Board president reviews library's goals along with the many accomplishments of 2024
2024 has been a remarkable year for our library. Two full years into the implementation of the strategic plan our community developed with us, it feels like we have more momentum and a clearer sense of purpose than ever before.
Library programs that educate and enrich our community continue to find and connect new audiences. One new tradition that has really taken off is the library’s Mid-Autumn Moon Festival celebration. Hundreds of people joined us for live music, crafts, a talent show and even a food truck as we welcomed the harvest moon together for the second year. We’ve stayed committed to our goal of reducing isolation among our older residents by increasing our daytime programming for adults by nearly 600 percent. We know that not everyone is available during the workday, though, so in the last year and half we’ve also added nearly 50 programs available off-site or on nights and weekends.
Making people more aware of their library’s offerings is crucial to the success of our strategic plan. We have worked to expand our print newsletter, add new e-newsletters and strengthen partnerships around town. Our number of school partnerships more than doubled this year. At local preschools and grade schools, our youth librarians made dozens of visits to read books, share material, and prepare for a record-breaking summer reading program. Students have been able to enhance their excellent education with new services like a subscription to the Peterson’s Test Prep database, which lets high schoolers use their HPL library card to remotely take free ACT, SAT and AP practice tests.
And, of course, making sure we have the items our residents want to borrow remains a top priority. Interest in online books continues to grow. We saw an 18 percent increase in circulation of digital materials this year, without losing any circulation of our print collection. We continue to introduce other collections, too, like our popular seed library. Garden-loving Hinsdaleans picked up over 1,000 seed packets this spring. We’ve been growing our Library of Things collection, too. Our “Hobby Gateway” items are a great way to “try before you buy” with a new hobby. Whether you’re interested in metal detecting or birding in your backyard, trying out a ukelele or recording a podcast at home — we’ve got the basics to get you started.
Perhaps the highlight of the year for me was joining our friends at the village in commemorating the completion of a 150th Anniversary project — the new plaza outside Memorial Hall. I am proud that our library worked so closely with the village and donors to make such a lasting contribution to Hinsdale. This beautiful new space epitomizes intergovernmental cooperation, efficient spending and the core values I discussed above.
We hope to build on that success as we maintain our beautiful building, looking for new ways to keep the library welcoming, exciting and accessible to all. At the end of the day, that is what I like most about the library: it truly offers something for every single person in Hinsdale.
— John Bloomfield, Hinsdale Public Library Board president
