Saturday, March 15, 2008

Library Updates

I hope that you have all received the latest copy of the library newsletter. If you have not signed up to receive our monthly update on activities at the library please contact Julie Menders at jmenders@otis.lioninc.org and we will be sure to include you on our list.

One of my goals for the library is offering a broad spectrum of opportunities that enhance our utility to the public. One of our most recent and successful innovations is serving as a community service work site for area high school students. We currently have 6 students from Norwich Free Academy and one student from the Academy of the Holy Family in Baltic. Each student is required to perform 20 hours of community service as part of their course requirements, and we are very pleased to be a work site. Among the duties performed are shelf reading-a time consuming but essential process of placing the collection in its proper order in the book stacks, shifting collections as books and other materials are removed from the collection and replaced with newer editions, and ascertaining the status of materials listed as lost or missing. We are also hosting an intern from Three Rivers Community College who will help us with a patron survey. This, I hope, will help us to be more responsive to the needs of the library's users, and help us to effectively allocate our resources.

Long term, building on these time constrained service programs, my goal is to use the library as a vehicle for training future librarians. A fair amount has been written over the past few years about the graying of the work force in general, and of librarians in particular. Otis is a good location for a program designed to attract young adults and I am currently working on a proposal to build a collaborative effort with Norwich Free Academy that would introduce young people to the librarianship as a profession.

If any of you are interested in establishing a community service program with the library, or have ideas for other community based collaborations please let me know. Feel free to call me at 860-889-2365 x 122 or e-mail me at bfarwell@otis.lioninc.org.