and Nicholas and Athena Karabots Center for Learning
2014 Annual Report
“The library is a place to laugh, giggle, explore, connect, and learn life’s possibilities.”
OUR MISSION
The mission of the William Jeanes Memorial Library is to be a resource center that serves the diverse and
changing needs of the community by providing materials, programs, and services for education, enrichment,
and enjoyment.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors is the legal governing body of the library. Its responsibilities are to make and approve policies,
hire the director, ensure and oversee the fiduciary health of the library, advocate for the library, plan for the future, and
monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the library.
2015 BOARD
Carole Lukoff, President
Dara Nasatir, Vice President
David Segal, Treasurer
Jacy Toll, Secretary
Stan Finegold, Member (2014 President)
Helene Klein, Member
Sally Lane, Member
Cathy Peduzzi, Township Supervisor Liaison
STAFF
Full Time
Adeline Ciannella, Director
Lisa Clancy, Adult Services and Reference Librarian
Cecelia Crommarty, Circulation Manager
Beth Hargis, Youth Services Manager
Lucille Leap, Head of Cataloging and Volunteer Coordinator
Deborah Moore, Operations and Public Relations Manager
Linda Poland, Youth Services Assistant and Outreach
Part Time
Tiffany Balcer, Library Assistant
Meredith Brunel, Cataloging Assistant
Paul Cohen, Library Assistant
Damon Colantuno, Library Assistant
Sharon Comrie, Library Assistant
Andrea Feldheim, Library Assistant
Karen Fow, Library Assistant
Jonathan Herman, Library Assistant
Sheryl Kushner, Library Assistant
Heather Lipinski, Library Assistant
Maryanne Luthy, Library Assistant
Faith McCarrick, Teen Services Manager
Katye Meashey, Library Assistant
Kathryn Rath, Library Assistant
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
1
A Note from the Director:
I was hired to be the director of the library in August 2014. Interim-director and Reference Librarian Robyn Train and the
rest of the transition team (Cecelia Crommarty, Circulation Manager; Beth Hargis, Youth Services Manager; Lucille Leap,
Head of Cataloging & Volunteer Coordinator; and Deborah Moore, Operation & Public Relations Manager) were
extremely supportive in helping me to familiarize myself with the library and the community. One of the highlights of my
first few weeks was meeting with each and every staff member. The community can be assured that they have a library
that is staffed by dedicated and knowledgeable people.
Staff changes in 2014:
• Retirement of Robyn Train – Robyn decided to take advantage of her daughter’s wedding in New Zealand as her
target for setting her retirement date. Robyn’s professionalism, wealth of knowledge and skills, her charm, and
her cooking talents were treasured by many.
• Hiring of Lisa Clancy – Lisa was hired as the new Adult Services and Reference Librarian. Lisa by far outpaced
any other applicants. Lisa has a professional background as an editor and writer as well as a librarian. She is a
brilliant addition to this library. Lisa is smart, insightful, funny, personable, and energetic. It is a pleasure to have
her on staff.
Volunteers:
The library has an amazing cadre of dedicated volunteers. They range in age from teens to mature adults. They bring a
myriad of gifts and talents. The library is proud of the fact that we work with the school district’s special needs programs
and provide opportunities for other community children and adults with special needs to volunteer their gifts and
talents at the library.
In 2014, 106 volunteers spent 4,981 hours at the library! On average, volunteers gave a generous 4 hours of their time
each month. If the library were to put the volunteers on the payroll at the 2013 rate indicated by the Independent
Sector, the cost would be $109,283. A tidy sum!
Some of the work and play the volunteers assist with include:
• Gardening
• Shelving
• Cataloging
• Creating programs
• Assisting at programs
• Cleaning windows and surfaces
• Repairing material
When you see them, thank them. Also, consider becoming a library volunteer.
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
2
Friends of the William Jeans Memorial Library:
The Friends of the library is a group of volunteers who donate time to fundraise and raise awareness of the library. The
Friends, organized in 1950, maintain their own non-profit status. Their mission is “to promote and supplement the
services, programs, and facilities of the library through various fundraising and volunteer activities.”
The Friends have donated funds for the support of children, teen, and adult programs, for the purchase of reading,
listening, and viewing collections, the purchase of library furnishings, landscaping, and special events. They have also
given countless volunteer hours in support of the library. In 2014 the Friends gave $31,000 to the library.
Become a member of the Friends and support your library’s cultural and educational programs, landscaping, and special
requests that enhance the library’s services for you.
Grants Awarded:
• Family Place Grant - $18,000: “The mission of Family Place Libraries™ is to increase the capacity of libraries
throughout the nation to recognize and realize their full potential as community hubs for healthy child and
family development, parent and community involvement, and lifelong learning beginning at birth.” Youth
Services Manager, Beth Hargis, will be developing programs and resources that will be supported by the grant.
Family Place is funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as administered by the
Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.
• Teen Reading Lounge Grant - $1,500: Through book discussion and artistic workshops with a qualified facilitator,
teens create special projects and sharpen critical thinking skills. The program, which occurs over several
sessions, appeals to popular interests in young adult literature. Teen Services Manager, Faith McCarrick, with
facilitator and local author Elisa Ludwig have chosen books and developed programs around the themes of those
books. Teen Reading Lounge is a program of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, developed in part by federal
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and
supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
• Other grants are in process for 2015.
2014 Gala:
The library held its first gala on May 9, 2014 at the Whitemarsh Valley Country Club. Honorees were Nicholas and
Athena Karabots for being the major gift donors to the renovation and expansion of the library. The gala exceeded the
expectations of the Board of Directors and the staff of the library. We want to thank all of the gala sponsors and
attendees. A list of sponsors can be found at the end of this report. We look forward to 2015 events that bring the
community together and support the library!
Annual Appeal:
The annual appeal raises funds for general support of the library. It is one of the basic fundraisers of most public
libraries. This library depends on your support to better serve you and provide you with library services and resources
that enhance and enrich your lives. Your support is encouraged and your encouragement of others to support the library
is truly appreciated.
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
3
The 2014 annual appeal also exceeded expectations. The goal was set at $20,000. As of the writing of this report,
$24,200 has been raised. We thank all who responded to the library’s appeal. A list of donors can be found at the end of
this report. We encourage all township residents to participate in supporting the library.
Township:
Whitemarsh Township provides the library with 75% of its annual budget. Pennsylvania libraries are primarily supported
by their local borough, township, or municipality. Whitemarsh Township also assists the library with maintenance work,
including but not limited to snow removal, yard maintenance, and cleaning leaves from the library’s gutters. Needless to
say, we are very appreciative for the financial and maintenance support. Thank you!
State Aid and Other Financial Support:
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides PA libraries with State Aid. The amount of State Aid individual libraries
receive is tiered and based on a formula that includes the amount of local support the library receives, the amount a
library spends per capita, participation in Access Pennsylvania and Inter Library Loan, the number of hours the library is
open, the number of annual continuing education hours the library director participates in, the number of continuing
education hours part-time employees participate in every two years, and the percent of the operating budget spent on
collections. Unfortunately the State Aid appropriation to libraries decreased in 2008 and again in 2011, and has
remained flat since the 2011 appropriation.
Fines and Fees:
A portion of the library’s income is derived from various in-house sources. They include:
Overdue fees
Lost item fees
Copier fees
Coffee and tea sales
Room rentals
Donations
Art sales
The library is committed to diversifying its funding sources. To that end we will do more fundraising activities, increase
opportunities for sponsorships and partnering, continue to apply for grants, and explore other creative ways to increase
the funds we need to provide you with the best library resources in the area.
Life, in numbers, at the Library:
• 9,460 township residents are proud library card owners
• 104,000 people visited the library in 2014
• 19,512 came to the library for one of the 756 children’s, teen, or adult programs
• 10,084 people spent 8,594 hours on the library’s desktop computers (statistics are not kept for Wi-Fi users)
• 12,587 questions were asked of the Reference Librarian
• 153 non-library meetings were held in the Willaman Community Room or Board Room
• 5,988 items were added to the collection bringing the in-house collection to 53,865 items
• Total circulation of in-house items equaled 165,657
• The library’s museum passes were borrowed 303 times
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
4
• There were 3,866 downloads of e-books and 1,042 downloads of audio books
• The library’s website was visited 122,726 times
Return on Investment: In dollars and cents, this is a snapshot of the benefits of your public library in 2014:
• If the library did not exist, the estimated amount of money that would have been spent using an alternative
information source = $3,276,517
• If other resources are not available to replace library benefits then the lost use cost = $153,373
• Goods and services purchased by the library from local resources are direct local expenditures = $38,299
• If the library did not exist, library staff would lose compensation = $453,025
• Customers who use the library also use other local resources. This is known as halo spending = $293,102
• Total Return on Investment = $4,214,315
• Local Investment = $617,400
• Return per Dollar Invested = $6.83
The library is all about you, providing each and every one of Whitemarsh Township’s residents and others who come to
the library with the collections, services, programs, and space you want. We also want to surprise you, and to that end,
we provide resources that you may not have thought about until you saw them at the library or read about them on our
website or in the paper.
We are here to enrich your life with cultural, informative, and fun programs and collections, fulfill your pursuit of life-
long learning, and assist you with your use of technologies.
Program Highlights:
• Summer Reading Club programs for children – over 1,000 children attended SRC programs (Sponsored by a grant
from Subaru). The theme was Fizz, Boom, Read!
• Science In the Summer – 2014 topic was Chemistry (Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline)
• Many, many children’s programs – Sensory Storytime, Mother Goose Storytime, Tales for Tots, Reading Romp,
Jitterbug Music and Movement, Family Activity Time, and MORE (Sponsored by The Friends of the Library)
• Nancy Corson Book Writing Contest for children in grades 1-6 – Standing room only at the winner’s receptions
(Sponsored by The Friends of the Library)
• Chinese New Year Celebration – Fun, food, and very informative for all ages (Sponsored by The Friends of the
Library)
• TEENS
• Movie Matinees and Movie Night Discussions – just released movies and moderated special interest movies are
extremely popular (Sponsored by The Friends of the Library)
• Get Fit at the library with Tai Chi and Yoga classes - (Sponsored in part by The Friends of the Library)
• Play Canasta and Mah Jong at the library - (Partially sponsored by The Friends of the Library)
Looking ahead:
In the coming year and years, the library staff will work to develop and implement more diversified programming. It is
our goal to engage the entire community in inviting cultural and educational opportunities whether presented in the
library or in other public settings.
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
5
The library will improve its online presence, social media communications, and PR. We know how important it is for a
library to be accessible 24/7 and for that accessibility to be as easy as possible. We want to make you a part of sharing
what you are reading, listening to, watching, or thinking about. We want to make it easy for you to communicate with us
and others.
We want to make certain that we are providing you with the books you want to read or listen to, the magazines you
want to peruse, and the shows you want to watch, both in-house and online. We also want to surprise you as you
browse. Entice you to consider a genre, theme, or subject you never thought of exploring before.
We want to be your destination for learning, growing, enjoying, and connecting.
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
6
2014 GALA SPONSORS
The Adventures of Robin Hood Level $5,000
Firstrust Bank
Haas Family
McCausland Foundation
42nd
Street $2,500
National Label Company
Patriot Financial Partners, L.P.
Duck Soup $1,000
Beneficial Bank
Rob and Bev Das
Peter DePaul
Edith R. Dixon
Northeast Revenue Services, LLC
Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, LLP
Rudolph Clarke, LLC
Susquehanna Bank
TD Bank
T&M Associates Consulting Engineers
VIST Bank
It Happened One Night $500
Broad Axe Tavern
Sara and Jeffrey Erlbaum
Fox Rothschild LLP
Friedman Schuman, PC
Amy and Marc Grossman
Bob and Kerry Hart
Julie and Andrew Karnavas
Montgomery County Commissioners,
Leslie Richards and Josh Shapiro
Grant and Heather Palmer
Cathy and Chris Peduzzi
Santander Bank
State Representative Mary Jo Daley
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
10
2014 ANNUAL APPEAL DONORS
Library Leaders $1,000 - $5,000
Colonial LUG
Edith R. Dixon
Education Networks
Library Lovers $500 - $999
Leonard Aulenbach and Paul McKelvie
Lynne Clark
Elizabeth Gemmill
Joel and Carole Lukoff
Library Supporters $100 - $499
Niaz and Patricia Ahadyar
Robert and Barbara Atkins
Robert and Diane Bacine
Sandra and Daniel Bongiovanni
Robert and Jill Bown
Deane Brennan
Donald and Erin Buehler
Rosemarie Byrne
Lawrence Byrnes
John Campagna
Lisa and Andrew Casel
Adeline Ciannella and Peter Williamson
Conshy Consignment, LLC
John Coogan and Sally Cranney
George C. “Skip” Corson, Jr.
James and Julia Cottrell
Tamara Davis and Bruce Wightman
Thomas Doll and Linda Gardner
William and Laura Duffy
William and Catherine Eagleson
Roy and Valerie Felgoise
Donna Ferraioli
M.J. Fischer
FLS International
GlaxoSmithKline Foundation
Lynn Gold-Benjamin
Anne Gorman
Marylyn Goutmann
Michael and Gwen Graver
Jane B. Guest
Hearing Loss Association of America,
Montgomery County Chapter
Mary Carol Hornyak
Craig and Lori Israelite
William and Lynda Jeanes
Nancy Johnson
John and Joan Jones
Richard M. and Sandra Josephs
David Kannerstein and Winnie Lanoix
Andrew and Juliana Karnavas
Jackie Keohler
Scott and Jacquelyn Koehler
Chris and Sally Lane
Robert and Donna Mackay
Kevin and Donna McBurney
Lillian Marie McCuen
John McDonald and Bernadette Dlugokecki
Kevin and Margaret McGlynn
Mary J. Medicus
Judy Mesirov and Emmett Miller
Hal and Susan Michels
Dara and Dave Nassatir
James and Lisa Obermeier
John O'Brien and Nancy Mortimer O'Brien
Bill and Terry O'Donnell
Francis and Jennifer Pantuso
Cathy and Chris Peduzzi
PJM Interconnection
Frank and Rita Precopio
Corinne Roxby
Howard and Sandra Salasin
Frank and Kathleen Seidman
Carl and Carroll Sheppard
Patricia Shields
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
11
Theodore and Amanda Swain
Curtis and Jacy Toll
Barbara and George Vangieri
Kenneth and Lucinda Veit
The Weeders
William and Betty Wells
Charles and Johnnie Wiedmann
Harry W. Woodcock
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Kappa Omega Zeta Chapter
Sydelle Zove and Stephen Kaufman
Library Enthusiasts $25-$99
Richard and Susan Ackland
John and Gloria Antinucci
Roberta L Bache
Bank of America Foundation, Inc.
Robert and Gail Beidler
Jeremy and Debra Benn
Nancy Benner
Richard and Mary Berman
Edward and Bernadette Biasi
Kathleen and Robert Biddle
Kenneth and Nora Blumberg
Patricia Bonsall
James and Patricia Boris
David Bower
Joanne Boyle
Sonia Brauning
Martin and Eleanor Brown
Sarah Brownell
Phyllis Burnett
Constance Canniff
Aurelia and Abramo Capece
Lois Caplan
Rebecca Carr
Judith Carson
Michael Caruso
Denise and Philip Chapline
Augustus Cileone
James and Angela Clarke
David and Amy Beth Cohen
David Contosta
Cecelia R Crommarty
John Curtin and Anne Ingersoll Curtin
Michael Curtis
Francis and Elaine Davey
Peter and Eileen Day
James and Connie Degnan
Richard and Deborah DeLecce
Penny DeLeon
Samuel and Janet Deturo
Robert and Janet Domanski
Francis and Deborah Donnelly
Catherine and Joseph Donohue
Anne and Vincent Dougherty
Kenneth and Mary Ann Edick
Matthew and Michele Elkes
John and Marielle Entwistle
Jay and Lynnette Etzel
Ronald and Marilyn Farkas
Denise Fitzpatrick and John Sheppard
Marjorie Fitzpatrick
Maureen Flanagan
William and Anne Franks
Graeme and Elizabeth Frazier
Jay Freed and Alice Lindenauer
Isabel Friedlander
Jodi Friedman
Lee and Amy Gaber
Connell and Marie Gallagher
Susan Gasteyer
Kenneth and Lisa Gelman
Ellen Glendinning
Paul Good
Marylyn Goutmann
Marjorie Graham
Heather and Jeffrey Greaves
Carly Greis
James and Marie Griffin
Donald Groff
Marc and Amy Grossman
Irving and Bernice Grunes
George and Mary Hain
Marshall and Rhonda Haislup
Adele Halas
Dorothy Harper
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
12
Gilbert and Georgia Herrera
Joseph and Joan Hill
James Hoban and Diane Smith-Hoban
Morris and Shelly Hochbaum
Jeffrey and Barbara Hoffman
Karen Hojda
Keith and Linda Hooper
Bonnie and Marc Inver
James and Helene Johnson
John and Kathleen Kapusnick
Regina Keenan
Brian and Cathy Kelly
John and Jacqueline Kerrigan
Eleanor Kingsbury
William and Janice Kingsbury
Michael and Ellen Kirby
Daniel Klein
Helene Klein
Catherine Korman
Robert and Susan Korn
Faith Kortrey
Andrea Krill
Adam Kupersmith and Bernice Morris
Kiki Kuzovich
Colleen and Marie Lapowsky
Lucille Leap
David Lennon
John and Regina Lepore
Margaret Lesher
Cathy and Bruce Levin
Karen and Sheldon Lisker
Regina Litman
May Lomax and Patricia Piro
Samuel and Joan Longo
Bryen Lorenz
Maureen and Michael Lotkowski
Eileen Lowenstein
Kyle and Francine Lukacik
Josephine and Bernard Madden
Scott and Sarah Maisey
Enid Maleeff
Christie and James Mallon
Peter Mancall
Kenneth and Barbara Mann
Richard Margulies
Alice Marsh
Jean and Michael Matthews
John and Mary Mattioni
Thomas McAndrews
John and Margaret McCann
Lynn and Matthew McCarthy
John and Camille McCreavy
Kevin and Margaret McGlynn
Julie McGrain
Shaun and Sheila McLaughlin
Laurie and Stephen Menyo
Ellen and Michael Miller
Eugene and Marilyn Miller
Nina Miller
Elizabeth and Jonathan Mishkin
Anil and Vijaya Mokashi
Richard and Evelyn Morrison
Harry and Deborah Neerenberg
Joselyn and Andrew Ney
John and Maureen O'Connell
William and Marianne O'Connor
Lance and Susan Ogle
Joan and Gregory Olson
Harry and Miriam Orenstein
Katherine E. Palladino
Kenneth Parsons and Valerie Flounders
Seymour and Cochava Prystowsky
Plymouth Monthly Meeting of Friends
Chris and Susan Pronchik
Mark and Rachel Rizzi
Merry Rosenberger
Marlene and Steven Ross
Harvey and Sara Roth
Andrew and Lisa Rush
Alfred and Andrea Saah
Margaret and John Sabo
Elaine Salvucci
SAP Software Solutions
John Sautter
Michael Sautter
Bernard and Maureen Saxon
Diana Schlesinger
Eric and Cassandra Schultz
David and Lauren Segal
Mihai and Anca Serban
Bernard and Margherite Shaeffer
Jordana Shane
Siraj Sharma
Robert Slutsky and Jill Cohen
Cameron and Sandi Smith
David and Diane Smith
Mitchell Smith
Thomas and Sharon Smith
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
13
Howard and Denise Stredler
San S. T. Tang
Martha Taylor
James Thompson
Peter and Lillian Toren
Eric Traub and Coleen Shafer
Amy Veloric
Harry and Erminia Venezia
Wainwright at Whitemarsh Owner Association
Constance and William Walker
Kelly Wall
Timothy and Bernadette Wall
Marvin and Carolyn Walter
Craig and Constance Walters
Shane and Theresa Westerfer and Family
June and Bill Wheeler
Barbara Williams
Merritt and Jill Willits
John Wisniewski
Robert and Amanda Wooldridge
Everett and Marilyn Young
Ann Younglove
Joseph and Barbara Zibe
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
14
Other
Imad H. Alabudi
Kristen Balas
Joseph W. Battisto
Christine M. Beisel
Laurence and Debra Berger
Lee and Patricia Blasek
Lenore Block
James J. Bonner
Vito and Marianne Casiello
Sophia Castro-Anderson
Jill Coleman
Allan and Holly Corpus
Betty Lou Diemer
Brian and Frances Dougherty
Michael and Paula Dvorak
Mark and Christine Epstein
Cevdet and Carolyn Ertukel
John and Virginia Farrell
Alan and Susan Fine
Stan and Leslie Finegold
Janet and Paul Gregory
Alan and Joan Gross
Carol Heloskie
Steven and Gail Katz
Coco Kennedy
N.J. Kider
Suzanne Lilly
Jason Lazaroff and Jennifer Suskin
Thomas and Maria Mansfield
Denise Masciantonio
Ruthe Maslin
Thomas and Marian McGowan
Tanisha K. Monteiro
Marc and Rosemarie Palmerio
Christian and Lauren Petruschke
Barbara Rice
Mark and Pamela Roberts
Rosemarie Rowan
Darryl and Pam Schick
Robert and Lauren Steinberg
Stephen and Mary Ellen Tomaine
Gordon and Desiree Van Arman
Robert and Nancy Weir
Thomas and Carol Wesley
Bernard and Barbara Zbrzeznj
WILLIAM JEANES MEMORIAL LIBRARY AND NICHOLAS AND ATHENA
KARABOTS CENTER FOR LEARNING
15
“Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is
interest.”
― Claudia Alta Johnson (Lady Bird Johnson)