Kinsman Free Public Library Annual Report 2020

Dear Library Patrons & Members of Our Community, The year 2020 will go down in history as one of the most difficult and challenging years of our lifetime. The tribulations that Covid-19 presented were particularly arduous for the Library. While navigating new waters, the Library staff, administration, and Board faced obstacles head-on to find inspiration, motivation and opportunities for innovation by creating new and inventive ways to safely serve those in our community who needed valuable Library services. On behalf of myself, the Board of Trustees and the staff, I would like to thank our community for the support, participation and advocacy around the importance of our Library. We appreciate your grace, understanding and cooperation as we made changes and altered our course to respond to the global pandemic throughout the year. Through it all, our trajectory has remained the same--to engage, enrich and enlighten. As always, we value you and look forward to the future as we continue to serve you and to strengthen our community. I wish you all health, peace and prosperity in 2021 and beyond. O U R M I S S I O N T h e m i s s i o n o f t h e K i n s m a n F r e e P u b l i c L i b r a r y i s t o s e r v e a s t h e c o mm u n i t y ’ s p a r a m o u n t s o u r c e f o r c o n n e c t i n g p e o p l e t o i n f o r m a t i o n , e d u c a t i o n a n d r e c r e a t i o n . T h e L i b r a r y v a l u e s t h e r e s i d e n t s o f t h e J o s e p h B a d g e r S c h o o l D i s t r i c t a n d T r u m b u l l C o u n t y a n d r e s p o n d s t o t h e i r n e e d s b y p r o v i d i n g f r e e a n d s a f e f a c i l i t i e s , b y c o l l e c t i n g a n d p r e s e r v i n g w e l l - o r g a n i z e d a n d d i v e r s e c o l l e c t i o n s , a n d b y g r e e t i n g v i s i t o r s w i t h f r i e n d l y a n d d y n a m i c s t a f f w h o a r e c o mm i t t e d t o t h e L i b r a r y ’ s v i s i o n . T h e K i n s m a n F r e e P u b l i c L i b r a r y i s d e d i c a t e d t o b r i n g i n g p e o p l e t o g e t h e r b o t h i n t h e b u i l d i n g a n d o u t i n t h e c o mm u n i t y b y c r e a t i n g a n d c o n t r i b u t i n g t o q u a l i t y p r o g r a m s a n d s e r v i c e s d e s i g n e d t o e n g a g e , e n r i c h a n d e n l i g h t e n . A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 2 0 P R E P A R E D B Y K I M B E R L Y G A R R E T T , D I R E C T O R P U B L I S H E D F E B R U A R Y 2 , 2 0 2 1 O U R V I S I O N T o s h i n e a s t h e c o mm u n i t y ’ s c r o w n j e w e l b y s e r v i n g a s t h e h u b f o r e n g a g i n g p e o p l e , e n r i c h i n g l i v e s a n d e n l i g h t e n i n g m i n d s . A L E T T E R F R O M T H E D I R E C T O R