Town of Bennington 1998 Annual Report
The Bennington Free Library is alive, and well, and growing! Free public access
Internet and CD-ROM stations accounted for most of the increase in library visits which
surpassed the 100,000 mark at 102,960. The number of people with Library cards also
increased by nearly 13% to 10,325. Bennington borrowers checked out 96,411 books,
and other items, down four percent from the previous year due to a gap in time when
the Library was without a Children's Librarian. The collection contains 57,298 books,
tapes, magazines and materials in electronic format.
Services
Dedicated staff and volunteers provided 208 programs and story hours to 6,234
children and adults. The Summer Reading Program for children, "Reach for the Stars!
Read!" had an enrollment of 250, while two Winter Reading Series, sponsored by the
Friends of the Library, served 240 adults. A new core collection for Young Adults has
been created, which contains 900 paperback books geared specifically to this age
group.
Facilities
The Town of Bennington and 104 local, state, regional and national organizations and
businesses used the Library's public meeting rooms, some on a daily, weekly, or
monthly basis, throughout the year.
Volunteers
108 volunteers served the Library in every department. Jack and Pat Ogilvie were the
recipients of the Eugene and Elisabeth Clark Outstanding Library Service Award at the
Annual Volunteer Appreciation Tea held during National Library Week in April.
Friends of the Library
The 18th Annual Book Sale netted $1,138.00 and $550.10 was donated for books and
tapes from the Holiday Wish List.
Grants
The Library received grants from the Friends of the Library, the Vermont council on the
Humanities, and from the Stratevest Group (First Vermont Bank) for programs and
automation.
The Library would like to thank the towns of Bennington, Shaftsbury, and Woodford for
their financial support in the past year.
Respectfully submitted,
Anita M. Gauthier, Director
© Copyright 1999, Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Bennington. All rights reserved.
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