Executive Director's Letter - Nantucket Atheneum

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S LETTER

DEAR FRIENDS OF THE NANTUCKET ATHENEUM

As 2022 came to a close, I was able to proudly reflect on three years working for the Nantucket Atheneum and of the rapid change we continue to successfully navigate, whether addressing the existential crisis of staff housing, embracing the opportunity to hire and to infuse the Library with new energy and a growingly diverse staff, or imagining a new summer event that will bring even more friends and supporters to the Atheneum. I am filled with gratitude and wonder at what we have accomplished together and have entered 2023 with renewed excitement about our extraordinary board, our devoted staff and our library’s future. Here are some highlights of another extraordinary year.

A LIBRARY CURRICULUM THAT IS RESPONSIVE TO COMMUNITY NEEDS

The Atheneum attracted over 50,000 visits and generated 14,000 program experiences, increased its pre-pandemic library usage by 25%, researched roughly 2,000 questions, and lent 100,000 items over 130,000 times.

The Atheneum hired Youth Services Librarian, Sierra Hurd. Sierra came to us from Kansas City, KS, with a BA in Anthropology, Minor in African Studies and her Master of Library Science. Sierra’s work revolves around our teen population, increasing the delivery of services and increasing program attendance for teens and young adults.

We promoted Sammy Aguilar to Head of Adult Programs. Samantha Aguiar joined the Nantucket Atheneum team in March 2022. She was born and raised on Nantucket and after graduating from NHS she attended the University of Vermont and then onto Savannah College of Arts and Design for her graduate degree. Sammy has breathed new life into adult programs and The Atheneum is welcoming a growingly diverse audience due to her innovative approach to programming.

In 2022, we are also fortunate to have hired Suzanne Keating as a member of our Circulation team. A native of Nantucket, not only does Suzanne know many of our regular patrons, but she brings vast talents to the Atheneum. For starters, she is a natural at book-mending. And Suzanne has been a student of Astrology for thirty-five years and a teacher for over twenty-five years. She currently leads tarot and horoscope classes at the Atheneum, and these classes attract a wide range of ages and backgrounds.

Nantucket Atheneum numbers, Annual Report Nantucket Atheneum

We installed new technology for hybrid programming in our Great Hall. This expands our programming reach even farther for homebound and off island members. Building on this theme, we grew the Atheneum’s YouTube Channel as an increasingly robust source of recorded classes and events for your continuing education and pleasure. And we happily returned most adult programming to in-person status, including the Atheneum’s special events, such as One Book, One Island, the Geschke lecture series and our annual fundraisers.

We made The Atheneum’s digital services a top collections priority, adding more ebooks for check out, as well as online services such as digital access to The New York Times. On the flip side of the virtual, we had fun with the expansion and promotion of our “Library of Things” for check-out. Some of these items include a telescope and STEM kits for kids.

STRENGTHENING PERCEPTION AND AWARENESS OF THE ATHENEUM

We want and need to tell our world about these projects, and we needed a new manager of our Marketing and PR. We hired Anastasia Tumash, a versatile professional with over 10 years of design experience and her Master of Graphic Design from NCSU’s College of Design. Anastasia has initiated the development of a social media strategy and refinement of how advertising dollars are best spent to reach new audiences.

One of the ways we expand our reach is through Janet Forest’s creation and refinement of the Nantucket Atheneum podcast, highlighting History, Special Collections, Treasures from the Vault, and “Behind the Shelves.” If you haven’t had a listen, these treasured conversations feature library staff, and in particular reference staff from Lincoln Thurber’s team, such as Jim Borzilleri and James Grieder, who newly joined us in the Great Hall. You may recognize James’s voice from 97.7 ACK FM or have seen his writing for DayBreak Nantucket. Over the past twenty years, James has also worked in town government, as a writer for Yesterdays Island/Today’s Nantucket. James brings some great professional skills to the Atheneum.

Through the work of employees like Gillian Lewis, we grew personal outreach through home book delivery. Pamela McGrady continued to grow our physical collection of books for the adult services collection. And the whole circulation team, which also included Bea Murphy, delighted our patrons with their knowledge of books, materials and services.

And through our Weezie Library for Children, headed by Librarian Leslie Malcolm, we nurtured relationships with the schools, delivered expansive outreach to every daycare and school aged child on island, and initiated new outreach to our teen populations. The Weezie team, which includes the artistically talented Jeanne Van Etten, also continued to create amazing projects, including the ever popular story-walk and grab-and-go bags that were initiated in 2020.

Cheryl Creighton, our Operations Manager, continued shepherding the library’s English Language Learning classes and tutor/student relationships, while supporting personnel activities, organizing documents and logistics for board meetings, and with the help of our Maintenance Technician, Miguel Morocoima, ensuring care for our beautiful historic building.

FINANCIAL RESILIENCE

Making Library magic takes more than imagination, collaboration and passion. We all know that it takes funding, and the Nantucket Atheneum, unlike other public libraries, must raise 75% of its operating budget every year. I am in awe of the collaborative nature of our Development Director, Maggie O’Reilly, Lisa Lothian, and our Development Committee for delivering and exceeding the expected revenue for the Atheneum’s operational budget. I am especially proud of the relationships we cultivate and steward with our donors and volunteer fundraising committees. We have a proven track record in adjusting our approach to fundraising in order to meet the growing needs of the Atheneum, and 2022 has provided many opportunities to demonstrate this.

We met and exceeded our annual giving campaign goals, and we delivered a highly lauded 15th anniversary year of our major fundraiser, the Nantucket Atheneum Dance Festival, developing new sponsorship levels and establishing a lineup of community events to compliment the week’s artistic vision and to try to expand the festival’s scope of outreach. We also provided an in-depth of Dance Festival revenues, engagement opportunities and challenges to determine best path forward for future fundraising events. And, we are excited to be in co-creation with our staff and fundraising committees to deliver our next great event. We plan to meet and exceed all revenue goals set for FY23!

ENABLING AND EMPOWERING STAFF

I cannot stress enough how the staff of the Atheneum are the public library, and are the most essential element of our success. We credit our board and supporters for enabling us to face the existential problem of Nantucket’s housing crises to help us provide housing at 9 Cachalot Lane. Not only has this housing created security for our staff, but it has assisted the Atheneum in hiring high quality employees to continue providing the quality service our community deserves, including one of our newest recruits, Kristin Nelson.

Kristin serves as Assistant Director of Adult Services. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and her Master of Library and Information Science degree from Rutgers University. She has led the Fairview Free Public Library as their Director since 2015 and before that was the Director of the North Arlington Public Library. She has also served as a Reference Librarian, advocated for programs and collections in Spanish, and has well-rounded experience with budgets, collection development, programs, outreach, grants and organizational management.

Since her arrival, Kristin has initiated knowledge-assessments for all staff, employee feedback surveys, policy and procedure reviews, and is getting to know our Board of Trustees. She is creating more professional development opportunities for our staff and is helping to grow cultural competence related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

LOOKING AHEAD

2022 was such an amazing year, and we look forward to the opportunity to get to know you even better in 2023. Give us your suggestions, collaborate with us on our mission, and ardently support us in the ways that you are able. This is a great community, and a great community deserves an outstanding library, one where everyone belongs.

Sincerely,

Ann Scott

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