It's December, it must be time for some changes

I realized this week, that I just like to move things around for a fresh look, and a new approach. Luckily, the library offers a lot of opportunity for this - and for some reason, it always seems to be in December. And this month is no different.

Stop in this month (or next month when it will be all done, except for some fine-tuning and tinkering) and see what's new and different. Now, I don't do this willy-nilly and without good reason - really! We are always analyzing the layout to make sure that we are meeting the changing needs and expectations of our users in the best possible way. This change is going to be pretty big, but we feel that it will ensure that we (the staff) are out where we are most needed.

Live with it for a while and let us know what you think - we are always looking for suggestions.

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated

I know, that is not the actual wording of Mark Twain's famous statement, but it is the one we all feel familiar with.

That being said, in light of a recent article in the Washington Post, and echoed in many places elsewhere, it seemed just the right statement. The article was addressing the flattening of eBook sales. Right now, after several years of double and triple percent increases, the latest figures are no more than 5%. Wow, that is a change from the many articles saying that the print book is dead. The article goes on to give a possible explanation, saying:

We may be discovering that e-books are well suited to some types of books (like genre fiction) but not well suited to other types (like nonfiction and literary fiction) and are well suited to certain reading situations (plane trips) but less well suited to others (lying on the couch at home). The e-book may turn out to be more a complement to the printed book, as audiobooks have long been, rather than an outright substitute.

It is what I suspected from the start - after being in the library business for as many eons as I have, you learn not to buy into the hyperbole. eBooks are definitely here to stay, and will represent a sizable portion of reading materials, but unlike the reports of the past few years, the print book will remain a viable method of delivering books into your hands. Now that the dust has settled, we feel more sure of how best to offer books, whether print, digital, or audio. That is why we are careful to offer access to as many formats as possible.

What will the future bring and look like - I can't answer that, but it is an endlessly exciting mystery that continues to unfold.

Oh, and try out our new Kindle that is dedicated strictly to classic books - those great books that libraries want to have, but rarely have the space for them all. Paul, our reference librarian, has been selecting and adding many titles just to make sure that we do offer the widest range of reading materials possible. This is a great use of eBook technology.

Digital Focus

The Library Board of Trustees put their money where their mouth is and kicked off a new focus on digital services here at the Kelley Library by funding the installation of a new, interactive projector system in our main meeting room. As we look forward, we are planning to increase our support of digital products and services. What does that mean? Well, we will continue to expand our funding our 3 sources for eBooks and downloadable audio: GMILCS 3M, the NH Downloadable, and our own Overdrive purchases. We have a variety of online products to replace print items that date quickly (travel information, auto repair, medical information) and are expanding these selections as well.

We have been providing one-on-one tech support for people using iPads and other devices to download eBooks, and have expanded that to provide general help and troubleshooting. Additionally we provide one-on-one assistance for people using our internet to apply for jobs, take exams, set up email accounts and so on. These services will be expanded so that everyone on the staff can provide this kind of help.

The library itself will be seeing changes that are driven by digital needs. Seating and table areas will have power nearby or as part of the furniture. There will be tablets with pre-reading apps for use in the children's room, a solution that will be expanded to encompass all ages of users.

Our website will continue to be the anchor for much of our digital services, and you should take some time now to browse through it for our current digital products. At the same time, there will be changes to the website as well as our services and support of digital products and users expands.

Will we ignore our print users - of course not! All this is just to provide right-sized services in the right format - print or digital.

If there is something you believe we should be offering - let us know! We want to hear from you. Email me directly at abaker@kelleylibrary.org, or stop by and tell me directly. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Books last forever?

It is September, and for us here at the library that means that our big annual Used Book Sale is here. Yes, it will be on Saturday, September 20th from 9-2. It is the culmination of a year's work of back-breaking work for a couple of our staff members (a big shout-out to Chris, Cindy and Natalie) who sift through the surprising number of books we are given. They decide whether to add it to the collection, keep for the sale, pass along to another non-profit, or trash.

Trash? We throw out books? On occasion we get a few books as donations that are in really bad condition - buggy, wet, moldy - and we can't sell them, and we can't donate them along, so we are forced to put them to rest.

But for the vast majority of our donations, the annual sale is a chance for fresh, new life for a book. Once we have them all out on the tables, it is like a popularity contest, a vast adoption day for books looking for a new reader to take them home. Each one has the same chance as the next, but sometimes jewels are overlooked, and sometimes a flashy cover catches the eye of an unwary reader. But there is one constant. Everyone is so delighted at their find.

I have worked the cash register at the sale for 6 years, and every person comes through the line delighted with the treasures they have found at the sale. A few whisper about how their husband/wife will roll their eyes when they find out how many more books are being brought into the family. A few will moan about not having room for another book, but unable to resist one or two more. A few gripe at the cost (it isn't a dollar a bag until late into the sale, and this year, it will be a dollar a bag on Monday the 22nd as well), but most are delighted at how many they can get for so little. We are just happy that these books have found a new home.

So be sure to be here bright and early - we have some ravenous buyers first thing who get the cream of the crop. And bring your own bag - we will give you one free book! Tell me that you read this (there will be a brief test) and I will give you your whole stack for free!

So last century

We are just back from a week with our extended family up in Maine at the family place. Family has been gathering there for over 100 years now, and there's the rub for some of the younger members, or the marry-in members - it is still pretty untouched since being built over 100 years ago. Yes, there is running water and electricity, but not much more than that. You have to be someone who can manage without cell phones, TV, the internet, et al.

It is becoming more and more scary for all of us to take that trip back in time to a quieter, slower-paced time and just appreciate the moment, the beauty of nature, each other. But by the end of a visit, as much as we are looking forward to getting back to the mod cons, no one ever regrets going on that journey back to the last century.

And what really is the standby for all of us during these visits? Besides cards, board games, and conversation? Yep, books. Being someone who has forgotten power cords a number of times - the simple pleasure of printed books and magazines never fail.

Can I pay with my debit card?

About a year ago, we started tracking everything we said no to at the desk. The plan was to identify what people expected to find at the library, what service we should be offering. We wanted to try and get to the yes. We have done just that with the vast majority of the no's - this is why we offer faxing, for instance.

But the no we had to say the most, and the most difficult to turn into a yes, was "Can I pay with my debit card (credit card)?" It seems like it should be an easy thing, after all we pay with credit/debit everywhere it seems. Why shouldn't we be able to at the library? Well, it turns out that it isn't that easy. Providing this service involves seriously complex forms, reporting, costs, training, and much more. So we explored some solutions. There are some simple solutions which unfortunately can't be used for fines rather than purchases. And then a great solution came up as a result of our membership in GMILCS and the circulation system we use.

So we now have made that no a yes. You can now pay your fines from the comfort of your home (or anywhere you have secure internet access), just by logging into your account. Click on Fines and Fees on the left menu, select the transaction you want to pay, and click on Pay Fines Now! Yes, there is a convenience fee that will help to defray the costs everyone who accepts debit/credit cards gets hit with. If that seems too much, you can always pay with cash or check at the library.

It is always good to have options. But it is great to be able to say Yes!

Sometimes there is that event . . .

It is easy to lose confidence in our fellow man. For every Boston strong story there are several stories about a child being killed by a family member. For every person that waves you into a line of traffic, there are 10 bozos that cut you off pulling out of the mall. For ever person that cleans up after their dog, there are 50 people who drop their trash wherever they want. So you get my drift. Sometimes the world seems to be just sliding into a negative place, with jaded people who no longer can care.

Perhaps you have heard of crowdsourcing - where you put up a plan and ask for donations to make it happen. Much of the support is in small amounts. Zach Braff of Scrubs fame got his film funded, small and micro businesses get crowdsourcing for equipment. There is a huge variety of options.

But this isn't an advertisement for crowdsourcing. It is about a recent success story and the heartfelt thanks shown in this great video. Levar Burton and some friends wanted to expand the reach of a rebooted Reading Rainbow and put it up on Kickstarter. Watch the video to see what happened.

Now I am not recommending (or not recommending) this product. Sadly there are already criticisms being leveled against it - we can't seem to get ahead of that reality of "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". I am asking you to note the genuine feelings being shown, the fact that a man familiar with all that celebrity can bring, can still be moved by a notion that we need to make reading appealing to children, and that there are lots of us that believe it is important.

The passing parade

I was reading my brother's blog today (he is a great, witty writer)and he was ruminating about his time with Ma Bell - Bell Telephone - and rubbing elbows with the creative types at Bell Labs (whose researchers developed radio astronomy, the transistor, the laser, C and C++ programming languages). He wrote about how he knew everything about how telephones work when working there, and kept up with the all changes, while the older researchers kept up only in their slice of work and were quaintly fuzzy about modern phones. He remembers being very judgmental about it, until he retired and now realizes he hasn't a clue about modern telephony, as much as he continues to purchase and tinker with the most modern gadgets and electronics.

And that is the thing of it. It is easy to focus on the details of living each day, and suddenly realize that the parade is passing by - or has passed and is out of sight around the corner - and you realize with a jolt just how out of step you are with things many people take as vital parts of their lifestyles. We see that every day here, people changing jobs and suddenly having to be adept with navigating complex, online application processes and online training modules. We see that with people coming in asking us to help them with their new phone, new tablet, new reader. And we keep up with the times, we make sure we can meet these needs as always. We are glad that people think of us when they need help - it is what we are here for.

But that said, we suddenly woke up to a parade whizzing by and we needed to do some running to get to the front again. What parade? Well, we realized that our public computers are all running Windows XP and not able to support some important upgrades. While we get new computers each year, we have a lot, and the rotation is at least 7 years per computer - a long time in computer years.

So, we just want you to know - we see the parade, and we know what we need to do, and we are starting with our next budget cycle with a new focus on the physical side of the digital world here inside the library. We have been keeping up with the virtual side of the modern library (ebooks, remote access to information, etc) and now we will match that internally.

I will keep you posted with developments. Before the parade passes by Hello Dolly

Side by side

You may have heard about - or hopefully seen - our muskrat. (Try our Facebook page if you haven't) The long winter had apparently encouraged it to come far afield to open grass for much needed feeding. It was interesting to see the various reactions when people saw it ranging from "So cute" to "What's that rodent" to the inevitable few trying to attack it.

We as humans still struggle with finding the right balance of living with other people, sharing our world with other animals and insects, and letting others the space and opportunity to do their own thing. The Live Free or Die motto of New Hampshire always appealed to me in its spirit of live and let live, and in general, I have not been disappointed since moving here. There are some occasions when the differences between us seems too difficult to handle easily, but in general, we here in NH find a way.

That is one of the things I really have always liked about libraries. They are dedicated to offering many points of view, many sides of the story, a variety of options. We in the library field work hard to make sure that all are welcome, to make sure there are no unnecessary barrier. At any given moment at the library, there are people of many ages, varying walks of life, radically different political, religious and social outlooks, diverse ethnic and national backgrounds, finding a place that we all can share.

And if we can share it with the various denizens of the marsh, all the better.

Staying open to new experiences

One of the nicest things about my job is the view from my office. Of course there are some drawbacks, but that is a story for another day, but truly, being able to sit and look out at the marsh is a daily pleasure. I have seen some fascinating things ranging from tiny frogs to herons to rabbits. I now know a great deal about the habits of red-winged blackbirds just due to 6 years of seeing them arrive in the spring to spend the summer in the marsh.

Now honestly, I don't spend hours just gazing out the windows, but I do get an occasional treat of new visitors of the animal kind. This week, it definitely was something new to almost the entire staff, and it turned out to be a muskrat! I will admit my first reaction was thank goodness it wasn't a huge rat, but the next was fascination - a chance to watch something totally new to me as it goes about living. And it has been spending a great deal of time of the very limited open grass digging up and eating roots. We have learned it has what seems to be a tunnel under the snow for quick access to safety. We've learned that it uses a defense mechanism common to a number of animals - it freezes. It is becoming a familiar 'friend' similar to our chipmunk.

So what is my point here? It is the importance to being open to seeing what is around you. To be open to the unexpected opportunities in life. To just be aware. It creates that wondering awe that we all had as a child, and enriches your life immeasurably.

I am lucky to have access to an old family cottage on a busy working harbor. By sitting on the porch at random times during the day, I have seen a deer swimming down the harbor, a bald eagle flying past just six feet away, loons and eider ducks in their winter and summer coloring. I have heard seals surfacing right out front in the dark at high tide, I've watched herring fished, lobster traps tended, moorings laid and moved. And I make a point of looking for the unexpected anywhere. I used to live a stone's throw from a coke mill - where coal was baked into coke:

Yes, I lived right there in one of those houses for many years. My parents were horrified on their occasional visits, seeing only the ugliness. Yes there was ugliness everywhere, but I was daily caught up in the stark reality of heavy industry, the unexpected beauty of the smoke pouring from the smokestacks, the weird equipment used, the process required for producing this valuable fuel for steel making.

It is just part of a life-long determination to try and notice what is around me, to sample fresh experiences. And libraries are a great way to remain open to new ideas and experiences. You can try new authors, try out music or films that aren't your usual taste - all with no risk or cost to you. The programs we offer can open the door to new interests, new hobbies, new ideas - again without risk or cost, other than being present and open to the opportunity. You never know what you might stumble across.

Everything that is, is a beginning

I watched the Super Bowl on Sunday, saw the photos of the disappointed Colts, and walked into my office on Monday and was struck once again at the meaningfulness of the large fabric hanging on my wall. If you haven't seen it (feel free to stop by my office any time - my door is always open), it is quite large, made of rather strongly colored felt pieces, not particularly attractive nor in good shape. But to me it suggests a sunrise and has the words: Everything that is, is a beginning. I didn't make it, didn't buy it, it wasn't given to me (my college roommate got it from her ex-boyfriend's family after the break-up), but it has been with me for a long, long time.

It has never failed to be a reminder of better times to come when faced with a disappointment, a crisis, an unexpected and unwanted change. It has never failed as a reminder that I have gotten over that disappointment, crisis, change and am still standing, still have friends, still have family and still have the ability to move forward from that new beginning. I hope that it has been inspiring for others that have seen it while visiting my office.

I hope that Peyton Manning has something equally encouraging in his life - we all should. We need that reminder that we can make survive, take charge of our lives once more, and find our new path. Being a librarian, I think books as well, and there are so many that can be of help. The Book of Awakening: having the life you want by being present to the life you have, by Mark Nepo, Stumbling on Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert, Finding Beauty in a Broken World, by Terry Tempest Williams are just a few to consider.

I would love to hear what books you have found helpful in tough times. Share the titles so that we all can benefit. Oh, and remember to drop by and check out that wall hanging.

Where do they hide it all

I discovered a new television show over the weekend - Celebrity House Hunting. I love House Hunters, and the celebrity version is awesome since it combines the guilty pleasure of seeing how the 'stars' live, and the enjoyment of seeing potential houses and guessing which will be picked (they never pick the right one). The show starts with a tour of the current home and of course the places are gorgeous. But once again, just like in MTV Cribs (yes I watched that religiously too)I noticed that there was no sign of anyone really living in the house. These houses always see more of a showcase than a home.

What I mean is where are the piles of books (or even one) sitting next to the chair/couch/bed ready to be picked up? How about a stack of magazines? Pile of newspapers? So they don't read - how about the remotes? Knitting bag? Some sign of a hobby somewhere?? I look around my house and see a number of bookcases crammed with books, books leaning against the sides of them, books nearby begging for space. I have no less than 3 knitting bags each with a project I am part-way through. My husband has his tablets, etc. piled right within easy reach of where he sits. His n-scale trains are set up in the back room, where all the jigsaw puzzles are stacked. But in all these shows, it looks like people don't do anything in their homes. I guess they get it all cleaned up just for the show - but where did they put it all? We have several large closets in our place, and they are filled with our hobbies. Canning jars, sewing supplies, fabric, rug hooking projects and supplies - the list goes on. So there is no where to stash the extra. Do they have a storage unit? Well, so do we and that is full with Christmas decorations, tools - the list could go on there too. Is it all out in the yard? But we get a tour of there as well, and the garage.

These thoughts come to mind each year as I make my resolutions about organizing better. For a long time, it was a New Year's tradition for my family to clean the basement on New Year's Day and I still tackle some problem area now that we don't have a basement anymore. It is also a New Year's tradition that I put out a "Beat the Clutter" display at whatever library I am working at. It is always the single most popular display of the year. Clearly there are lots of people just like me that have lots of interests, lots of collections, not quite the space to store them all and are looking for some ideas on how to manage them a bit better. (Did I mention how much I miss the show Clean Sweep?) If this sounds like you, revel in the fact that you are not alone, and stop by an check out some great books on how to manage it all so that you can enjoy it more.