Catch the Reading Bug - FREE Fun For Kids Thursdays @ 2 PM

Catch the Reading Bug - FREE Fun For Kids Thursdays @ 2 PM
Originally uploaded by My Book House

Some interesting thngs going on out there, in staff blogs and Flickr accounts! Great example from St. Andrews.

Festivals and Summer Reading

Well, we're deep into the first week of Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto programming here at Main and just a couple of days away from the start of all three Summer Reading programs.

This year has been an exceptionally active on for participation in the two festivals. We have the American Film Festival, and a slew of children's programs as part of Piccolo Spoleto and the Freedom Bound film series as part of the Spoleto Festival's focus on their production of Amistad. On top of that, we have Local Blend 2008, with 9 music performances. Needless to say, the Auditorium is well used right now and will continue to be through next week.

And on to Summer Reading. Today's photo is of one of the bulletin boards in the Main Library's Children's Department. Interesting detail--the bee hive is spray painted bubble wrap. You should see it up close!

Thursday, Dorchester Regional held their third Job Fair, with resounding success. Andy reported that between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. 814 people visted. Thirty three employeers were there to talk with the attendees and everyone was pleased all the way around with the hard work and preparation that the staff put into making this event run so smoothly.

Great job, Dorchester, of working with the community to meet their needs!

Booktastic board game

We got a donation recently, a board game called Booktastic! Upon opening the game board, you see a village green in the center, with shops around the edge. Much to my surprise, there's a shop called Cynthia's Fine Used Books!

The object of the game is to "amass the most valuable collection of books and cash." You select a moving pawn, get $220 from the banker, roll the die and move. You want to get near a bookstore (there are others besides Cynthia's) and then enact a transaction. There are questions of course--with more money going to correct answers in either the Avid Reader or the Collector categories.

Your question for today, chosen at random:

Avid Reader
Who wrote Death of A Scriptwriter?
A) M. C. Beaton, B) Nevada Barr or C) Sandra Brown?

Collector
A book description states "308 pp." What does this mean?

These seem too easy, so maybe librarians are way beyond Avid Readers or Collectors...

Care to answer? I'll have some suitable, and small, prize to send for both categories. If there are numerous correct answers, I'll draw at random. Meanwhile, I'll look for some more challenging questions. No fair using the catalog!!!

Bumpy week

Monday marked the start of print management at the Main Library. Effective May 5th, users could print from computers, in black and white or color, for a charge. We anticpated an adjustment phase and a learning curve, but the week was more challenging than expected. Technical difficults made implementation quite a big less than smooth. The staff deserves a huge round of applause for dealing with the ups and downs. I truly appreciate their efforts. Today brings a letter to the editor in The Post and Courier, from a gentlemen who feels we've abandoned our service ethic by this change.

Those interested in proof of the deterioration of local public services should pay attention to the travesty that began May 5. That's the date on which the public library switched from free printing for library patrons to a payment policy.

Change is never easy and this was long deliberated. CCPL was one of the last to adopt a charge for printing. It's not an especially pleasant move, but one that was necessitated both by economics and a desire to manage our tax dollars better and a desire to reduce the waste of paper and resources that occured on a daily basis.

Hopefully we are close to resolving the technical issues today. And I hope that the majority of our users understand that we still serve the public and take our professional and fiscal responsibilities seriously.

Library gallery features CCPL staff

May's exhibit in the Saul Alexander Gallery, Main Library, Charleston County Public Library, showcases the photography of John Van Dalen, a Reference Department Librarian here at Main.

Charleston resident John Van Dalen will exhibit black and white photographs titled "Images of the Rural South: 1973-1982" during the month of May in the Saul Alexander Gallery at the Charleston County Main Library, 68 Calhoun St. The photographs document vanishing examples of old barns, houses and main street architecture of small towns in the Midlands and Piedmont areas of South Carolina.

Lest you think that John received any special consideration, you should know that showing in the gallery is a juried process and the committee did not know that John was a staff member.

His photos are wonderful, so stop in if you're here for a meeting or go ahead and make the trip downtown to see this show.