The recent National Citizen Survey conducted of Coronado residents was very positive about how highly Coronadans view their city and its services. These results have already been reported in the media. Nonetheless, we would like to brag a bit about how the Coronado Library fared, since this information could be overlooked amidst the many other statistics. The public's opinions about the Coronado Public Library rank it among the very top city libraries surveyed across the nation. Consider these opinions and findings provided by Coronado survey respondents:
* 98% of respondents considered public library services good or excellent, and of those, 74% considered library services excellent.
* The 98% "excellent or good" rating for the Coronado Library placed it the second highest (Number 2) of the 245 cities included in the National Benchmark.
* The Coronado Library ranked the highest (Number 1) of the 31 cities in the "resort city" National Benchmark.
* The Coronado Library has been used "much more" than the national comparison benchmark, ranking Number 27 among the 177 benchmark cities.
We are very fortunate to have many positive factors working for us at the Coronado Public Library. We have tremendous community support, a dedicated staff and volunteers, vital financial support from the Friends of the Library and private donors, the dedication of the Library Board of Trustees, and the support of the Mayor and City Council. Thank you all.
WHY DOES A PUBLIC LIBRARY MATTER IN TODAY'S WORLD?
This question pops up in the media and in conversations. Sometimes the assumption is that they don't matter - that libraries have been replaced by the vastness of the Internet and the immediacy of social media. From our point of view, and in seeing how libraries are used, we see things differently. Yesterday or today, public libraries are a public good. They are one of the anchors of a viable community. This debate has actually been around for the last 15 years - but still people come, and they still find something very special and very unique about their public libraries. One reason is that the people who work in libraries are committed to them, and are committed to helping the people that come through the library's doors. Today, the personal service found here is far more endangered than libraries. Where else will you find someone to help you navigate not only the library's collection, but the world wide web itself? The library is a portal. It is not just a library goal that we hold the best thinking of the best minds from centuries of knowledge on our shelves. Today we extend the reach and the grasp of that knowledge through our electronic connectedness to vast resources scattered around the world. Such knowledge and information may be in print or it may be in electrons. The point is that we are here to help you navigate the path to find it. And digitization not only takes us far and wide - it helps us explore, preserve, and disseminate our own local and community heritage. Libraries will become more and more relevant because of these factors.
So a public library is used for its friendly staff and its organized collection and and for providing access to knowledge and library materials freely. At the Coronado Public Library, we also offer a range of special cultural programs such as lectures, concerts, film showings and exhibitions. We offer story times for toddlers and pre-schoolers, crafts and reading programs for teens and tweens, Summer Reading Programs for youth, unique events like the Mother-Daughter Tea, Harry Potter Day, and Winnie-the-Pooh Birthday Party. We hold a Summer Festival of programs, and host the Holiday Store Front Animated Window. We celebrate the centennial of Naval Aviation. We are graced with a beautiful building that generations have helped to develop. We have art - some of it like the Ramos Martinez murals - is world-class. We believe that the Coronado Library building and its interior furnishings and fixtures should attract people, and it does. Here you can have free wireless access, you can read or study at a well-lit table in a quiet area, you can study alone or in groups after-school, you can come with your family for a program, or you can come by yourself and enrich your mind. As long as today matters, as well as yesterday and tomorrow, the public library should be here to help make things better.
Christian Esquevin, Director
The Coronado Library: a path to your potential.
* 98% of respondents considered public library services good or excellent, and of those, 74% considered library services excellent.
* The 98% "excellent or good" rating for the Coronado Library placed it the second highest (Number 2) of the 245 cities included in the National Benchmark.
* The Coronado Library ranked the highest (Number 1) of the 31 cities in the "resort city" National Benchmark.
* The Coronado Library has been used "much more" than the national comparison benchmark, ranking Number 27 among the 177 benchmark cities.
We are very fortunate to have many positive factors working for us at the Coronado Public Library. We have tremendous community support, a dedicated staff and volunteers, vital financial support from the Friends of the Library and private donors, the dedication of the Library Board of Trustees, and the support of the Mayor and City Council. Thank you all.
WHY DOES A PUBLIC LIBRARY MATTER IN TODAY'S WORLD?
This question pops up in the media and in conversations. Sometimes the assumption is that they don't matter - that libraries have been replaced by the vastness of the Internet and the immediacy of social media. From our point of view, and in seeing how libraries are used, we see things differently. Yesterday or today, public libraries are a public good. They are one of the anchors of a viable community. This debate has actually been around for the last 15 years - but still people come, and they still find something very special and very unique about their public libraries. One reason is that the people who work in libraries are committed to them, and are committed to helping the people that come through the library's doors. Today, the personal service found here is far more endangered than libraries. Where else will you find someone to help you navigate not only the library's collection, but the world wide web itself? The library is a portal. It is not just a library goal that we hold the best thinking of the best minds from centuries of knowledge on our shelves. Today we extend the reach and the grasp of that knowledge through our electronic connectedness to vast resources scattered around the world. Such knowledge and information may be in print or it may be in electrons. The point is that we are here to help you navigate the path to find it. And digitization not only takes us far and wide - it helps us explore, preserve, and disseminate our own local and community heritage. Libraries will become more and more relevant because of these factors.
So a public library is used for its friendly staff and its organized collection and and for providing access to knowledge and library materials freely. At the Coronado Public Library, we also offer a range of special cultural programs such as lectures, concerts, film showings and exhibitions. We offer story times for toddlers and pre-schoolers, crafts and reading programs for teens and tweens, Summer Reading Programs for youth, unique events like the Mother-Daughter Tea, Harry Potter Day, and Winnie-the-Pooh Birthday Party. We hold a Summer Festival of programs, and host the Holiday Store Front Animated Window. We celebrate the centennial of Naval Aviation. We are graced with a beautiful building that generations have helped to develop. We have art - some of it like the Ramos Martinez murals - is world-class. We believe that the Coronado Library building and its interior furnishings and fixtures should attract people, and it does. Here you can have free wireless access, you can read or study at a well-lit table in a quiet area, you can study alone or in groups after-school, you can come with your family for a program, or you can come by yourself and enrich your mind. As long as today matters, as well as yesterday and tomorrow, the public library should be here to help make things better.
Christian Esquevin, Director
The Coronado Library: a path to your potential.
The Alfredo Ramos Martinez mural at the Coronado Public Library
1 comment:
The blog is a great addition to our library services!
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