Our director gave me the most wonderful information this morning.
"I have something for your blog," she said.
She knows I'm always looking for interesting things for the blog.
"We got a letter yesterday," she continued. "It said the letter writer's late cousin was an avid reader and frequent visitor to the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library. In her will she requested that the library receive a check for $1,000 to purchase all of the Ann McCaffrey P.E.R.N. series (aka Dragonriders of Pern) and any mysteries of our
choice."
My mouth dropped open. Wow! A thousand dollars! And for the Ann McCaffrey fantasy series and any mysteries of our choice!
In this economically-difficult time for libraries, a thousand dollars seems like a lot of money.
My brain immediately thought of all the wonderful little mystery series I like to read and all the spellbinding big mysteries we would like to purchase.
I saw the letter. I noticed the writer's last sentence: "Thank you for your kindness to my cousin...."
Sometimes those of us working at the library feel no one pays any attention to us, that we're just doing our jobs, people come and go and we're just doing our
jobs.
We never know when someone feels we've made their day, their life, a little more pleasant, a little more worthwhile, until someone says thank-you to us.
We're glad the writer's late cousin found the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library worthy of her contribution. I believe she knows we are sincerely thankful for her kindness.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Do you need to know how to write grants?
It's not too late! You can still register! But seating is running out....
The library will host an "Introduction to Grant Writing" presented by Dr. Anne Holt on Saturday, August 28th, from noon to 3 p.m. in the Willcoxon Auditorium.
The program will cover:
The library will host an "Introduction to Grant Writing" presented by Dr. Anne Holt on Saturday, August 28th, from noon to 3 p.m. in the Willcoxon Auditorium.
The program will cover:
- Grant writing guidelines,
- Model narrative budget,
- GEORGIA funders list,
- Writing dos and don'ts, and
- Tips on finding maching funds.
The cost is $30.00 per person payable at the door. Registration is required since space is limited. And there are now 32 signed up for the class!
You can register at the Moultrie Library or by calling 229-985-6540 or by email at mccls@mccls.org.
It's not too late. But you'd better hurry. Time is running out. And we need to make sure we have a chair for you.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
What are WE going to do about the future?
There were a good many "library people" at a meeting in Albany yesterday. The Georgia Libraries 21st Century Speaker Series, sponsored by the Georgia Public Library Service, showcased two speakers. George Needham is a library strategist, who helps libraries prepare for and create their futures. Joan Frye Williams is a library futurist and designer of innovative library services.
They asked us some tough questions, such as why should we care about 21st century libraries...and what does that phrase mean, anyway? Why should we care about customer-focused service, innovative library services, emerging technologies, and 21st century skills? How can we move forward when we have such limited resources? Who's going to lead the way?
Well, they gave us the answers to all those questions, and more.
They advised us to stop doing non-productive things. They told us that work has to change with the times; that we have to use our skills in a new way and we have to work with the needs of our community.
They told us we need to "refresh frequently," that 20% needs to look different with 80% remaining the same. We need to keep our patrons interested!
We need to develop user-defined privileges for fast readers, slow readers, homeschoolers, reference-needers, etc. We were told that one-size does not fit all and we need to look at what our patrons really require.
And we need to look at how we can make all of this more fun. Make it easy to find what we have, use the same vocabulary as our patrons, SIMPLIFY.
They told us we need to build our relationships, participate in established groups like "Facebook" and "flickr." We need to not only use simplicity, but generosity, flexibility, and urgency in order to cultivate trust.
We need to show people our passion about what our library is all about and show them that what we're doing is worth doing.
All of us"library people" came away from that meeting with a big job ahead of us...understanding the challenges we are faced with, deciding and planning on how we will meet these challenges, thinking outside of the box and envisioning the 21st century possibilities.
Don't hold your breath, because we are all on this great, big, wonderful ride! The 21st century is upon us!
(Source: http://georgialibraries.org/)
They asked us some tough questions, such as why should we care about 21st century libraries...and what does that phrase mean, anyway? Why should we care about customer-focused service, innovative library services, emerging technologies, and 21st century skills? How can we move forward when we have such limited resources? Who's going to lead the way?
Well, they gave us the answers to all those questions, and more.
They advised us to stop doing non-productive things. They told us that work has to change with the times; that we have to use our skills in a new way and we have to work with the needs of our community.
They told us we need to "refresh frequently," that 20% needs to look different with 80% remaining the same. We need to keep our patrons interested!
We need to develop user-defined privileges for fast readers, slow readers, homeschoolers, reference-needers, etc. We were told that one-size does not fit all and we need to look at what our patrons really require.
And we need to look at how we can make all of this more fun. Make it easy to find what we have, use the same vocabulary as our patrons, SIMPLIFY.
They told us we need to build our relationships, participate in established groups like "Facebook" and "flickr." We need to not only use simplicity, but generosity, flexibility, and urgency in order to cultivate trust.
We need to show people our passion about what our library is all about and show them that what we're doing is worth doing.
All of us"library people" came away from that meeting with a big job ahead of us...understanding the challenges we are faced with, deciding and planning on how we will meet these challenges, thinking outside of the box and envisioning the 21st century possibilities.
Don't hold your breath, because we are all on this great, big, wonderful ride! The 21st century is upon us!
(Source: http://georgialibraries.org/)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
We don't have B&N's problems
While reading my Yahoo! Webpage, I saw an article about Barnes & Noble's latest problem.
"The giant bookstore chain, whose superstores once struck fear into the hearts of independent booksellers everywhere, put itself up for sale this month...." This was the beginning of the article by James B. Stewart, a columnist for SmartMoney magazine, provided by The Wall Street Journal.
Stewart's hunch for the demise is "that B&N never really embraced the Internet or e-books, tied as it was to the old-fashioned world of physical books and stores." (Ow! that hurt! Kinda like Harry Potter's magic wand
shop.)
Stewart also admitted he likes "reading on the iPad, especially in bed at night and in other places where the device's back-lighting comes in handy. So far, it hasn't bothered my eyes at all, unlike the indistinct pages of the Kindle. But the Kindle is better outdoors." (My bound paper books have never given me a problem either. And I never have to worry about which book will be better
outdoors.)
Then he talked about being "confronted with a dizzying array of options," "information overload," and "being distracted by information I don't really need" with his iPad or Kindle. (I have to admit I have that problem with lovely bookstores, but it's a lovely problem I enjoy.)
Even though he said he couldn't say he missed physical books because his shelves were already groaning and he couldn't accommodate any more (ever hear about recycling and sharing in book clubs?), he did miss the bookstore he grew up with in the MidWest. (Ah! the truth is finally coming out.) And he wondered if B&N's decline could pave the way for the return of the independent bookseller. (That's something great to think about.)
He went on to talk about B&N stock and other stuff, but I got the jest of his article.
I signed with relief, knowing that we don't have B&N's problems. Now, I also know that many people think one day there will be no more libraries, no more physical (paper) books, that it will all be Internet, iPads, Kindles, etc. But you know what? I don't believe that, and I understand there are a great many others like me out there in the reading
world.
Maybe independent bookstores are slowly going out of business. Maybe. Maybe there are less books being printed and published. Maybe. And I may be one of those dinosaurs who refuse to give up my habit of reading these wonderful pieces of bound paper called a hardback or paperback book. Maybe.
After all, nothing stays the same. Changes are inevitable.
But we don't have B&N's problems. And I can't see it coming. We still have our huge book sale going on, and it's going very good! The used books are dwindling faster and faster, especially the children's hardback books. We still have lots of audios, a few children's videos, and a fair amount of juvenile fiction.
And today we have lots of free magazines: SmartMoney, Golf, Fashion, Time, Conde' Nast Portfolio, Fortune, Newsweek, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, and Women's Health Advisor from Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Our doors are open. We are up and running. We are a giant bookstore with lots to offer and we're not going out of business.
Why not stop by and see for yourself?
(Source: Yahoo!, James B. Stewart, The Wall Street Journal)
"The giant bookstore chain, whose superstores once struck fear into the hearts of independent booksellers everywhere, put itself up for sale this month...." This was the beginning of the article by James B. Stewart, a columnist for SmartMoney magazine, provided by The Wall Street Journal.
Stewart's hunch for the demise is "that B&N never really embraced the Internet or e-books, tied as it was to the old-fashioned world of physical books and stores." (Ow! that hurt! Kinda like Harry Potter's magic wand
shop.)
Stewart also admitted he likes "reading on the iPad, especially in bed at night and in other places where the device's back-lighting comes in handy. So far, it hasn't bothered my eyes at all, unlike the indistinct pages of the Kindle. But the Kindle is better outdoors." (My bound paper books have never given me a problem either. And I never have to worry about which book will be better
outdoors.)
Then he talked about being "confronted with a dizzying array of options," "information overload," and "being distracted by information I don't really need" with his iPad or Kindle. (I have to admit I have that problem with lovely bookstores, but it's a lovely problem I enjoy.)
Even though he said he couldn't say he missed physical books because his shelves were already groaning and he couldn't accommodate any more (ever hear about recycling and sharing in book clubs?), he did miss the bookstore he grew up with in the MidWest. (Ah! the truth is finally coming out.) And he wondered if B&N's decline could pave the way for the return of the independent bookseller. (That's something great to think about.)
He went on to talk about B&N stock and other stuff, but I got the jest of his article.
I signed with relief, knowing that we don't have B&N's problems. Now, I also know that many people think one day there will be no more libraries, no more physical (paper) books, that it will all be Internet, iPads, Kindles, etc. But you know what? I don't believe that, and I understand there are a great many others like me out there in the reading
world.
Maybe independent bookstores are slowly going out of business. Maybe. Maybe there are less books being printed and published. Maybe. And I may be one of those dinosaurs who refuse to give up my habit of reading these wonderful pieces of bound paper called a hardback or paperback book. Maybe.
After all, nothing stays the same. Changes are inevitable.
But we don't have B&N's problems. And I can't see it coming. We still have our huge book sale going on, and it's going very good! The used books are dwindling faster and faster, especially the children's hardback books. We still have lots of audios, a few children's videos, and a fair amount of juvenile fiction.
And today we have lots of free magazines: SmartMoney, Golf, Fashion, Time, Conde' Nast Portfolio, Fortune, Newsweek, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, and Women's Health Advisor from Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Our doors are open. We are up and running. We are a giant bookstore with lots to offer and we're not going out of business.
Why not stop by and see for yourself?
(Source: Yahoo!, James B. Stewart, The Wall Street Journal)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Books into movies
Four of us girlfriends went to see Eat, Pray, Love this past weekend. It's the movie most women have been waiting to see, but whether or not it fulfilled their wishes to see a good book turned into a movie, only they will know.
The movie portrays Julia Roberts in the lead, a woman some reviewers called a "conflicted" woman. If that's the case, there have probably been a great number of "conflicted" women around over the last thousands of years.
Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the book, was one such woman; thus, her reason for writing the book.
I read the book about two years ago and found the movie just as interesting. When I watched Gilbert being interviewed by Matt Lauher the other day, she said she
was pleased with the way the movie turned out. So
was I.
But the best part of watching the movie as compared to reading the book was in getting to see all those wonderful places she visited.
We roamed the narrow streets of Italy with Julia Roberts, ate pizza with her, and drank the wine. The scenery was gorgeous. Of course, she discovered the power of nourishment and, as Gilbert said, she gained 30
pounds.
Then we sat meditation with her in the ashram's temple, went to an Indian wedding, and felt her pain as we watched her go through periods of forgiveness and forgiving. Here she discovered the power of prayer.
When she ended up in Bali, we rejoiced at the beauty of the ocean, the trees and flowers, her "house" she lived in, and the lessons she learned from a wise, little, old man. But it was in Bali she discovered love and how to conquer her fear of being hurt by loving.
If you haven't seen the movie, why not delve into the book first? Then see the movie; see if you catch the subtle changes. And then...like all good readers do, decide which one you like the best.
As for me, I love reading the books first.
The movie portrays Julia Roberts in the lead, a woman some reviewers called a "conflicted" woman. If that's the case, there have probably been a great number of "conflicted" women around over the last thousands of years.
Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of the book, was one such woman; thus, her reason for writing the book.
I read the book about two years ago and found the movie just as interesting. When I watched Gilbert being interviewed by Matt Lauher the other day, she said she
was pleased with the way the movie turned out. So
was I.
But the best part of watching the movie as compared to reading the book was in getting to see all those wonderful places she visited.
We roamed the narrow streets of Italy with Julia Roberts, ate pizza with her, and drank the wine. The scenery was gorgeous. Of course, she discovered the power of nourishment and, as Gilbert said, she gained 30
pounds.
Then we sat meditation with her in the ashram's temple, went to an Indian wedding, and felt her pain as we watched her go through periods of forgiveness and forgiving. Here she discovered the power of prayer.
When she ended up in Bali, we rejoiced at the beauty of the ocean, the trees and flowers, her "house" she lived in, and the lessons she learned from a wise, little, old man. But it was in Bali she discovered love and how to conquer her fear of being hurt by loving.
If you haven't seen the movie, why not delve into the book first? Then see the movie; see if you catch the subtle changes. And then...like all good readers do, decide which one you like the best.
As for me, I love reading the books first.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
A message from our director
School has started and along with that beginning comes more activity in the library.
As students and parents come to us seeking help and information, those of us who work here are remembering a few things.
First, the library can be a scary place if you've never been here before. But we know if you see a warm smile and a caring attitude that can go a long way towards calming those fears.
Second, we have a lot of information available in the databases that are shown on our library webpage. Be sure you check out these databases. Some of them are expensive and we're hoping enough of our patrons use them so we can continue with our subscriptions. If you have any problems or questions about them, please ask the staff to
help you.
Also, Moultrie Technical College is participating in a program called "Work Ready." This program is aimed at improving the labor force in Colquitt County and marketing our community to businesses and industries nationwide. Please read the posters in the computer area or ask the library staff about the program.
We hope everyone who enters our doors will find the information they are seeking. It's our goal to help you whether you're in school or not.
One of the most valuable cards you can carry in your purse or wallet is a library card. We hope you find your public library the most important building in our community.
As students and parents come to us seeking help and information, those of us who work here are remembering a few things.
First, the library can be a scary place if you've never been here before. But we know if you see a warm smile and a caring attitude that can go a long way towards calming those fears.
Second, we have a lot of information available in the databases that are shown on our library webpage. Be sure you check out these databases. Some of them are expensive and we're hoping enough of our patrons use them so we can continue with our subscriptions. If you have any problems or questions about them, please ask the staff to
help you.
Also, Moultrie Technical College is participating in a program called "Work Ready." This program is aimed at improving the labor force in Colquitt County and marketing our community to businesses and industries nationwide. Please read the posters in the computer area or ask the library staff about the program.
We hope everyone who enters our doors will find the information they are seeking. It's our goal to help you whether you're in school or not.
One of the most valuable cards you can carry in your purse or wallet is a library card. We hope you find your public library the most important building in our community.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
We're having a really BIG book sale
Our inventory week is over and we're now having a really BIG book sale. In fact, you can't find prices like these anywhere in town or even in the surrounding areas. So, come check us out. There are 1,000 books and the prices are: Hardbacks 25 cents, paperbacks 10 cents, audios and videos 50 cents, sets of encyclopedias for only $5, and other prices as marked.
We have a large selection of children's book to include Mary Poppins, The Magic Tears, the Tales of Myrtle the Turtle, and Freaky Friday.
There are mysteries like The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot, The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues, and The Mystery of the Eagle's Claw.
We have books about cats, dogs, elephants, rats, bears (including Paddington), birds, dragons, horses, owls, geese, as well as angels and engineers.
There are biographies of Carl Sandburg, Eleanor Roosevelt, Allan Pinkerton, Betsy Ross, and Charles M. Russell, just to name a few.
There are some series books like The Hardy Boys, The Baby-Sitters Club, and Baby-Sitters Little Sister.
There are books about baseball, basketball, and runners. There are encyclopedias, almanacs, and Guinness books. All the above books are Junior Fiction or Junior Bios...children's books.
Of course, we never forget our adult readers. For you we have books on sports, opera, gardens, as well as biographies of John McCain, Tony Randall, and Alex Hawkins to name a few.
There are books about decorating dens, apartments and every room everywhere.
There are art books about string art, illustrations, photography, and drawing.
And there are fictions by Cormac McCarthy, Pat Conroy, Andrew Greeley, Jackie Collins, Jonathan Franzen, and lots of Avalon books.
Audios are by Danielle Steel, Rex Stout, John Sandford, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, and Ann Rivers Siddons, plus many more.
The videos are for children and the magazines are free.
Now! What more could you ask than a good book at a very, very low cost...or audio or video...to help you pass the time away during these hot summer months.
I heard someone say the other day that autumn is just around the corner. Really? Keep reading, Georgia!
We have a large selection of children's book to include Mary Poppins, The Magic Tears, the Tales of Myrtle the Turtle, and Freaky Friday.
There are mysteries like The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot, The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues, and The Mystery of the Eagle's Claw.
We have books about cats, dogs, elephants, rats, bears (including Paddington), birds, dragons, horses, owls, geese, as well as angels and engineers.
There are biographies of Carl Sandburg, Eleanor Roosevelt, Allan Pinkerton, Betsy Ross, and Charles M. Russell, just to name a few.
There are some series books like The Hardy Boys, The Baby-Sitters Club, and Baby-Sitters Little Sister.
There are books about baseball, basketball, and runners. There are encyclopedias, almanacs, and Guinness books. All the above books are Junior Fiction or Junior Bios...children's books.
Of course, we never forget our adult readers. For you we have books on sports, opera, gardens, as well as biographies of John McCain, Tony Randall, and Alex Hawkins to name a few.
There are books about decorating dens, apartments and every room everywhere.
There are art books about string art, illustrations, photography, and drawing.
And there are fictions by Cormac McCarthy, Pat Conroy, Andrew Greeley, Jackie Collins, Jonathan Franzen, and lots of Avalon books.
Audios are by Danielle Steel, Rex Stout, John Sandford, James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, and Ann Rivers Siddons, plus many more.
The videos are for children and the magazines are free.
Now! What more could you ask than a good book at a very, very low cost...or audio or video...to help you pass the time away during these hot summer months.
I heard someone say the other day that autumn is just around the corner. Really? Keep reading, Georgia!
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