Day Six--NC Room, Event Planning Meeting, Front Desk

9:00 am - 2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 30

Today, I started off in the NC Room with Gale. We discussed a snag in her efforts to send microfilm to be digitized. There is a copyright issue involving The News Herald and its parent company, so she must hold off on sending microfilm to be digitized with a different company. It was her understanding that she could have reels dated pre 1978 digitized, but there is some dispute about it so she must clear up the matter before proceeding. I was able to do a little detective work because she had received 3 email requests for research since Tuesday, so I tried to find answers and sources for these patrons. One patron wanted copies of two unrelated news articles from the local paper. One was an article on a local business, and the other was a wedding article with photo printed in The News Herald. Using the vertical file, I searched for the requested article about the business, but there was no such article in the file. Without further details, it may be difficult to find this article without considerable research; the only information given was the nature of the article and a year--1956. Since the microfilm is not indexed, this job would take quite a while. However, if we had these microfilm reels digitized, like Gale is trying to do, it would be so much easier for patrons to locate such information, even from their own homes. I was able to locate the wedding article and print out a copy for the patron. The patron had given the wedding month and year and names of bride and groom, so Gale suggested that I check the marriage records books first in order to find the exact date of the wedding. Using that date as a starting point (March 6, 1970), I was able to locate the article (March 17, 1970). I enjoy doing this kind of research for patrons, but Gale cautioned me that she must be wary of time spent on this type of work because she has so much else to do and must prioritize by considering how much time and effort would need to be spent on the tasks. Although she is able to charge a fee for research service, there is no guarantee that money will come back to the NC room since it is turned in to the county.

Mr. Wilson asked me to attend a staff meeting at 11:00 in the meeting room downstairs; in attendance were Mr. Wilson, Alicia (YA), Chesley (Children) and Cassie (Adult Programming). The meeting was mainly run by Alicia, who is planning a large event to be held in May, the Taste of Culture. This event has been run each year for the last 4 years and consists of 15 to 20 tents/booths representing different countries, historical & community organizations, and library organizations--and lots of FOOD. It incorporates information and entertainment with a multicultural focus and is held on the lawn of the library campus. With a budget of $4000, funded in part from a grant by the Arts Council, it is a big event. Morganton Parks and Recreation is also involved. In the meeting, Alicia distributed a flier, performance schedule, and a map that were used in the previous year's event to refresh everyone's memory about the event and stimulate ideas. They discussed what worked and what didn't work as well as the types of equipment that were used to determine what would be needed for this year's event. Plans were discussed about inclement weather and it was decided that the leftover passports from last year could be used again. Participants who visit booths will receive a stamp at each booth and will be able to show their passports for a reward at the end. Chick-fil-A had supported this activity in the past with a coupon for a prize, but another prize will have to be determined since that business no longer operates in town.

Performers from the previous year were discussed--some worked out well and will be asked back, some will not be asked back, and another group requested more money for their fee. Children's activities were discussed; need to choose an alternate activity besides chalk art because it was not popular last year. Possible ideas include photo stand-up artwork and Chesley will work on some other ideas. Center for Cultural Diversity in Asheville has had an informational poster-size panel display which could be held inside the library. Marketing plans were discussed--banners at library and across street in downtown. There was a concern about whether or not the cost of the second banner would be worth it in the long run because there was limited access time for the banner to be put up. The banner should include minimal information so it can be read easily by drivers. Other plans for marketing include: city and library website, facebook, radio, newspaper, schools. We may offer free water if a donation can be found. April 3, Cassie and Alicia will attend the Cultural Festival at ASU to try and research local acts and make contacts for future programming efforts. They also discussed number of garbage cans, volunteers, and Friends of the Library book sale at the event. Next meeting time would be March 9 at 11:00 am. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half, and it was rather eye opening to me. I was amazed at the amount of planning and the fine details that must be accounted for in events of this size. Alicia gave me an advanced copy of the YA events calendar for March so I can try and fit some of the activities in my schedule. I am excited about the topic because it is related to the Hunger Games (since the movie comes out in March). There are 9 activities!!!! This library really does put a lot of energy into the programming.

The rest of the day, I helped out at the front desk and shelved adult fiction.