Have you met Vicki?

There's a good chance that you haven't had a chance to meet Vicki. While she helps out at the reference desk, it is limited to Friday nights and every 3rd Saturday. The rest of the time she is behind the scenes making sure that everything you check out is there to check out. Vicki is our cataloger, entering most of our collection into the system so that you can see it in our catalog. This is a very specialized process that takes a detail oriented person that strives for perfection, and we are lucky that Vicki is right there in the top ranks of the field. In fact, she is one of very few librarians in the state that the State Library allows to do some specialized cataloging. Of course she does much more than that for us - but it is all invisible to our users, but absolutely vital to making the library function.

Luckily, Vicki isn't a terribly serious person (except with her work) so her easy laugh and humorous attitude do much to lighten the load for all of us here at the library. And in addition to her participation in a very competitive Sweet Adeline Chorus, she has other unexpected interests. We found out during out 5 questions:

1. When I am not at the library, you can find me: at home on the computer.

2. Describe your perfect day: At a Science Fiction Convention with my friends. In fact, I already have made plans to attend the WorldCom in London in 2014.

3. If you had to live somewhere else than New Hampshire, where would it be? Down in Georgia. I got my masters in Decater and worked there for a while, and loved it. I made great friends, found Atlanta to suit me well and have always planned to move back at some point.

4. What 3 things can you always find in your fridge? Eggs and OJ for my dad, and chocolate ice cream for both of us.

5. You would be surprised to find out that I: Collect hand fans. I started collecting back in 1981 as an inexpensive way to decorate my home. Now I have a large collection and belong to the Fan Association of North America.

So keep an eye out for her, but know that her work is visible every time you look for a book or check out a DVD. She brings a great deal of professional experience to this library, and we gladly benefit from it, but we all treasure her friendship.

Snowed under?

We have all seen them, the ads for Bing where one word sets off a random torrent of conflicting responses, and let's be honest, it is a successful ad because we all have experienced that.

This week has been one of those times where nearly everything that comes up relates to one idea - the overload of information we are all recieving. Being snowed under as it were. It started with a book I ordered in to read. Talk about a service that sucks you in and makes you reach out for so many books, movies and cds! I won't say how many knitting books I have to look over at home. Did I mention we now have two successful knitting groups here? See how easy it is to be led way off track with a single idea.

Anyway, the book. It is a marketing book about catching the attention of your customer: Your attention please. The introduction and first chapter is all about how the overwhelming avalanche of information (ads, emails, web content, etc) is making it almost impossible for people to focus on anything. I see myself doing exactly what he mentions - keeping emails to check later - and never getting to them because of the dozens and dozens that have come in since. Printing off great articles for reading later - and never getting to them because of everything else coming along and swamping them. Making notes of what to do the next day, only to have so much unexpected come up that they are covered with a new series of notes, to be covered again and again.

Well, since then, I have seen an article in this week's Newsweek about how an overload of choices and information is interfering with decisionmaking. I have also seen postings around the web, and have experienced in on the job - just too much going on to be able to sit back and think clearly.

I'm not sure what we can do, except shut off the computer/phone/device. Find something away to occupy yet not overstress your brain: take a walk, sit and watch the view, knit - did I mention all those knitting books? But it is vital to slow the flow, put some brakes on all that we see and hear so we can take a moment to enjoy the moment for more than a moment. One of the most surprising tidbits in the book I mentioned above was the fact that there is more information in a single issue of the NY Times than the average person recieved in a lifetime in the 1600's. Wow. No wonder it is so hard to focus and no wonder it is so important to slow the process a bit.

Book: Making it all work, by David Allen
Book: Information: a history, a theory, a flood, by James Gleick
Book: Winter of our disconnect: how three totally wired teenagers (and a mother who slept with her iPhone) pulled the plug on their technology and lived to tell the tale, by Susan Maushart
Book: Against the machine: being human in the age of the electronic mob, by Lee Siegel

Family

We have just started a Genealogy Club here at the library, giving people interested in looking into their family history a chance to share techniques, great sources and stories. Genealogy it a popular hobby with many of us, providing us context and stability in our ever-changing lives. It puts into perspective the trials and joys of our lives when compared to those of our ancestors.

My mother went through a family history craze years ago while trying to prove that her family could be traced back to the Mayflower. So to me, tracing family history meant boring waits in the car, trips to cemeteries filled with strangers, and my mother engrossed with sheaves of paper all the time. My brother has recently caught the bug, leading him all over New England in search of this or that family link. He has ratcheted up the process, dropping in on descendants of distant shared ancestors.

My version of catching the bug was when I decided to scan, label and package all the old family photos so that everyone could have a copy. It was fascinating to see my grandmother, who suffered from depression for many years, as a happy young girl. It was a delight to see my grandfather as a strikingly handsome young man. But it was all the mysterious other people included in photos that linger on my mind. Who were they? Who were they to my ancestors? Many were identified by my parents, but one, a long time girlfriend of my Great Uncle, remains a tantalizing mystery. She is/was vivacious, lovely and brimming with life - here are a just a few of the dozens of pictures:
















She was apparently considered part of the family since her name was never part of the meticulous labels in white ink on the black paper photo albums. All the relatives that would know are dead now, so I may never know who she was - unless someone out there recognizes her? She lived somewhere in the Alston/Billerica/Greater Boston area.

But that is what is endlessly fascinating about genealogical searches. There are snapshots of times past, hints of what our great great grandparents lives were like, mysterious people entering and leaving our family histories - really it is like a good mystery book - you know the end, but how did we get there?

If you are interested at all in genealogy, join the club - it meets next on February 22nd at 1PM. If you can't make the meeting, be sure to try out our genealogical esources: Ancestry Plus and Heritage Quest. Plus we have some wonderful resources at the library and the reference staff can help you any time.


Book: Genealogy online, by Elizabeth Powell Crowe
Book: Family history for the older and wiser, by Susan Fifer
Book: Scrapbooking your family history
Book: Uncovering your ancestry through family photographs, by Maureen Alice Taylor
DVD: Faces of America

New year, new look

We took advantage of a little lull between Christmas and New Year's to do some rearranging here at Kelley. This is just the next step in a reorganization of the library to make it more welcoming, provide more space for our growing collections, and just to bring it more up to date. I'll start with the main floor and talk about the Children's Room next time.

We had already painted the walls and moved the study tables throughout the library. This time, we did a lot more. The new book area got a facelift with some comfortable club chairs and new carpets. The area now looks like a welcome spot to sit and browse through the new books. The paperback section was reorganized for easier browsing and to remove the wall of shelving that greeted browsers. The teen books were moved further back into the library where this popular and growing collection could grow and have seating for browsing. The cd-book collection took over the teen area enhancing browsing for this collection and allowing for expansion. The TV show DVDs moved over next to the film DVDs so that the whole DVD collection is together. Westerns are still where they always were, but now the paperback westerns are with them. All our science fiction is now in aisle 11a providing for easy browsing in just one location.

We think it looks and feels good and so far feedback has been good. If you haven't seen the changes yet, here are a few previews, but the best way to see it all is to come in and take a look.



















Are we done? Not by a long shot - the next series of changes will be coming in a few months. What is great about the changes is that it improves your experience, revitalizes the library experience, and other than a lot of lifting and carrying by our wonderful staff (a big woohoo for Natalie, Allison, Michele, Cindy, and Christine!) it was all done at a very low cost.

Music CD: Best of Bowie
Book: Who moved my cheese, by Spencer Johnson

The places we will go . . .

I've been reading a new comic strip this week and it has been all about a baby trying to figure out what to do with a book since he can't figure out how to turn it on. Today, he decided to try opening it, revealing a treasure trove of characters. I thought it was perfect - after all, you never really know where a book is going to take you when you open the covers.

As I walked into the library this afternoon, I noticed the book Crazy for Cornelia on the sale rack. I read this book years ago, I will be honest, out of desperation - one of those facing a long weekend and nothing on hand to read selections. Well, as often happens, I was pleasantly surprised. It is a funny romance, what would normally have been a pleasant book, soon forgotten. But there is a really strange aspect to this book that took me off on tangents I never saw myself exploring. If you haven't read this book, Cornelia is obsessed with Tesla, and spends much of the book trying to produce one of his creative concepts. Yes, Tesla, in the middle of a standard humorous yet touching romance. Not knowing anything about Tesla other than that famous coil, I spent some time afterwards reading about Tesla. Fascinating - and so useful when I randomly watched The Prestige (one of those facing a long weekend with nothing on hand to watch selections). But it all was an unexpected bonus to reading the book - I learned something without meaning to, and found myself exploring a new interest.

When I was putting together the "Today Is" sheet for December 6th, I happened onto the anniversary of the Halifax Explosion, the largest man-made explosion prior to WWII. I already knew all about it - why? Because I read A Wedding in December, by Anita Shreve of course. I read Anita Shreve occasionally, and was on a kick of her books at the time I read this one. If you haven't read this book, there is a parallel story going on that is the text of a book being written by one of the characters, and that story is all about a romance in the midst of the Halifax Explosion. I just happened to be reading this all when the terrific book The Curse of the Narrows, by Laura MacDonald came out. What a fascinating book, detailing the whole tragic event in Halifax. Again, something I would never have dipped into if I hadn't read the Shreve book. With that tempting glimpse at the explosion and aftermath, I ended up again learning something quite painlessly. Did you know that Boston gets a donated tree from Nova Scotia to this day in thanks for Boston's help after the disaster?

So, share your experiences with unexpected tangents from reading a book. I know I will be interested in hearing.

That human touch

I was watching TV last night (and I will admit to watching a lot of TV while I knit, read or browse through publisher's catalogs), and saw an ad for a new electronic gizmo that will teach your child to read. It works by the child pointing to a word or letter, and the electronic book 'saying' the word or sound. My initial thought was nifty - I am all for anything that helps new (or struggling) readers. But as I thought about it more, I really thought it is kind of a sad thing too. Where is the human contact, that sitting and sharing a book or a moment with another person? For some reason, electronics have given us the illusion of contact while really distancing us all.

It started with radio - we no longer had to go out to a theater to see a show. Television took away the chance to talk with other listeners, guessing the color of the gowns, the appearance of the ballroom, how the characters dressed or what they looked like. Now we could just sit and stare and be shown it all. The advent of computers and now smartphones have removed the need to actually talk at all - we can just send a brief note. Sure we may be talking to more people, and people all over the world, but are we really sharing a moment together? Can we sense the real emotions going on? I know I stick in a LOL or smiley face when talking to my kids far away from New Hampshire even though I am feeling blue. Are we losing the chance to really connect?

I have to say, there are still things going on - and I am proud that some of them here at the library - that allow for some human touch. I have been a part of the evening knitting group since its start, and the sense of community of that group is awesome (and I mean that in all its many uses). Almost immediately, we were willing to share very personal experiences and have found great support from one another. At the same time, we have a heck of a fun time, laughing loud enough to be shushed on occasion. And it isn't just this one group - the daytime knitting group is bonding similarly. Quite honestly, I thought this kind of bonding was a thing of fiction or movies (like the Jane Austen Book Club), but here I am seeing and living it every week. Even better, we welcome each new member and make them part of the group - no cliques here.

Another program here makes that human connection - but it is really a human to dog connection. We have a couple of READ dogs visiting regularly, providing the chance for kids to read out loud and share a few minutes with a friendly dog. Pets have become more challenging these days too - so many rentals restrict pets, so many people now have allergies, so many parents have to both work leaving no time for pets. But pets are an important friend for some children - some loving companion that will listen to you and not criticize or make fun of you. So our READ dogs fill that role, even if it is only for a few minutes.

So the library does provide the opportunity to connect with the world, the community and with each other. It takes so many forms from people talking with the staff, informal meetings to talk about the day over newspapers, more formal meetings of a wide variety of groups, to sitting next to your mom or dad and sharing a book. It is a vital thing in this day and age of electronic insulation - and it is just another aspect of what your library is all about.

Website: Your child and television
Movie: Jane Austen Book Club

The changes just keep coming

I have spoken here a few times about changes happening at the library. Each of these is intended to make your library experience easier, more enjoyable, or better. Our most recent change falls right in line.

You might have noticed that you now can take out more DVDs than before. When the DVD collection was first formed, it was small and DVDs were expensive, so the circulation period (back then it was 2 days) was set up to keep what DVDs we had coming back for circulation to the next person in line.

But times change, the collection grew and the cost of DVDs dropped, and we decided it was time to make some changes in how we handle circulating DVDs. The change highlight: you can take out as many as you want (TV series included) and keep them 2 weeks, renewable 3 times. If you are anything like me, you take those DVDs with every intention of watching them right away, and time just slips by. Before you know it a week has whizzed by and you haven't even taken them out of your bag! Now you can renew and get to them at your leisure. Anther thing that happens to me is I pick those 5, sure that the whole family will want to watch them, and you get them home and they just don't hit the spot. Now you can take more and be sure that something will be interesting.

Of course, the worse scenario was when you forgot about the DVD and now it has been more than a week and wow, those really high fines have kicked in The change bonus: fines now are down to just $.15 a day. Great news - right?

We did keep the limit of 5/check out for a week for our brand new DVDs. Those are in short supply and high demand and we still need to keep them coming in and out. But the fines are lower! Just $.50 a day now.

Speaking of the new movies. People are always asking me if we get new movies - believe it or not, we get them all - they are just always out. Consider putting a reserve on them. Not only will you be sure to get it, but it gives us some data to decide if we need to get additional copies to meet the demand. You will be helping everyone, you will be sure to get the movie pretty quickly and you will be sure to get that great film you have been waiting for since it was released.

Change - in this case we are all winners!

Book: 1001 movies you have to see before you die.
Music: Buffalo Springfield