Library

Coventry Village Branch
1925 Coventry Road, 216-321-3400

Saturday, June 4, 2 p.m.

Coventry Village Author Series: An Afternoon in the Park with Dan Chaon. Acclaimed novelist Chaon will present his newest thriller, SleepWalk, a high-speed, darkly comic road trip through a near-future America with a big-hearted mercenary. The event, presented in partnership with Mac's Backs - Books on Coventry, will take place outdoors in Coventry PEACE Park, weather permitting. A book signing will be part of the event.

APRIL 18, 2022

• Public comments
• Summer reading programs
• Financial and investment report
• Board resolutions highlights
• President’s report
• Director’s report highlights
• Public service report highlights

Present were President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Dana Fluellen, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTigue, and Vikas Turakhia. Vice President Max Gerboc was absent.

In April, Heights Libraries launched the first episode of “Unpacking 1619,” a bi-weekly podcast that explores themes raised by The New York Times’ “The 1619 Project” (published in 2019).

The podcast emerged from the library’s monthly 1619 Project discussion group, in which community members meet to discuss issues of race in America, using articles from “The 1619 Project” as a jumping off point.

As the discussion group grew in popularity since it began in 2019, the program’s facilitator, Adult Services Librarian John Piche, saw an opportunity to bring more voices to the table.

Coventry Village Branch

1925 Coventry Road, 216-321-3400

Thursday, May 12, 7 p.m.

Cedar Coventry Author Series presents Scott Longert. Celebrating our wealth of outstanding local authors, this series is presented in partnership with Mac's Backs bookstore. Author Scott Longert will discuss and read from his newly published book, Victory on Two Fronts: The Cleveland Indians and Baseball through the World War II Era. A book signing will follow the discussion. Registration required.

Parents with children in public and private schools alike have spent the past two years worried about the same thing: What is COVID and all its restrictions doing to my child’s education? Parents, teachers and school personnel struggled with two seemingly oppositional, yet undeniable, realities: Most kids learn better in school, and schools need to keep kids and personnel safe from COVID by switching to online learning, masking and social distancing.

Despite heroic efforts by parents, teachers and schools, the isolation and chaos of COVID took a toll. According to a study by the Brookings Institution, published in March, reading test scores for children in grades 3–8 dropped significantly between fall 2019, before the pandemic, and fall 2021, one year into the pandemic. Additionally, reading test-score gaps between low- and high-poverty elementary schools widened during the pandemic.

MARCH 21, 2022

• Public comments
• Financial and investment report
• Board resolutions highlights
• Personnel report
• Director’s report highlights
• Public service report highlights

Present were President Gabe Crenshaw, Vice President Max Gerboc, Patti Carlyle, Dana Fluellen, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTigue, and Vikas Turakhia.

The Heights Knowledge and Innovation Center (HKIC) at Heights Libraries’ Lee Road branch is undergoing changes as the library prepares to launch a new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Lab.

The joint makerspace and flexible-learning center will replace rows of desktop computers that inhabited HKIC’s semi-enclosed computer lab, which has been closed to the public since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We wanted to take a space that wasn’t ideal for use as a traditional computer lab and make it more flexible,” said Heather Howiler, continuing education manager.

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

• Comments from the audience
• Financial and investment report
• Board resolutions highlights
• Director’s report highlights
• Public service report highlights

Present were President Gabe Crenshaw, Vice President Max Gerboc, Patti Carlyle, Dana Fluellen, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTigue, and Vikas Turakhia.

Coventry Village Branch

1925 Coventry Road, 216-321-3400

Wednesday, March 30, 6 p.m.

Backyard Composting 101. Do you want to compost, but are unsure where to start? Join Cuyahoga Recycles Educator Carin Miller for this beginner-friendly workshop that will cover the science and the basics of setting up and maintaining a compost bin. Composting equipment will be available for purchase at the workshop. To ensure that the items you want to purchase are available, we recommend completing a pre-order form. Pay for and pick up your equipment during the workshop' instructions and an order form will be sent to you when you register. Registration required.

Heights Libraries welcomes the newest member of its management team, Tiffani Carter. As the new Adult Services Department manager, Carter oversees the adult services staff of the four-branch Heights Libraries system. While her primary focus will be on the staff at the Lee Road branch, she will oversee the programs, services, and overall vision for the department at all library branches.

“I am looking forward to connecting with the adult services team and supporting their professional development,” said Carter, who joined the library in late November. “That’s the best way to provide great customer service to the Heights community—when we support our staff, and provide them with the resources they need to thrive, everybody benefits.”

JANUARY 18, 2022

• Board resolutions
• Director’s report
• Public service report highlights

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTeague, and Vikas Turakhia.

On Wednesday, Jan. 5, Heights Libraries, the Albert M. Higley Company, and Robert P. Madison International Inc., broke ground on a $1.7 million renovation project at Heights Libraries' Coventry branch. The renovation will cover interior renovations to the basement and the staff office, and installation of a new HVAC system in the nearly 100-year-old building.

Higley, a Cleveland-based construction company, was awarded the design build contract for the renovations by the library board last July. Since then, Higley has been working with Robert P. Madison International Inc., a minority-owned, Cleveland-based architecture firm, to design the building’s renovations. Higley has already completed some asbestos abatement, and replaced some plumbing to avoid flooding during heavy rains.

“These updates will expand the services we can provide in the Coventry neighborhood,” said Nancy Levin, Heights Libraries director. “Our basement will be turned into a large, multipurpose meeting room with AV technology and a new makerspace.”

During December and January, Heights Libraries had to return to curbside-only service due to staff shortages caused by rising COVID infections. Staff members from every department took shifts at each branch, delivering materials to waiting cars, even in freezing temperatures.

Heights Libraries has again received the highest possible rating in Library Journal’s (LJ) Index of Public Library Service. The five-star rating is given to the top U.S. libraries each year. LJ's Star Library report, released in December 2021, is based on 2019 statistics, so does not reflect the impact COVID-19 has had on public libraries since spring 2020.

Heights Libraries has earned the five-star designation in 11 out of the 14 years that LJ has published the rating (the library received a four-star rating in two of the years, and was not rated one year). LJ is a trade journal that reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and has a nationwide circulation of 100,000.

The Heights Libraries Matchmakers, a group of librarians who specialize in helping customers find materials, will mark its 10th anniversary in 2022, and is celebrating by launching Match Me Up, a new service for customers.

Match Me Up is an online form that elicits pertinent information from customers that can help staff find materials to their liking, and put them on the holds shelf at the library branch of the customer’s choosing.

Previously, customers could e-mail or talk to the Matchmakers, but the new form streamlines and simplifies the process.

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

• Financial and investment report
• Board resolutions
• Director’s report
• Public service report

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTeague, and Vikas Turakhia. Max Gerboc was absent.

Heights Libraries is pleased to announce the opening of its new Local History Room at the Lee Road branch.

Located on the building’s second floor, the room is the culmination of years of planning that began in 2016 with the library’s centennial celebration. That year, staff began pulling together photos and documents to create an online historical timeline for the Heights Libraries system.

“Once we had the library’s history documented, we decided to start looking at ways we could help community members learn more about the history of the area, and do their own research,” said Jessica Robinson, local history librarian. “First, we added local history resources to our website. Then we began figuring out where we could put a local history room.”

Coventry Village Branch

1925 Coventry Road, 216-321-3400

Dec. 1 through Dec. 15

Take and Make Chili in a Jar. Stop by the Coventry Village branch for a take-and-make soup kit containing the dry ingredients for a tasty chili. Just add water and tomatoes. Available until Dec. 15. Kids can make chili at home with adult supervision. Registration is required at www.heightslibrary.org. For ages 6 through 18.

OCTOBER 18, 2021

• Family Connections presentation
• Financial and investment report
• Director’s report
• Board resolutions
• Public service report

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Tyler McTeague and Vikas Turakhia. Max Gerboc and Annette Iwamoto were absent.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library is accepting applications for an open board position, with applications due Friday, Nov. 19, by 5 p.m. The new board member will replace Dana Fluellen, who is rolling off the board after serving her term.                                                                                                  

“Our library is such an integral part of our community,” said Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin. “Serving on the library board is one of the best ways a citizen can serve the Heights community, by helping guide the vision of the public library.”

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to attend an in-person informational meeting about library board service on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. To RSVP, send an e-mail to nlevin@heightslibrary.org.

Coventry Village Branch

1925 Coventry Road, 216-321-3400

Friday, Nov. 5, 2 p.m.

Kids Craft Day. Feeling cooped up because of COVID? Meet us outside of the Coventry Village Library, at the tent and table where we will have an array of children's craft supplies, including beads, friendship bracelet string, pipe cleaners, and more. For kids ages 5 to 18.

When COVID-19 hit Ohio in March 2020, Heights Libraries shut down and canceled most of its programs. With the help of the now ubiquitous video platform Zoom, the library was able to hold some programs online: storytimes, book discussions, and knitting groups all made the switch. None were more successful than the 1619 Project discussion series.

Over the course of 2020, a total of 337 people attended ten 1619 Project-inspired discussions via Zoom, and so far in 2021, 155 have attended eight online programs.

“The 1619 Project” itself, the original New York Times publication, is almost two years old. Librarian John Piche, who runs the Heights Libraries’ 1619 Project discussion series, has used it as a foundation to continue holding popular programs that address the issue of racial equity. Piche and other staff now do their own research and create reading packets that serve as discussion starters and reference texts for the ongoing program series.

On Wednesday, Sept. 8, Heights Libraries held an open house at its Noble Neighborhood Branch to present rough renovation ideas for the 84-year-old location. A crowd of approximately 30 residents watched a presentation by Rick Ortmeyer from Bostick Design Partnership, the firm hired by the library to create preliminary designs and conduct public meetings to gather feedback on those ideas. 

“Rick’s firm has lots of experience designing libraries, and a great track record on effectively gathering and using public feedback in building designs," said Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin. "So we knew they’d do a great job with these first, broad steps.” 

Ortmeyer’s presentation included several options for increasing space for library users of all ages by building an expansion where the Noble Road Presbyterian Church building and surrounding 1.3 acres of property currently stand.

Heights Libraries University Heights branch is encouraging kids to share their creativity—with the library and with one another—by way of a new traveling sketchbook collection.

Throughout the months of October and November, young people can come in and draw in a sketchbook at one of the library's tables, or sign out a sketchbook and take it home to draw in, and then return.

At the end of the project, the library hopes it will have a collection of local young artists’ work that it can share with the community.

Coventry Village Branch

1925 Coventry Road, 216-321-3400

Thursdays, Oct. 7, 14 and 21, 4 p.m.

Chemistry of Clean. Why do ordinary household products have extraordinary cleaning powers? It's all about the chemistry! Learn how to make safe and environmentally friendly bath bombs and cleaning products with cleaning expert Brandi Smith. Help make the environment safe by using basic home materials and the power of STEAM. For ages 12 to 18; younger children allowed, with supervision.

Coventry Village Branch

1925 Coventry Road, 216-321-3400

Saturday, Sept. 18, noon through the evening.

Pekar Park Comic Book Fest. This free festival honors Harvey Pekar, the late graphic novelist and Cleveland Heights resident, and offers an array of activities for children and adults. The festival will spotlight local, independent comic book and graphic novel writers, illustrators, artists, and comic book retailers. Activities, including vendor tables, a panel discussion, and crafts for kids, will run from noon to 5 p.m. at the Coventry Branch Library, Pekar Park, Coventry businesses, and Coventry PEACE Park. A family-friendly movie will be shown at 8 p.m. in the PEACE Park.

Heights Libraries is partnering with the nonprofit PCs for People to distribute free or low-cost computers, laptops and hot spots to qualifying customers.

PCs for People is a national 501(c)3 organization that recycles business electronics and provides refurbished tech to low-income households at a reduced cost or at no cost, helping them access technology previously out of their reach.

In August, the HKIC computer lab at the Lee Road Branch became a pick-up location for PCs for People’s clients. This means people who live in the Heights and other nearby communities, who qualify for the program, can select the HKIC/Lee Road Branch as a location to pick up their equipment. Previously, clients had to travel outside the Heights to libraries in other Cuyahoga County cities, such as Cleveland or Parma.

AUGUST 2, 2021

• Board resolutions
• Noble renovations, PEACE Park

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto and Vikas Turakhia. Tyler McTeague was absent.

JULY 19, 2021

• Board resolutions
• Personnel report
• Director’s report
• Public service report

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, and Tyler McTeague. Vikas Turakhia was absent.

Erika Hogan is a big nature fan. “I grew up loving outdoor spaces and gardening with my family,” said Hogan, Heights Libraries new youth services associate.

When she first started work at the library, Hogan noticed that the Lee Road branch’s small children’s garden had potential.

“I could tell that it was a special space—there was already an emphasis on pollinator-friendly, native plants, and fruiting shrubs and trees," she said. "I recognized all the elements were there to allow us to be a certified habitat through the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), and also to register it with the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge of the National Pollinator Garden Network.”

Coventry Village Branch

1925 Coventry Road, 216-321-3400

Monday, Aug. 9, 4 p.m.

Journey North: Exploring the Life Cycle of Monarch Butterflies and the Role of Citizen Science. Via Zoom, outreach staff from the University of Wisconsin Arboretum will discuss the life cycle and migration of monarch butterflies, as well as the importance of citizen science projects, such as "Journey North," in tracking wildlife migration patterns. Hosted by Heights Libraries Zoom: Zoom Meeting ID: 898 9374 0269.

JUNE 21, 2021

• May financial and investment report
• Board resolutions
• Personnel report
• Director’s report
• Public service report

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTeague, and Vikas Turakhia. Patti Carlyle was absent.

Heights Libraries is taking steps to ensure that the Heights Libraries PEACE Park remains an accessible, fun and useful public resource for the community.

The library has contracted with landscape architects Andrew Sargeant and Jim McKnight, at $9,000 each, to prepare sketches and develop an overall plan for the property, including cost estimates. They will also coordinate and gather public input about the park through three separate public events.

“Our PEACE Park is popular, and well loved, so we’re hoping we get plenty of input from our community so we can improve it, and make it an even better public asset for all,” said Nancy Levin, Heights Libraries director. 

Sara Phillips, manager of the University Heights branch of Heights Libraries, was having a routine day when an oddly shaped package arrived.

“I got a package in the mail from San Francisco that was record-shaped and—lo and behold!—it contained a record from our collection that was due back in June 1973!” said Phillips.

In 1973, when he was in eighth grade at Wiley Middle School, Howard Simon checked out Self Portrait by Bob Dylan. He recently found the record mixed in with his personal collection, sandwiched between two other Bob Dylan albums, Nashville Skyline and New Morning.

Simon included a letter with the overdue vinyl, and Phillips shared it with the library’s communications department.

MAY 17, 2021

• Financial and investment report
• Board resolutions
• Director’s report
• Public service report

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle (who left the meeting midway), Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTeague, and Vikas Turakhia.

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia that result in memory loss impact many in our community. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 6 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s, and more than 11 million provide unpaid care for people with dementia.

In June, all Heights Libraries branches will begin circulating memory kits to support community members living with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and their caregivers.

Library staff developed the kits after attending a Dementia Friends training in fall 2020, hosted by the Benjamin Rose Institute, which described ways people and spaces can be made more welcoming to those with dementia.

Coventry Village Library

1925 Coventry Road, 216-321-3400

Monday, June 21, 7 p.m.

Matchmakers Midsummer Outdoor Book Talk. Looking for a great summer read? Join Matchmakers on the library's front lawn, where participants will share book suggestions. Bring your own chair or blanket, and look for the sign. This program follows CDC safety guidelines, and will be held weather permitting.

APRIL 19, 2021

• Finances
• Board resolutions
• Director’s report
• Public service report

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTeague, and Vikas Turakhia.

Heights Libraries began an Android tablet-loaning pilot project in April at its Lee Road branch. If the program proves popular, it will be expanded to the library system’s Coventry, Noble, and University Heights branches.

The new lending program is a free service that allows cardholders to check out an Android tablet device for up to seven days.

It is one of the ways that Heights Libraries is trying to bridge the “digital divide,” the gap between necessary technology and those who have trouble accessing it.

Heights Libraries is providing free, at-home, COVID-19 rapid testing kits to any adult in the community who needs one.

The kits, the Abbott BinaxNOW Rapid COVID-19 Antigen At-Home Test, were provided by the Ohio Department of Health. Gov. Mike DeWine’s goal is to make these rapid-testing kits available and accessible in every Ohio county, and Ohio’s public libraries, including Heights Libraries, will play a critical role.

According to the Ohio Library Council, “Testing alone is not going to end the pandemic, but public libraries can help make the kits easily accessible to their communities, and fight COVID-19.”

MARCH 15, 2021

• Financial and investment report
• Contract amendments
• Technology expenditure
• Service updates
• COVID test kits
• Public service report
• Purchase Approval

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTeague, and Vikas Turakhia.

The Heights Libraries Board of Trustees has approved the library’s purchase of the Noble Road Presbyterian Church building and surrounding 1.3 acres of property, at 2780 Kirkwood Road in Cleveland Heights. The church is located next to the Noble Neighborhood branch of Heights Libraries.

The library board voted on the purchase on March 15, at its regular meeting, and the Noble Road Presbyterian Church board approved the sale at its own board meeting on March 22.

The $315,000 property purchase will enable Heights Libraries to expand the Noble branch building, to broaden the services it offers to the surrounding community. Heights Libraries has already budgeted funds for the work, and will not need to assess any extra taxes or bonds to renovate the branch.

After putting its book bike program on hold in 2020 due to COVID-19, Heights Libraries is ready to bring the bike out of quarantine and hit the road this spring and summer, offering outdoor library events in Cleveland Heights and University Heights.

A gift from the FRIENDS of Heights Libraries, the book bike is a sturdy touring-style bike that pulls a custom-made trailer that can hold and display roughly 200 books for customers to take. These free books are also provided by the FRIENDS, who comb through their book donations to find books that will appeal to children and teens.

“It’s a small library on wheels,” said Isabelle Rew, community engagement associate, who manages the bike and is its primary rider. “The only difference is that customers don’t have to return these books—they get to keep them, which is especially important for our kids.”

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

• Security services 
• Recognition of retirement
• Financial and investment report
• Permanent appropriation
• Director and fiscal officer salaries 
• Building operation hours
• Coventry Peace, Inc. board of directors
• Consulting services
• Touchless doors
• Public services annual report

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, and Vikas Turakhia. Tyler McTeague was absent.

Heights Libraries has launched a new Facebook and Instagram series, #DogsOfCurbside. The first post featured a dog named Rocky, posing earnestly for the camera from the backseat window of a car. The caption reads, “Rocky loves running and going for car rides, especially when they lead to the library for curbside pickup!”

The brains behind the new series is circulation Assistant Jessica Adler, who noticed that many people picking up curbside holds brought their dogs along for the ride.

“My idea came from the selfish desire to pet more dogs every day,” Adler explained. “Shandra [Jackson, Ccrculation assistant] and I have a friendly competition with each other to see who can pet more dogs, and I wanted to win.”

After 15 years at the helm of Heights Libraries’ Coventry Village Branch, Patricia Gray will retire on March 1. 

As branch manager, Gray was known for her compassion, perceptiveness and creativity. She nurtured the library’s staff, programs and collections, and helped it grow into a neighborhood gathering place that reflects the eclectic needs and interests of the community it serves.

“Pat became synonymous with the Coventry branch and its warm, intelligent programs and services,” said Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin. “Her retirement is bittersweet for all of us—we are thrilled for her to be taking this next step in her journey, but we will miss her so much.”

Gray’s many accomplishments as manager included her development of a local author collection and related author programs, oversight of a remodel that included a new children’s early-literacy play area, nurturing the growth of services for the deaf and hard of hearing, and the establishment of the branch as a place to explore wellness through programs such as meditation and tai chi.

JANUARY 19, 2021

• Board changes
• 2021 planning calendar
• Public service hours 
• Noble branch survey
• Circulation Report

Present were President Dana Fluellen, Vice President Gabe Crenshaw, Patti Carlyle, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, Tyler McTeague, and Vikas Turakhia.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library System is pleased to announce the appointment of its newest board member, Tyler McTigue. His term began in January 2021.

McTigue, the director of enterprise solutions sales for Acuity Brands, has lived in Cleveland Heights for nine years, and will serve a seven-year term on the library board. He replaces James K. Roosa, outgoing board president, whose 10 years of service ended in December 2020.

"To say I am humbled to serve the Cleveland Heights-University Heights library system as a library trustee is an understatement,” said McTigue. “I am incredibly proud of the Heights and hope to help Heights Libraries continue to open doors for the people of our great city to diverse opportunities and ideas.”

DECEMBER 7, 2020

• Recognition of board member
• 2020 amended permanent appropriation
• Tax advances
• Furniture purchase
• Property, liability and cyber insurance 
• Personnel policies
• Vision and life insurance
• Five-star library
• Curbside service resumes

Present were President James Roosa, Vice President Dana Fluellen, Patti Carlyle, Gabe Crenshaw, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, and Vikas Turakhia.

Heights Libraries has once again received the highest possible rating—five stars—in Library Journal’s Index of Public Library Service.

The just-released Star Library report is based on 2018 statistics, so does not reflect the impact COVID-19 has had on public libraries since spring 2020.

Heights Libraries has earned the five-star designation in 10 out of the 13 years that Library Journal has published the ratings; it received a four-star rating the other two years.

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

• 2021 permanent appropriation
• Materials evaluation and selection policy
• 2021 wage increase
• Co-learning spaces 
• Meeting rooms
• Mobile pantry
• Executive session

Present were President James Roosa, Vice President Dana Fluellen, Patti Carlyle, Gabe Crenshaw, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto and Vikas Turakhia.

After months on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Heights Libraries’ computer classes will return in January in an online format.

The library’s technology trainers will teach a variety of Microsoft Office classes using Screenleap, a screensharing platform currently in use at the Cuyahoga County Public Library and the New York Public Library.

The library had to suspend in-person computer classes in March when the library shut down.

Before Heights Libraries shut down its branches in March, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, local teens could spend time at the library during after-school hours and on weekends, socializing with friends, doing homework, playing games, or relaxing with a book or comic. 

While the buildings opened again for browsing and some limited services, library administrators closed all branches to the public on Nov. 19 in response to the Cuyahoga County Board of Health's stay-at-home advisory. Youth Services staff have found another tool for reaching teens—the online chat program Discord, which is similar to Zoom. 

Tuesday, Dec. 1 through Sunday, Jan. 10, all day on Beanstack

Read Woke! Challenge. Read Woke means arming yourself with the knowledge to better protect your rights. Learning about others, so you treat people with respect and dignity, no matter their religion, race, creed, or color. Join Heights Libraries' winter Read Woke challenge on Beanstack, and earn prizes by reading books by diverse voices. For those in grades 6–12.

Friday, Dec. 4, 10:30 a.m., on Zoom

Sing and Swing Music Together. Music Together is the perfect way to get young children to imagine, improvise and express themselves through music and movement. A Sing and Swing instructor will lead babies, toddlers, preschoolers, and the adults that love them through songs, dances, rhythms and rhymes, virtually with Zoom. After you register, you will receive an e-mail with the Zoom meeting room and password. (Please do not share the room information with others.) We will not be recording the programs, and you may turn your video off if you prefer. Registration begins Friday, Nov. 20.

In response to the community’s need for study and tutoring spaces for students in grades K–12, Heights Libraries has created four co-learning spaces in the teen room of the Lee Road Branch.

Each space is surrounded by acrylic glass barriers and can accommodate one student and either a parent, sibling, tutor or another student, who can work together on schoolwork in a safe, socially distanced space. Two of the four spaces have computers with internet access. 

Co-learning space reservations last 45 minutes, must be reserved in advance and are limited to one per day, per customer.

OCTOBER 19, 2020

• Financial report
• Job vacancies
• Covid response
• Dementia friendly library training 
• Black Excellence mural
• Activity packs
• PEACE Campus Inc. lease

Present were President James Roosa, Vice President Dana Fluellen, Patti Carlyle, Gabe Crenshaw, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, and Vikas Turakhia.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library is seeking a new board member. Applications, which are due on Tuesday, Nov. 10, by 5 p.m., can be requested by sending an e-mail to switchboard@heightslibrary.org.

Completed applications can be returned to the same e-mail address, or, applicants can drop them in a designated box outside of the Lee Road branch’s administrative office.

On Sept. 26, artists Jimmy Hayden and Wayne Pollard, and a Heights Libraries board member, Gabe Crenshaw, transformed the parking lot by Heights Libraries Coventry branch and Coventry PEACE Park with a mural celebrating the achievements of Black Northeast Ohioans, both past and present.

Embedded in the words “Black Excellence” are images of authors Langston Hughes and Toni Morrison; Oscar-winning actor Halle Berry; athletes LeBron James, Jesse Owens, and Rich Paul; scientist Garrett Morgan; and elected officials Carl Stokes, Louis Stokes, and Stephanie Tubbs-Jones. The mural also gives a nod to the community with the inclusion of the words “Tiger Nation,” and the logos of the city of Cleveland Heights and of the community group Safer Heights.

Crenshaw said the mural’s creation was inspired by recent events. “The most recent killings of Black people, both by law enforcement and civilians who deemed it their duty to police Black people, is what inspired me to take on this project,” she said.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2020

• Public comments
  
• Financial report
• Change in public service hours November 3
• 2020 payroll
• CARES act
• Lee Road carpet
• Washington Blvd. appropriations
• Service & administration policy
• Restoration of staff pay and hours
• COVID-19 code of conduct

Present were President James Roosa, Vice President Dana Fluellen, Patti Carlyle, Gabe Crenshaw, Max Gerboc, Annette Iwamoto, and Vikas Turakhia.

In an effort to support Heights families whose children are learning remotely, Heights Libraries is offering tools to make online learning easier: the online tutoring service Tutor.com, and additional WiFi hotspots to help families who don’t have home Internet service.

Tutor.com is available for free through the library’s website, www.heightslibrary.org, and offers both one-on-one virtual tutoring services and independent, self-directed learning tools, such as webinars, study guides, essay feedback and practice quizzes.

“Since the pandemic has limited our ability to hold in-person programs, like our popular Homework Help series, we knew that we needed to find another way to help students, especially those who may be struggling with remote schooling,” said Interim Youth Services Manager Sarah Rosenberger. “Tutor.com gives kids access to live tutors in most school subject areas, as well as writing help and webinars on all kinds of topics.”