By Alexie Villegas Zotomayor
Variety Features Editor

WITH newly acquired titles and better funding last year, Joeten Kiyu Public Library was on its toes in 2006 as it hosted 100,875 visitors.
This is according to the data provided by outgoing Joeten Kiyu Public Library director Kevin Latham to Variety last week.
Latham said, “There was a patrons count of 100,875 people who visited the library. The Information Technology center averaged 60 users daily with a total of 11,727 one-hour patron computer sessions.”
He also said that during the last fiscal year, Joeten-Kiyu Public Library issued 1,184 new library cards.
State librarian Erlinda Naputi also provided Variety with figures relating to the number and types of books circulated in 2006 among the library patrons.
According to the circulation details in their monthly report for December 2006, there were 62,059 titles circulated last year. Of this number, 54,025 were books, 764 compact discs, 565 DVDs (excluding 721 titles designated as popular DVDs), 2,168 magazines and 1,098 McNaughton titles.
Of those circulated books in 2006, 11,650 or 18.77 percent were children’s picture books while biography readers benefited from 266 biographies in circulation.
Of the 6,808 videos made available to the public, 1,452 were for children; 371, history; 129, health; instructional videos, 284; music, 102; movies, 1,349; nature and/or vocational education, 366; sports, 71; travel, 198, and 2,484 young adult titles.
With their hands full in 2006, ITC coordinator and acting library director Roy Rechebei said “We will continue what we have been doing (in 2007).”
Last year, Joeten Kiyu Public Library was able to administer a host of activities through several grants. These grants were the Administration for Native Americans (SEDS) grant, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Federal E-rate program, and Department of Education Improving Literacy Through School Libraries grant.
The Administration for Native Americans (SEDS) grant awarded $330,000 to the Library Friends, a non-profit group supporting the library. According to outgoing director Latham, “The Library Friends ANA award has provided funding over the last three years totaling $930.000. This award has funded the development of the Children of Our Homeland Center including the renovation of the library facility, books, materials, a computer, furniture and equipment. This year’s funding is primarily for materials, art, and services.”
The Institute of Museum and Library Services Five Year Grant, Latham said, provided $75,737. He said, “This award has provided annual funding over the last five years totaling over $375, 000. IMLS funding has been used to purchase and maintain the library automation system (DYNIX Horizon) which the Joeten-Kiyu Library shares with NMC. It also provides for public access to computers and the Internet in the library’s Information Technology Center. The grant also funds one full-time and two part-time positions.”
Another IMLS grant, the Competitive Grant, totaled $54,419.00. Latham said that the award provides additional funding on a competitive basis. “This year’s award is being used to support library outreach programs to the public school system with the continuing automation of all public school system libraries as this year’s main project,” said Latham. He added that 13 public school libraries have received the LibrarySoft automation system that helps in cataloging their collections and circulating children’s materials.
According to Latham, this is the same program that provides support to the Manamko’ Computer Center. He added that some of the funding will also be used to support an after-school homework center.
“A vacant professional position is currently being announced. This grant funds one full-time and two part-time positions,” said Latham.
Another grant, the federal e-rate program is worth $12,000.00. This award, according to Latham, provides telecommunications services, Internet access, internal connections, and basic maintenance of internal connections. This program pays for most of the library’s phone and Internet costs.
In addition to these grants, the former Joeten-Kiyu Library director worked with teacher-librarian Art Sondheim to write the narrative and budget for a grant to PSS libraries. The application was submitted last spring by PSS and funding is currently being received this school year.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education Improving Literacy Through School Libraries grant is $299,972.00 This award provides furniture, equipment, computers, books, and materials to the libraries at WSR, Koblerville and Kagman Elementary Schools. The grant will also provide funding for this year’s Motheread program, which is held at the Joeten-Kiyu Library’s Children of Our Homeland Center, and PSS libraries. Motheread is also supported by awards from the NMI Humanities Council.
Latham said that the current grant awards directly benefiting the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library total more than $475, 000.00 this fiscal year.
Rechebei said they expect their hands will again be full this coming fiscal year, but they will continue to do what they have been doing and keep the grants going.
Rechebei mentioned that the library still does class tours, introduces students to the facility, and shows them the services that the library provides.
He also said that as part of their Administration for Native Americans grant, there are a host of cultural activities like reading sessions being conducted and maintained by the ANA grant coordinator Elizabeth Rechebei at the Children of Our Homeland Center which was built with support from that grant.
Acting director Rechebei also said he is now coordinating on a bigger scale compared to his functions as coordinator of the ITC. He said the ITC is where the library provides internet access to the public as well as computer literacy programs which they normally run on Saturday. But due to austerity measures being implemented across all government agencies, Rechebei said that they can only run the computer literacy programs at the ITC every other Saturday.
The library has technology grants which allow it to upgrade facilities and provide services to the public. Rechebei said, “One of the technology grants we have puts us on track, up to date, with Internet access on a broadband level, and software applications at the same level as stateside libraries.”
He added that yearly, the library tries to either increase or upgrade. “There is more usage now than three years ago. We are probably going to get six more computers.”
Rechebei also said that so far they have 12 operational computers for the public and six for students with 18 computers in total.
He pointed out that with free public access to internet come guidelines. The Joeten Kiyu Public Library uses filtering software. “We provide internet access to both adults and children. Adult sites cannot be checked. They are filtered. We also run manual filtering system. So far it has worked pretty well,” said Rechebei.
He also said that they offer a kiosk service where library users can come in and log on for about 60 minutes and may request additional time. Rechebei said, “It is all automated. If they need to register or if they encounter any problems, we assist them.”
Meanwhile, just recently, the Mt. Carmel high school juniors recently helped clean and organize the entire library. Rechebei said that on behalf of the Joeten Kiyu Public Library, he would like to extend his gratitude to the 39 11th grade students who he said did a good job. “They helped us stack books and organize our inventory. I really want to recognize them and give them thanks,” he said.