Portsmouth Public Library (New Hampshire)
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| Portsmouth Public Library
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| Location | Portsmouth, NH |
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| Established | 1896 |
| Annual circulation | ~375,000 |
| Population served | ~20,600 |
| Members | ~14,000 |
| Director | Mary Ann List |
| Website | http://www.cityofportsmouth.com/library |
Contents |
[edit] Mission
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This section appears to have been copied and pasted from http://www.cityofportsmouth.com/library/about-mission.htm, possibly in violation of a copyright. Please edit this article to remove any copyrighted text and to be an original source, following the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. Remove this template after editing. This article has been tagged since June 3, 2008. |
Portsmouth Public Library is a gateway to reading, information, culture, community activities, and self-directed learning. It serves those who want to read, to learn, or to connect with our community and our cultural heritage.
The library's mission is one of sharing and it strengthens the community by fulfilling these roles:
- Popular Materials Library: Provides a wide range of popular materials in various formats for the personal use of people of all ages.
- Reference Library: Responds to the information needs of the community by answering questions, helping people find materials in the Library, and providing connections to informational resources beyond the Library.
- Youth's Door to Learning: Fosters, in children, a love of reading and learning by offering stimulating materials, programs, and services for them, their parents and caregivers.
- Community Activities Center: Provides places for people to meet, interact, organize, study, and enjoy programs of public interest.
- Community Information Center: Makes available past and present community information for those who want to learn about local government, personal and community heritage, and services provided by community agencies and organizations.
The Library accomplishes its mission of sharing by:
- Continually assessing the reading and informational needs of the community.
- Selecting, arranging, lending, or otherwise making available resources and materials of general interest or recurring utility;
- Maintaining a friendly and knowledgeable staff trained to offer professional service; and
- Collaborating and cooperating with other city departments and with educational, cultural, and social organizations in the community.
[edit] Services
The Library is open 6 days a week, from 9-9 Monday through Thursday, 9-5:30 Friday, and 9-5 on Saturday.
Technology
- 46 computer workstations throught the building offering a variety of applications, library catalogs and databases, and internet access
- Wireless access in all areas of the building, including the courtyard and porch
- State-of-the-art printing and copying
Community Space
- Three meeting rooms and three small group study/conference rooms
- Cafe and courtyard
- Informal reading nooks and comfortable seating areas
- All areas are handicapped-accessible
[edit] Facilities
The new Portsmouth Public Library is the first municipal building in New Hampshire to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The new $8 million “green” library, which was formally dedicated in January, is also the first new library construction project and one of the first public buildings of any type in New England to receive LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The USGBC is the nation’s foremost coalition of building industry leaders working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.
Based on well-founded scientific standards, the LEED program rewards efforts in six areas of building: sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials selection, indoor air quality and innovation in the green building design process. Bohenko said the new library achieved high marks in the areas of energy conservation, recycling, materials selection, and daylight and views.
Energy models performed by Andelman and Lelek Engineering Inc. indicate the new Library’s heating, cooling and ventilation system will consume 32.5% less energy than a standard system. Assisted by a grant from Public Service of New Hampshire, premium efficiency motors and highly efficient lighting fixtures and fluorescent tubes were installed in the building. Metered faucets and low-flow toilets contribute to the reduction of water use. Natural light flows directly into 75% of occupied spaces, and staff and customers have views to the outside in 90% of the library. Paint, carpet and composite wood were all chosen to emit very low amounts of fumes, and manufactured materials consist of recycled content whenever possible.
[edit] Special Collections
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This section appears to have been copied and pasted from http://www.cityofportsmouth.com/library/history.htm, possibly in violation of a copyright. Please edit this article to remove any copyrighted text and to be an original source, following the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. Remove this template after editing. This article has been tagged since June 3, 2008. |
The Special Collections room at Portsmouth Public Library offers the researcher information on local history topics and genealogy.
While our collection development efforts focus on acquiring materials relating to the city of Portsmouth, we also acquire information about other towns in Rockingham County, as well as town histories for Strafford County, NH and York County in Maine.
Our collection consists of books, articles, city documents (tax records, annual reports, etc.), city directories, vital records (birth, marriage and death indexes), maps, art work, photographs, historical newspapers and ephemera.
In addition, we have a number of unique collections, including the following:
Henry Clay Barnabee Collection
This collection of 12 boxes consisting of scrapbooks, photographs, albums, books, souvenir albums, souvenir books, opera music scores, watercolors, etc., belonged to the Portsmouth-born actor and singer Henry Clay Barnabee (1833-1917).
World War II Records
This collection of 20 files was compiled by the Portsmouth War Records Committee during the World War II years. It includes reports (business, club and organizations), photographs, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, posters and pamphlets.
Art Collections
These include a collection of watercolors by Sarah Haven Foster (1827-1900), a collection of drawings by Helen Pearson (1871-1949), several works by Susan Ricker Knox (1875?-1959) and several paintings by Russell Cheney (1881-1945), among other artists whose works are owned by the library.
