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!

More Library Rearranging

If you haven't been to the library in the past few weeks, you haven't seen the results of our last round of rearranging.

First, we moved the plants, round table, and bank counter (I'm still not sure why we have this thing in the library, and I'd be happy to give it away to anyone who wants it) away from their place next to the fire exit.  With the extra room in that area, we moved the final two shelves of adult fiction from their old location (up against the walls near the magazines) and placed them back-to-back, butting up against the adult fiction shelves closest to the back door.

A day later, I was in the library while it was closed, and I thought "Hey!  There's room for some seating here!"

So I grabbed a few of the green wedge-shaped chairs from around the library and made a small curved couch out of them.  Now instead of a cluttered area with tables and bank counters and plants, we've got a nice little reading area.

It looks better, works better, and unifies the library's adult fiction section again.

But it wasn't good enough.  When we first started moving the archives into the reference room, my ultimate plan was to clean out the corner of the library where the archives had been to make another reading area.  I was a little bit bored last Saturday and started moving things.  Sharon joined in, and her husband Brian gave me a *lot* of help moving the archive filing cabinet and rotating the first adult paperback shelf.

The end result?

Another nice, bright reading area instead of a closed off corner that was essentially wasted space.

A side benefit to this rearranging is that the light coming in from the end window is no longer limited to a dusty corner.  The whole left side of the library is brighter and looks better than ever.

So, what's next for the library's layout?  Who knows!  Stay tuned!

Reference Room and Library Rearranging

Well folks, things progressed faster than I expected.  Thanks to a *major* volunteer effort from Brian Bray and tons of sweat from myself (and somewhat less sweat from Sharon, who was busy with storytime for the first part of the day), we've got the reference section moved into the new reference room.

Now, we haven't finished moving stuff (including the bookkeeper's desk and computer) *out* of the reference room, so any patrons going into the reference room will have to be accompanied by a staff member for now.  I'm hopeful we'll get the bookkeeper installed in the library's back room early next week, and the reference room will be open after that.

Photos:

The start of the library's ANF section.

The left side of the U is gone (moved into the reference room), which has really opened things up.

One wall of the reference room, which has the vertical files and the start of the reference collection.

The reference section continues along the second wall, and ends in a shelf on the right side of the door (not shown)

Of Revelations and Reference Rooms...

Over the next few weeks, you'll notice some changes to the reference section.  Tomorrow we'll be removing one of the shelves in that area, and another will hopefully follow in the next week or so.  They'll be going into what will become the library's reference room.

A few weeks after I became interim head librarian, I installed myself (and a computer to work on) in the library's back room which was the library's office many years ago.  The library staff have since worked to clean up and rearrange the back room so that the library's bookkeeper can take up residence there again as well.  These changes will free up the library's office to become a reference room.

In the short term, the reference room will house the library's reference collection and a few small tables and chairs for patron use.  In the long term, I hope to move the archives into the reference room as well which will free up more space in the library's main area.

The creation of a reference room should have a few major benefits to the library as a whole:

1)  It'll give us more shelf space for our adult non-fiction collection

• We're using emptied shelves from the library's back room as part of the shelving in the reference room, which should leave us with one large shelf to expand ANF into.

2)  It'll open up the library somewhat

• The left side of the reference U will be gone, which should make the front of the library feel more open.
• If we are able to move the archives into the reference room as well, rotating the first set of shelves in the paperback section will give us a small open reading area and light from the end windows will be able to reach the rest of the library.

3)  It'll give us a quiet space

• At times (especially during storytime or Wednesday Club), the library can be fairly noisy.  This reference room will give the library a quiet reading and study area.

Please have patience with us while we're making this change.  We'll try to make it as painless as possible, and the end result should be well worth it.