LPLS Mission Statement

Lorain Public Library System provides everyone with free, educational, informational and entertainment resources through responsive quality service to support lifelong learning throughout Lorain County.

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A Message from the Director

We are making adjustments for the bumps along the road - figuratively and literally - as 2013 has been a transitional and transformational year. We are in the midst of a digital revolution and are making tough decisions because of it. Succession planning has really helped us as Branch Librarian Supervisor Norma Preston retired and Cheryl Grizzell took over the helm at the South Branch. Our library employees used their professional expertise and personal service skills to provide you with a welcoming experience as you visited our facilities and Bookmobile.

Our aging facilities have begun to show signs of wear and tear, but a bright spot has been the addition of the beautiful outdoor digital signage at the North Ridgeville Branch. We added additional heating and air conditioning in the Main Library’s Computer Resources Room and at the Domonkas Branch. We replaced soffits at the South Lorain Branch and began a modest renovation at the Avon Branch. At the Columbia Branch, we experienced flood damage and had to respond quickly in order to minimize damages. We continue to make modest improvements at all of our locations with your comfort in mind.

We want to thank the many volunteers who contributed to our success this past year: the Friends of the Library groups in Avon, Columbia, Lorain, North Ridgeville and Sheffield Lake, the Library Foundation board of directors, the Library Trustees, Homework Help Center volunteers and Project LITE tutors. You gave generously of your time, talent and even donated books to enhance our library collections. This is a priceless gift not only to the Library System, but especially to the communities we serve. A personal note of gratitude goes to Library Board of Trustees member Anthony Campana who gave so generously of his financial acumen and time to our Library System.

A special note of thanks also goes to our grant funders and to those of you who made charitable contributions. The Stocker Foundation funded the 2013 Summer Reading Program, where 1,862 preschool and grade school children read a minimum of four hours. Each of our Friends groups donated grand prizes to the teen and adult Summer Reading Programs.

Every day that I come to work, I see someone making a contribution to our Library System. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you do for the Lorain Public Library System including your words of encouragement. You give me hope and reassurance that good tax-supported public libraries are worth fighting for. Thank you library advocates, patrons, donors and volunteers, for your long-standing support, and recognition of our libraries as priceless community assets. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or leave a note in our suggestion box if you have questions or concerns. See you at one of our libraries or on the Bookmobile in 2014!

All the best,

Joanne Eldridge
Director, Lorain Public Library System

General Improvements & Additions

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Upgraded the public Wi-Fi equipment at Avon, Domonkas and South Lorain branches

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Added new children’s early literacy computers in all libraries

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Main Library meeting room A improvements - installed new in-ceiling speakers, a new in-ceiling high-definition projector, a new AV receiver, and a Blu-ray player

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Children and Teen
Summer Reading Programs

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2,271 Total number of
participants

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33,347 Total number
of hours read

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8,241 Number of books
given away as prize

Main Library Accomplishments

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This year brought many community partnerships for the Main Library, including programs with the Lorain County Metro Parks at Lakeview Park, participation in the Literacy Rocks Lorain County event at Midway Mall presented by the Lorain County Literacy Collaborative, movie night at the Lorain Palace Theatre, and the Lorain County Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition who provided free tax filings for low-income residents.

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Main Library hosted many fitness events such as Zumba and line dancing.

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Library staff members from both Main and South Lorain were invited to visit kindergartens throughout the Lorain City School district to promote literacy and library usage.

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We revamped our children’s programs to better suit our young readers’ needs. We have seen great success with family-friendly programs that targeted some older children and even adults.

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70+ Number of people who attended the June historical program on the 89th anniversary of the 1924 Lorain Tornado.

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Several building improvements were made. A new air conditioning unit was added to the Computer Resources Room and the kitchen in meeting room A was updated to provide more amenities for the public. The teen area was relocated so teens can congregate in the library, and enjoy the growing and popular collection.

Avon Branch Accomplishments

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The Avon Branch continued to be actively involved in the community. We participated in several events this year including the Duck Tape® Festival parade, Fall into Avon, and hosted a Murray Ridge art display. We also partnered with Avon Village Elementary again for our annual kindergarten library card drive, in addition to presenting story times at preschools and the YMCA.

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103,387 Number of library visits

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Community involvement was high during 2013. We successfully started a summer Book Buddies literacy program to encourage young readers. The City of Avon Street Department brought construction vehicles to the library for a summer program, and our Community Read-A-Thon welcomed respected community members who shared their favorite children’s books.

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Welcomed two new associates to the Avon Branch

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Made many physical improvements to our building – all new windows, new desks and chairs for public computer stations, introduced three new children’s early literacy computers, and updated our meeting and reading rooms.

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We continued to develop and grow our successful Teen Volunteer Group to more than 50 members. Teens enjoyed programs like a recycled craft afternoon, a teens and money session, a summer bake-off and extreme pumpkin carving.

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Many computer and technology-related programs were presented this year including basic courses on computers, the Internet and email, Microsoft Office programs, and sessions about the digital services in our eLibrary.

Columbia Branch Accomplishments

We’ve worked hard to update our entire collection to better suit our library patrons, and installed a new Hatch computer in the children’s area.

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Funky Winkerbean creator/cartoonist Tom Batiuk visited the library in March for a presentation given to a capacity crowd.

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We won Best Float and a $50 prize in the township Homecoming parade.

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Our eLibrary, offering electronic media, has been gaining in popularity. Patrons like being able to access thousands of digital songs, books, magazines and more for free from wherever they are. In-house computer classes continue to be successful with patrons appreciating the small-group format and individualized attention.

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The Columbia Branch was awarded Business of the Year by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce for our contributions to the town.

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Our Summer Reading Program was very successful this year, even with limited services due to flooding. We also reached a milestone this year, celebrating our 10th anniversary in our remodeled and expanded building.

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We’ve updated our entire branch to new laptops.

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We hit the road to provide story times at schools, day cares and more.

Domonkas Branch Accomplishments

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We added a new Hatch computer to the children’s area and installed a more powerful Wi-Fi access point for library patrons.

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In 2013...

75,442 Visitors welcomed

232 Programs offered

4,602 People in attendance

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Building upgrades included our rooftop air conditioning and heating unit being replaced, along with replacing our air/heating wall units.

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Welcomed five new staff members

North Ridgeville
Branch Accomplishments

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We’ve welcomed a new youth services librarian, Jennifer Winkler, and hosted an open house to commemorate 10 years in our Bainbridge Road building.

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837 Number of people in attendance at the special winter Sunday program series

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All ages, from birth through adult, participated in our Summer Reading Programs.

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Our branch offered three monthly adult book discussions throughout the year and hosted four book sales.

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We offered free beginning-level computer classes. Our instruction also included how-to courses for Kindles and other eReaders.

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Installed new outdoor electric sign.

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Staff visited North Ridgeville City Schools first-graders to encourage these young minds to keep reading. We also partnered with the schools for an art show in May hosted at the library.

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409 Community groups made use of our meeting rooms

South Lorain
Branch Accomplishments

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A host of free programs were offered to the community in 2013 including Zumba, children’s story time, writers club and more.

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Nearly 200 visitors attended the South Lorain Trick or Treat at the Library event.

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In November, Norma Preston retired after serving the library for 22 years. We welcomed Cheryl Grizzell in her place as the new branch librarian supervisor.

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75 people braved the snow to attend our Visit with Santa program.

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Our branch embraces the unique diversity of the South Lorain community. In 2013 we celebrated Cinco de Mayo, Day of the Child and Hispanic Heritage Month.

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We have a bountiful International Room featuring collections of interest for everyone - books written in Spanish, picture books for children and more!

Bookmobile Accomplishments

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The Outreach Department, including the Bookmobile, staff, other library vehicles and our mascot Browser®, can be seen at local festivals and parades including: Cinco de Mayo, Lorain and North Ridgeville Memorial Day parades, Juneteenth parade, Lorain International parade, Port Fest, Sheffield Lake Community Days parade, Sacred Heart parade, North Ridgeville Corn Festival parade, Labor Day Family Celebration, Lorain County Fair and Summer Reading kickoff.

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Summer Reading participant numbers 3,099 Youth 485 Adults

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Books by Mail serves patrons all over the library’s service area that are unable to visit their local library due to medical or other reasons.

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The Bookmobile currently visits 28 stops on a two-week rotation as well as delivering materials to locations on a regular basis. The current locations include day cares, schools, community centers, apartment complexes, senior residences and churches.

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Project LITE connects adults wanting to improve their literacy skills with volunteer tutors who meet regularly at the library.

Collection Numbers
for Materials

421,624 Books

104,434 DVDs

44,756 Music CDs

12,804 Audiobooks

1,117 Magazine subscriptions

On the Web

67,508 OverDrive checkouts (eMedia)

8,598 Freegal Music downloads

600,000+ Visits to LorainPublicLibrary.org