Blog June Post 11 - Mud Poo and Cows

Today's mantra: Live the life you have imagined.

Thanks to @geocachinglibn for writing a responding blog post to my post concerning libraries and communities.

He writes: There are certainly a range of different communities on a university campus, such as the research community, teaching and learning community, and the internationalisation community, and the library is usually represented in them all.

This got me thinking - do public libraries have a research community, teaching and learning community and internationalisation community?  I think they do, and I think they have more - the reading for relaxation community, the education community, the hobby community, the book club community, the student requiring a space community - and I use the word community instead of individual as there are many and often the come together in the library or network through the library.  But I suppose we could just call them the public library community!

I will be interested to read/learn more about how @geocachinglibn feels the health library he is now working in builds community.  But there are other's that follow my blog that already work in health libraries and they may be able to discuss this as well.  The floor is open to you.....

Today was a good day in the library.  I had a query for an item that turned out to be not what it was first thought to be.  I love it when I have to do a bit of sleuthing to work out just what the customer is wanting - especially when only provided with a snippet of information.  I miss using these skills as the role I am currently in calls for more people massaging (management) then the fun "using library skills" stuff!

This morning was also fun.  I ran 21km with my running friends.  We left at around 5am in the dark and went out along one of the road that passes a few dairy farms.  Unfortunately, for us we had some rain last night which caused parts of the road to be slippery with mud and cow poo.  It was a case of yelling out "puddle" "pot hole" "mud" "cow" - yes cow!!  A cow was outside the paddock and due to the lack of light it was a bit of a shock to look up from concentrating on the ground so as not to fall over and see a huge beast in front of you.  I think the cow was more scared of us - as you would be with numerous bobbing head lamps coming towards you looking somewhat like UFO's - and ran off to find the gap in the fence and return to the safety of the paddock.

Blog December Day 3 - The best library is an empty one

Ok so some of you are probably thinking I have lost the plot after reading the title of this blog post.  I assure you I haven't but I am wondering if by the end of my post you will agree with that statement.

Anyway, I was umming and aaahhing about what to blog about this morning, so I thought, since it's coming up to Christmas, often it means that libraries start to slow down.  Ok, not public libraries as they start to offer school holiday programs, but I do remember my days in an academic library and Christmas was always a time to tidy things up or shift things around.  Mainly because there was less students around so less disruption to them.

Where I work, all the branches are closed on Monday's.  I don't want it to be this way but it is so I work with it.  My other staff do not work Monday's but I do (although the public always tell me that it is so good that I get Monday's off - I do try to correct them but they think that there is no work to do in a library when it is closed).  So this is what brings me to - the best library is an empty one.

For me Monday's are my catch up day.  I can plough through my "to do" list in record time without interuptions.  I can fix any public computer problems because I'm not disturbing anyone.  I can weed collections without having anyone look over my shoulder.  But best of all I can have quiet time!!

Some may question that working in a library should be pretty quiet anyway.  Those working in public libraries will understand that this is not the case.  While we don't let noise get to a disruptive level, there is always the quiet chatter, the tapping of keyboard keys, the hum of staff talking to library users.  So on Monday's there is none of that.  There is also no interuptions!!

So on Monday's I allow myself the thought of the best library is an empty one!!  But of course, on every other day the best library is a full one!!

Blog June Post 8 - buildings, collections, ponderings

I'm struggling this morning about what to write about.  I'm working from Urunga branch today so I only have to walk down the road and I'm at work.  I sometimes wish it was like that everyday.  However, because Bellingen branch building is only 4 years old, I have to say I enjoy working in a new building.

Out of the three library branches I manage, Urunga is the oldest.  It desperately needs new carpet and some sort of face lift - perhaps a paint job as internally there is a lot of dark wood and tinted windows.  Unfortunately, funds are tight and there is not enough for new carpet.  So each year, since I've been here (coming up to my 4th), I use some of the equipment budget to purchase some new furniture that will lift the library.

So far I've purchase a new lounge, a large colourful mat for the children's area, a colourful activity table for the children's area and a large display pyramid.

We have a number of new collections coming to the branches over the next few months.  So I have warned my staff that we have to find room for these collections, as well as make room for our continually growing collections.

Already, our fiction shelves in all three branches are full - that is adult, junior and YA.  I have been desperately trying to weed when I can, but when there is only one person weeding three branches, you can understand that it is hard to make a dent.

The new collections are DVD's (yes we are only now having a DVD collection - long story) and HSC books - e.g. Excel guides.  Bellingen already has the DVD collection but we are going to start populating our smaller branches now.  That said, Bellingen is already starting to run out of room.  We also received the beginning of our HSC collection this week.  Yesterday I madly did some shelf shuffling and fit the collection on the end of the non-fiction collection - but this is temporary as I want it in a more prominent space.

Temporarily I would like to see the branches use the paper back spinners as a possible location for the DVD's.  Currently the paper back spinners have uncatalogued paper backs on them.  I do have an issue with having uncatalogued items in the library but at the same time, our area is a tourist destination so you often have people come into the library and want to take books without the worry of having to return them.  We do offer free reciprocal membership but as I said, they don't want to worry about returning them.  They are quite popular and we manually count them for statistics but it frustrates me that we aren't gaining these possible new memberships and we are relying on staff to see people walk out with the paper backs as not all people come to the desk to tell us they have taken some.

Does anyone know of other public libraries that have uncatalogued paper backs?  I know it is common up and down the New South Wales coast.

Grafton HQ has some older shelving available.  So I will be purchasing some of the shelving from them.  I am unsure how I will get it from Grafton to Bellingen/Dorrigo/Urunga but I imagine that I will have to take a work ute and do it myself.  I'm going to get a few shelves for Bellingen too, although it will mean we mix new shelves with old but I can put them in positions where it won't make it too obvious.  And in reality it will probably only bother me because our users don't really care as long as there are lots of books available!

That brings me to another ponder.  I remember back to my days working in a university library that was in a building with a number of levels.  On the entry level we had reduced our reference collection dramatically so it was really a few bays of reference, lots of seating areas and a 24 hour computer room, circulation desk and information desk.

I remember one day a student walked over to the information desk and asked where all the books had gone.  I said that there were two levels above us with books.  He replied saying that previously all levels had been full of books and where was his student fees being spent if we weren't spending them on books.  I did say that we also had a number of electronic resources.  But he got very disgruntled as he wanted the physical and he wanted the library to be full of physical books.  He was quite young too.

Now back to a more recent thing of when we relocated the Bellingen branch from the old building to the new.  The old building was very small and cramped so it was pack full of shelves and books.  We did weed a few items during the move but not a lot.  But the new building was three times the space of the old building so the collection spread out and there was lots of space and seating areas.  For months after the move heaps of users commented on where had all the books gone.  To which I replied that there was the same number of books they had just been spread out.  They would not believe me.  They felt that the only good library was one overflowing with books -- regardless of the age or condition of them.

So when we all move to ebooks (if that ever happens) - will we still have people asking where are all the books??!!  Will they devalue our library when they can't see the physical??  Will there be any point in having buildings??