October may host banned books week but if you have lived in Santa Cruz for any length of time you know that Halloween is the biggest celebration in the year here, so we had to get a head start and get our Halloween and Day of the Dead displays up before all the patrons checked them out and we had nothing to display.
Of course we could ban anyone from checking out our display books and then we would have both banned books and Halloween but since Galina has made us such a wonderful ghoulish display of all adult titles Halloweenish and there is also a display of the children's materials on the low table entering into the kid's area , I doubt we would have much luck preventing patrons from checking them out.
I have posted a sign on the J items asking that patron's limit their selections to 3 per visit (see, they are almost banned) so if you see anyone at the self-check with big piles of Halloween books you might offer a gentle reminder that we want to have enough materials available for all to enjoy. The display will be up all month so there should be plenty of time for everyone to get their Halloween fix.
As always if you find titles, either Adult or Juvenile that you think appropriate for a Halloween theme please add them to the displays. These aren't just limited to monsters, witches and ghosts, but also things like pumpkins, costumes, horror fiction...candy corn?? Use your most creative judgement. I am sure that everything in these displays will circulate!
And don't forget to start planning your costume!!
The branch is almost entirely weeded now so there should be lots of room on the shelves. Do let me know if you find areas that are still impacted and we shall see what can be done. Thanks again to Riley for shifting and for all of you for shelf straightening and making our branch look beautiful. Keep it up because on Thursday there will be a branch tour by the Site committee including various big wigs and consultants as well as Teresa and Gale. They will be looking at each branch as they determine how best to spend monies set aside for the new building refurbishment, etc. I am not sure how Capitola will fare as we were once slated for a new building but due to the elimination of the redevelopment agency I am not sure that is still in the cards. We are housed in a portable building so expansion options seem unlikely but maybe they will figure out some kind of magic reconfigurations that will give us extra space.
The story hour theme this week is farms so look for any J picture books about farms in a stack above my desk and take anything you might need to fulfill the patron's wishes.
Enjoy these last glorious days of HOT summer!
Cappy Dick
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
HAPPY AUTUMN!
A HAPPY FALL TO Y'ALL,
Summer is gone as are some our our tourist crowds but it feels like we are making up for it with all the back to schoolers and a fresh crop of parents and kidlets attending our story hour on Fridays, as well as a couple of "tweens" who attended the drop in group last Thursday afternoon and a lot of young patrons who came to read to the dogs and cat on Wednesday's Tale to Tails.
Just to keep everyone on their toes we have rearranged the branch once again (really this is because our collection keeps growing but our building does not). The juvenile graphic novels are being housed temporarily on a red rolling cart at the entrance to our YP room. We are hoping to have shelving built at the end of J biographies so they will have a permanent home.
We have also pulled out our NEW J Fiction and displayed it on the top of the New Book shelving facing the YP room. If you see any of the new titles interfiled on the regular shelving, please pull them and put them with the others on this display. And just to make sure everything gets equal billing, we also now have a NEW J Non-Fiction Display at the end of fiction where the J graphic novels used to be.
Riley, our super shifter has graciously shifted all the J fiction and is working on shifting all the J non-fiction to create more room, as things were getting tight on many of those shelves and as I said, our collection continues to grow. We can re-utilize the display shelving between the fiction and non-fiction should the need arise but for now they will highlight our newest J Non-fiction titles.
Galina has printed out a list of "favorite reads" for Young Adults and it is in a binder on the New YA shelving. Please peruse it when you can, so you can refer our YA patrons to it, should they ask for read-alikes or good reading suggestions. (There is a similar list for those patrons who loved Harry Potter and are looking for similar titles, hanging near the Harry Potter books in the J fiction area.)
When you get a chance, take a walk around the branch and familiarize yourself with all these new displays and do let me know if you see other areas where we could improve. Also feel free to continue to pull out favorite titles and put them on our interim shelves within the adult fiction and non-fiction stacks. Patrons continue to comment on what good reads they find in these displays. All I ask is that if you display a book, please keep it near its "shelving of origin" spot so that we can find it if we are searching for it.
The subject for Story hour this Friday is Fall or apples?? (i guess Kari will decide at the last minute) so I am pulling J books on both those subjects and will stack them at my desk should you need to snag any.
Please remember to ONLY put BOOKS and MEDIA in the lost and found Books/Media box up front under the circulation desk. Other lost and found items can go in the boxes on the bottom shelf in the workroom. All items should have a note with the date they were found. The items up front are held for week and then donated to the friends. The lost and found items in the back are held for a month before they are taken to Goodwill or disposed of.
Ok, go kick some leaf piles and have big bon fires or whatever else one does to celebrate the Fall equinox and as always, THANKS FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT TEAM!
Cappy Dick
Summer is gone as are some our our tourist crowds but it feels like we are making up for it with all the back to schoolers and a fresh crop of parents and kidlets attending our story hour on Fridays, as well as a couple of "tweens" who attended the drop in group last Thursday afternoon and a lot of young patrons who came to read to the dogs and cat on Wednesday's Tale to Tails.
Just to keep everyone on their toes we have rearranged the branch once again (really this is because our collection keeps growing but our building does not). The juvenile graphic novels are being housed temporarily on a red rolling cart at the entrance to our YP room. We are hoping to have shelving built at the end of J biographies so they will have a permanent home.
We have also pulled out our NEW J Fiction and displayed it on the top of the New Book shelving facing the YP room. If you see any of the new titles interfiled on the regular shelving, please pull them and put them with the others on this display. And just to make sure everything gets equal billing, we also now have a NEW J Non-Fiction Display at the end of fiction where the J graphic novels used to be.
Riley, our super shifter has graciously shifted all the J fiction and is working on shifting all the J non-fiction to create more room, as things were getting tight on many of those shelves and as I said, our collection continues to grow. We can re-utilize the display shelving between the fiction and non-fiction should the need arise but for now they will highlight our newest J Non-fiction titles.
Galina has printed out a list of "favorite reads" for Young Adults and it is in a binder on the New YA shelving. Please peruse it when you can, so you can refer our YA patrons to it, should they ask for read-alikes or good reading suggestions. (There is a similar list for those patrons who loved Harry Potter and are looking for similar titles, hanging near the Harry Potter books in the J fiction area.)
When you get a chance, take a walk around the branch and familiarize yourself with all these new displays and do let me know if you see other areas where we could improve. Also feel free to continue to pull out favorite titles and put them on our interim shelves within the adult fiction and non-fiction stacks. Patrons continue to comment on what good reads they find in these displays. All I ask is that if you display a book, please keep it near its "shelving of origin" spot so that we can find it if we are searching for it.
The subject for Story hour this Friday is Fall or apples?? (i guess Kari will decide at the last minute) so I am pulling J books on both those subjects and will stack them at my desk should you need to snag any.
Please remember to ONLY put BOOKS and MEDIA in the lost and found Books/Media box up front under the circulation desk. Other lost and found items can go in the boxes on the bottom shelf in the workroom. All items should have a note with the date they were found. The items up front are held for week and then donated to the friends. The lost and found items in the back are held for a month before they are taken to Goodwill or disposed of.
Ok, go kick some leaf piles and have big bon fires or whatever else one does to celebrate the Fall equinox and as always, THANKS FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT TEAM!
Cappy Dick
Saturday, September 15, 2012
YAAAR!! TALK LIKE A PIRATE!!
Ahoy Mateys,
This week is the long awaited TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY on Wednesday, Sept. 19th! Maybe Tales to Tails will bring in a parrot for the kidlets to read to, but if not, well we can say YAAR and order Riley to Swab the Decks (just kidding Riley!) etc. If you really want to know more about this important holiday, here is a link: TalkLikeAPirate but I will forewarn you, some of the Pirate pick up lines are a bit salty...
I have a poster I will put up that day and I am compiling a stack of Pirate books to put up on display in the children's area also on Wednesday. Of course the Story hour subject this week is Pirates as well, so as per usual, if you are looking for pirate books and you can't find them in their usual spots, check the display or my desk.
We also will continue to showcase Galina's wonderful display of books adapted to movies, so when you are shelving, keep an eye out for books made into movies or DVDs of books to replenish her display. And don't forget to add any of your favorite adaptations to her on-going list.
This week is TYPICAL STATISTICS WEEK at the branch (this happens quarterly), so I am placing Stats sheets at each of the circ computers. Please remember to make a hash mark for any kind of questions you have to answer or help you have to provide. This includes such exciting questions as Where are the bathrooms? What are your hours? either by phone or in person, so if you are out on the floor and someone asks you anything library related, please remember to mark it down on one of the sheets.
We also have to do another "items shelved in 24 hours" so we will do this count on Wednesday as this actually is a count of how many items we typically shelve in a day. I have left detailed instructions for the aides, but basically this means that everything to be shelved needs to go on a cart (no walking items to the new or display shelf) and that whomever wheels the cart out onto the floor needs to do an item count and record it on a piece of paper and attach it to the cart. Aides, when you finish shelving a cart, please remove the count paper and put it on my desk.
If anyone should inquire about completing volunteer hours for school, please refer them to Community Service Days at the Aptos, BC, Downtown and Scotts Valley Libraries. We have a poster for this with more information on the Young Adult side of our new books shelving area (right before the encyclopedias) or you can refer them to the Volunteer Office at 427-7700 ext. 7615.
Donna is officially DONE with her training but we all know that we are all in training all the time, as fast as things change around here, so everyone please continue to help each other out and lend a hand wherever it might be needed. I am proud at how well we are all working together and I for one am learning new tricks every time I come to work, so big thanks!
Yarr then, lets look smart and show them landlubbers what we're made of, and all that....
Cappy Dick
This week is the long awaited TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY on Wednesday, Sept. 19th! Maybe Tales to Tails will bring in a parrot for the kidlets to read to, but if not, well we can say YAAR and order Riley to Swab the Decks (just kidding Riley!) etc. If you really want to know more about this important holiday, here is a link: TalkLikeAPirate but I will forewarn you, some of the Pirate pick up lines are a bit salty...
I have a poster I will put up that day and I am compiling a stack of Pirate books to put up on display in the children's area also on Wednesday. Of course the Story hour subject this week is Pirates as well, so as per usual, if you are looking for pirate books and you can't find them in their usual spots, check the display or my desk.
We also will continue to showcase Galina's wonderful display of books adapted to movies, so when you are shelving, keep an eye out for books made into movies or DVDs of books to replenish her display. And don't forget to add any of your favorite adaptations to her on-going list.
This week is TYPICAL STATISTICS WEEK at the branch (this happens quarterly), so I am placing Stats sheets at each of the circ computers. Please remember to make a hash mark for any kind of questions you have to answer or help you have to provide. This includes such exciting questions as Where are the bathrooms? What are your hours? either by phone or in person, so if you are out on the floor and someone asks you anything library related, please remember to mark it down on one of the sheets.
We also have to do another "items shelved in 24 hours" so we will do this count on Wednesday as this actually is a count of how many items we typically shelve in a day. I have left detailed instructions for the aides, but basically this means that everything to be shelved needs to go on a cart (no walking items to the new or display shelf) and that whomever wheels the cart out onto the floor needs to do an item count and record it on a piece of paper and attach it to the cart. Aides, when you finish shelving a cart, please remove the count paper and put it on my desk.
If anyone should inquire about completing volunteer hours for school, please refer them to Community Service Days at the Aptos, BC, Downtown and Scotts Valley Libraries. We have a poster for this with more information on the Young Adult side of our new books shelving area (right before the encyclopedias) or you can refer them to the Volunteer Office at 427-7700 ext. 7615.
Donna is officially DONE with her training but we all know that we are all in training all the time, as fast as things change around here, so everyone please continue to help each other out and lend a hand wherever it might be needed. I am proud at how well we are all working together and I for one am learning new tricks every time I come to work, so big thanks!
Yarr then, lets look smart and show them landlubbers what we're made of, and all that....
Cappy Dick
Saturday, September 8, 2012
NEW HOURS/NEW EMPLOYEES HERE WE GO!
Well, y'all had a repreive from Cappy Dick's blog for a couple of weeks but all good things must come to an end so here we go again....I have to say that the branch was in fine shape upon my return and for that I credit the competence and dedication of my excellent staff! A big thanks to all of you for handling everything, including an incident and the requiste report that went with it! Well done!!
It's been a whirlwind week since I returned; it feels like we are busier then ever most of the time, but beginning this week we have slightly longer open hours so maybe the tide will come in slower instead of these tidal waves we have been getting hit with. Donna has one more week of training but Galina and I should get to start our "regular" schedule so hopefully we will all figure out when we are coming and going with less confusion by the end of the month. For now, thanks for bearing with us!
I have put out the open hour handouts with all the new hours reflecting changes system wide as well as posted our new hours on the door. (Thanks Galina for great signage!)
Story hour starts up again this week. Capitola will be having a story hour for pre-schoolers (3-6) every Friday at 10:30 before the branch is open.
There will also be a Tweens & Teens story hour on Thursdays @ 3:00 pm starting Sept. 20th,
as well as a monthly Tea and Talk program for adults on the second Wednesday of the month starting Oct. 10th. This will be an opportunity for attendees to decide what they would like to discuss or do at these meetings.
These last two programs are new to our branch so I have put out flyers at the front desk. Please let any of our patrons whom you think might be interested, know about these. Kari Gunn will be leading all these programs and if anyone has questions they can call her at 427-7700 ext. 7680. Her number is on the flyers also.
Tales to Tails will continue on Wednesdays at 3:00pm as well as the first Saturday of the month at 9:30am. Patrons do have to sign up for this ahead of time so if you have inquiries direct them to the programming phone # and remind them to leave a message with their return phone #. Jeanne O'Grady is the contact person for this program now.
The theme for Story time this week is Grandparents so I have compiled a stack of books on this subject at my desk. Please feel free to take any you might need to fill the pulls request list or if a patron is inquiring.
Due to popular demand we have installed a red cart near the book drop where we can place CAP books until we have time to take them to the check-in room and sort them onto the appropriate carts for shelving.
Also we have placed a tall chair out front for whomever would like to get off their feet and we have a wonderful new red "perch" on order for the front service desk as well.
For those who are new to our branch and our strange ways: the purple paper slips are to be used ONLY for 3 day holds. This way we can easily identify them if they are not picked up in a timely manner.
Also, Capitola is the only branch that shelves the MCs as if they were in fact MC (not MaC), and we also shelve our adult Fiction and genre titles in alphabetical order by TITLE if there are multiple books by the same author.
We are still finding an inordinate number of library materials for other branches on our shelves and our carts.
When you are checking in, PLEASE WAIT FOR THE TURTLE before assuming a book goes to our branch and double check the screen to make sure it really is a CAPITOLA book. If you are checking items in at the front desk during a busy time, give priority to our patrons and give your full attention there. Multi-tasking is not all its cracked up to be and things will get done as they do. Better slower with less mistakes then frantic with many.
Thanks to our diligent aides for catching a lot of these by checking inside the book for the branch designation.
Please remember if you are helping patrons that we have some excellent databases. Mango in particular is a wonderful resource to those who are learning languages (and then we have Donna who speaks Spanish and Cantonese, and Galina who speaks Russian, and uh, me,. well, I can swear like a sailor!).
And also if they have kidlets we have the Discover and Go program that gives discounts on many of our local and not so local venues. The Exploratorium in SF has a great discount on that site and there are many others as well, that I don't think our patrons know about.
Ok, enough blather for now...Happy Indian Summer.
Cappy Dick
It's been a whirlwind week since I returned; it feels like we are busier then ever most of the time, but beginning this week we have slightly longer open hours so maybe the tide will come in slower instead of these tidal waves we have been getting hit with. Donna has one more week of training but Galina and I should get to start our "regular" schedule so hopefully we will all figure out when we are coming and going with less confusion by the end of the month. For now, thanks for bearing with us!
I have put out the open hour handouts with all the new hours reflecting changes system wide as well as posted our new hours on the door. (Thanks Galina for great signage!)
Story hour starts up again this week. Capitola will be having a story hour for pre-schoolers (3-6) every Friday at 10:30 before the branch is open.
There will also be a Tweens & Teens story hour on Thursdays @ 3:00 pm starting Sept. 20th,
as well as a monthly Tea and Talk program for adults on the second Wednesday of the month starting Oct. 10th. This will be an opportunity for attendees to decide what they would like to discuss or do at these meetings.
These last two programs are new to our branch so I have put out flyers at the front desk. Please let any of our patrons whom you think might be interested, know about these. Kari Gunn will be leading all these programs and if anyone has questions they can call her at 427-7700 ext. 7680. Her number is on the flyers also.
Tales to Tails will continue on Wednesdays at 3:00pm as well as the first Saturday of the month at 9:30am. Patrons do have to sign up for this ahead of time so if you have inquiries direct them to the programming phone # and remind them to leave a message with their return phone #. Jeanne O'Grady is the contact person for this program now.
The theme for Story time this week is Grandparents so I have compiled a stack of books on this subject at my desk. Please feel free to take any you might need to fill the pulls request list or if a patron is inquiring.
Due to popular demand we have installed a red cart near the book drop where we can place CAP books until we have time to take them to the check-in room and sort them onto the appropriate carts for shelving.
Also we have placed a tall chair out front for whomever would like to get off their feet and we have a wonderful new red "perch" on order for the front service desk as well.
For those who are new to our branch and our strange ways: the purple paper slips are to be used ONLY for 3 day holds. This way we can easily identify them if they are not picked up in a timely manner.
Also, Capitola is the only branch that shelves the MCs as if they were in fact MC (not MaC), and we also shelve our adult Fiction and genre titles in alphabetical order by TITLE if there are multiple books by the same author.
We are still finding an inordinate number of library materials for other branches on our shelves and our carts.
When you are checking in, PLEASE WAIT FOR THE TURTLE before assuming a book goes to our branch and double check the screen to make sure it really is a CAPITOLA book. If you are checking items in at the front desk during a busy time, give priority to our patrons and give your full attention there. Multi-tasking is not all its cracked up to be and things will get done as they do. Better slower with less mistakes then frantic with many.
Thanks to our diligent aides for catching a lot of these by checking inside the book for the branch designation.
Please remember if you are helping patrons that we have some excellent databases. Mango in particular is a wonderful resource to those who are learning languages (and then we have Donna who speaks Spanish and Cantonese, and Galina who speaks Russian, and uh, me,. well, I can swear like a sailor!).
And also if they have kidlets we have the Discover and Go program that gives discounts on many of our local and not so local venues. The Exploratorium in SF has a great discount on that site and there are many others as well, that I don't think our patrons know about.
Ok, enough blather for now...Happy Indian Summer.
Cappy Dick
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)