One book at a time...

Greetings and welcome to February!

If you've been around the library during the past four weeks, you've probably seen staff members doing inventory and rearranging the library.  We're getting close to the finish line on inventory.  I'm hoping (emphasis on this word) that we can finish the "people in the shelves checking things off and swearing" portion of the inventory by the end of next week.  Then we'll have a day or two of computer work, and we should be done -- about a month earlier than last year.

So what happens when we're done inventory?

1)  Post-inventory work

While doing inventory, we've found a number of books on our shelves that were not in our catalogue.  As a result, those books cannot be searched for in our computers or loaned to patrons.  Sharon, Paula, and I will be working our way through these stacks to decide what can be discarded and re-cataloguing the rest.

2)  More library rearranging

In the future, we may be combining our adult non-fiction, and junior non-fiction, and reference collections.  Right now if patrons search for non-fiction books in a particular subject, they have to go to three different areas of the library to find them.  In many cases, we have 3-4 books on a subject, but they're spread out among these three separate collections.  Putting the collections together should make life easier for patrons searching for books, and will make life easier for staff members because we won't have to draw the line between junior non-fiction, adult non-fiction, and reference any longer. 

3)  Preparation for Sitka

Sitka is the new library program we'll be transitioning to later in 2011.  Paula and I participated in a conference call for Sitka-bound libraries on Friday, and learned a little more about the transition process.

4)  Ordering books

The hardest part about doing inventory is holding off on tasks we enjoy doing, like ordering new books.  I can't speak for Sharon or Paula, but I'm chomping at the bit to start ordering again.  We'll be putting extra emphasis on non-fiction this year, as Paula has identified some areas of desperate need while doing inventory.  Beyond that, we'll continue to order the best of new fiction, children's books, and more graphic novels as we've done in the past.

We've got a lot ahead as soon as inventory is out of the way, so stay tuned!