What happens in a single day in Vermont libraries? How many books do patrons check out or request? What activities take place? What types of questions are being answered?
Find out by participating with the Vermont Library Association (VLA) in Library Snapshot Day 2016.
Snapshot Day is a statewide initiative where all public, scholastic, and special libraries have the opportunity to capture a day in the life of their libraries through photos, user comments, statistics, and other data.
Participating libraries choose one day during National Library Week, April 10-16, to collect data and photos. Organizers say the data gathered statewide will capture the collective impact that Vermont's libraries have on their communities on a typical day.
The goal is to demonstrate the value of libraries and raise public awareness that libraries are more important than ever.
“Vermont Library Snapshot Day gives libraries around the state the opportunity to share pictures, stories, and data about what their library accomplishes in a day,“ VLA Public Library Section President Kevin Unrath said in a news release.
Unrath, who is also the director of the Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury, said libraries can pick any day that works for them during National Library Week.
“Last year at the Vermont Library Conference, public librarians told us that advocacy was important to them,” explained VLA Public Libraries Vice President and Windsor Public Library Director Christine Porter.
“Participating in Snapshot Day is a great way to advocate for our libraries. The more libraries that participate the more successful this initiative will be in showing legislators, funders, and voters the value, importance, and impact of Vermont's libraries,” Porter added.