Submitted by William H. Teschek, Librarian

And Staff Of The Lane Memorial Library

Our first full calendar year of operations in our new building has been a successful one. Our circulation reached an all-time high of 115,596, an increase of more than 20,000 over 1985. A new service was added and old ones expanded. It has been a year of generosity by many in town, with the library receiving over $5500 in gifts and hundreds of hours of volunteer work being performed by a large number of dedicated people. So many, in fact, that they are too numerous to mention here. But without them we would not be able to offer the level of services we do today. For that, they have our heartfelt thanks.

Everyone knows that a library offers books, magazines and newspapers and is a good place to go to find out information on virtually any subject, but most libraries have a lot more than that to offer and we are no exception. The following list will give you an idea of the variety of services we offer:

Cameras, framed art, puzzles, records, and cassettes are some of the things we offer in addition to the printed word. All can be checked out like books.

Children’s story hours. If your 3-6 year old is not registered in one of our popular story hours now is the time to do so. The kids hear stories, watch movies, make crafts and on the holidays have a party with refreshments and all. We offer these story hours several times a week so there should be a time that is convenient for you and your child. Help- ing your child to enjoy reading is one of the biggest favors you can do for them. Check the calendar in our children’s room for other activities we have planned for all ages.

Computers. We have an IBM-PC, Apple II, and Apple Macintosh, all with printers, that you may use at the rate of one dollar per hour. Bring your own software or use some of ours. We are in the process of building a collection of public domain software for each machine. Advance registration and sign-up is necessary. Brief individualized training sessions are available for those with no prior computer experience.

Museum tickets to the Children’s Museum in Portsmouth and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston are available to be borrowed.

An on-line reference was made available for the first time in 1986. With a computer and a modem we can tap into an incredible amount of information. Thanks to a gift from the Rotary Club of Hampton we will subsidize the first $10 of any searching we do for you. Most quick searches can be done for much less. Check our catalog of the databases that can be searched and familiarize yourself with what is available.

Videocassettes. The boom medium of the 80’s is making inroads in libraries very quickly, and our collection numbered over 200 by the end of 1986. We charge one dollar per day for rental, which goes to pay for new videos. And if you don’t own a VCR yet, we have one in the Dear- born Room that you may use here.

And there are even more services we offer that I don’t have the space to mention here. I know there are still many people in Hampton who don’t use the library and I’m sure it is because libraries have a public image that is associated primarily with reading and learning. It’s true, we do like to be associated with those things, but as you may know, we are a lot more than that. You owe it to yourself to acquire a library card if you haven’t already. You may find it to be the most valuable card in your wallet.