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!

Book order with many graphic novels

The library received information from our accountant this week that allowed us to begin ordering books again. On Tuesday, Michele gave Sharon and I the good news and told us to go ahead and order books post-haste. Needless to say, she didn't have to tell us twice.

Sharon and I agreed that I'd place the first order because

1. I already had a list of books to order (some requested by Michele) that had been accumulating.
2. My order would be much smaller than hers and it would be easier to check her order against mine to avoid ordering duplicates.
   

Before Tuesday was over, I'd placed an order for around 40 items. Shortly after I placed the order, Sharon handed me a catalogue she had been saving called "Fiction K-12 Graphic Novels 2009-2010". I told her that I had done my order and it already included twenty or so graphic novels, but she said that I should take a look, and order more if I felt the need. I ended up making a smaller order (only another six items) just before I left the library last night.

Sharon spent the last two days digging through two hotlists from ULS (the company we order most of our books from) checking books that she'd like to order. When she's done with the hotlists (later today, she hoped), I'll be going through them to see if there's anything that I'd like to order that she hasn't already marked.

So, what did we order?

There are a few highlights for me. I ordered The Golden City, the final book in John Twelve Hawk's Fourth Realm trilogy and Sharon will be ordering Pirate Latitudes written by Michael Crichton shortly before his death.

The other highlights of the order (for me anyway) are mostly graphic novels and manga. Here's a list of what we ordered:

Amelia Rules! vols. 3-5 by Jimmy Gownley

• If you've been following this blog or my Twitter, you'll already know that Sharon and I absolutely love Amelia Rules! We're thrilled to be getting the next three volumes of it, and I am really looking forward to reading volume 5, The Tweenage Guide to not being Unpopular.
  

Amulet vols. 1-2 by Kazu Kibuishi

• I borrowed the first volume of Amulet through an ILL on a whim, and thought it was a fun, fantastical story.

Bleach vols. 7-8 by Tite Kubo

Bone vols. 1-9 by Jeff Smith

• The library already owns the complete Bone collection. The problem is that it's one extremely large paperback volume that has been in and out of book repair repeatedly. As a result, Sharon suggested that we order the individual volumes which will be smaller and less prone to damage.
  

Death Note vols. 7-9 by Tsugumi Ohba

• We're closing in on the finish line with Death Note. After this we'll only have three more volumes to purchase to finish the story, and a fourth volume that helps explain the series which we may or may not purchase.
  

Death Note: Another note by Nisioisin

• Another note is a prequel novel for Death Note that explains and expands on the history of L. I enjoyed the book when I borrowed it through an ILL, and I hope that it will serve as a literacy gateway. If Death Note readers enjoy the manga enough, hopefully they'll read this novel, and will continue on into other mystery novels.
  

Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet by Richard Appignanesi

• I found this in the graphic novel catalogue Sharon passed to me. In this version, Romeo and Juliet live in Tokyo and belong to different warring Yakuza families.

Phoenix vol. 2 by Osamu Tezuki

• The library has had Phoenix vol. 1 since before I started, and I've put off buying any more because of the price (it's twice as expensive per volume as Bleach or Death Note). But when we're trying to order the number of books we normally would have in the last few months, it isn't as big an issue.
  

Star Wars Legacy vols. 1-2 by Jan Duursema

• We try to keep up with some of the Star Wars books (the Darth Bane trilogy, etc.), and thought that it might be neat to try one of the graphic novel series. Instead of going with a series that just rehashes the movies, Sharon and I chose Star Wars Legacy, which takes place over 100 years after the movies and focuses on the exploits of one of Luke Skywalker's descendants who has left the jedi.

More graphic novel/manga news as it happens. Stay tooned!