woodridge. Participating teens get library cards and are encouraged to join the Teen
Summer Reading Program and Chess Class.

10. LIBRARY STAFF MEMBER ELECTED!

Eboni Curry of the Children’s Division at MLK was elected Secretary of the Black
Caucus of the ALA and received the second highest number of votes cast.
Congratulations, Eboni!

11. NEW NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARIES HEAD

The Library welcomes Associate Director of Neighborhood Libraries, Chang Liu.
Ms. Liu was Central Services Division Chief at Arlington Public Library for the past
five years and has worked at several other libraries. She earned undergraduate and
graduate degrees from Beijing University and the University of Michigan. She
replaces Anne Menzies, who returned to Salt Lake City for family reasons.

Document #7
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
July 23, 2008
 12. MT. PLEASANT/MEXICAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE PARTNERSHIP
On June 16th, Mt. Pleasant Library hosted David Lida, author of the new book, First
Stop in the New World. This was DCPL’s first partnership with the Mexican Cultural
Institute of D.C., a department of the Mexican Foreign Ministry. Despite a torrential
downpour, 25 people attended. Elissa Miller made the initial contact and helped
coordinate the event.

13. PAM STOVALL REPRESENTS DCPL

On June 11th, nearly 500 people attended the first public reading of the screenplay,
Foot Soldier: The Don Miller Story, in Montclair, New Jersey. Don Miller created the
mural of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the “foot soldiers” of the American Civil
Rights Movement in the Great Hall of MLK Memorial Library. Mr. Miller considered
the mural to be his most important work. Pam Stovall was the Library’s
representative at the event. She especially appreciated meeting Dr. Judy Miller, Mr.
Miller’s widow.

Document #7
Board of Library Trustees Meeting
July 23, 2008