Everyone a Reader

A few months back while preparing for our strategic plan process, I was told that the library should have a vision statement in addition to our mission statement.  I hadn't heard of a vision statement before, and did some reading.  It sounded to me like vision statements are supposed to be shorter and broader than mission statements, and written to be more of a goal than a process.

Because I wrote the library's mission statement, which was then approved by our library board, I started looking at our mission statement and thinking about how I could adapt it into a vision statement.

The Tumbler Ridge Public Library's mission is to improve and promote literacy, intellectual freedom, and free access to information for all residents of and visitors to Tumbler Ridge.

Even now, in my heavily biased opinion, it seems fairly concise and covers the important things we do around here.  But I had no idea how to condense it further or how to make it into a goal.

After some thinking, considering, and (most importantly) pondering, I came up with this for a possible vision statement:

Everyone a reader.

And that's what it's really all about.  We can define and limit things, but it ultimately comes down to that as a goal.

Everyone a reader.

People borrowing John Grisham's newest?  Readers.

Children looking at picture books?  Readers.

Teenagers browsing graphic novels?  Readers.

Men who only seem to like westerns?  Readers.

Audiobook affictionados?  Readers.

E-book enthusiasts?  Readers.

Everyone a reader.

As long as libraries exist, reading will continue to be a cheap, fun activity suitable for all ages.  There's no reason everyone can't be a reader.

That's the goal folks.  Now we just need to make it happen.

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.

Making Preparations...

As you probably know by now, Tumbler Ridge will be experiencing a planned power outage on Thursday, July 28th from 7am to 7pm.  Since we learned of the outage yesterday, library staff members have been preparing for it, and have a few announcements to make.

First, the library will be open its normal hours (10am-8pm), and staff members will be able to check out library items manually.  As always, your library card will be required.

Second, some library services will be unavailable.  The library's computers will be shut down, so patrons will not be able to access the Internet.  In addition, we will be unable to create new patron accounts or accept payments for lost books or overdue fees.

Finally, the library's children's programs will continue as scheduled.  Lapsit will still be held at 11am, and our  Summer Reading Club program will still take place at 3pm.


We're in for an interesting day tomorrow, folks.  Please feel free to come to the library, but be aware that it won't be business as usual.

Know when to hold 'em (always)... Know when to fold 'em (never)...

One of the great things about our new library program, Evergreen, is that it will allow us to handle holds properly.  We're really excited about this at the library, because it'll give patrons better access to the books they want without requiring extra trips to the library.

If you'd like to borrow a book the library has, but you're not able to visit the library this very minute, you can place a hold on the book.  Have your library card ready, and either phone us or visit the library's online catalogue (http://tumblerridge.catalogue.bclibraries.ca) to place a hold on the item.

If the book is out on loan, Evergreen will add you to the queue for the book.  When the book is returned, staff members will be alerted by Evergreen, and the book will be made ready for the next patron in the queue.

If the book is on the library's shelves, Evergreen will add the book to a list of holds for staff members to gather.  At least once a day, library staff members will search the shelves and find the requested items.

If we've got your e-mail address in our system, Evergreen will automatically send you an e-mail telling you that your book is ready to be picked up.  Otherwise, you'll receive a friendly phone call from a staff member (usually Jacob) to tell you that your book is available.

That's it!


So, make sure we've got your current e-mail address and phone number, then try it out!   Place a hold, and then recommend it to your friends.



Now that I've described the former, some of you are probably wondering what the latter part of this post's title refers to.  It refers to the *horrible* practice of folding page corners over instead of using a bookmark.  This method of marking your page is second in vileness only to placing the book in the open, face down position known as the spinebreaker.  Please don't do either one of them folks.  ...while I'm at it, please don't use bacon as a bookmark either...

Adventures in Libraryland

Greetings good readers,

It's been an interesting week so far here in Libraryland.

Monday
The week started when I worked Monday for the first time since I started here over two and a half years ago.  Paula, Sharon and I were in to receive in-person training prior to our library going live on Sitka Evergreen on Tuesday.  Now, the library has been here over 25 years, our hours haven't changed since I started in 2008 (I'm not sure how long they were in place before that), and we've got our hours posted on the door.

...I lost count of how many patrons tried to come into the library.  Every time one of them rattled our locked doors, I hopped down from my perch on the circulation counter, unlocked the doors, and told them "We're closed Mondays -- the only reason the lights are on is because we're receiving training today."  Their response:  "You're closed on Monday?"

It's nice to know people like us to be open, but it would also be nice if people were aware of our hours and didn't insist on trying the doors when we're closed...

Tuesday
Yesterday was the library's official "go live" day with Sitka Evergreen.  We had all hands on deck (and crowding behind the circulation counter).  After going through more training, Paula and I worked with our trainer to try to set up our library's local administrative settings.  I chose one option, saved it, and then the program quit responding to any further changes.  We had lost access to our database.

About ten minutes later, our trainer started hearing about Sitka Evergreen being down across the province.  As a result, we worked on some other things.  Later in the afternoon after Evergreen was back up, our trainer was talking to the tech support team.  I could only hear her side of the conversation, and it went like this:

"So it was us?  The setting Jacob changed did it?"

So it's official folks.  On day one, I crashed the Evergreen server.

To be perfectly honest, I'm kind of proud of the achievement.  I did a bit of a victory lap afterward and was bragging to the other staff about it.

Wednesday
When I was getting ready for work this morning, I decided to bring back a stack of my borrowed interlibrary loans.  I haven't had a chance to process the returns since I got back from the Beyond Hope conference last Thursday, so they've been piling up.  I had just carried over a stack of 20+ interlibrary loan books to my desk when Paula caught me and said "Oh Jacob, did you hear that Canada Post has locked out their employees?"

...So I put back my stack of books.  I'm hoping the situation gets resolved soon because my basket for books belonging to other libraries has a very finite space limit, and we're rapidly approaching it.


So that's what's been happening so far this week folks.  Stay tuned, because we'll be keeping busy over the next week in particular as we continue to learn how to use Evergreen and prepare for the Summer Reading Club opening ceremonies next Wednesday.

Summer Reading Club 2011 -- Savour Each Word

It's that time of the year again.  School is winding down, and everyone is wondering what there is around town for kids to do this summer...

As always, the Tumbler Ridge Public Library will be having Summer Reading Club all summer long!  Once your children are registered, they'll enjoy fun activities at the library four days a week, keep their minds active, and receive a prize at the end of the summer for the reading they've done.

This year, Summer Reading Club runs from July 5th to August 19th.

Summer Reading Club Schedule

Wednesday, June 22nd at 3pm -- Opening Ceremonies
      Registration
      Stories
      Music
      Facepainting
      Popcorn
      Door prizes

Weekly Schedule (starting July 5th)
      Tuesday at 3pm -- Storytime and a craft
      Wednesday at 3pm -- Storytime
      Thursday at 3pm -- Storytime and a craft
      Friday at 3pm -- Storytime

Friday, August 19th at 3pm -- Closing Ceremonies
      Prizes
      Medals
      Fun!

So sign your children up, and have them spend their summer at the library!



Before I wrap this up, I'd like to thank all the sponsors who have donated to Summer Reading Club so far:

Spectra Energy
Walter Energy Western Coal
Peace River Coal
Capital Power
Lion's Club of Tumbler Ridge
Lakeview Credit Union
Encana
Avalanche Trucking
Dr. Mark Sevier
Uniglobe 
Chetwynd Dental Clinic

Thanks folks!  This program wouldn't be possible without all your help!

Incoming!

Later this afternoon, Mandarin, the program responsible for the library's catalogue and circulation, will be shut down for the last time.  This weekend, technicians will be uploading the library's data, and the library will officially start using Sitka Evergreen starting Monday.

Instead of writing a lengthy essay about what Sitka Evergreen is, and what it'll do for the library, I've decided to just post a list of questions and answers I wrote for staff members so they could talk to patrons about Evergreen.

So what is Sitka Evergreen?

Evergreen is an open source integrated library system (ILS) -- the program that handles the library's cataloguing and circulation.  Sitka Evergreen is the name for the group of BC libraries that are installing Evergreen.

Why is the Tumbler Ridge Public Library switching to Evergreen?

• Using the same program as other libraries in BC will allow us to
• Share our catalogue listings
• Make it easier for patrons to find books to request through interlibrary loans
• Reduce duplication of effort between libraries
• Lower cataloguing costs
• Give our library a say in how our ILS will be developed and improved going forward
• Evergreen will also allow us to
• Properly track youth accounts
• Distribute overdue and hold notices by e-mail

How will Evergreen change things for me?

• Patrons will be required to show their library cards to borrow or renew items
• The Library's grace period will be reduced to one day
• The Library's online catalogue will look different and offer a number of extra functions, including
• the ability to search the catalogue of every BC library using Evergreen
• a shelf browser, which will show you items shelved near the title you've searched for

Why do I need to carry my library card to borrow items?

Evergreen works differently from Mandarin, our current system.  As a side benefit, requiring library cards to borrow or renew items will increase individual user security, as patrons will no longer be able to borrow books based on their knowledge of another patron's name and/or phone number.

Why is the grace period only one day?

The grace period is programmed into Evergreen, and may not be changed by individual libraries at this time.

Will the library's loan lengths or fines change?

No.  Items will still be loaned for the same length of time, and overdue fines will be unchanged.

The staff members at the library have had training and access to a test server to practice with, but we're still learning exactly what Evergreen can do.  It'll be a few weeks before we're completely comfortable with it.  In the meantime, please bear with us, and always remember your library card.

Garbage-pickers aren't so bad...

When I was a child, and my family visited my grandparents, we'd often play canasta.  If any one of us picked up the discard pile when there was less than a dozen cards or so, we'd be called a garbage-picker.  Regardless of our intentions (often grabbing one or two cards we needed to finish a canasta, etc.), we were labeled for picking up and collecting something that others felt was worthless.

I see that happening at the library sometimes, and it really bugs me.  People with an inflated sense of their own literary tastes put down readers and authors who don't live up to their expectations.

"You really read him/her?"

"I can't/won't read that trash."

"He/She isn't a *real* author."

For those of you who have expressed these sorts of sentiments (and to be fair, I've done it once or twice in my life in response to authors who write more books than I do blog entries), I'd like to request in the politest way possible that you keep them to yourself.  Here's why:

1)  Adult illiteracy is a major issue.

• As I've written about before, we live in a time when illiteracy is a huge concern.  There are many people who will never voluntarily read a book after high school.  As a society of readers, we need to be encouraging people to read, nomatter what the content.

2)  Library funding is derived from circulation (to an extent).

• If elitist readers drive away patrons, the library's circulation stats will plummet and the library's book purchasing budget will follow.  At that point, the library will have to focus its fiction budget on titles that appeal to as many patrons as possible, and will no longer be able to purchase books that appeal to that small elitist subset.

3)  Indiscriminate reading should not offend you.

• Reading is not a conspicuous activity.  Short of reading pornographic materials in public, reading is not an activity where the participant makes a point of doing something to impress or offend bystanders.

4)  There's nothing wrong with trashy novels.

• Okay, these books will probably never be used as a basis of an academic dissertation.  People can still derive pleasure from reading them.  These people are still reading and using their imaginations rather than passively consuming television and other media.

I've read the Illiad.  I also read Star Trek novels.  The universe is not constructed in a way that requires me to only enjoy one or the other.  So leave those readers alone who don't match your expectations, and perhaps try picking up a trashy novel.  Who knows?  You might even enjoy it.

Synchronicity and Summer Reading Club

Greetings, good readers.

Last week Sharon spent a large portion of her time preparing her fundraising letters for Summer Reading Club.  Each year she sends out letters asking for support for this program, and a handful of businesses and organizations have been very generous and made the Summer Reading Club possible.

Sharon was finishing off the letters this morning and was getting ready to mail them when she received an out-of-the-blue phone call from Glenn Auger of Spectra Energy.  He was coming to the library to present us with a cheque for the Summer Reading Club.  Meanwhile, the envelope addressed to Spectra Energy was sitting on Sharon's desk, just waiting to be sealed and stamped.

Glenn stopped in shortly before I left for lunch.  He told Sharon that Spectra Energy knew of the importance of the Summer Reading Club and literacy at a very young age.  Then Glenn presented Sharon with a cheque, posed for a photo, and left with our profound thanks.

Now I'd just like to take a moment to thank Spectra Energy for their donation and for kicking off the Summer Reading Club.  The Summer Reading Club is largely funded by donations of this kind.  The funds are used to buy program supplies, help pay for summer students, develop our children's collections, and (most importantly) buy prizes to reward members of the Summer Reading Club at the end of the summer.  It's a fantastic program that helps keep the children of TR entertained and educated over the summer, and we certainly appreciate the help.

Thanks Glenn.  Thanks Spectra Energy.

Living in the Chaos Zone

Hello good readers, and welcome to a brief blog entry.

Two weeks ago, we were told that work on the community centre envelope would be starting again shortly.  Due to the work required on the exterior wall of the library, we were asked to move everything at least five feet away from those walls.

We spent the next three days (Thursday, Mar. 31 -- Saturday, Apr. 2) moving books, shelves, and furniture with a great deal of help and sweat from the community centre staff.  Due to space constraints, the library's large tables and most of its seating have been placed in storage.

Shortly after we were warned about the pending construction, the silence we've enjoyed over the past few months was shattered as the contractors continued their work.

On Saturday morning while I was shifting books on the shelves, there were a series of loud thumps on the roof which caused one of our fluorescent light covers near me to fall and shatter.  The community centre staff responded, and they've since removed all the light covers so that incident will not be repeated.

In spite of everything, we *are* open for business.  If you visit us at the library, you will likely find it noisy and cramped, but we are open.  Our hours will not change over the next few months, and the library will not (barring any unforeseen dangers associated with the renovation work) close while construction is ongoing.

Before I wrap up this blog post, let's make a deal folks.  If you don't complain to me about the noise and cramped conditions (which are thoroughly beyond my control), I won't rant at you about how I have to work full time under these conditions.

...Wanna shake on it?