Submitted by William H. Teschek, Librarian

1984 was a year of waiting and watching while the new library rose ever so slowly from the ground and took shape. Meanwhile, slightly curtailed operations took place in our temporary quarters on Stickney Terrace. The new building will open in the Spring of 1985, and with it will begin a new era of library services in Hampton. The fourfold increase in space will at last allow us to fit our expanding collection onto adequate shelving. The back issues of our periodical collection will again be available for reference and student use. A 100-seat meeting room can be used free of charge by local, non-profit organizations.

Computer and video technology will begin making inroads as soon as we open. Three microcomputers will be available for use by the public, whether for personal use or for group instruction. The library will also make use of the New Hampshire Automated Information System, based at the State library in Concord, via a computer/modem hook-up. This, combined with a new van delivery to our door, will greatly enhance our interlibrary loan capabilities. Down the road another year we foresee the automation of our circulation system in combination with other area libraries, again improving the interlibrary loan system. The advent of computers in libraries is gradually bringing about the day when the books in every library in the state will be easily accessible to all New Hampshire residents.

Soon after it opens the new library will begin circulating videocassettes, which are fast becoming one of the most popular informational and recreational mediums in the country. For those without home videocassette recorders we will have an in-house VCR with TV monitor. This will also be hooked up to the town cable system for regular television viewing. In another part of the building will be a listening center for those who would like to listen to our collection of records and cassettes.

Our expanded building and new services will likely bring a tremendous increase in the number of residents making use of the library. More manpower will obviously be necessary, and we hope to achieve this largely through the use of volunteers. Many have already applied; many more will be needed. I urge everyone who is interested in volunteering to get in touch with me right away.

In closing I would like to thank our past crew of volunteers for the assistance they have lent over the previous year: Olga Armen, Ruth Barkley, Ann Hanson, Dorothy Lee, Edna Wallace, and the Friends of the Library. And special thanks to the staff and all our patrons for weathering a year of overcrowding and barely tolerable conditions. Happier times are on their way.