Reference Room and Library Rearranging

Well folks, things progressed faster than I expected.  Thanks to a *major* volunteer effort from Brian Bray and tons of sweat from myself (and somewhat less sweat from Sharon, who was busy with storytime for the first part of the day), we've got the reference section moved into the new reference room.

Now, we haven't finished moving stuff (including the bookkeeper's desk and computer) *out* of the reference room, so any patrons going into the reference room will have to be accompanied by a staff member for now.  I'm hopeful we'll get the bookkeeper installed in the library's back room early next week, and the reference room will be open after that.

Photos:

The start of the library's ANF section.

The left side of the U is gone (moved into the reference room), which has really opened things up.

One wall of the reference room, which has the vertical files and the start of the reference collection.

The reference section continues along the second wall, and ends in a shelf on the right side of the door (not shown)

Of Revelations and Reference Rooms...

Over the next few weeks, you'll notice some changes to the reference section.  Tomorrow we'll be removing one of the shelves in that area, and another will hopefully follow in the next week or so.  They'll be going into what will become the library's reference room.

A few weeks after I became interim head librarian, I installed myself (and a computer to work on) in the library's back room which was the library's office many years ago.  The library staff have since worked to clean up and rearrange the back room so that the library's bookkeeper can take up residence there again as well.  These changes will free up the library's office to become a reference room.

In the short term, the reference room will house the library's reference collection and a few small tables and chairs for patron use.  In the long term, I hope to move the archives into the reference room as well which will free up more space in the library's main area.

The creation of a reference room should have a few major benefits to the library as a whole:

1)  It'll give us more shelf space for our adult non-fiction collection

• We're using emptied shelves from the library's back room as part of the shelving in the reference room, which should leave us with one large shelf to expand ANF into.

2)  It'll open up the library somewhat

• The left side of the reference U will be gone, which should make the front of the library feel more open.
• If we are able to move the archives into the reference room as well, rotating the first set of shelves in the paperback section will give us a small open reading area and light from the end windows will be able to reach the rest of the library.

3)  It'll give us a quiet space

• At times (especially during storytime or Wednesday Club), the library can be fairly noisy.  This reference room will give the library a quiet reading and study area.

Please have patience with us while we're making this change.  We'll try to make it as painless as possible, and the end result should be well worth it.

Thoughts on Paperwork

Today I spent a few hours working on paperwork.  Why is this significant?  The paperwork didn't involve the use of my computer.

As a registered charity, the Tumbler Ridge Public Library has to submit an annual return to Canada Revenue Agency.  [As a brief aside, I think it was a stupid decision to change the agency's title from "Revenue Canada" to "Canada Revenue Agency."  I had to walk out to the front of the library to ask library staff members if the word "the" was required in front of "Canada Revenue Agency".  Their response?  "No."]

I started working on the forms, printing everything in block capitals to keep my writing legible, and things went smoothly for a minute or two.  Then disaster struck!  I was writing "Tumbler Ridge" when it happened.  I wrote the T and, thinking about the U next, ended up writing a backwards J.

I swore quietly to myself (this is a library after all -- nobody needs to hear me using that kind of language), and walked out front to retrieve a bottle of white-out.  After a brief waiting period while the white-out dried (during which I amused myself with a hockey puck I keep on my desk), I carried on.

I started filling out a description of the programs conducted by the library, and decided to split them into two categories:  children's programs and adult/family programs.  I wrote out the children's programs, then started writing the adult/family programs on the next line.  A moment later, I remembered another children's program.  I squeezed it in with small writing and congratulated myself on making it fit, until a few seconds later when I thought of another.

Muttered swear.  Big sigh.  Globs of white-out.  More time with the puck while the white-out dried.

And I carried on until I reached an area where I had to fill in the details of the library's board members in 2009.  This area required the addresses of every board member (including the town name), so I had to write "Tumbler Ridge" multiple times and........

I did it again.  Another backwards J.

More muttered swearing.  Even bigger sigh.  More white-out.

Later on when I ranted to Sharon about how stupid I was, she stopped working for a moment, looked up at me, and said "That's why I use pencils for paperwork Jacob."

And in writing this, and re-reading it, I finally have a response for her.

"That's why I use computers for everything Sharon."

A big thank you and AGM news

It's time for a two-for-one sale.  Two topics in one blog post!


The Big Thank You

To everyone who took the time to sign a letter to town council supporting the library,

Thank you.

Because of your efforts over the past three days, we were able to submit over one hundred letters to town council requesting that they do not proceed with the final cut to the library's budget.

The library staff and board have been overwhelmed by the support from the residents of Tumbler Ridge, and the knowledge of this support will help us carry on regardless of the final outcome.


Once the town's budget has been finalized, the library will be posting notices regarding any changes to library hours and programming.

Please keep watching for posters around town and on the library's website:  http://tumblerridge.bclibrary.ca


AGM News

It's taken a little longer than we had hoped, but we're ready to have our AGM.

Tumbler Ridge Public Library

Annual General Meeting

Wednesday, April 14th

7pm at the library

Agenda

• 2009 in review
• 2010 and the year ahead
• Trustee nominations

Of Books and Budget Cuts...

If you haven't already heard, the library's budget is going to be cut again.  Without going into too many details, our grant-in-aid has been cut twice now (first our budget for capital expenses was cut entirely and then our operating expenses were cut), and is slated to be cut again.  The total amount of the cuts to our operating expenses is around 17%.

If this final budget cut is made official, the library *will* have to make changes to its operating hours, staff hours, and programming to balance the budget.  There is a very real chance that the library will no longer be open on Sundays, Saturday mornings, or after 6pm Tuesday-Thursday.

Nothing is official yet.  However, if the final cut remains when budget numbers are set in stone, we will have to make some very hard decisions.

So what can you do about it?

Let town council know.  Be polite, but let them know that the library is an important part of Tumbler Ridge, and that its budget shouldn't be cut any further than it already has been.  If you're ambitious, feel free to write a letter to town council in the next few days.  Otherwise, we have pre-written letters available at the library for this purpose.  Just drop by, sign one of them, and the library will deliver all of the letters to town council.

Thank you,

Jacob Fehr
Interim head librarian