WE'RE BACK!

We're back!  The holiday closures gave the library's hard-working staff some much-needed time to spend with family recharging for the year ahead, and now we're back to our normal schedule.

As I said in my last blog post before the holidays, we've all got a lot to look forward to at the library in 2010, and some of those things are already happening.

New Books
The new books we've ordered over the past month or so have started to pour in.  Since Christmas, we've received 139 new books, and there are many more to come.  We've received most of the graphic novels we ordered (including two volumes of Mouse Guard, which Sharon ordered and I'd never heard of but looks really neat), some fantastic fiction (including Michael Crichton's first book published after his death, a compilation of Naomi Novik's first three Temeraire novels, the final novel in the Star Wars Darth Bane trilogy, and Stephen King's newest), and some compelling non-fiction (autobiographies by Theoren Fleury and Howie Mandel among other titles).

New Computers
The library's new public computers were installed between Christmas and New Year's.  They're faster and more reliable than the old ones, and as an added benefit, have headphone jack in the front (no more reaching around to plug headphones into the rear jacks).

Children's Programs
The library's children's programs will resume starting next week (except for Wednesday Club, which will start the week after).  Here's the breakdown:

Lapsit

• Starts January 14th
• Every Thursday at 10:30am
  
• Rhymes and songs for children 0-2 and their parents
• Drop-ins welcome
  

Storytime

• Starts January 15th
• Every Friday at 10:30am
• Stories, songs, and crafts for children 3-5 years old
• Pre-registration is required

Wednesday Club

• Starts January 20th
• Every 2nd Wednesday at 3:00pm
• Stories and crafts for school-age children
• Drop-ins welcome

Itchy Feet
We haven't finalized the schedule yet, but the Itchy Feet season will begin before the end of January.  We've got some great presentations lined up that will take us from Taiwan to Nigeria and many points in-between.


As you can see, there's lots of great stuff happening at the library so far in 2010, and there's much more to come.  Stay tuned!

Plans for the new year

Like everyone else in the world, we're well into planning for 2010 at the Tumbler Ridge Public Library. From the sounds of things, patrons and staff alike are in for a very good beginning to the year.

First, Sharon and I have been ordering books like crazy since we received the go-ahead from the library's accountant late last month. A handful have been delivered (in record time no less), but the majority of them will be arriving in early 2010. These books comprise our choices from *two* quarterly hotlists published by United Library Services (our main book supplier), a dozen smaller brochures from various publishers/distributors, and titles we've stumbled upon over the course of the last few months. While the books from these orders arrive, Sharon and I will be going through our non-fiction section to identify gaps in the library's collection and then ordering books to fill the gaps.

Second, I received a call from IT North (the library's tech support company) yesterday. Our new patron computers are ready to be installed. Regular users of the library probably know that our current patron computers are getting pretty old (the majority of them are still Pentium-IIIs) and that it's definitely time for an upgrade.

Third, the library's seventeeth Itchy Feet season will begin in the new year. We had over a dozen Itchy Feet presentations last year (including a stellar one by yours truly), and they provided an excellent respite from the winter doldrums.

Finally, the library's children's programming will start up again in mid-January. Wednesday Club, Lapsit, and Storytime will return to provide the weekly recommended allotment of library fun for children.

We've got an exciting start to the year ahead, so stop by the library early and often in 2010.
Merry Christmas folks!

--Jacob Fehr

=====Coming Attraction=====

Stay tuned for A Very Special Storytime on January 29th.

Featuring the King of Itchy Feet 2009, the Illustrious Impresario of ILLs, the Overlord of Overdues, the Charismatic Captain Amazing, the library's Head of Technical Services himself:

Jacob Fehr

in his first storytime ever with Sharon in attendance.


The Theme: Hockey (to coincide with the Olympic torch passing through TR that weekend)
The Books: The best hockey books in the library's children's collection PLUS Jacob's favourite children's story
The Craft: a Jacob original craft

9:30am - Daycare Storytime
10:30am - General public Storytime (pre-registration for 2010 storytime sessions is on now)

Thoughts on NOT spoiling Christmas for children

[Please note, the opinion expressed in this blog post is my personal opinion as a human being, not a library technician, and is not endorsed or approved by the Tumbler Ridge Public Library, its staff, manager, or board.]

I recently heard about the kerfuffle at the Christmas concert last night. For those who are unaware, a man stood up unannounced (and indeed, was not part of the program) and began reciting a lengthy poem describing how Santa Claus is a marketing creation while event organizers tried to figure out who this man was and what he was doing.

This did not occur during an adult conversation of the over-commercialization of Christmas, or during a roundtable discussion about the cost of Christmas. This occured at a Christmas concert where Santa was seeing children down the hall...

Here my response to that man:

*Beginning of extreme sarcasm*

Fantastic! Would you like to kick some puppies for an encore?

*End of extreme sarcasm*

Even if the modern view of Santa was a marketing creation as this man claims, Santa STILL represent an ideal that we can and should aspire to. Santa is an unselfish person who works extremely hard to bring joy to others and asks for nothing in return. That's something we should be celebrating, not denegrating, particularly during this time of year.

Now, I fully acknowledge the rights of this individual to have his own opinion. I also acknowledge his rights to pass his beliefs about Santa and Christmas on to his own family.

However, this man does not have the right to attempt to destroy Christmas for children in Tumbler Ridge. We live in an age when children seem to lose their innocence younger and younger every year. A belief in Santa Claus is one of the precious few things that allow children to remain children for a few brief years, and to try to take that away from these children and their parents is inexcusable.

--Jacob Fehr

Various Announcements

There are quite a few things going on in the library in December, so I thought I'd write a quick post about them. If you're a regular visitor to the library's website (tumblerridge.bclibrary.ca), you've probably already read about them, and may feel free to skip down to my previous blog post.


Holiday Hours @ the Library
Thursday, December 10: 10am-5pm (closed early for staff + board Christmas party)
December 24 - December 28: Closed
December 29 - December 30: 10am-5pm
December 31 - January 1: Closed


Food + Fun for Fines
December 1st to 15th

The library is continuing its holiday tradition of forgiving overdue fines in exchange for a donation to the Tumbler Ridge Foodbank.

1) Bring in non-perishable food items or a new, nonwrapped toy to the library

2) Ask a library staff member to clear your overdue fines.

Please note: Fines related to lost books, damaged books, or processing fees will not be forgiven due to the nature of these fines.


Musical Christmas Pajama Party
Join us on Tuesday, December 15th at 6:30 for the library's annual Musical Christmas Pajama Party. The evening will include

Music with

• Brian Bray
• Kelly McManus and Georgia LaPrairie-McManus
• The Top of the Hill Gang
• Crys White and her marmots

a Craft with library staff

a visit from Santa

Pajama attire is strongly encouraged.


Book Launch + Sale

On December 17th at 7pm, the library will play host to the book launch and sale of

The Forgotten Explorer:
Samuel Prescott Fay's 1914 Expedition to the Northern Rockies
by Dr. Charles Helm and Mike Murtha

Children's Books and Programs at the Library

I've recently heard through the grapevine that a patron or two has complained about the amount the library spends on children's books and programs. Here is my response to that: (please note that my response is my personal feelings on the matter both as an individual and as a library technician, but is not and should not be taken as the library's official stance on the matter)

:-P

I recently joked to Sharon that library staff are like drug dealers. We try to get our customers hooked young. In fact, that's not all that far from the truth. If we catch children while they're young and get them interested in reading, the chances of them becoming life-long readers is much higher.

Does it work on all children? Of course not. But it seems to work on quite a few. Look back to the salad days of cigarette advertising. Cartoon characters such as Fred and Barney from the Flintstones appeared in cigarette ads. There was a reason for that.


Ideally, children start visiting the library for Sharon's lapsit program while they are still babies. Lapsit establishes a routine of visiting the library and having fun. Sharon's rhymes and songs are all intended to help develop early literacy skills.

When the children get a little older, they can start to attend storytime. The mix of stories and songs continue to develop literacy and help to create a habit of visiting the library. Children start to read and sing along with their favourite books and songs, and most drag their parents over to the shelves to borrow some books before they leave the library. At this point, the children have already become weekly library users!

Finally, Wednesday Club and the library's Summer Reading Club mostly cater to school-age children. Sharon can read books to them that explore more complicated ideas and introduce them to a wider range of books and ideas.

We are in a time when literacy is a stated goal of the government. There are a large number of people who never read a single book once they graduate from school. Children who go through these programs (and have access to a wide variety of children's books) literally grow up in the library, and these programs increase the odds that they will continue to use the library for the rest of their lives.

In short, to suggest that we should be spending less money on this goal is absurd.

--Jacob Fehr

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!

Office 2007 Compatibility at the Library

We're still using Microsoft Office 2003 on our computers at the library. There has been no real impetus for us to upgrade to Office 2007. It's not cheap, and it would offer no tangible benefits to the library staff in day-to-day use. I have Office 2007 on my notebook at home (I required Microsoft Access for some of the classes in my library technician program), and based on my experience with it I don't believe the UI changes justify an upgrade at the library at this time.

As far as staff use goes, the version of Office we use really doesn't matter. We all use Office 2003, so we have no problems sending files back and forth. When we send files to recipients outside the library, they're generally able to open them without any trouble (Office 2007, OpenOffice.org, and even Google Docs can open Office 2003 files). If we're sent an Office 2007 file from an outside source, we can usally contact them and request that the file be re-saved as an Office 2003 file.

The problem occurs when a patron comes to the library with an Office 2007 file and needs to open it. We can't help that patron. We have to suggest that the patron find someone who has Office 2007 and re-save the file as an Office 2003 file so it can be used at the library. In effect, Microsoft's change to a different default file format (and in part, the people who use the default file format assuming that anyone can open it) are punishing our patrons because we have chosen not to upgrade so far.

At this point, many people may be tempted to point out that Microsoft offers an Office compatibility pack that can be installed to allow Office 2003 to open Office 2007 files. Those people would be correct. However, it's not especially easy to justify the expense of installing that pack (any installation of that kind would have to be done by our tech support company whose hourly rates are not excessively cheap) when

1. The number of patron comptability problems is fairly low (I'm aware of less than one a week on average)
   
2. The lack of compatibility doesn't cause any real problems for library staff
3. There is a simple work-around for the people who create the files (File-->Save As-->Office 2003 format)
4. An upgrade to Office 2007 (or Office 2010 depending on when our next upgrade cycle is) may be considered in the future

Where does this leave the library now? Right here:

An Open Request

To all patrons of the Tumbler Ridge Public Library and their friends, families, and associates:

If you plan to open, edit, print, or otherwise use a Microsoft Office file at the Tumbler Ridge Public Library, or are creating a Microsoft Office file on behalf of someone who may want to open, edit, print, or otherwise use the file at the Tumbler Ridge Public Library, please take a moment to save the file as an Office 2003 file.

This step (select File-->Save As, and select "Office 97-2003" from the pulldown menu before saving) will ensure that the file you create will work properly on the library's computers.

Thank you.

Sporadic Greatness

What's been going on at the library lately?

The short answer is "Nothing worth a full-blown blog post."

The real answer is much lengthier and more complicated. Since none of these topics is worth a full blog post, I'll write a little bit about everything.


New Graphic Novels
The library has received three new graphic novels in the last two weeks.

Last week we received Lost at Sea (by Bryan Lee O'Malley, also author of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels). I originally ordered Lost at Sea in May, and had basically given up hope by the time it came in. I previously read Lost at Sea via ILL and I recommend it. It's a little odd at times (the main character believes a cat stole her soul), but very entertaining nonetheless.

On Tuesday, we received the first two volumes of Amelia Rules! (by Jimmy Gownley). Ever since I borrowed the first volume through an ILL, Sharon and I have been chomping at the bit to get Amelia Rules! for the library. In fact, I enjoyed Amelia Rules! so much that I dressed as Captain Amazing for Halloween (photos available here)


New CAP Youth Intern
The library hired a new CAP Youth Intern last week. Melissa will be available to help patrons with their computers and to train patrons on various computer skills (using Office software, searching the Internet, using Library2Go to download audiobooks, etc.) If you'd like to make an appointment for some training/assistance, you can call the library at 250-242-4778 or e-mail Melissa directly: mstclaire@tumblerridgelibrary.org


My Illness
My ironman streak ended last Tuesday. I went home sick part way through the day, breaking a streak that started when I began working at the library last August. For the record, it was not H1N1 -- just an industrial strength cold.


10000 Villages
The library will be hosting the 10000 Villages craft fair from Wednesday, Nov. 18 to Sunday, Nov. 22. Fair trade items from countries around the world will be available, and we encourage everyone to come take a look.


So those are a few of the things that have been keeping us busy at the library lately. I'm hoping that I can start updating this blog more frequently, but it really depends on how much inspiration is available. ...or if inspiration is unavailable, it'll depend on how much access I have to the desks of my co-workers so I can describe their workspaces in detail.

The Appeal of Paperbacks

I had a patron come in today and ask why the library has so many pocket books (he meant paperback fiction). He said that many of ours were in bad shape and that they took up too much space in the library. I was caught offguard by the question and his arguments. So I told the patron that

• We don't really purchase that many of them
• Most of the library's paperbacks have been here for years
• Patrons donate more paperbacks than hardcovers
• Paperbacks are handy for travelling patrons.

At this point, the library manager wandered by, and the patron started asking her.

I thought about it some more, and there are many good reasons for the library to have an extensive collection of paperbacks.

Cost

1) A new paperback usually costs $12-13 dollars, while a new hardcover can cost over $35. We can just about buy three paperbacks for the same price as a single hardcover book. If the library had $1000 (random convenient number) to spend on new fiction, we could buy around 28 hardcovers, or over 75 paperbacks.

2) If we aren't generally convinced of a book's merit (if it received mediocre reviews, was overly esoteric, etc.), we will not purchase it in hardcover. Spending $35 on a book that won't be read is fairly painful. However, it might be worth spending $12-13 on a book to see if people will like it.

3) In a town (such as Tumbler Ridge) where the population is in a constant state of flux, there's always the worry that patrons will move without returning their library books. It's happened a few times this year alone, and I have not been able to bill those patrons for their books. If those patrons had borrowed paperback books, the library would have taken a smaller financial hit.

Space
[[Brief definitions for this section: "width" = width of spine, "depth" = width of cover]]

1) The limited height of paperbacks (even the annoying tall paperbacks) allows more shelves of them to fit in a limited amount of space. The bookshelf frames in the library are all roughly the same height, but the paperback shelves have two more shelves per frame (7 versus 5). Because paperbacks are generally no wider than the equivalent hardcover edition, it means that far more paperbacks can fit in a given shelf frame.

2) Because paperbacks also have a shallower depth than hardcovers, paperback shelves can be built narrower to take up less space than shelves for hardcovers.

Convenience

1) Because of the smaller, mostly standardized size of paperbacks, patrons can easily carry 7-8 of them without any trouble. A stack of 7-8 different sized hardcovers can be somewhat more awkward.

2) Paperbacks don't have dust covers to fight with. Library staff don't have to tape covers on paperbacks or deal with patrons who insist on removing dust covers and forget to return them with the book.

3) Travelling with a stack of hardcover books is often not an option. A pile of paperbacks however, can easily fit in a carry-on bag and keep patrons entertained throughout a lengthy flight.

4) Our library has a rack meant for holding paperbacks, so when we have to weed and sell some, we don't have to borrow every table in the library for the purpose.


Now, paperbacks are not perfect. They are easy to damage, hard to repair (cannot realistically be re-bound, etc.), and look shelf-worn much faster than hardcovers. However, a library without paperbacks would have far fewer books, a more homogenized collection, and many more frustrated patrons.

Definition of a Five Minute Warning

I thought I'd take a moment to explain what a Five Minute Warning is.

I give patrons a warning five minutes before I have to turn the computers off and again five minutes before the library closes.

Let me make this clear. A five minute warning in the library is like the last minute of play warning in the NHL. As soon as the final minute ticks down on the clock, the game is over. Is there a shot in the air? It doesn't matter. The game is over. Thanks for coming. Bye now.

Similarly, when the five minute warning is up at the library, all patrons should be gone, the lights should be turned off, and the door should be locked.

When I'm wandering around giving patrons a five minute warning at the library, I would appreciate it if you would do the following:

1. Quickly finish up your current thought on anything you're working on (an e-mail, a paper you're writing, etc).
2. Log out of any website you're using (if applicable).
3. Shut down your notebook computer (if applicable).
4. Pack up all of your things, including any garbage.
   
5. Proceed directly to the circulation desk with any library materials you'd like to check out.
6. Leave the library.

If you begin this process as soon as you hear my five minute warning, you should have ample time to leave the library before it closes.

After a five minute warning has been given, the following comments/request may be met by wild laughter or an icy glare (depending on the staff member):

• "I need to look something up online for a school paper"
• "I just need to log into Facebook for *one* minute"
• "This is a matter of life-or-death!" [this doesn't apply to any circumstances that are *literally* life-or-death. However, a library probably shouldn't be your first choice in those cases.]