After a four year leveling off period the library’s circulation statistics have again taken a healthy jump, topping the 100,000 mark for the first time in our history. This has happened at a time when the number of books in the collection has remained the same for two years, owing to the great deal of weeding of old books which must continually be done to make room for the new in our cramped quarters. We are encouraged by this increased level of usage and hope the townspeople will eventually grant us the funds necessary to increase our space and allow the collection to begin growing again. Measures have been taken in the meantime to temporarily alleviate our space problem as much as possible. In addition to the constant weeding noted above we have also constructed 40 new shelves at the back of the court- house garage, which we hope to use for the storage of magazine back issues and little used but still valuable books.

Many staff changes have taken place during the calendar year, including a change of librarians for only the third time in 101 years. Former librarian Charlotte Hutton now holds a part-time position as director of all co-operative affairs the library is connected with. Also the Trustees and staff have started an account with the Seacoast Federal Credit Union for the purpose of raising funds for library building expansion. In this first year alone over 1,600 dollars has been raised through donations, sales and raffles. Further contributions to this fund are welcomed at any time.

We have during the past year subscribed to the McNaughton Book Lease Plan which enables us to lease books from the company at a rate well under the cost of the book. We use this service primarily to acquire extra copies of best-sellers so the waiting lists on books can move along quickly.

The library has begun opening an hour earlier three mornings per week due to our closing Monday nights. Hours now for the library are as follows:

One cannot give enough thanks to the people and groups who volunteer their valuable time to the library. Without their help we would undoubtedly have to hire additional staff. It is impossible to mention them all, but Dorothy Lee, Arlene Farrell, Laura Blizzard, Mary Crawford, and the members of the Friends of the Library group and the Hampton Garden Club deserve our special thanks.

As we near the completion of our hundredth year as Hampton’s public library, the staff and I would like to thank all the townspeople of Hampton who have shown a continuing interest in the library, and we extend an Invitation for everyone else to avail themselves of the varied services offered at the Lane Memorial Library.