Librarian's Report for May 2007

Summer is off to a great start at the Library. School is out, the weather is hot and the Library is full of people. That’s how it has been since early June.

“Mission Possible,” the Summer Library Challenge, is under way to a very strong start. Youth Services registered 169 readers last Saturday, the first day. Currently there are 152 adults and 379 children enrolled.

Elizabeth Kaiz will begin as Young Adult Services Librarian on Monday, July 2, reporting to the Head of Youth Services. Her experience includes three years as a social studies teacher at Prairie Hills Junior High School, teaching assistant at Old Orchard Junior High School and library associate at Pleasant Ridge School in Glenview.

A graduate of Illinois State University, Normal with a library degree from Dominican University, Elizabeth lives in Chicago with her husband. She will begin at Morton Grove Public Library after a week’s vacation in Italy. Elizabeth brings enthusiasm, a love of young adult literature and technical knowledge that will continue to grow our service to our young adult patrons.

HR 1727, the bill concerning mandatory Internet filtering which we discussed last month, is in the Senate Rules committee as it has been since May 3, 2007.

Planning for our 70th Anniversary has begun. Nancy Brothers will present the preliminary outline for the celebration and expected costs during New Business. At this time, while planning is in the early stages, the Board needs to consider whether this is a suitable milestone to observe.

Susan McGowan, Kevin Justie and I traveled to Riverside Public Library to observe PC Cop in action. PC Cop is an Internet PC management system that allows patrons to access public Internet computers without having to reserve one with a Reference Librarian. The system also supports printing for patrons using our Wi-Fi connection. Besides freeing staff from the reservation and monitoring tasks the system allows all printing fees to be handled via a coin vend station or automatic debits from the patron’s SIRSI account. The increase in print revenue from improved service and reduced loses could pay for the system in three years. The price for the system, configured to meet MGPL needs, is anticipated to be about $9,000 to $10,000.

The SIRSI system was recently updated to the current release. For patrons the most noticeable improvement is the ability to see how many times they have renewed an item in their My Account area of iBistro. Several patrons have asked for this function so they can better manage their reading lists. The next public improvement, subject to testing, will permit patrons to register for library cards from the MGPL webpage.

The remaining unused typing room (ex-reference staff office) is being repainted and equipped to serve as a temporary computer training room for one-on-one tutorials and coaching. Reference staff will resume conducting introductory tutorials for patrons, but now they won’t have to tie up a public internet PC. Carolyn Lawrence, a volunteer with computer training experience, will also be available for coaching patrons with more specific questions.