News and Press

May 27, 2021

Ilsley Public Library Rolls Out New Website and Catalog

On June 1st Ilsley Public Library is going live with a redesigned website and catalog. The new website, designed by Terrier Tenacity LLC with extensive input from library staff, is significantly more user friendly than the previous website. It features improved navigation and search functions and was specifically designed to be tablet and mobile friendly. This means that users can find what they’re looking for quickly and easily, no matter what device they use to access the library’s website.

“We learned a lot during the pandemic, and one of the most important lessons was how much community members rely on the library’s website to access our resources and services,” says library director Dana Hart. “Our new website integrates feedback from the community about what they look for when they visit our site. We encourage continued feedback as community member use the new website, so we can keep making improvements.”

One of the biggest improvements is to the catalog. Before, patrons had to search for physical and digital materials in separate systems. Now, patrons can search all library resources in one place. Books in the physical collection, digital ebooks and audiobooks, and even streaming films from Kanopy are all integrated into the catalog. This tremendous improvement in functionality will save community members time and connect people with the resources they’re looking for quickly and easily. The new catalog offers improved digital browsing, too, for patrons who don’t know what to read next.

“One of the things patrons like most about the library is the opportunity to browse our collections, to see recommended reading lists, and discover new books that have been added recently,” says Adult Services and Technology Librarian Chris Kirby. “Our new catalog allows us to do this digitally, highlighting new materials and featured collections on the catalog homepage. Patrons also have tools to create lists of their own, keep track of books they want to read, and to share their recommendations with friends.”

The new site and catalog are intuitive and easy to use, so the transition should be a smooth one. Patrons needing assistance navigating the new site or catalog should reach out to library staff for assistance.

“Providing stellar customer service is a priority at Ilsley, and the new website and catalog are a big step towards fulfilling that goal,” notes Hart. “We look forward to sharing the new site on June 1st.”

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November 19, 2020

Addison Independent

Letter to the editor: So thankful for Ilsley Library

I would like to express my deep and continuous gratitude for the people and institution of the Ilsley Public Library. In pre-pandemic days, the library was a haven and frequent stop for my daughter and me. We came for books, of course, but also for the crafts, the activities, story times, and events, and it was almost a guarantee that we would run into friends whenever we tramped down the stairs. Read the letter.

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October 8, 2020

Addison Independent

Ilsley makes preparations to go fine free

MIDDLEBURY–Middlebury’s Ilsley Public Library will soon join its Addison County counterparts in going fine free, in part to remove a potential financial barrier that might exist for some local residents in getting their hands on literacy materials. Read the article.

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August 20, 2020

Addison Independent

Rogers closes book on career at Sarah Partridge Library

EAST MIDDLEBURY–Mona Rogers had an impressive resume to show off when she interviewed to lead the Sarah Partridge Library in East Middlebury back in 2003.

Educator. Business owner. World traveler. And, back in her teen years, experience as an assistant at the library in Massapequa, N.Y., where she grew up. Read the article.

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July 8, 2019

Addison Independent

Reading is a fun ride for Ilsley’s Tricia Allen

MIDDLEBURY — Children’s librarians wear many hats. They are storytellers, teachers, mentors, performers, listeners, event planners. Ilsley Public Library’s Tricia Allen wears many literal hats, too. Every Thursday through the summer she dresses up in a homemade costume — sparkly house fly, rainbow unicorn — loads great piles of books into a trailer and lugs them across town on her bike. Read the article.

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June 14, 2019

Addison Independent

Ilsley Library takes its services on the road

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MIDDLEBURY — Realizing some folks can’t pay regular visits to Middlebury’s Ilsley Public Library, officials there are working on ways to bring the institution’s books, videos and other services to the masses.

Efforts to create a more mobile Ilsley Library began this past Wednesday, June 19, at the Middlebury Farmers Market at the VFW Post 7823 at 530 Exchange Street. There, Ilsley Library Director Dana Hart staffed a booth offering dozens of books and library cards to market shoppers. Read the article.

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June 13, 2019

WCAX3

How one Vermont library is tackling the opioid crisis

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (WCAX) A Vermont library is taking a new step to protect its patrons by stocking the drug Narcan. The Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury teamed up with Turning Point to teach library employees how and when to use the opiate-reversal drug. Read the article and watch the segment.

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May 26, 2019

Addison Independent

Ilsley Library now carries Narcan to fight drug overdoses

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Photo courtesy of Dana Hart

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury’s Ilsley Public Library shelves a variety of books about opioid addiction and the recovery process for those held in its insidious grasp.

Now the library has a more immediate lifesaving tool on hand for patrons who suffer an overdose during visits. Read the article.

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March 7, 2019

The Middlebury Campus

Focus Groups To Shape Future of Ilsley Public Library

Over the past five months Dana Hart, the new director of the Ilsley Public Library, met with 14 focus groups on a “Tell Me!” tour to explore various ways Ilsley can better meet the needs of the Middlebury community. She introduced some of her findings at an event at the library on Wednesday. Read the article.

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February 21, 2019

Addison Independent

Residents to shape future of Ilsley Library

MIDDLEBURY —Ilsley Public Library officials recently spent five months asking Middlebury residents what kind of services they expect from their local library. Read the article.

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January 24, 2019

Addison Independent

Check out some snowshoes at the public library

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Independent photo/John Flowers

MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury’s Ilsley Public Library still boasts an abundance of suspenseful books that can boost the reader’s heart rate while on the imaginary hunt for treasure or a clue in a well-spun mystery.

Now the Ilsley — and indeed an increasing number of other Addison County libraries — are offering other amenities aimed at getting people’s pulses to jump through a variety of physical activities, ranging from tennis to strumming a ukulele. Read the article. 

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August 9, 2018

Addison Independent

National Book Award finalist Patrick Phillips to speak at Ilsley

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Photo/Marion Ettlinger

MIDDLEBURY — National Book Award Finalist Patrick Phillips will discuss his recent nonfiction book “Blood at the Root; A Racial Cleansing in America” on Aug. 20, at 2 p.m., at Ilsley Public Library. The book explores the fraught racial history of his homeplace of Forsyth County, Ga. Read the article.

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June 21, 2018

Addison County Independent

‘Tell Me Tour’ seeks ideas for Ilsley

MIDDLEBURY — Have some thoughts you’d like to share about the present and future of Middlebury’s Ilsley Public Library? Library staff and trustees want to hear from you.

Library Director Dana Hart has announced a “Tell Me Tour,” during which she and Ilsley trustees will conduct feedback sessions with small focus groups to get a sense of residents’ priorities for the Ilsley and Sarah Partridge libraries. Read the article.

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June 11, 2018

Addison County Independent

Check out backpack of tennis equipment

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Independent photos/Rachel Cohen

Before school is out this week, families will be able to check out a backpack full of tennis essentials from the Ilsley Public Library in Middlebury for some summer fun. The backpack (only one will be available at the onset of the program) contains two adult tennis rackets, three youth rackets, a variety of tennis balls for different ages and skill levels, a few books about tennis stars, and a resource guide informing parents of fun tennis games to play with their kids. Read the article.