Weeding, Discards

9:00 am -10:30 am

1.5 hours
Total hours to date:  114.5

Since I wasn't feeling well, I only stayed a short time today, but I was able to process all of the books that Page and I had weeded from the non-fiction section last week.  It was close to 100 books.  Since Karen wasn't working, Mr. Wilson showed me how to delete the bibliographic record for each item in the computer system.  Then I stamped each book in the front and back cover pages with the "DISCARD" stamp.  The next step was to blot out the bar code with a permanent black marker.  Finally, the books were boxed and labeled to be taken out to the storage trailer.  The books will then be available for sale through the Friends of the Library.  It felt good seeing that process through from the circulation report, to weeding, to deleting and discarding.  I was also able to have a discussion with the Director, Mr. Wilson, while I was working.  We talked about weeding the collection.  He shared that he prefers to have staff members weed aggressively than hold on to old materials that do not circulate.  What good is having the resources if no one wants them?  His philosophy is to have a dynamic collection, with the make-up of the collection looking quite different even 5 years from now.
 

ASU Steel Drum Band

2:30-3:30 pm
1 hour
Total hours to date:  113

Today, I attended a library program.  It was an afternoon performance by the ASU Steel Drum Band.  Originally, it was planned to be an outdoor program, but it was moved to the Morganton Recreation Center because of the threat of rain.  Even so, the turnout was spectacular.  I estimate that there were around 300 people attending the program.  There were families, older people, young adults, just a wide variety of folks, and the program was wonderful.  The band consisted of about 22 musicians, led by a director, who also played.  There was a snare drum set in the middle rear, serving as the "engine block" and there were a variety of steel drums played by enthusiastic ASU students.  It was loud and vibrant!  There was humor as well as talent, so they really put on quite a show.  My kids liked their rendition of "Under the Sea," which incorporated a bubble machine to give an underwater effect.  The director also educated the audience a little on the nature of the steel drums, the different sounds produced, and the types of music played on islands like Trinidad.  Since 10 of the players are seniors, he pointed out that this was likely to be the last time they will play the steel drums, so much of the music that was played consisted of band members' favorites.  It was quite a show.

Picture Burke, May Book Order for Non-fiction, Archive Project, SRP

Friday, April 20
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 112

Since there were few staff members in the library this morning, while the library was closed, I had limited options for activities. First, I spoke with Nicole, who is in charge of ordering books for the fiction section. I asked her to meet with me sometime in the next week to discuss her collection development procedures as I had done last time with Page. Today wasn't a good day because of other duties and limited staff, but she would try and work me in next Friday. Page had left some work for me to do regarding the May order for non-fiction; I completed cards for each book that would be ordered, using information from her spreadsheets. These were sorted by branch library, and would be given to Karen so that she could process the orders.

The rest of my day, I spent in the NC Room with Gale. First, she showed me the ins and outs of "Picture Burke" a huge repository of local historic photographs that have been digitized and are being cataloged into this collection. This project was funded by a grant, and up to now, there are about 3600 photographs in the collection. Requests are often made by local businesses to get copies of these photographs to display, which they are able to get for a small fee.

I spent the rest of my time further documenting items in the archive collection. The most interesting of these items was a school reader that was published in 1880. It had original handwriting by the children who had used the book, and there were also imprints of pennies worth one cent and two cents in the end pages at the back of the book. There was also a sweet poem written by one of the book's owner's sisters.  I also had the chance to review a catalog that Gale uses for ordering archival products and helped her process incoming supplies from this catalog.  It was amazing how expensive these archival items are.  I imagine it is somewhat difficult to justify the expense.


At the end of the day, I had about 30 minutes to spare, so I went down to the YA office and noticed that the nametag lanyards were not complete, so I spent the rest of my time attaching the remaining nametags to the lanyards.  These will be used for the summer reading program for the Young Adults.

Non-fiction & Reference collection development, weeding, book repair

9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 107

Today, I spent most of the day with Page, who is responsible for reference, non-fiction, the BCPLS website, and teaching computer classes. I asked to meet with her in order to gain some insight and experience with the collection development process, and area that I felt was lacking on my internship checklist. It was so helpful to talk with her and learn how she keeps records and makes decisions regarding collection development. As the only other staff member with a MLS degree besides the director, she was able to relate to my training and speak to specific questions I had regarding what I've learned in school and what is of primary importance in the public library.

We discussed the sources she uses for determining what to order, her priorities, the target reading level for the Burke County public, patron requests made through the front desk, her strategy for which areas of the collection to develop, etc. The areas of non-fiction that circulate most are history and biographies, and before she came, three years ago, these were the areas that received the most attention. She still focuses on these areas, but also tries to expand some other much needed areas such as medical information materials. For instance, there were plenty of books on breast cancer but none on prostate cancer, so rather than focus one one particular area, she has sought to broaden many areas of non-fiction, little by little.

I was impressed with the records she keeps regarding the non-fiction and reference collections. She has everything on spreadsheets, so she can sort and recall as needed. Also, as she reads about upcoming titles she is interested in adding to the collection, she adds them to her "wish list" spreadsheets for the coming months. Then, she must prioritize and determine which books to order. Now is a critical time because all of their Foundation money must be spent by May 4 and they will not get more book money all through the summer. Most of the books are ordered through the distributor, Baker & Taylor, and the library receives a discount that is determined by the books' publishers. She estimated that most discounts are around 25%. She must also keep in mind the library's 5-year plan, which includes increasing the collection in specific topic areas. She also leases books on a point system with B&T and she has 10 points per month that can be spent on leases. Books that cost around $27 or less are worth 1 point; $27 to $37 are worth 2 points, etc. Some books that she might have considered leasing, she actually decides to purchase if the purchase amount, with discount, is small enough. Every quarter, the library must return a portion of the leased books but they also may be able to keep some of the books. They can decide to keep books that have been of particular interest to patrons.

One of the biggest challenges that she faces, besides budget constraints, is her own personal bias. She said she must constantly keep a check on her own values and priorities and keep in mind the wide interests of patrons and their needs. She is very particular about the age of the books she purchases and doesn't usually purchase books for the collection that are more than 2 years old. I asked her which areas of the non-fiction are most popular with patrons and she responded: history, narrative non-fiction, computer, cookbooks, health & medical, religion, high school level math & science, and periodically sections like home improvement.

We also discussed the area of reference, which Page said is changing dramatically, at the moment, because of the availability of reference information online. So many of the reference materials are becoming obsolete in printed form because the e-book or online versions are searchable and can be updated quickly. The reference budget also reflects this shift. As a result, there is almost no money for reference, and there is a big need to weed this section. It is already about 1/3 of where it was a few years ago. Religious reference books are still used heavily at this library.

Page also discussed the benefits of coming from a library science program. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and maintains many contacts with her classmates as they have gone on to different areas of the profession across the country. While she originally planned to be a librarian at an academic library, she enjoys her position now, and has found that the ARSL or the Association of Rural and Small Libraries has been very helpful to her. She plans on attending the annual conference in Raleigh this September. I had not previously know that Page was the person responsible for creating and updating the library website, but I learned a little about this aspect of her responsibilities. She uses other library websites for inspiration, and she wants to make the website as user-friendly as possible, especially providing easy access to many of the resources available through NCLive. She uses her knowledge of web design and creates original code for the website. What a great skill to have! I have noticed changes in the website since I've been using it the past few years, and they are definitely positive changes.

Page also showed me how she goes about the weeding process, beginning with a circulation report of books that have circulated fewer than 3 times since the current circulation system was installed several years ago. She started pulling items on that list, but also checked the shelves for books with signs of damage or wear or books that were outdated. We concentrated mainly on travel books, and quickly found many books that were pulled for weeding. It didn't take very long to fill one cart. We took the cart down to Karen, who will process these books for discard. I offered to help out with this process, but it was almost time for me to go for the day, so hopefully, I'll get to do this another day.

Today, I was also able to give a brief tour of the NC room to a patron and her children. She is a personal friend of mine who has 11 children and homeschools them all. She frequents the library often, but was curious about the materials in the NC room and has a specific interest in researching family and farm life in the early 1900s. She would like to write children's books to help document the lifestyle kept by her great-grandparents, and she has been documenting their stories. She wondered what resources might be available to her in order to help provide background she needs to know in order to give depth and understanding to the stories she will write. She is working with a local author, Susan Woodring, who is scheduled to appear at the library later this month. I was able to show her and her children the different types of resources in the NC room.

At the end of the day, I had about 30 minutes, so I repaired several children's books downstairs. Most of the books had torn pages, but there were a couple that needed new mylar covers. It makes sense to keep on top of book repairs in order to extend the life of the books.

Breakfast party, SRP preparations, meeting w/Dr. Moeller, Taste of Culture meeting

9:00 am -3:30 pm
6.5 hours
Total hours to date: 102

The day began with a breakfast celebration/going away party for Alicia, the Young Adult Program Coordinator who is leaving to take a librarian position at a nearby state facility. Since the library is not open until lunchtime on Friday, staff from the other branch libraries also came to join in the celebration. It was a wonderful opportunity for the staff to connect, to share great food with one another, and to honor Alicia's contributions to the library. Her shoes will definitely be difficult to fill.

During breakfast, Alicia asked if I would be able to help her today, so I planned to help her after breakfast. I went upstairs to meet, briefly, with the Needlework in the Morning group, with whom I have developed a great fondness. I stayed for a few minutes to catch up on everyone's new projects and asked for advice on a scarf I am making. Then, I headed back downstairs to help Alicia with some projects for the Summer Reading Program. She wanted me to cut out nametags for the different Hunger Games teams (Team Katniss, Team Peeta, Team Gale, and Team Rue). These nametags would be given out when young adults come to sign up for the SRP and these teams will help determine whose names get to go in a pot for the big prizes--2 ipads! I cut out nametags, then laminated them and started cutting them out, again, and while I worked on these things, I had the opportunity to discuss YA collection development with Alicia. We discussed how she goes about choosing materials for the YA sections in each library. She tries to keep up with the up and coming new books as they are released so that they will be available to patrons on their release date. She also keeps up with series books, considers patron and staff requests, and uses published reviews to help her make decisions. She also keeps in contact with local schools, making sure to stock books on their separate reading lists, as well as award-winners and Battle of the Books titles. She is given a specific amount of money for each library branch each month which can be spent on titles for that library. She keeps up with all orders as well as items received, backordered, etc. using a spreadsheet. I was also able to give her some contact names and phone numbers for local volunteer fire department chiefs through my father, who has served as the President of the governing board of one of the local fire departments during his retirement. Alicia has had difficulty making arrangements for filling a 30 x 30 foot pool for the SRP kickoff activity, and she wanted to seek help from local fire departments. If she is not able to find a suitable way to get the pool filled, she will have to scrap the activity.

She also showed me her new logo for the BCPL Summer Reading Program. Since she opts not to use the SRP materials put out by the state library, she hires a graphic artist to create a logo for the program. This theme was determined using input from her YA student committee. We discussed possible ideas for library displays based on this theme and logo.

At about 1:15, I met with Dr. Moeller, my ASU professor who is supervising my internship. We discussed how my internship experience is going. As a whole, I have tried to get a really good overall picture of the inner workings of the library, and I have had the opportunity to see a variety of programs, meetings, and library procedures in action. The staff at BCPL have been welcoming and accommodating to my many questions. During my time here, I have tried to gather information all along the way and I have tried to be of service while I was learning. I shared with Dr. Moeller that although I have not had much experience with producing tangible products during the internship, I have learned a great deal about a wide variety of library roles, functions, tasks, and responsibilities. I feel comfortable working with the public and I feel comfortable with patrons of all ages--from the babies and toddlers, to the young adults, to the adults and older adults who frequent the library. I am also fond of working in the NC room, where I've been able to help people with genealogical and other local research as well as work on a project where I've been privileged to document archival items for the library collection.  One of the things we talked about was a certain tedious task I have had the opportunity to do, on occasion.  It involves cutting out a very detailed bird head that some of us have come to call the "angry bird" because it takes so long to cut out.  Here are some photos:

                      
After my meeting with Dr. Moe, I went downstairs to join in on a Taste of Culture meeting with Mr. Wilson, Alicia, and Cassie. Since Alicia is leaving, Cassie is taking on some of her responsibilities related to the Taste of Culture event to be held on Saturday, May 12. They discussed what needs to be done at this point to prepare for the event: verify all performers; check for special requests such as sound, water, space, or electricity needs; prep for Friends book sale in the meeting room of the library; finalize and document marketing strategies. The event is being advertised through the usual channels in the library--posters, fliers, etc.--but is also being advertised in the local newspaper, radio station, and WHKY tv station. They also discussed possible prizes for those participants who get their passports stamped at each station. Final prizes need to be confirmed by the 27th and discussed at the next meeting at 5:30 on that day. They are meeting later than normal to accommodate Alicia, who will be working on a contract basis, to help finish out some of the programs and activities that she had been planning as part of her YA duties. They also discussed requirements for a grant that they had received both for the Taste of Culture event and for the ASU Steel Drum Band which will be performing on Saturday, April 21. Any marketing, such as news articles, even if they are printed after the event, should be turned in for the grant documentation.

NC Room archive project, rare book research

9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 95.5

Today, I was able to spend the entire time in the NC Room. First, I tallied and shelved materials from the previous day. I am learning my way around the materials in the NC Room much better, and I am able to help patrons more easily. Then, I continued work documenting old books found in the archive collection. The most interesting of these, to me, was the 1st edition copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin, published in 1852. It is in very good shape, relative to its age, and is probably pretty valuable. Research was done a few years ago, determining its value to be around $250. I also hadn't realized that this novel was published in volumes, because the version held by the BCPL is volume 2, containing chapters 19-end. It's fascinating to handle these historic works in the archive collection. Many of the items don't hold much value, but for now, the library is holding on to them, documenting them, and will later determine which items to keep, sell, donate to another library, etc.

Other books that I documented today were also from the 1800s and most were religious in nature, possibly originating from the library of a local religious leader, named John Carter. While I was at the library today, I completed documentation for 6 archival items, shelved materials, and helped a few patrons. It is amazing to me how much time it took to document these items, and I can see how difficult it must be for Gale to be able to complete this type of assignment with all of her other duties. It is time consuming, and low on the priority list. Some of these items that have been donated might have local interest value, while some others might be useful for specific research. Others might not be appropriate for this library collection but might make more sense in another library collection where they might see more use. I am hoping to finish documenting these items, get them added to a spreadsheet, and formulate a plan for future volunteers to continue the documentation process so that it will no longer take years for items to go from donation to the documented and cataloged library collection.

NC Room research, genealogy help, children's services

9:00 am - 2:00 pm

5 hours

Total hours to date: 90.5 hours

Last week, I found out that the YA Coordinator is taking another position at a nearby facility as a librarian, so the YA position at the library will be opening up. Since then, I've been trying to help out with whatever loose ends she might need help with. So. I checked in with her first, and made arrangements to check back at 1pm, when Kimberly would be helping with YA. Then, I went upstairs to work with Gale. It has been a while since I've been able to work with her, so she was excited to see that I would be able to spend a good bit of time helping out. I think most of the other staff members do not have an idea of the amount of work that Gale does in the NC room because she is in a room by herself, largely out of sight, and out of mind. She helps patrons who come into the NC room with individual research requests, but she also does research for the Picture Burke project as well as research and copying for patrons who email her with research requests. Today, I helped with one of those email research requests, and I ended up copying about 100 pages of material from several different books. Gale is able to charge a fee for these research and copying services, but they do take up a portion of her time. I am glad I was able to help out today, because Gale was able to work on Picture Burke research in a separate room, while I worked on copying and helping patrons.

First, I continued working on the archive project. While cataloging a book that was in the archive records, we discovered that it was a book also found in the NC room collection, and after searching WorldCat and finding the book in 4 other libraries in the area, and searching Abebooks to determine its value, we determined that it should be filed with other duplicate books rather than with the archived books. The title is Climbing the Mountains with God, by Rev. Luther Snipes, a local educator and preacher. It was printed by a local printing company from Lenoir in 1959. Because there is already one copy in the collection, there are other copies available at local libraries, and the value was estimated around $5, we filed it with duplicate books.

There was an older couple who came in, who had traveled from Macon County, to research some specific questions on their family history. They were searching for a specific book, contained in the NC room, that discussed Burke County records before the courthouse fire. They found the book, and located some information they were looking for, but I was also able to help them using an online resource I learned about in my Genealogy class. They were trying to find the name of the spouse of one of their ancestors who lived in the mid-1700s, a Joseph Gibson (b. 1749). In their family, there are two names family members have found for this spouse and they wanted to try and find out the truth. I suggested that they might try looking in cemetery records because sometimes husbands were buried beside their wives, so we looked in the cemetery records for Burke County but we did not find the man listed. So I suggested that we try findagrave.com. Since I had my laptop at the library, I was able to use the wifi to get online and search for them. I did find a grave for a Joseph Gibson, born in 1749, and buried in Statesville, which is about an hour away from here. This gravestone indicated that he had served in the Revolutionary War, and the grave was contained in a church graveyard. We searched for other Gibsons in the graveyard, but did not locate a possible spouse. They said that the spouse had died much later, so they might not be buried together. We may not have had a lot of success, but I did teach them how to use findagrave.com at home and they were very excited to try it out to see if they could find other family members. I showed them how to do a basic search, then to search specific cemeteries, and to look for photographs that they could copy and paste for their own family records. I was also able to show them a photograph I had found of one of my own ancestors. I realize that helping people in the NC room has been one of my most enjoyable experiences while I've served in this internship. Family history has become an interest of mine since I took Genealogy in graduate school, and I love helping others find what they need. I was also able to help a patron researching her church's history, other patrons with family history, and another patron looking for information on gold panning history of Burke County.

At the end of the day, I helped out in Children's Services, cutting out bird cut-outs, for the Taste of Culture event coming up in May.