January 2010 | Library Staff Stefanie has had a wonderful first month at the Bainbridge Library, quickly picking up the catalog system, the library databases, and, of course, meeting teens. Off and running, she already has her first teen event on the calendar: a volunteer appreciation party scheduled for mid-February. Stefanie has also met with Shannon Buxton, from the BI Teen Center, and is setting up discussion times with Bainbridge Youth Services, and the Bainbridge High School English department. During her first week, she met with a group of school librarians, who have already begun to share class assignments and program ideas. We are looking forward to working with Stefanie and supporting her as she develops teen programming at Bainbridge. I would also like to extend a thank you to library associate substitutes Sara Scribner, Suzanne Bardelson, and Joan Hutchinson for providing such excellent reference service to Bainbridge patrons during this past year. Libby Anderson also filled many shifts and we greatly appreciated her assistance. Julie O’Neill will be turning over the 1st Wednesday book group to Joan Hutchinson beginning February 2010. She will continue the 3rd Tuesday discussion at the Senior Center, a successful outreach program for the library.
Services and Programs: Highlights from December
Friday, January 8. 1st Friday Art Walk: Susan Najarian. 10 adults; 2 teens.
A stormy and dark night might have limited our crowd for the First Friday Art Walk, but it was a celebration nonetheless. Susan Najarian gave us a wonderful introduction to her work, described how the pictures are made, and talked about those who influenced her art. Saturday, January 9. Seattle Opera Preview, “il Trovatore” by Verdi. Attendance: 78 adults
After the Live at the MET performance at the cinema that same morning, opera die-hards traveled to the library for an afternoon of Verdi with Norm Hollingshead. Thank you to the Friends for funding this very popular program at the library. Saturday, January 16. “Scenes and characters from an artist’s autobiography” with Duane Pasco. Attendance: 75 adults. Kate Skinner, a staff member at the Sylvan Way branch and member of the Suquamish tribe, helped to organize this program for Bainbridge. Duane has quite a following and the program ended with a lively q&a about Pacific NW coastal art. Monday, January 25. 8th Annual William Stafford Birthday Celebration. Attendance 40 adults.
Neil Baker moderates this popular program each year, and the discussion of Stafford’s poetry makes for a meaningful and entertaining evening. This year, the group was joined by Bainbridge Review arts editor, Connie Mears, who also ran a nice article about the event in the previous week’s paper. Friday, January 29. Rumplestiltskin Marionette Show. Attendance: 120 children and adults.
A special program funded by the Friends of the Library. Saturday, January 30. Great Decisions at the Library. Attendance: 30 adults
The Great Decisions program, organized by Kathleen Thorne, had a strong start with thirty in attendance. This is an 8-week series with a different moderator each week. The January 30 program was moderated by Larry Kerr.
Levy Update
Jill Jean and Bob Goldstein will be meeting with the BPL board in February to speak about the levy. Members of the KRL administration and leadership team will also be meeting with Friends groups and community leaders throughout the county. Even in these difficult economic times, the response to the levy proposal press release has been positive. Library supporters throughout the county understand the restrictions of our current budget and desire to see our library system thrive, not just survive in the future. Improved hours, improved collections, and improved facilities will all be necessary. In addition, KRL is also finishing a draft of the 2015 strategic plan. Jeff Brody, who has been the principal writer of the plan, visited the BPL planning committee in January to share highlights.
Out in the Community
Bainbridge Arts & Crafts is in the middle of their 2010 book drive to benefit the Bainbridge Library. Community members are encouraged to donate their gently used art and design books to BAC, and the gallery, in turn, will sell the used books and give the proceeds to KRL to purchase art, architecture, and design books for the Bainbridge branch. Over the past six years, BAC has raised nearly $7,500 for the library through this annual drive.
The Living Library organizing group got together in January to discuss a possible spring program. The group continues to be active and engaged in this project, with representatives from BIJAC, COBI, Yes! Magazine, KRL, the JustKnow Coalition, and Interfaith. We decided on a smaller version of the Living Library for our third program, with just a dozen books culled primarily from previous best-sellers. We set a date for March 6 and will be working on publicity over the next several weeks.
Other
In January, the Friends of the Library agreed to fund Library Hotline for BI staff. This weekly publication highlights news and trends in the library field. The Friends also agreed to support the March Living Library program, with funds for printing, publicity, and hospitality. Thank you, Friends! IT update: The KRL IT department has two major upgrades scheduled for the next month. On February 17, our SirsiDynix circulation software will be updated to version 3.3.1. A system-wide committee has been testing the upgrade for the past several months, working out the bugs and getting as much ready as possible before the change. The computers will likely be down on Wednesday, February 16, but staff will still be able to check out materials using our “offline” mode. The second upgrade involves staff workstations, increasing RAM to 2GB.
On January 29, The BPL planning committee organized a field trip to see the Espresso Book Machine at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. The machine (affectionately named “Ginger”) is run by staffer Vladimir Verano and can print a book-on-demand in less than seven minutes. Most titles in the print-on-demand catalog, located on the Third Place website, have been digitized through the Google Books project or by individuals. The possible implications for libraries are numerous. Because the paperback books are attractive and generally under $15.00, print-on-demand titles could be used to fill gaps in series, or, possibly, supply interlibrary loan requests. In addition, The Espresso Book Machine opens up a large and inexpensive market for out-of-print titles, allowing libraries to purchase materials that were previously unavailable. To see the Espresso Book Machine in action, Third Place Books has a YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec2BZA50EaY
Coming up in February (highlights)
· February 1 – April 14. M, W, F 10:30 – 1 p.m.; Monday evenings, 5:30-7:30 p.m. AARP Tax Assistance program. Free tax assistance with trained volunteers. · Every Saturday in February. 9:00-10:30. Great Decisions at the Library with a different topic and moderator each week. · Friday, February 5. 6:00-8:00 p.m. First Friday art walk reception with artist Terry Leness. · Sunday, February 7. 3:00 p.m. Behind the Score: “Music Lovers” with Bainbridge Symphony Orchestra director David Upham. Co-sponsored with Bainbridge Performing Arts · Friday, February 12. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Nate the Great’s Mushy Valentines Day Party. In honor of Nate’s least favorite holiday, come join us for some reader’s theater, crafts, mystery and mayhem. Recommended for K- 3rd graders. · Saturday, February 13. 2 p.m. Seattle Opera Preview with Norm Hollingshead. “Falstaff” by Giuseppe Verdi. · Tuesday, February 16. 7 p.m. Field’s End Writers’ Roundtable. Erica Bauermeister presents “Fiction, Non-Fiction, Memoir, How do you Choose?” · Wednesday, February 17. 7:30 p.m. Travel stories roundtable. Bring your favorite adventure to share. · Sunday, February 21. 3 p.m. BPL Speakers Forum: Facebook: what is it? where do you start? · Sunday, February 28. 2-4 p.m. Sound of Music Sing Along. The library comes alive with the sound of music. Subtitled version for group sing along. Come dressed as a favorite character. Prizes for best costumes. |
December 2009 | Library Staff We welcomed our new teen librarian, Stefanie Graen, to the library on Monday, January 4. Stefanie is a recent graduate from the University of Washington information school, where she concentrated on library service for youth. We look forward to introducing her around the community and helping her settle into her new position at Bainbridge. Next time you’re at the library, please introduce yourself to Stefanie; she is absolutely delightful. Library Assistant Patrick Gulke and BI library volunteer Tressa Johnson were recently hired as library associates for KRL. Associates work closely with reference staff, answering patron questions, placing holds on materials, and assisting with technology. We are excited for both Patrick and Tressa as they take on this new challenge. Bainbridge Island Treasure (and BI programming volunteer extraordinaire) Kathleen Thorne was recently hired to work ten hours/week for KRL as the adult programming coordinator. This position was created from the existing personnel budget and will involve leading the October One Book, One Community program and also setting up monthly events in the branches around a particular theme. I am very happy to see Kathleen in a position that suits her so well. Jeff Brody has been promoted to Director of Community Relations for KRL. You may remember Jeff from his visits to BPL board and Planning committee meetings, and his work on the KRL strategic plan. Now, he will be devoting his energy to print and online public relations work. Jeff is wonderful to work with, and we look forward to improving our promotion of library programs and events. Services and Programs: Highlights from December Wednesdays in December. December Delights for Preschoolers. Attendance: 100 children and 51 adults.
Carmine offers a special storytime in December with stories, songs, and crafts for little ones. Cookie decorating (courtesy of Blackbird Bakery) and make-your-own Snow Globes were a special hit this year. Tuesday, December 15. Senior Center Book Discussion: Gentleman from Finland by Bob Goldstein. Attendance: 8. Julie O’Neill facilitates this book group at the Senior Center each month. For December, Kitsap Regional Library CFO and author Bob Goldstein attended as a special guest to speak about his travel memoir. Julie highly recommends this book and calls it “hilarious.” Wednesday, December 16. Travelogue: “Croatia Today, ties to the past” with Barbara Winther. Attendance: 58. Leave it to Barbara Winther to fill the meeting room for a program on a dark, rainy night the week before Christmas. Absolutely stunning photography and wonderful storytelling. Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20. Island Theatre at the Library presents: Greetings! by Tom Dudzick. Attendance 68 on Saturday; 65 on Sunday. Island Theatre productions are always wonderful and this one was no exception. Inspired acting and a plot both funny and poignant. If you haven’t been to Island Theatre lately, it’s truly a magical evening at the library. |