REPORT OF THE BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES

To the Inhabitants of the Town of Abington:        :

The Board of Library Trustees of the Abington Public Library is pleased to
submit their report of the year 2006.

2006 was the library's busiest year ever, with over 102,000 books, CDs,
DVDs, magazines, books on CD and videos being loaned to patrons. Most
of these items were part of the library's own collection of over 70,000 items
and some of them came to patrons through a daily delivery service via the
Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Library System of which Abington is
a member. Libraries in the Old Colony Library Network also supplemented
the informational needs of Abington residents by providing materials
through this service.

The library also continued to develop its own web site @
www.abingtonpl.org. This site continues to showcase the library's
resources and collections and provides links to sites in the Town and
beyond. Library patrons are able to use the web site to: review their
li¬brary account, renew books, place holds, search the online catalog,
check for adult and children's program dates and times, ascertain library
hours, print meeting room booking form, view library policies and many
other things formerly available only at the library.

The library was able to hire a part-time reference librarian in October of
2006. Mrs. Judith Condon, formerly of Silver Lake Regional High School,
joined the staff in October. Mrs. Condon brings many years of professional
reference service to students and adults to the library. Updates to the
reference department are currently underway and will continue into 2007.
During 2006 eleven new PCs were purchased for the reference and
children's departments to increase the internet capability and online
searching quality for patrons. A program called PC Reservation was also
installed to provide equity of service for those using the internet.

Library Trustees funded two projects to improve the building in 2006. The
first, a modification of the roof at the rear staff and delivery entrance to
the building, was designed to prevent ice build-up and possible injury to
staff and others. The second, an audio-visual return at the front entrance,
was installed in response to requests from and for the convenience of
patrons for the after hour return of videos, DVDs, CDs, etc.

The Friends of the Abington Public Library continued their generous
support of the library. Through memberships and fundraising they paid for
much of the juvenile and adult programming, including the annual Summer
Reading Program and the Adult Book Discussion Group, the rental
collection, most museum passes, audio visual materials and furniture and
other items not covered by the operating budget. A special program was
held in June in conjunction with the Summer Concert Committee and
featured performers Dale and the Duds at the Library. The Trustees also
wish to thank the Abington Cultural Council, which assisted the Friends in
funding the Museum passes.

Gifts from the Abington Lions Club included the popular pass to the
Boston Children's Museum and large print and books on CD.
Children's programs included guest performers, story-craft activities,
preschool and toddler story hours, after-school programs, and book
discussion groups. Children's programming is entirely funded by private
donations from The Friends of the Library, The Anderson Insulation Co.,
Inc., The Kathy Greenwood Fund, and Gap/Old Navy. Donations were
received for children's books from several Gift Funds.

The year 2007 will bring with it many celebrations at the library. The
statewide Summer Reading program theme will be "Catch the Beat @ Your
Library." Figuring prominently during the year will be the 30th anniversary
celebration of the Friends of the Abington Public Library and of course the
10th anniversary of the Abington Public Library's location at 600 Gliniewicz
Way in its beautiful new building.

The Trustees, staff and volunteers look forward to serving all of the
citizens of Abington in the year 2007 and beyond.

2006 LIBRARY STATISTICS
Circulation                                                102,286
Total Collection                                          75,770
Reference Questions                               14,816
Public Internet Workstations                            6
Registered Borrowers:                               7,139
Abington Public School Class Visits               34
*Patrons who do not use library cards in 3 years are auto-deleted from system


According to information obtained from the Massachusetts Library
Association (MLA) on their website @ www.masslib.org. and the Maine
State Library @ www.maine.gov/msl the following financial statistics that
are directly related to Abington's circulation figures. The value of library
services was $1,595,034.00. This figure represents the amount Abington
residents would have paid out of pocket if they had not used the library.

The actual library budget for FY2007 was $409,104.00, a significant
difference.
















                       Respectfully submitted,

Henry DiCarlo, Chairman
Betty Henderson, Vice Chairman
Janet O'Connor, Secretary
Lorraine O'Neill
Aimee Tyler
John O'Neill
Jonathan Harris
Cynthia Whiting
Christina McMahon
Janet Meagher, Library Director
Library Trustees 2006 Annual Report
Veterans Memorial
Town Library
Our Town:
Abington
Massachusetts
Town Offices
Town Hall
781.982.2100
Quantity of use
84,793@$ 15.00
2,256@$   2.00
9,934@$   4.00
5,303@$ 10.00
3,839@$   6.00
693@$ 15.00
158@$ 50.00
381@$ 24.00
5,973@$  12.00
14,816@$   7.00
Library Service
Books Borrowed
Periodicals Borrowed
Videos/DVD's Borrowed
CD's, Books on Tape, Etc.
Children's Programs
Adult Programs
Hours of Meeting Room Use
Museum Passes
Hours of Internet Use
Reference Questions Asked
   TOTAL
Value of Service
$1,271,895.00
4,512.00
39,736.00
53,030.00
23.034.00
10,395.00
7,900.00
9,144.00
71,676.00
103.712.00
$1,595,034.00