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!

Still Alive...

Hi folks, and welcome to 2011.

At the moment, I'm very glad I never officially made a resolution to post on this blog more often in 2011.  We've been very busy the past few weeks with inventory, preparation for our winter carnival activities, moving books around so shelves can be painted, and sending in our grant-in-aid application.

Once things settle down again I plan to be on here more often, keeping everyone up to date with what's happening in the library (or at the very least, writing about unimportant, but amusing things).

Have faith readers -- I'll be back here with a *real* blog post and cake in the next few weeks.

...The blog post is the truth.  The cake is a lie.

(sorry folks -- couldn't resist the reference)

That's it for 2010...

Before you start protesting, I know we're still officially three weeks away from 2011.  Ideally I would've waited until the last week of 2010 to write this post, but that week will be extremely busy.  Sharon will be away, we'll be knee-deep in inventory preparations, and I'm sure we'll have a horde of patrons coming in to use our wireless access to try out the gadgets they received for Christmas.  As a result, I'm wrapping up 2010 today.

So what major things happened around the library in 2010?

1. Changes in command -- we had three different people heading the library in 2010, a record that will hopefully not be surpassed.
2. Rearranging -- this time last year, we still had a reference U at the front of the library and a closed off mess of an archives area.
3. Fundraising -- Sharon raised a record amount of money for the Summer Reading Club, and we've branched out into other fundraising efforts such as our White Elephant Sale in June and our cakewalks the last two months.
4. Whiteboard -- the rec centre staff kindly hung the library's unused whiteboard, and I'm having tons of fun drawing random stuff on it and naming a new phobia-of-the-week every Friday.

2011 will be a fantastic year for the Tumbler Ridge Public Library, and will be better than 2010.  Why, you ask?

1. We will have a fantastic, knowledgeable head librarian who will be in place all year.  I did my best from March to November, and I don't think I did a bad job by any stretch of the imagination.  However, it'll be good for the library (and me!) to have an experienced hand at the helm.  Paula has only been here a month, and it's already weird thinking back to before she came.
2. We'll be completing inventory *much* faster in 2011 because we know what we're doing this time around, and we've fixed a number of issues that slowed down the inventory process in 2010.
3. More rearranging is on the horizon.  Paula, Sharon, and I have talked about the library and its setup, and Paula has noted quite a few odd things that we've never paid attention to.  For instance, how many people have ever noticed that almost all of the library's shelves run perpendicular to the banks of lights?

In short folks, 2011 should be a good year for the Tumbler Ridge Public Library, and we're all anxious to get started ... once the holidays are over.

On that note, I'm signing off of this blog for 2010.  I'll see you in the new year!

Sometimes plans change...

Apologies folks.

We've been plugging away doing inventory, but it hasn't been going as fast as we'd like.  As a result,

the library will be closed Tuesday, February 2nd.

Here's the full story:
This morning, the board chair, library manager, Sharon and I had a meeting to discuss how the inventory is going.  Sharon and I reported that the AF (adult fiction) inventory is done, and that the ANF (adult non-fiction) is underway.  I should mention that those two collections comprise around 40% of the library's materials.

Our original goal was to finish inventory by the end of January, but unfortunately that's not possible.  So we had a conversation about how we should proceed from here.

The first option was to continue with the status quo:  staff members working on inventory in their spare time between important day-to-day tasks.  We considered this option, but as a practical matter the inventory wouldn't be completed for a few months.

The second option was to have library staff come in on Monday (when the library is closed) to have an uninterrupted day of working on inventory.  This option had a fair share of problems.  The library would have to spend a great deal of money on overtime, and some staff members would be unavailable due to prior commitments.

The final option was to close the library on Tuesday.  Because all members of the library staff are already scheduled to work Tuesdays, this option wouldn't cost the library much money (a little bit so that part-time staff members will be here all day).  The major downside, of course, is that patrons won't have access to the library on Tuesday.

We weighed the pros and cons and in the end decided that closing the library on Tuesday will give us the best chance of getting a *lot* of the inventory done in a short period of time at the lowest possible cost.

Sorry for the inconvenience folks...

Knee deep in ....inventory

If you've been to the library in the past few days, you've probably seen a few staff members (or a few volunteers) in the stacks with a booklet of papers, some writing implements, and blue-stained hands.  Those are the tell-tale signs of an inventory in progress.

What does that mean?

Well, to most patrons it really won't change much.  We're not planning on closing the library or cancelling programs to make time to do inventory.  We won't be blocking off any aisles or performing book recalls.  While we're doing inventory, library staff will be busier (and very likely crankier), and service may be somewhat slower (if we're all in the stacks doing inventory, it may take a minute or two for us to notice someone at the circulation desk, etc.).

Just bear with us for a few weeks, and hopefully things will be back to normal in no time.