News and Events

Library Honored by Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce

The Mentor Public Library was recently named the Mentor Chamber of Commerce 2010 Civic Organization of the Year.

Patrons from the library and its two branches sent hundreds of nomination letters to the chamber recommending that Mentor Public Library be chosen for the prestigious award. Executive Director Lynn Hawkins accepted the award May 11 at the MACC2 award luncheon held at La Malfa Party Center.

“I am delighted that the Library was nominated and received such support for this award,” said Hawkins. “The staff is so honored to be recognized for providing outstanding service to our community.”

Since its inception in 1819, the Mentor Public Library staff continues to meet the needs of their patrons. A man needs help with the computer so he can update his resume to find a job. A woman recently lost her mother to cancer and she wants a book to help her preschool daughter and herself deal with the loss. A father asks for help to find a facts-of-life book appropriate for his five-year-old son. A special needs teacher requests a picture book to read to her students about teamwork.

A variety of MPL book clubs form and bring people from all walks of life to share in the love of the written word. Videos, books and other material brighten the day of people who are homebound. High-tech devices and gadgets such as the Nook, an eBook Reader, are available for patron use. These are just a few of the services that patrons have come to expect from the Mentor Public Library.

Hawkins believes the patrons’ nominations and the Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce 2010 Civic Organization of the Year Award have reflected the library’s high level of service and quality of materials over the years; building a level of trust between the library and its patrons.

“We are here when you need us. We value our reputation as a trusted public place,” she said.

Hawkins said the workflow retooling and careful budgeting have contributed to a funding carry-forward that has permitted the library to maintain hours and staffing; including year-round Sunday hours at Main and Saturdays at the branches.

“As a staff we have remained committed to modeling excellent customer service even as funding has dwindled and demand for services have increased,” she said. “The bar has been dramatically raised, due to this poor economy—and our staff has risen to the challenge of service provision on a greater scale than ever.”

In accordance with the library’s four core principles in its mission statement of intellectual freedom, confidentiality, personal service and community partnering, the library and its branches offer collections and programs to support early literacy, workforce readiness, and small business.

“In partnership with other agencies, we increasingly fill the gaps when other community resources have been exhausted,” Hawkins said.

The Mentor Chamber of Commerce 2010 Civic Organization of the Year Award also recognized service and the support of the Friends of the Mentor Public Library group.

“We are grateful for the unfailing support of our dedicated Friends of the Library group, several of whom work long hours on a daily basis to ensure that the Library will have adequate funding for new programs and services,” she said. “We could not maintain our current level of outstanding programming without their generosity and hard work!”

In this challenging economy, Hawkins and the library staff are committed to maintain the award-wining level of service and quality to their patrons.

“Achieving internal efficiencies continues to be a top organizational goal for us. We expect to utilize new technologies and creative workflow solutions to reduce internal costs,” Hawkins said. “We appreciate our patrons’ willingness to be active participants in their library experience through using our new self checks and other new technologies. Our goal is to be here when you need us.”

The Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce has been a strong advocate for library services and local businesses.

“As a library we work to improve community quality of life, while the Chamber does an outstanding job of strengthening business ties and viability,” she said. “The Urban Libraries Council notes that together, we all contribute to the human dimension of economic development. We make a great team!”