The Pawling Library Continues to Grow With Additional Programs and Services That Appeal to Community Members of Every Age.
By Susan Stone
Attendance in the Children’s Programs at the Pawling Free Library is up almost 7%, with 6,606 children and caregivers participating in the many educational and creative programs offered by Miss Karen last year. Of course, things are really hoppin’ at the Library during the summer months, when children have more availability, but based on Library Director, Casey Conlin’s research, more children and families than ever before are eager to take advantage of the wonderful programming available to them at the library. With current space limitations, the library staff must try to find resourceful ways to accommodate the growing interest of those eager to attend programs that enhance children’s early education in areas of literacy, math, science, and technology.
It isn’t only the children’s programming that has seen increased attendance. The Young Adult (Teen) programming has experienced tremendous growth, thanks to Ms. Nicole, who has worked diligently with middle and high school students to identify their areas of interest and ways in which the library can meet those needs. The latest figures from our Library Director tell us that Ms. Nicole’s creative teen programming has sparked the interest of a record number of teens. 2015 was a banner year for Young Adult attendance at the library with more than 1,200 teens participating in Library programming designed just for them. This is nearly a 138% increase over 2014.
Those familiar with the Pawling Library know that great programming doesn’t just belong to the younger set. Donald Partelow’s library programming available for families and adults is very popular in the community with well over 2,000 participants. This past year, program attendance in family and adult programs grew by a little over 7% over the year before.
In all, the Pawling Library served 9,855 community members through library programs in 2015! This too, is a record number showing a 22.68% increase over 2014. Most impressive, however is the door count. This number tells the library staff how many times people actually walk through the library doors. That number was a whopping 70,313 in 2015. That means that folks in our community found 3,217 more reasons to drop by the Pawling Library than they did the year before!
To find out more about the programs and services at the Pawling Library, log onto the library website at www.pawlinglibrary.org. There is a whole world of learning opportunity waiting for you!
