Librarian's Report 2013-1-10

Administrative:

Working on an updated website where you can easily access the VOKAL system from OPAC.  Patron classes will be scheduled. Thank you Greg Haas for his long distance assistance and patience. From the website all of our online services can be easily accessed along with your personal library information. Overdue notices are emailed automatically as well as reminders. Check out bradfordvtlibrary.org

We are completely moved over the VOKAL catalog library system now. There is still a learning curve and some information to update but it looks like we made a good choice for the future. Both the state of Vermont and NH have announced recently that they intend to move their systems to the KOHA based VOKAL system we now have.

Some day we may all live as one…

BPL received 10 copies of Eighteenth Century Global Trade: The Logs of Captain William Trotter.

Town Report draft is being edited and is due 1/15.

With the new VOKAL program we will be doing a top reader count each month and giving prizes for top checkout count for both adult and children’ books.

Larry has discovered a donated book worth around $200. He plans to donate a portion of the sale to the library. Larry can demonstrate the ease of tracking book costs and recommendation someone volunteer for this ongoing project.

Listen Up Vermont / GMLC has upped their price for membership. We signed a 3 year contract so we are good with current rates until 2014. Contract is available for you to look at.

Past programs:

Bert Dodson and Willem Lange Together Again – Great program with the room packed with people. They offered this program free to the library and the publishers gave us a portion of the profits.

Upcoming Programs:

We have a quarterly line-up of programs coming up. Thank you to Kathy Davidow and board members for making contact and helping set up scheduling with authors and trainers. Now if we can only get someone to take on the Technology Programs.

January:

1/19 Sarah Stewart Taylor – Expeditioners

Saturday, Jan. 19, 1:00 PM

Sarah Stewart Taylor is an author living in Hartland, who has written a number of books with the most recent being a young adult sci-fi book called the Expeditioners. Kids and adults will love talking with the author about her memorable characters. Taylor also writes adult mysteries. We have three of them in the library.

Tax assistance with Marcy Carver begins last week in January, Thursdays 4-7 and Saturdays  2/9, 2/23, 3/9, and 4/6

1/23 Scanning Archival Photos with Bob Raiselis Upper Valley Digital 6:30 PM

When archival photos are converted to digital versions, they can easily be shared, printed, and saved for the ages. In this program we examine the possibilities for using a scanner with a computer to archive family and community photographs, and in the process discuss resolution and image file formats. We also take a look at using photo editing programs to remove imperfections and improve the color, tone, and contrast of the scanned image, and will discuss options for distribution and safekeeping of the digital files.

1/30 iPAD Basics 6:30 Turning it on, setting it up, closing down Apps once your finished and saving battery tips. All these essential basic techniques will be covered in this first of a 4 part series on iPAD Basics.

February:

2/6 Maple Sugar in the Soul – Author and Tree Herder Burr Morse

Burr Morse is a seven-generation Vermont hill farmer. Morse Farm has grown from a diversified vegetable/beef cow/maple farm, to an internationally known tourist destination.

He is the author of three books, Sweet Days and Beyond, Golden Times, and Sugar

Burr pens the bi-weekly email newsletter, News from Vermont, and a bi-weekly newspaper column, Burr’s Whittlings. He will read and relate things historical and folksy with a sense of humor only achieved through seven generations of life in a place as gnarly as Vermont.

Childhood Literacy for Caregivers

Get the tools and learn techniques for ensuring a love of literature in our children. Two part program continuing from last year’s early childhood literacy focus on families. Dates to be announced.

March:

3/6 Cynthia.Huntington, named a finalist for the National Book Award, will read her poetry.

April:

4/3  Sydney Lea on writing and reading your own poetry.

SYDNEY LEA is Poet Laureate of Vermont. His most recent collection of poems is Six Sundays Toward a Seventh: Selected Spiritual Poems

4/17 Poetry Writing Workshop with Jack Gundy

5/1 Poetry Reading – Open Mike if there seems to be enough interest.

Volunteers:

Looking for volunteers to direct the following areas. These are responsible, rewarding positions that we have tried to break up into areas that don’t require too much of anyone’s given time. Please consider taking one on or helping us recruit another interested community member.

Book Delivery to 1 or 2 Senior Living facilities monthly. We have from 1- 5 seniors home bound that need books delivered. Talk to them a bit, get to know what they want to read and email the library their requests. We will get a book bag ready for delivery monthly. You deliver and bring back the previous months books. This requires a small investment of time for a great service.

Book Sale – Organize books as they are donated to the library for annual sale. We are constantly overflowing with books that are donated regularly and do not have a place to store them. The Merchants bank has offered a space in the past to store books for our spring sale. What we really need is an on going three fold approach. Someone to sort the books, set up recycling, reuse or disposal connections and pickup, organize and implement off site storage of books for resale. Seems like a lot but might be great for a small group to take on.

Books Online – Check select books for selling price to earn money from donated books for the library. We have a number of old and possibly rare books and continue to get donations of potential all the time. We need someone to at least do a basic check of prices online (which is very simple) of a few books a week. Then email the results to the library. You have the potential of earning big money for the library with this service.

Technology Programming – We need someone to help plan and set up Technology programs at the library. Basically plan what is needed with the librarian, identify potential solution, and contact person or organization to set up event. Librarian will do the rest. This worked great for the author events. Talk to Kathy Davidow on what type of time might be involved and how rewarding it can be.

Technology Maintenance – monthly updates, scans and regular maintenance. Probably an hour or two monthly. We can set up a time to work with your schedule. Might be something a student can do and get community service credits if you know anyone that might be interested.

Promotion – Meet with, or be in email contact with librarians weekly for distribution of press releases to online calendars, and poster spots throughout town. Librarians will have the press ready and you just need to do the postings to specified spots.

Art/design – Graphic design of posters and/or bulletin boards, or dimensional in-house displays.

Help come up with interesting designs and either implement it or enlist someone who can. This can be lots of fun if your artistic or would like a connection into that world. The library can give you lots of opportunity to stretch your creativity and great exposure.