Friday, June 17, 2011

Know when to hold 'em (always)... Know when to fold 'em (never)...

One of the great things about our new library program, Evergreen, is that it will allow us to handle holds properly.  We're really excited about this at the library, because it'll give patrons better access to the books they want without requiring extra trips to the library.

If you'd like to borrow a book the library has, but you're not able to visit the library this very minute, you can place a hold on the book.  Have your library card ready, and either phone us or visit the library's online catalogue (http://tumblerridge.catalogue.bclibraries.ca) to place a hold on the item.

If the book is out on loan, Evergreen will add you to the queue for the book.  When the book is returned, staff members will be alerted by Evergreen, and the book will be made ready for the next patron in the queue.

If the book is on the library's shelves, Evergreen will add the book to a list of holds for staff members to gather.  At least once a day, library staff members will search the shelves and find the requested items.

If we've got your e-mail address in our system, Evergreen will automatically send you an e-mail telling you that your book is ready to be picked up.  Otherwise, you'll receive a friendly phone call from a staff member (usually Jacob) to tell you that your book is available.

That's it!


So, make sure we've got your current e-mail address and phone number, then try it out!   Place a hold, and then recommend it to your friends.



Now that I've described the former, some of you are probably wondering what the latter part of this post's title refers to.  It refers to the *horrible* practice of folding page corners over instead of using a bookmark.  This method of marking your page is second in vileness only to placing the book in the open, face down position known as the spinebreaker.  Please don't do either one of them folks.  ...while I'm at it, please don't use bacon as a bookmark either...

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Adventures in Libraryland

Greetings good readers,

It's been an interesting week so far here in Libraryland.

Monday
The week started when I worked Monday for the first time since I started here over two and a half years ago.  Paula, Sharon and I were in to receive in-person training prior to our library going live on Sitka Evergreen on Tuesday.  Now, the library has been here over 25 years, our hours haven't changed since I started in 2008 (I'm not sure how long they were in place before that), and we've got our hours posted on the door.

...I lost count of how many patrons tried to come into the library.  Every time one of them rattled our locked doors, I hopped down from my perch on the circulation counter, unlocked the doors, and told them "We're closed Mondays -- the only reason the lights are on is because we're receiving training today."  Their response:  "You're closed on Monday?"

It's nice to know people like us to be open, but it would also be nice if people were aware of our hours and didn't insist on trying the doors when we're closed...

Tuesday
Yesterday was the library's official "go live" day with Sitka Evergreen.  We had all hands on deck (and crowding behind the circulation counter).  After going through more training, Paula and I worked with our trainer to try to set up our library's local administrative settings.  I chose one option, saved it, and then the program quit responding to any further changes.  We had lost access to our database.

About ten minutes later, our trainer started hearing about Sitka Evergreen being down across the province.  As a result, we worked on some other things.  Later in the afternoon after Evergreen was back up, our trainer was talking to the tech support team.  I could only hear her side of the conversation, and it went like this:

"So it was us?  The setting Jacob changed did it?"

So it's official folks.  On day one, I crashed the Evergreen server.

To be perfectly honest, I'm kind of proud of the achievement.  I did a bit of a victory lap afterward and was bragging to the other staff about it.

Wednesday
When I was getting ready for work this morning, I decided to bring back a stack of my borrowed interlibrary loans.  I haven't had a chance to process the returns since I got back from the Beyond Hope conference last Thursday, so they've been piling up.  I had just carried over a stack of 20+ interlibrary loan books to my desk when Paula caught me and said "Oh Jacob, did you hear that Canada Post has locked out their employees?"

...So I put back my stack of books.  I'm hoping the situation gets resolved soon because my basket for books belonging to other libraries has a very finite space limit, and we're rapidly approaching it.


So that's what's been happening so far this week folks.  Stay tuned, because we'll be keeping busy over the next week in particular as we continue to learn how to use Evergreen and prepare for the Summer Reading Club opening ceremonies next Wednesday.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Summer Reading Club 2011 -- Savour Each Word

It's that time of the year again.  School is winding down, and everyone is wondering what there is around town for kids to do this summer...

As always, the Tumbler Ridge Public Library will be having Summer Reading Club all summer long!  Once your children are registered, they'll enjoy fun activities at the library four days a week, keep their minds active, and receive a prize at the end of the summer for the reading they've done.

This year, Summer Reading Club runs from July 5th to August 19th.

Summer Reading Club Schedule

Wednesday, June 22nd at 3pm -- Opening Ceremonies
      Registration
      Stories
      Music
      Facepainting
      Popcorn
      Door prizes

Weekly Schedule (starting July 5th)
      Tuesday at 3pm -- Storytime and a craft
      Wednesday at 3pm -- Storytime
      Thursday at 3pm -- Storytime and a craft
      Friday at 3pm -- Storytime

Friday, August 19th at 3pm -- Closing Ceremonies
      Prizes
      Medals
      Fun!

So sign your children up, and have them spend their summer at the library!



Before I wrap this up, I'd like to thank all the sponsors who have donated to Summer Reading Club so far:

Spectra Energy
Walter Energy Western Coal
Peace River Coal
Capital Power
Lion's Club of Tumbler Ridge
Lakeview Credit Union
Encana
Avalanche Trucking
Dr. Mark Sevier
Uniglobe 
Chetwynd Dental Clinic

Thanks folks!  This program wouldn't be possible without all your help!

Incoming!

Later this afternoon, Mandarin, the program responsible for the library's catalogue and circulation, will be shut down for the last time.  This weekend, technicians will be uploading the library's data, and the library will officially start using Sitka Evergreen starting Monday.

Instead of writing a lengthy essay about what Sitka Evergreen is, and what it'll do for the library, I've decided to just post a list of questions and answers I wrote for staff members so they could talk to patrons about Evergreen.

So what is Sitka Evergreen?
Evergreen is an open source integrated library system (ILS) -- the program that handles the library's cataloguing and circulation.  Sitka Evergreen is the name for the group of BC libraries that are installing Evergreen.

Why is the Tumbler Ridge Public Library switching to Evergreen?
  • Using the same program as other libraries in BC will allow us to
    • Share our catalogue listings
    • Make it easier for patrons to find books to request through interlibrary loans
    • Reduce duplication of effort between libraries
    • Lower cataloguing costs
    • Give our library a say in how our ILS will be developed and improved going forward
  • Evergreen will also allow us to
    • Properly track youth accounts
    • Distribute overdue and hold notices by e-mail

How will Evergreen change things for me?
  • Patrons will be required to show their library cards to borrow or renew items
  • The Library's grace period will be reduced to one day
  • The Library's online catalogue will look different and offer a number of extra functions, including
    • the ability to search the catalogue of every BC library using Evergreen
    • a shelf browser, which will show you items shelved near the title you've searched for
Why do I need to carry my library card to borrow items?
Evergreen works differently from Mandarin, our current system.  As a side benefit, requiring library cards to borrow or renew items will increase individual user security, as patrons will no longer be able to borrow books based on their knowledge of another patron's name and/or phone number.

Why is the grace period only one day?
The grace period is programmed into Evergreen, and may not be changed by individual libraries at this time.

Will the library's loan lengths or fines change?
No.  Items will still be loaned for the same length of time, and overdue fines will be unchanged.


The staff members at the library have had training and access to a test server to practice with, but we're still learning exactly what Evergreen can do.  It'll be a few weeks before we're completely comfortable with it.  In the meantime, please bear with us, and always remember your library card.