Meanderings

No one has written on the blog since I did last week so I feel pressure to get something written today. I would never earn big money for writing my own blog like some people have. I become brain dead and can think of nothing to write sometimes - like tonight. So things that are on my mind right now are: Wasn't that a long line to vote yesterday? I am glad it was long, that means people cared enough to vote (even if they canceled out my vote). All this tea-party stuff, I don't really understand it myself (Guess I'd better do some research :)

When or when are those roofers going to come and look at the roof over the children's department? How long do we have to have the books off the shelf? Are they going to wait until it downpours again or are we even on their list? Why do we have holes everywhere in our ceilings? One in the back room, another in the YP section - don't these construction people care?

Working on the outside sign today - lots going on at the library this month; you need to look under library programs on our web page. We have both the adult book group and the parent and child book group tomorrow night - both are great programs with lots of fun discussion. Next Tuesday we have a weight loss and diet program presented by Dr. Shippee, DPM, Alpine Orthopedic Specialists which starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, November 10, 2010, we have Utah Quilter's Designs found Around the World presented by Julia Pope which starts at 1:30 p.m. and Thursday, November 18, 2010, we have - The Galapagos: A Natural History presented by Sam Zeveloff, Ph.D., Chair of Zoology, Weber State University.

Come and support a program.

Susan

As Time Goes By...

What does the future hold for libraries?

Today I finally hid the time capsule that we have been putting together from our construction experience. It includes sample of construction & remodel materials, like paint chips and fabric swatches and a sample of the brick left over from the core drilling process. We also included some newspapers and articles about the construction and the library. After much cajoling I did get the staff to include pictures of themselves and comments or quotes. I'm not sure why they found this process so difficult. I guess they are intimidated at leaving a bad impression for the future. They were also invited to include a small memento to commemorate the occasion. I included a new uncirculated 2010 penny. Some staff included small books or bookmarks. We had a couple of pins with reading themes and some librarian themed temporary tattoos. We included a CD with construction photos, but who knows if the technology will be available in the future to read a CD. Think 8 track tapes...anyone have a player still? I think it was Susan that included a card from an old fashioned card catalog, will the librarians of the future even know what it is?

Overall, it's hard to imagine what a library will be in the future. Will having a hard copy of a book be the standard or will everything be a digital copy, read on a computer or other electronic device. I try and imagine reading to a child at bedtime with a e-reader device. It doesn't translate to warm and cozy feelings for me. It loses that sit on my lap and let's make a memory thing.

I don't know if it will be found in 10 years or 50 or 100 but I like to think that the librarians of the future will have the same goals about serving patrons, helping people find information and giving them great things to read. No matter what technology they use.

Michele, Children's Librarian & time capsule creator :)

Back to normal?

I have been remiss about writing the last couple of weeks; how time does fly. It seems that things just went crazy in the weeks leading up to our open house and the unveiling of the historical portion of our library. The construction workers were doing everything at once and the staff was getting pushed here and there and you couldn't find anything because everything was in one big PILE in the back room. We are all getting just a little tetchy (tech-ee, defined as cranky, fractious, irritable, nettlesome, peckish) and are glad things are getting back to normal. We are still giving a prize to the person who guessed close enough to the official finish date, but we have not been notified yet that they are really done. When Stan, the contractor who is in charge, says his final goodbye - we'll have our date.

Susan

Thanks for the memories!

A Night to Remember

We held our Renovation Open house on Monday, June 21st and it was a wonderful success. All who attended the ribbon cutting and reception enjoyed a wonderful evening. It was so good to see support from our current and former mayor, city council members, library board, literacy board and current and former employees. We had representatives from Rob Bishop's office and from Homeland Security(FEMA) attending also. Everyone was "wowed" by the open floor plan upstairs and the beautiful wood work.

I owe many huge thanks to the staff members who helped on the Open House committee. They did a tremendous amount of work on their personal time to make preparations. Thank you to Kelly for the wonderful refreshments and to Roxanne for the fun, entertaining games including a library photo scavenger hunt and a name the staff contest. Diane acted as our master of ceremonies for the ribbon cutting and Joyce sent out all the invitations. See our facebook page for photos of the event and for lots of construction photos as well.

We are still working on our time capsule. The staff is feeling the pressure to include things that are meaningful and significant to the project, the library in general and the year 2010. We have some amazing items so far and will be placing the time capsule in the wall sometime during July.

As a staff I think that we breathed a huge sigh of relief to have the project behind us and we just want to get back to the business of the library.

Michele, Children's Librarian

Stress Levels

I now know what it must be living in a house that you are trying to remodel, it must be a living hell... can I say that? Well, maybe it isn't that bad, but it is definitely frustrating. I am sure you may have even felt that way when you've come to the library lately. Can you find anything? Since our long closure over the Memorial weekend, everything seems to be happening at once. It would have been nice to have those painters and counter top guys finished before we opened the doors again.

Yesterday morning, the counter tops were just finished enough that we could get the computers back up and going just before the doors opened for the day. It was a busy, busy day because people had missed the library the days we were closed. We did a lot of business and we were tired. At 4 pm the contractor tells us that the painter is coming Wednesday (today) morning at 6 am and that we have to have all the books off the shelves in the areas they are painting. I thought there was no way we could have them cleared off in time, but Elizabeth and Connie got a good start on it last night and early this morning. I don't know where they got the energy.

So when you come to the library today, you'll run into shelving on the floor, new paint on the walls, the LDS, classics, Spanish videos, and some large print - gone for awhile. We even had 30 chairs lined up in the mystery section today because they decided it would be a good day to get those out of storage. The shelves in the children's department are all out of order and the paint will be there tomorrow. We even have orange cones in the library! Watch your step!

Susan

Construction, construction, construction

Library staff will feel some relief to have the library closed for the next few days of construction. It has been a long 7 months, so far, trying to work around barriers, dust, drilling, noise, moving books & desks, and runs to the academy. Work on the Carnegie portion was supposed to be finished before they started work on the main level, but now that construction is behind - everything is going at once and the staff are getting squished beyond measure. There is no place to put anything and some staff don't even have a desk anymore. The carpet laying is encroaching into our work area bit by bit and on top of that, they've started working on the counter tops at the same time. Getting the new book drop in was no joy either - drilling through brick for 3 days! We hope construction has moved away from the circulation desk when we open again Tuesday. If they aren't, it is going to be a very bad day at the library. We are crossing our fingers they have the carpet and counter tops done in that area, at least, before we open again Tuesday June 1st. We know from experience it is going to be a very busy day, especially since we will have been closed 5 days in a row. That is the most we have ever been closed in the 20 years I have worked here. A hint - come to the library later in the week if you can, things will be quieter then (we hope).

Library Closure for Construction

The Brigham City Library will be closed Thursday, 27 May; Friday, 28 May; and Saturday, 29 May 2010 to accommodate ongoing construction work in the library and will remain closed through the Memorial Day holiday. Patrons with library items due on these dates will have an extended grace period - until Tuesday, 1 June 2010 - to return books without a fine. On Thursday and Friday the staff will be available from 9-5 to renew items over the phone, 723-5850, or patrons may renew online.


Crews are working hard to finish work before 21 June 2010 when the library is holding an open house from 6-8 p.m. At the open house there will be a ribbon cutting, contests, giveaways, and refreshments. The library invites everyone to attend.

Outdoor Book Return Closure

The outdoor book drop at the Brigham City Library will be closed Wednesday, 19 May – Monday, 24 May 2010 while a new book drop is installed. During this time all book returns will need to be brought into the library’s circulation desk. The library will be open from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. on the 19th and 20th of May and from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on the 21st and 22nd of May.

If you have books that are due on these dates and are unable to return them during regular library hours, please renew online, bcpl.lib.ut.us, or over the phone, 723-5850. Overdue fines will not be assessed on the days the book return is closed.

Library Closure for Construction

The Brigham City Library will be closed Thursday, 27 May; Friday, 28 May; and Saturday, 29 May 2010 to accommodate ongoing construction work in the library and will remain closed through the Memorial Day holiday. Patrons with library items due on these dates will have an extended grace period - until Tuesday, 1 June 2010 - to return books without a fine. On Thursday and Friday the staff will be available from 9-5 to renew items over the phone, 723-5850, or patrons may renew online.


Crews are working hard to finish work before 21 June 2010 when the library is holding an open house from 6-8 p.m. At the open house there will be a ribbon cutting, contests, giveaways, and refreshments. The library invites everyone to attend.

Outdoor Book Return Closure

The outdoor book drop at the Brigham City Library will be closed Wednesday, 19 May – Monday, 24 May 2010 while a new book drop is installed. During this time all book returns will need to be brought into the library’s circulation desk. The library will be open from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. on the 19th and 20th of May and from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on the 21st and 22nd of May.

If you have books that are due on these dates and are unable to return them during regular library hours, please renew online, bcpl.lib.ut.us, or over the phone, 723-5850. Overdue fines will not be assessed on the days the book return is closed.

Library Closure for Construction

The Brigham City Library will be closed Thursday, 27 May; Friday, 28 May; and Saturday, 29 May 2010 to accommodate ongoing construction work in the library and will remain closed through the Memorial Day holiday. Patrons with library items due on these dates will have an extended grace period - until Tuesday, 1 June 2010 - to return books without a fine. On Thursday and Friday the staff will be available from 9-5 to renew items over the phone, 723-5850, or patrons may renew online.


Crews are working hard to finish work before 21 June 2010 when the library is holding an open house from 6-8 p.m. At the open house there will be a ribbon cutting, contests, giveaways, and refreshments. The library invites everyone to attend.

The Checklist Manifesto

I just finished "The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande which made a quick appearance on the New York Times Bestseller list. The title also says "how to get things right" so I thought it might be a book on how to make a better list for getting things done. While it didn't do that, the book did have some fascinating facts about the role checklists can play in our lives and how they make large, almost impossible tasks, more do-able. What Dr. Gawande seems to be really writing about is his hope to get hospitals into the mode of doing more checklists that will catch many of the small, but extremely important tasks that need to be done routinely during surgeries. It is a little unnerving to read about some of the things which can be forgotten during surgery prep that have the potential to be life-threatening. I was surprised to learn that many of the doctors and nurses working on you have never met one another. One of the checklist items Dr. Gawande feels makes a big difference in the surgery outcome, is the surgery team knowing each other's names and their responsibilities so they work together better as a team.

Dr. Gawande looks at the airline checklists as a model to be followed. He writes about the introduction of the Boeing B-17 model 299 and the crash of the first test run due to "pilot error" . The plane was so complex to fly that even the best trained pilots missed steps. Test pilots got together to consider what to do and they came up with the pilot's checklist. The list was simple, brief, and to the point - short enough to fit on an index card, with step-by-step checks for takeoff, flight landing and taxiing.

Another checklist that Dr. Gawande mentions are the checklists that have to be used for building construction. He notes that large complex buildings could not be constructed without every component of the construction trade having their list of responsibilities and sharing daily or weekly with the contractor so they all fit together to finish the building in cooperative steps.

I certainly hope Dr. Gawande gets those checklists into all the hospitals as common practice, I think we will all be safer.

Susan

Why do we need Earthquake Retrofitting?

The Following is from an article I read on msn.com it was about the hazards of unreinforced masonry in earthquake zones.

In many vulnerable cities, people are effectively stacked on top of one another in buildings designed as if earthquakes don't happen. It is not the tremor that kills people in an earthquake but the buildings, routinely constructed on the cheap, using faulty designs and, in some cities, overseen by corrupt inspectors. The difference between life and death is often a matter of how much sand went into the cement or how much steel into a supporting column. Earthquakes might be viewed as acts of God, but their lethality is often a function of masonry.
"In recent earthquakes, buildings have acted as weapons of mass destruction," Bilham writes in the journal Nature.

Difficult to predict
For years, earthquake scientists have shouted their warnings about the strong likelihood that a major quake would level an impoverished city and kill hundreds of thousands of people. They have said, for example, that Kathmandu, where masonry structures expand so haphazardly that some eventually cantilever over narrow city streets, is every bit as vulnerable as the surrounding Himalayas are majestic. They have said that a million people could die in a major quake in Tehran.

What's impossible, however, is knowing precisely which of these cities will be the next to crumble. Or when. For all practical purposes, scientists can't predict earthquakes.

Now, I'm not saying that the Carnegie library building was built substandard, it was simply built before we knew steps that needed to be taken to keep a building from collapsing totally and thus killing every unfortunate soul inside. I had a patron ask why we were earthquake proofing again. I far as I know this is the first time we have ever had any work done on the building to stabilize it. She swears she remembers that we did work on the Carnegie building a few years ago for the same thing. I don't know what she is referring to but it wasn't an earthquake retrofitting like we are currently undergoing. We all know that our region is overdue for the next "Big One" so, I for one am happy that we can take these preventative measures to save lives and historic buildings.
Michele, Children's Librarian

Everything's a Jumble

Maybe you've noticed that things are changing around the library. Maybe you've gone looking for reference help upstairs only to find that the librarian's desk is gone. In fact, you may be surprised to find that those great study tables are disappearing too!

Or maybe you've come in to use our wireless and noticed that the tables by the east windows and those handy electrical outlets has been taken by a staff desk.


You may have even tried to go down to the Literacy office to talk to Diane about tutoring and seen piles of boxes. So many boxes that you could barely make it into the room.


"Agggh! What's happening to my library?" you may ask as you rake your fingers into your hair and pull it in frustration.

Don't worry. Let go of your hair before it's all pulled out, take a deep breath and relax, then repeat after me - "It's only temporary."

That's right. For about six months we're all going to be a little more cramped than usual and we'll all feel like some things and some people aren't in the right places. You may even feel like the the library books you want are inconvenient to get. For a little while the library might seem all jumbled.

"What's going on?" you might ask.

The Carnegie Building, which was built in 1915 will be getting a much needed seismic upgrade with financing through a federal grant.


When everything's finished sometime next summer the Carnegie should be a safer place for you and your children. We've all been told that an earthquake is a question of "when" not "if" and with a building structure from 1915 you can imagine how much will have changed in building standards over the years.

It'll be a big change for everyone. The librarian in charge of non-fiction has been going through a bit of an environmental shock.

She's having to get use to sitting in the middle of wizards, dragons, killers, amateur sleuths, some pretty steamy lovers, and other fictional characters instead of the historians, scientists, sociologists, doctors, cooks, gardeners, and the other experts she's used to hanging around. If you walk by an she looks a little frazzled, you'll know the characters have been getting to her again. Maybe the dragons are breathing a little too much fire - or is it the lovers? Whatever the case, an encouraging smile might help her make it through.

She won't have the usual books at her fingertips. Most of them will be in storage. Luckily we will have some access to them. They'll be stored in the partially finished Academy building.

You won't be able to browse the stacks like before, but you can browse on our online catalog. You can request books in advance and library staff will have scheduled times to go and retrieve requested books.

So with a little extra planning you can still get the books you need. Remember, you can browse the library's catalog from home if you have the Internet. And if you have a password for your library card you can request them from home and the comfort of your pajamas and bedroom slippers. You'll be able to browse on your personal computer while sipping your favorite hot cocoa, coffee, or tea. See, it's not all bad.

If you don't have a password for you library account, now's a great time to get one. Just ask for one next time you're at the circulation desk.

For those of you who are missing the tables by the windows and the power outlets, help is on the way. Our reading corner has been rearranged and we now have three tables there. A few outlets already on the walls and we plan on getting some power strips put up to provide more.

When using the space please try to keep your cords as out of the way as possible and if you do have cord that may be in someone's path, please alert them to your cord. Some programs will also be taking place in this corner at night. The Adult Book Group, P/K (Parent/Kid) Book Group, Knitting Group, and the Writing Group will all meet in this area until the programming rooms area available again. And no, we will not have public meeting spaces for patrons to schedule during this time - sorry.

As for the Literacy Department, they've got a temporary home. It's small and most of their things will be in storage. If you're coming in the library, take a right to go into the children's area and straight ahead of you you'll see a desk that is facing a window. That desk will be the Literacy Department for the county until construction is complete.

We hope to lessen the impact and inconvenience on library patrons as much as we can during construction, but we may not be able to do everything we normally would be able to. Please bear with us and we can all look forward to spreading out a little in a safer library building next summer.

Elizabeth

No Peach Days Book Sale

Construction still hasn't started on the library for the earthquake retrofit, but we held our book sale early this year thinking we'd be in a big mess by Peach Days. We have accumulated a few books since the sale in May, but not enough to have another big sale. If you come looking for our book sale during Peach Days, we'll just have books on our normal sale shelves in the main part of the library. Hopefully, we'll be back up and running next year with another huge sale. From the few tidbits we've been given, construction on the library should start soon after Peach Days this year.