Opening doors.
That's the mission of the Hinsdale Public Library - a mantra expressed in our logo and on our business cards. And in 2019, nowhere was the idea of opening doors better expressed than in our programming, a rich assortment offering opportunities to play, learn and explore for patrons of all ages and interests.
From our summer reading program and baby and toddler storytimes to special events like our preschool Halloween party and our Fortnite tournament for teens, we gave kids of all ages a reason to come to the library - while our HPL After Dark series, in partnership with the Friends of the Hinsdale Public Library, brought adults in on Friday nights to enjoy wine tasting, live music and our popular annual Trivia Night. Our Adult Services team also provided a tempting menu of programs, from Tech Talks and Voyagers travel discussions to Kitchen Tech presentations and Elite Eats for restaurant connoisseurs.
Our final donation from the HPL Foundation was used for programming throughout the year, including a visit with best-selling local author Claire Lombardo. And our Next Chapter Book Club has spawned the new Next Chapter Social, a group for younger adults with disabilities.
We opened doors through new and expanded partnerships in the community, visiting classrooms in District 181 and other local daycares and preschools, teaming with the Village of Hinsdale for our summer Lunch on the Lawn and hosting volunteers from the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
We continue to use technology to open doors and provide materials when and where our patrons want them. Digital downloads now represent 10 percent of our overall circulation; patrons currently "check out" more than 3,000 digital items per month, including on our new HPL app, available in the App Store and via Google Play. In a new initiative, cardholders now can borrow a variety of equipment for home or vacation use, including three hotspots, a Roku streaming stick and a projector.
Despite the popularity of e-books, many of our 8,400 cardholders still stop in to take home one of our 108,000 (or so) three-dimensional items. Some of those are members of the 70 active book clubs we serve - including our new open-to-all HPL book discussion group starting in January. Reflecting the pleasure that a well-chosen book - and some fun, bookish swag - can offer, our HPL Book Box programs continued to be a smash hit with teens, younger readers and adults as well.
On behalf of the HPL staff and board of trustees, including our two newest trustees, John Bloomfield and Emily Zeng, thank you for your support and patronage during the past year. Stop by in 2020, and see if our books and programs can help open a new door for you.
- by Julie Liesse, board president
