The Canton History project is intended to foster connections per our 2009 Strategic Plan. It launched in October 2010 with an initial batch of over 900 items.

Strategic Plan

Objective (#3): The Canton Public Library will service the community by being a conduit for connections between residents and local groups, through the awareness of needs and opportunities.

Create a digital archive to connect the community

• Pursue partnerships within the community to establish the library as the digital repository for local historical and community information
• Develop plan for grant initiative to fund digital archive
• Review existing infrastructure
• Develop implementation plan
• Implement and evaluate plan

The Plan

We are presently digitizing Canton Public Library's history, using the experience of doing so to improve our workflow and interface. Soon we will pursue more community partnerships and digitize materials from outside the library.

If you have artifacts of possible historical significance to Canton communities, please contact Brad Czerniak, our Digital Resources Developer.

If you would like to assist with the Canton History project, learn more about volunteering at CPL, then contact Kathie Gladden, Volunteer Coordinator.

Standards

Images and Documents should be scanned at 600dpi whenever practical

• Images larger than 5"7" but smaller than the scanner's full tray may be scanned at 300dpi for speed and storage purposes
• Slides and other small-format images should be scanned at a minimum resolution of 2400dpi
• Images larger than the scanner tray may be scanned in multiple passes if the risk of damage to the original is negligible, but should also be photographed for contextual purposes
• Documents should generally be done at 600dpi to allow for Optical Character Recognition. Documents with type no smaller than 24-point may be scanned at 300dpi for speed and storage purposes
• Audio should be recorded at the highest practical bit rate given recording circumstances
• Video should be recorded at the highest practical resolution and bit rate given recording circumstances
• Objects should be photographed or otherwise recorded individually without added context in well-considered lighting at high resolution, per the camera's capabilities

All fixed visual artifacts (images, documents) should be saved as uncorrected full-quality TIFF files, unless such output is unavailable on the scanner or camera.
Audio should be saved in the native lossless format of the recording device
Video should be saved in the native lossless format of the recording device

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the Canton Historical Society and Plymouth-Canton Community Schools for support in this continuing relationship.

Additionally, this project would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the 2010 CPL Summer Interns, Jared and Hilary.

Your tax-deductible contributions help support library collections, programs, and services.

Materials

Donated materials may be placed in the brown wooden structure behind the building. If your donation can be added to the library's collection, it will be. If not, your donation goes to Secondhand Prose used bookstore for fundraising purposes.

We're looking for

• Books
• DVDs
• CDs

We're not looking for magazines, textbooks published before 2000, encyclopedias older than eight years, dirty or otherwise damaged items, record albums, computer hardware, or CD-ROMs.

Library Value Calculator

In the 'usage' column, click the checkboxes if you've borrowed books or movies, and put the number of times you've used the other resources in the last year. The total will automatically update when you click out of a field (or into the next field).

Market Value of Library Services

Usage	Library Services	Value of Services
	Borrowed Books Borrowing a library book is not the same value as buying a new book. As such, we base the savings on the approximate annual cost of services like Booksfree and BookSwim, which work like Netflix but for books.	$
	Borrowed Movies Netflix (rounded to $9/month) is the closest 'competitor' to our DVD lending service. We don't stream movies like Netflix presently, but we do let you check out as many DVDs as you can carry.	$
	Computer Classes Attended Our calculation of $30 per class is approximated on the average 1.5 hour cost for one-time computer [personal enrichment] classes at local Universities and Community Colleges.	$
	Magazines & Newspapers Read Given the ephemeral nature of Magazines and Newspapers, it is fair to approximate reading and/or borrowing periodicals as the same as newsstand price, or $2 each.	$
	Music CDs Borrowed The $7 approximation is based on the purchase price of an album on iTunes, and the per-album queue price for the Yourmusic service.	$
	Enrichment Program(s) Attended Storytimes and programs for children and adults. $10 per program is based on similar offerings by Canton Area Moms 4 Community, Canton Township Leisure Services at the Summit, and the Library of Michigan.	$
	Tutoring Hour(s) Attended NHS Tutoring Value based on estimated per-hour cost of Sylvan Homework Support.	$
	Reference Question(s) Asked It's tough to estimate a fixed value for Reference. A question of fact, like those asked through kgb, costs $1 on the open market. An hour of professional research through many libraries (including New York Public Library) routinely costs $60 or more.	$
	Hour(s) of Computer Use If you don't have access to a computer, the most viable option beside the library is Kinko's (Fedex Office). They charge $12 per hour of computer use.	$
	Hour(s) of Study Room Use Renting a room at the Summit on the Park or at Canton Township historical sites costs approximately $50 per hour.	$
	Databases Accessed Like reference questions, accessing databases has a varying and subjective value. The $20 estimate is approximate, based on short-period personal access costs to various databases.	$
	Museum Adventure or Park & Read Passes Borrowed The $9 estimate is an average of ticket prices to local museums such as the DIA, Henry Ford Museum, Michigan State Parks, etc.	$
Total:		$

Download the kit to use this calculator on your library site.

Our Budget

If you own a home or business in Canton, your property taxes contribute to the library's budget. To keep the library open, we're allotted a maximum of 1.5437 per mil, which is less than 5% of property tax revenue.

The average household will pay $177 to the library in 2011.

So is the library worth it? Darn tootin'. Here's why:

Your Dollar Goes 4x Further

In a 2007 report by the Americans for Libraries Council, multiple library valuations showed the benefit to users is between $2 and $7 for every $1 spent, with a hard median of 4:1 ROI. While circumstances vary, it was found unanimously that libraries provide benefits via economies of scale that the private sector is worse at providing.

Libraries Increase a Community's Value

A report from the State of Florida showed the indirect benefits of libraries. Their analysis (based on circumstances assuming libraries were to cease to exist) showed that $1 invested in Public Libraries resulted in:

• A $10.57 increase in Gross Regional Product
• An overall wage increase of $22.97

You derive value from other people using libraries. When a child uses library materials to learn to read, then goes on to become a productive member of the Canton community; or an aspiring businessperson uses library resources to draft a plan that stimulates the local economy — those activities increase the value of the region. Also, the very presence of a library in a community likely raises property values the same way schools do.

Friends of the Library

Our Friends participate in fundraising and assisting with the special library events they sponsor (Patron Celebration Day, book and author luncheons, etc.)

Book Crew Group

Book Crew Volunteers work two-hour shifts in the Secondhand Prose Used Bookshop, located next to the Internet Lab, by the magazines.

Service Volunteers

Our Service Volunteers are a very special group of people who donate their time to help us keep the library running smoothly and efficiently. Their volunteer assignments may range from cutting scrap paper, dusting library shelves or watering plants to shelving, processing library materials or withdrawing items from the database. Library Service Volunteers must be at least (14) years old.

The Future

To ensure the library's long-term financial stability, an endowment fund has been established with a goal of $1,000,000. A gift to this fund creates a legacy that will benefit Canton residents for years to come. With your help, we will continue to:

• Inspire a love of learning in our youngest patrons through our children's, tween and teen programs
• Build collections into the most diverse and comprehensive in the region
• Invest in technology to provide the latest research, communication, and computing tools
• Enhance our facilities to offer a welcoming atmosphere for leisure, learning, and community building
• Provide excellent customer service with a staff that is knowledgeable, flexible and responsive to patron needs

How to Give

• Pick up a copy of our Connections to the Future brochure and a remittance envelope at the library.

Canton's first public library was established in 1979, when residents voted to support a public library. On October 20, 1980, the doors opened on the third floor of the township hall in 12,000 square feet of space. During the next eight years, the library became one of the busiest libraries in southeast Michigan. It soon outgrew its crowded quarters. In 1986, voters supported a second mill to construct and operate a new, 31,000 square foot facility on 7.5 acres just south of the township hall. It opened in 1988.

Canton Public Library welcomes inquiries from the media about the library or library issues.
Contact: Laurie Golden
Marketing and Communications Manager

Hours

The regular hours of the Canton Public Library:

• Monday-Thursday: 9:00AM - 9:00PM
• Friday-Saturday: 9:00AM - 6:00PM
• Sunday: Noon - 6:00PM

Map/Location

The Canton Public Library is located just south of the township administration building. If you need more specific directions, call 734-397-0999.

View Larger Map

Floorplan

Learn about the color-coded zone map in the CPL Patron Code of Conduct

Closings

The library is closed on the following holidays and related dates:

2012 Library Closures

Date	Reason for Closing
Sunday, January 1	New Year's Day
Monday, January 2	New Year's Day Observed
Sunday, April 8	Easter Sunday
Sunday, May 27	Memorial Day Sunday
Monday, May 28	Memorial Day
Saturday, June 16	Liberty Fest
Wednesday, July 4	Independence Day
Sunday, September 2	Labor Day Sunday
Monday, September 3	Labor Day
Thursday, November 22	Thanksgiving Day
Friday, November 23	Thanksgiving Friday
Sunday, December 23	Christmas Sunday
Monday, December 24	Christmas Eve Day
Tuesday, December 25	Chirstmas Day
Sunday, December 30	New Year's Sunday
Monday, December 31	New Year's Eve Day
Tuesday, January 1, 2013	New Year's Day

The policies linked below have been approved [] by the Canton Public Library's Board of Trustees. They are intended to support CPL's mission of connecting your community.

The Canton Public Library is governed by a six-member Library Board of Trustees, made up of community members who are elected every four years on a nonpartisan ballot. The Board generally meets at 7:30PM on the third Thursday of each month. The public is invited to attend.

Library Director

Eva Davis grew up in Canton and is a proud graduate of Canton High School. With a background in customer service, research, and publishing, she became a librarian in 1998, and has held her dream job here since 2008. Having experienced Canton both without a library (pre-1980) and with a library (1980-present), she thinks that the community is definitely better off now, and is committed to continuing CPL's award-winning excellence.