Click on the image below for the full schedule of events! ​

The Friends of the Hamilton Branch Library held its annual meeting on 4 December 2023.  Branch Manager Renee Marks attended and opened the meeting by outlining her priorities for the branch in the coming year. Renee is particularly interested in making the library a welcoming and secure space for children at all times, especially after school.  The library’s engagement with the children is an essential community service, and she is eager to expand the number of students using the library.  She is also looking for opportunities to promote adult programming, including new book clubs and painting classes. 

This year’s annual meeting was the first since the approval of the by-laws at the previous year’s meeting, which meant it was also the first board meeting to be held after the online election of board members.  The following slate of successful candidates was introduced:

Lou Curran is a retired career City public defender and active peace activist.  He is also a book and library enthusiast with decades of experience organizing book auctions and fundraisers.  Active in his local community, he has initiated and participated in a wide array of community projects, including serving on local Boards. He plans to bring ideas for the Hamilton branch to increase its appeal to seniors. Lou grew up in Teheran, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, and Rome and currently lives part-time in France.  His mottoes are “Occupy High Ground!” and “One World: Leave it Better Than You Found It!” He is happy to serve the Friends as a Board member.

Aviva Klugh is a resident of Beverly Hills and a new member of the Friends of the Hamilton Library Branch. Although new to the neighborhood, Aviva has lived in Baltimore City for almost ten years and has frequented many neighborhood branches and Central Library events.  As a lifelong reader and patron of local libraries, she values the importance of access that libraries provide communities. Aviva is a transportation planning professional with the State and is interested in connectivity, planning, and exploring Maryland’s trail networks in her free time.

Deborah Mason has lived in Mayfield since 2013.  She joined the Friends in 2018 and joined the board in 2019, serving as Secretary.  In addition to helping with Friends programs, Deborah has also written several staff profiles for the newsletter, introducing new Hamilton Branch librarians to the community.  Deborah is originally from Long Island, where she was inculcated with an undying love for books, writing, large dogs, and aloof cats.  A former Maryland Assistant Attorney General and retired high school English teacher, Deborah is a self-employed tutor and writer.  She is also finishing her second term as President of the Mayfield Improvement Association.

A resident of Beverly Hills, Malissa Ruffner has been a Hamilton Branch patron for over 35 years. She began volunteering with the Friends in 2015 and has served as Treasurer and President of the organization. She particularly values the opportunity it offers to meet and work with Northeast neighbors and believes that libraries are essential to healthy communities.  She currently works as a genealogist, with a focus on African American research in Maryland, and in her spare time, enjoys reading (of course!), and playing pickleball.

Derek Simmonsen is a Lauraville resident and current member of the Friends board. You might have seen him selling used books to benefit the Friends at the Lauraville Fair, Tuesday market, or the summer sale at the library. Derek is originally from Pennsylvania and has lived in Baltimore for 15 years. He is an avid reader and has been taking his kids to the Hamilton Branch since they were babies. In his free time, he likes to browse new finds at Snug Books, check out used vinyl at Wax Atlas, and volunteer at Garrett Heights Elementary Middle School, where his kids go to school. Derek is a lawyer in state government and teaches as part of the moot court program at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. 
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Highlights from the year included the very successful used book sale, the popular return of the Banned Book reading at Snug Books, and very well-attended programs presented by Bill Barry and Malissa Ruffner.  One sour note was the destruction of the planters by a reckless driver.  However, there was more than one silver lining:  DOT quickly replaced the planters, there are already plans underway to replace the plants, and the outrage generated by the incident fueled an increase in donations.  To coin a phrase, it’s an ill wind that blows no good.

The following reports were presented at the Annual Meeting held on December 4, 2023:

This is the first year that the Friends has been operating under new bylaws, passed at last year’s Annual Meeting.  They have given the Board flexibility on how and when to hold meetings, setting a schedule for regular board elections and making it easier to ensure that the Friends can fulfill their mission of supporting the Library.  After outreach from a Nominating Committee to members and the general community, we held our first Board election online from November 25 through December 1, and are pleased to add two new members to the Board: Aviva Klugh and Lou Curran.

The Board has been focusing on increasing membership and attracting more volunteers.  We have thirty new members (up from 56 in FY 22 to 86 in FY 23), and we have had significant support from new volunteers Sara Roberson, Sarah Weissman, Jane Backert, Donnell Kelly, Suzette Morgan, and Katie Murtaugh. We are especially grateful to Sara Roberson and Sarah Weissman for their work on the Nominating Committee.  We still hope to establish a membership committee and a gardening committee in the near future.

The Board also focused on raising the Friends’ profile in the community.  Board Treasurer Derek Simmonsen sold books at the Tuesday Farmers Market, organized the Friends’ table at the Lauraville Fair, and also attended several other school and neighborhood events on behalf of the Friends.  We also held a very successful used book sale in the library meeting room in July, with help from volunteers Sara Roberson, Sarah Weissman, and Katie Murtaugh.   And for Banned Book week, Derek, Deborah Mason, and Tween librarian Melissa Foley-King, read banned board books to young children.  Everyone—readers, parents, and especially the kids—had a blast!  Additionally, the Friends continue to support and advertise library programs via email and Facebook.  Friends members have also put on programs.  Bill Barry presented programs on the Irish connections to Frederick Douglass, the women of Sparrows Point, and the Red Scare in Maryland. Board President Malissa Ruffner introduced Rachel Swarns, author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church, and then gave a talk on the intricacies of researching the genealogy of enslaved people. 

At each of these events, members of the Board collected the names and information of new members and people interested in supporting the branch.  Our email list now consists of nearly 200 names. 

In August, the Board sent a letter to the Board of Municipal & Zoning Appeals urging it to prioritize pedestrian safety in its consideration of the proposed Royal Farms gas station across the street from the Library.  Board Secretary Deborah Mason was preparing to testify at the hearing on December 5 when it was abruptly postponed to February 2024.

We bid farewell to Branch Manager Gabby Miller and welcomed Renee Marks who took over that role. We look forward to working with Renee in the coming year.
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After so many highlights, it’s sad to end on a low note.  As you probably know, the library used to have four beautiful wooden planters built by the Department of Transportation, installed on July 6, and filled by the Friends with $325 worth of perennials on October 30.  Nicole Hartig suggested the plants, and she and Michael Lachance, Rochelle Hayward, and John Odell planted them.  And then, on the night of the 28th of November, a car plowed into them and totally destroyed them.  While we can only be grateful that no one was injured (or worse), it is disheartening to see so much hard work obliterated.  But, with the support of the membership, the Board is hopeful that we can come up with a new way to beautify our wonderful branch library.

Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Mason , Board Secretary

Click on the image below for full calendar of what's coming to the Hamilton Branch. You'll be amazed! 

Click on the image below for the full list of library programs--for children and families, teens, and adults. From quilling to sock puppets, opera to action movies. the Hamilton Branch has it covered.

By Deborah Mason

​​It has taken many years and many miles, but Melissa Foley-King, Hamilton’s Tween Librarian, is back home.  Born in Hamilton, her father’s job took her family to Puerto Rico and then Harford County.  After earning a BA in Creative Writing at the University of Baltimore, Melissa received an MLIS from Drexel University.  She and her husband then moved to Harford County, where she worked in the public library system for ten years.  After a three-year break from library work, Melissa returned to the city, moving to a house very close to her first home.  In fact, when she applied for the position of the Pratt’s first-ever Tween Librarian, Melissa pointed out that her proximity was a plus:  the branch would never have to close for inclement weather because she’d be able to walk over and open up!
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The image of Melissa trudging in hip-high snow for half a mile to open the library rings true.  It takes a very short time to realize that Melissa would do the impossible if it meant that the library would be open and ready to serve the community.  Like many librarians, Melissa was an avid reader when she was young (she’s still a huge fan of The Babysitters’ Club series), but she never dreamed of being a librarian when she was little.  Instead, she wanted to be a writer, and wrote short stories on her portable typewriter from a young age (Melissa is still pursuing this dream, currently working on her MFA in Creative Writing at UB).  As it happened, she had no idea how much she would love being a librarian until she became one.   Only in a library can a member of the community come in, ask for help, and get it for free.  Over the course of our interview, I was able to watch Melissa in action: someone needed help with the printer, another had questions about the homeowner’s tax credit.  Each time, Melissa was warm and gracious, eager to help, and happy to do further research as new questions came up.  Melissa derives energy from helping the community, but even she can sometimes suffer from “empathy fatigue.”  She credits Branch Manager Gabby Miller and her colleagues for providing a supportive and creative environment that makes public service both possible and pleasurable. 

But it’s in her role as Tween Librarian that Melissa provides her greatest community service.  “Tweens” are students in the fourth through sixth grades—that difficult age between childhood and young adulthood.  Thanks to its proximity to the Hamilton Elementary Middle School, Hamilton Branch has a very large and energetic tween population who regularly come to the library after school.  Melissa makes sure that the library is a warm and safe environment for them, with plenty of activities that they can participate in.  Even more important, she is a supportive adult presence in their lives, with no parental expectations or grades to hand out.  She can help them navigate a critical transitional period of life, when they are children who are also dealing with crushes, more rigorous classes, and all the other ordeals of young adulthood.  Making crafts, playing board games, talking about books— all provide opportunities for Melissa to gently guide the tweens, reminding them that they need to stick together and be kind to each other.

And they give back to Melissa, too.  They are smart and funny, she says, mature in so many ways while still very young and innocent.  They are fun and silly, and uninhibited about being cool—making them the absolute coolest.  And they are ambitious—Melissa is even helping three girls set up a slime business.  She would like to get the boys away from the computer games, so she’s invited  Moving History, a group that teaches history through music, to come, and one of the sessions will be a drum session—which just might draw in the boys.  But mostly, she gets her ideas from the kids themselves, listening to what they want to do that day, and then making it happen for them.  So, one day they might be making friendship-bracelets, and another, they might be learning cursive writing.  Not only are the tweens more engaged in an activity they chose, but, whether they realize it or not, they are participating in a small, but significant, form of community building.

She says all this with such affection, that all I can think is how lucky those kids are—and how lucky Melissa is to work with them.   

President Malissa Ruffner opened the meeting by noting that this was the first in-person meeting in three years and then introduced guest speakers David Payne, Chief of Neighborhood Library Services (and former Interim Hamilton Branch Manager), and Gabby Miller, our current Branch Manager.

Gabby gave a comprehensive update of the branch’s programming, with a strong emphasis on the branch’s outreach to young library users.  The branch is a significant afterschool resource for students, particularly middle school and older elementary students, and there can be anywhere from twenty to fifty enthusiastic students coming to the library after school.  To accommodate their needs and those of other library users, Gabby and her team have focused on providing a safe, interesting, and responsive space.  Rules concerning food and drink have been established (no eating in the library at all, and only drinks with flat lids are allowed), and the kids have responded well to the new policy. The branch has also hired Miss Melissa, Tween librarian (the first in the EPFL system), to focus on programming and resources for nine to twelve-year-old students--the largest population of students using the library.  A new Young Adult librarian will join the staff in December, and Miss Carrie continues her excellent work with children under 8 years old, including story hours on Wednesday and Friday mornings.  Gabby and her team are planning a wide variety of programs, but are also making sure that resources are available for more spontaneous group projects.

In addition to these in-library programs and services, Gabby has developed connections with  area schools. She is in contact with the principals, and the schools have also been using the library as a resource for students.  At a member’s suggestion, Gabby will also reach out to local pre-schools—she is a huge believer in partnerships, and is eager to build connections in the community.

Gabby is also the Adult Librarian, and is working on programs for adult users, including karaoke, crafts, and a book club.  Book club meets on the third Thursday of the month; the January book is The Vanishing Half  by Britt Bennett.

In response to members’ questions about social workers and tutors in the library, Gabby and David affirmed the branch’s commitment to meeting community needs and helping users are able to access relevant services easily and effectively.  For example, David explained that currently there is one full-time Pratt staff member who coordinates the social worker interns (including a student who comes to Hamilton branch).  He wants to expand those services for the branches in the New Year.  He also wants to expand the lawyer in the library program, and he is currently in negotiation with UMD’s School of Nursing to have student nurses act as health counselors.  The branch has partnered with Morgan State University to provide homework help, but that encountered a few obstacles (transportation being one, but one of the MSU participants has become very involved with the library, and helps with afterschool programming.  David noted the possibility of partnering next year with Volunteer Maryland to coordinate volunteers and lead afterschool programs.

David provided a report on how the EPFL System and the branches are making the transition from Covid restrictions and raising their profiles.  In a way, Covid provided new opportunities for the library to reflect on how best to fulfill its mission of community service.  For example, all branches had to look at space and how it’s used, both inside and outside the building.  The renovation of the courtyard at Hamilton was an excellent example of developing new space outdoors, and the system as a whole will be focusing on how to use outdoor space to meet users’ needs. 

The pandemic also forced a closer examination of digital connections to patrons. As a result, the EPFL provided and enhanced its Wi-Fi services, and made them more accessible.  The system also made laptops more available and is in the process of providing hundreds more laptops and hotspots available to library users.  At the same time, use of library PCs has decreased, raising the question if so many are needed, and could the space they take up be put to better use (for example, providing space for laptop users and more outlets for charging phones and laptops). 
The system is also looking at other ways to meet community needs.  For example, in addition to talks with UMD about health counselors, David is also in discussions with the City about providing housing counselors.  The System is also committed to enhancing branches, which are all aging and in need of varying degrees of renovation. 

In response to members’ questions, David and Karen Brooks, Deputy Chief of Neighborhood Library Services, affirmed that there is software available through the EPFL website for learning English as a Second Language.  He also reported that the library is working closely with City schools to support and develop services for adult and childhood literacy. 

After thanking David and Gabby, and with a quorum of members of present, Malissa opened the business meeting. In her report, she outlined the Board’s goals to raise the Friends’ visibility, increase membership, and raise the branch’s profile.  To reach these goals, the Friends held book sales at the Lauraville Fair and the Tuesday Farmers Markets.  The Board also partnered with Snug Books to highlight Banned Books Week:  we offered a $5 voucher to Snug for a $15 membership, and Snug donated 5% of their sales that week to the Friends.  The largest amount of money spent was on the tree pits, which will help beautify the branch and make it more appealing.  Now that Covid restrictions are over, the Board wants to plan more events to complement library activities.  One member asked for information about volunteering; the Board agreed to communicate more directly about those needs. Finally, Malissa noted that the Board focused on drafting new Bylaws, and that Derek Simmonsen did a great job of leading this effort.

​Derek then went over the proposed Bylaws, noting that they are straightforward, transparent, and designed to give the Board the flexibility to fulfill the Friends’ mission.  In response to members’ questions and suggestions, Derek affirmed that there is sufficient flexibility in the Bylaws to allow the Board to create committees and name chairs, recruit a Youth member, and set January 1 as the date for renewal of dues, some of the suggestions brought forth.  There was agreement that it would be a good idea to have a Membership Committee and a Gardening Committee in addition to the Nominating Committee.

After discussion ended, a motion to accept the Bylaws was made, seconded, and passed unanimously by a show of hands.

The meeting was adjourned.
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Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Mason
Secretary, Friends of the Hamilton Branch Library