Midsummer Update

Hello good readers,

Today seemed like a good time to update you on things happening around the library now that we've left July (and hopefully all its rain) behind.


Summer Reading Club
Summer Reading Club is still ongoing at the library.  Programs take place at 3pm from Tuesday to Friday every week.  Make sure to register your children and have them return their reading records on time so they can receive a prize at the closing ceremonies!

Tuesday, August 16th:  Reading records due
Friday, August 19th:  Closing Ceremonies at 3pm


Evergreen Update
We've been using Evergreen as the library's ILS for seven weeks now, and it's working out pretty well so far.  I've spent some time fighting with it (and learning interesting things in the process), and on the whole I'm liking it much more than our old system.  We've got to spend more time getting e-mail addresses from patrons into our system so it can send out courtesy e-mails before items are overdue, but things are going very well other than that.


Renovations
Renovations to the Community Centre are continuing.  I know everyone is frustrated with the library's current layout, the lack of seating, and the lack of access to some books (especially the picture books), but we're doing the best we can folks.  Once the interior work is finished, we'll be looking at installing the new flooring we'd hoped to install this year, and then rearranging the library to make the best use of the space we've got.

The rearranging we did last summer and then built on last winter was fairly minor.  We opened up the left side of the library and made it more accessible in general.  But now we're looking at bigger ideas.  Can we move the children's area?  Do we need to look at one-sided shelves to place against walls?  Can we set things up better for patrons using their notebooks or tablets?  So far our answer to those questions is "Yes."

Since Paula arrived in November, she, Sharon, and I have been talking at length about the library's layout and how it could be arranged better.  With any luck, you'll see the results of all those discussions in a few months.


Brief Congratulations
I'd like to take a moment and offer my congratulations to Paula, whose term as Head Librarian recently exceeded the length of my tenure (8 1/2 months) as Interim Head Librarian.  ...I'd also like to congratulate Sharon and myself for behaving for this long and not scaring Paula off with our antics!

On a serious note, I'm still having fun back at my Head of Technical Services position, and am very grateful she's decided to stick around.  Thanks Paula!


History of the Library
I've spent some time over the last few months working on and off on a history of the Tumbler Ridge Public Library.  So I've been reading through the old Tumbler Ridge newspapers stored in the reference room, and transcribing library-related stories.  I'm only up to 1986 so far, but I've found a number of good stories about the early days of the library and Tumbler Ridge in general.

There's a lot happening in Tumbler Ridge right now between the attempt to re-open Quintette Coal, the development of an underground mine, new housing, and wind turbine construction, and I think it's a good time to take a look back.  Thirty years ago, there were some fairly lofty goals set for Tumbler Ridge, and I think now's the time to look at them, then see what we can do about exceeding them.


Online Stuff
Finally, if you're so inclined, please take a moment to read my Twitter feed and the Library's Facebook page.  My Twitter feed is full of random whining, occasional poetry, and nonsensical banter with my brother.  The Library's Facebook page is mostly being used for event announcements, but I've also started posting photos of my current whiteboard drawing of what the library really needs.


And with that folks, I'll bring this blog post to a close.  Take a minute to visit the library, borrow a book, and then enjoy the good weather while it lasts.