Odds and Ends at the Library

I wanted to update on some things happening at the Library:

Work continues on revising the Library's website. The Library hopes to have it completed by early summer.

The Library's exciting Summer Reading programs start June 1st. We are looking forward to the various wonderful programs and activities set up by the Library's Youth Services Department.

If one uses the stand-up computers upstairs, the Library has added a couple of new chairs specifically for those computers.

On May 5th, there will be another Crafty Book Club program here at the Library. The next Crafty Book Club program will not be until August.

On May 13th, the Spring Book Discussion will conclude with a discussion on Mildred Pierce by James Cain at 7:00 pm at the libary. Lottie Waggoner will leading the discussion and we cannot thank her enough for leading the series.

As aways, let me know how the library can be serve to you our patrons and the community as a whole.

Ware W. Wimberly III, Director

Library Closed on Friday, April 30th - Staff training in Kokomo, IN

Staff training and learning is an important aspect for any organization. On Friday, April 30, the staff will be attending the Indiana Library Federation District II Conference in Kokomo, IN. The District II Conference in Kokomo provides staff training that will in turn assist us as a staff to be of greater assistance to patrons. Due to the staff attendance at the conference, the Library will be closed on Friday, April 30th.

We thank you for support for the library and please let me know at any time if there are ways we can improve our service to you, the patron.

National Library Week

April 12th to April 17th is National Library Week. In honor this special week, the library is doing a couple of things.

First, the library will waive all fines for overdue materials returned during this week, and a payment of $1.00 per card will remove all overdue fines previously accrued on that card. This offer is valid on overdue fines only, and does not apply to any other charges that may be on your card.

The library will also hold a drawing for the following books:

Apostle by Brad Thor; Associate by John Grisham; Circus in Winter by Cathy Day; Crow lake by Mary Lawson; Even money by Dick Francis; Fatally flaky by Diane Mott Davidson; Fearless fourteen by Janet Evanovich; Fish! By Stephen Lundin; Greedy bones by Carolyn Haines; In an instant by Lee & Bob Woodruff; Indiana butterflies & mothsIndiana wildlife; Intervention by Terri Blackstock; It's not easy being green by Jim Henson; Magicians by Lev Grossman; Modoc by Ralph Helfer; Ohio wildlifePlanisphere; Quiet strength by Tony Dungy; Shades of blue by Karen Kingsbury; So sexy so soon by Diane E Levin; Very valentine by Adriana Trigiani; Wishbones by Carolyn Haines; Your pregnancy week by week by Glade Curtis; Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (MP3-CD); Two Brothers by David Jones (MP3-CD);

Stop by the library this week to take care of your fines and enter our drawing during the week.

Regardless of your reason for stopping at the library, the library hopes it is an important part of your life!

Battle of the Books

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone involved in the Battle of the Books. The Library has another successful Battle of the Books with at least, i believe, over 400 in attendance of the the three days. I want to thank in particular April Nicely, Nancy Synder, and Laura Butler. It is another example of what a outstanding staff our library has! Congratulations to Southwood Jr, High and Sharp Creek Elementary for winning the event.

PROPERTY ACROSS FROM LIBRARY

The Library purchased the house across the street (189-191 W Hill Street/next to the Dr. James Historical Home) at the end of 2009 for the purpose of creating additional parking. Additional parking has been a need for a number of years particularly during times of library programming. At the Board Meeting on November 24th, 2009, it was decided to tear down current structure and adding parking in its place. This decision was made after through discussion and consideration! As an institution that values the cultural heritage and history of the community, the library respects the importance of preserving cultural history and heritage. After consideration of many factors, it was decided that parking was the best option in serving patrons. The Library anticipates the demolition to begin within the next few days.

We thank you for your corporation during the demolition time. If you have any questions, please contact the Director, Ware W. Wimberly III, at (260) 563-2972.

Suggestions for improving Wabash Carnegie Public Library's website

We're about to meet with our website designer, so if you have some comments about the Wabash Carnegie Public Library website, leave your opinions, questions, comments, complaints, suggestions, etc. in the comments. So think about this and let us know:

1. Is there something missing from the library website that you'd like to see?

2. Is the library website easy to use, or could it be simplified?

3. Could we jazz the website up to make it more fun or interesting?


*Want to thank Laura Beutler for providing these questions

Cassie - Computer reservation software

In the next couple of months, the library will be adding computer reservation software to the public computers. The computer reservation software is called Cassie. It will not change the access of the computers but just the management of the computers from the administration side. Most public libraries in the State of Indiana have a computer reservation program for the public computers. Cassie as with other similar programs allows patrons to sign in and reserve computers on their own. Once a patron is set up with a user id and password, the patron can sign in utilizing that information. This will replace the process of stopping at the Information desk to provide name, city/town of residence before being assigned a computer. Once this system is in place and running well, it will also allow staff to focus more on helping with reference questions both in person and over the phone. Although there might be some initial bumps from the adjustment, it should provide for a smoother computer use experience for both patron and staff.