Summer reading is a hot activity!

We are fast approaching the dog days of summer and Fairfielders are reading up a storm! Over 909 children signed up for the Summer Reading Game!  Come in and sign up, read away and earn a ticket to a great mime show in August. Teen programs are popular!  Pleasure reading is so popular our teen librarian is busily shelving books daily. Our librarians applied temporary tatooes when the teen reading total reached 25,000. 

 

Nearly 50,000 pages have been read! We bought 50 copies of the new Harry Potter book in advance and we have over 50 holds! Hint - we may have a few more copies shortly!   Multiple copies of adult books are flying off the shelves.  Library volunteers Mary Jo Cornell and Judy Fox have delivered fun reads to Penfield Pavilion and the Fairfield train station. Volunteer Dorothy Cheney will be delivering books to Lake Mohegan this week. Thanks to the Friends of the Library these books are available on brand new shiny blue spinners. Grab a book, read it, and return it or replace it with something you liked!

Summer is a busy time for Fairfield librarians too! We are helping you to make your library experience the best it can be and we are planning wonderful programs and services for you for the fall season. The next Newsletter will be published in August and a new program calendar outlining adult and teen programs will be available in September. Look for the new Children’s program calendar in September too! Please share your ideas and opinions by making a comment using this blog. It is easy and helps us to make the library even better for you!

BookNews - stay informed about new books and events at the Library!

Too busy to sit down and read a newsletter at leisure? Looking for ideas for your next great book to read? Want to find a fun program for your teen to attend? Would like a reminder about programs this week? Then consider this - BookNews - a new service we launched this week.

You provide us with your email address and choose among a selection of great electronic newsletters and you will soon receive news about new books and other materials and events at the Library. This is a great way to stay informed about what new items are available for your enjoyment and what events are being offered to the community by simply accessing your email account. 

You can receive the bi-monthly Library newsletter and the Teen newsletter via email. Each week you can receive This Week at Fairfield Public Library and Teen Blast This Week.  The seasonal “Children’s Program Calendar of Events” will now be available via email. Branch users can find out about events at that library when they sign up for the Fairfield Woods Branch Library Events electronic newsletter. For book enthusiasts you can choose among a variety of other newsletters focusing on new books with links to our catalog where you can place a hold on that item.  Book lovers who can’t find the time to read can choose to subscribe to “Chapter A Day” and receive an audio recording of a book chapter every day in their email box!  Book Club members can discover a new book when subscribing to Book Club Choices.

We hope BookNews will be another way we can reach out to you! Let us know what you think of this new service the next time you are in the library.  Just click here to access the Library website and sign up today!

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions by calling 256-3155.

Good News Abounds!

The Friends of the Fairfield Library have helped the Library tremendously.  When we needed extra funds for the main library renovation the Friends stepped up and provided support. Now we are in the new building and we have a sense of renewal and excitement. We are thrilled to announce the Friends will provide funding for the Second Annual Soundwaves Concert Series starting this fall.  You will have the chance to enjoy five world class concerts this fall and winter.  We will also be introducing a Museum Pass program for adults. Our museum pass program for children (available at the Main and Branch) have been very popular. The Children’s Library will be starting two new programs:  Getting ready for kindergarten and Little Learners Circle Time Totes in Fairfield.  We will continue to place fun beach books at Penfield Pavilion and Lake Mohegan in attractive new spinners.  Library programs will be enhanced with  portable stage and a portable lectern at Fairfield Woods Branch.  The support of the Friends will help make your library experience that much more special! 

More news - join us in welcoming our new Branch Librarian - Nancy Coriaty! She returns to Connecticut after a wonderfully successful career working in Cape Cod and West Palm Beach. Nancy was instrumental in intiating teen services, enhancing the children’s department, and planning new space at the West Palm Beach Library.  Stop by and say hello and let her know what you would like to see at Fairfield Woods. 

More good news? Well we are in the midst of the great summer read for children, teens and adults. We have purchased multiple copies of great books to make your summer special. Check out our revamped non-fiction collections with new books about computers, house renovation, fine arts, how to do math and science.

Now we are planning for fall and winter programming. Look for exciting new offerings in September!

Summer Reading begins with a vengeance!

We all know about the school summer reading lists for students. The Library buys multiple copies so as many students as possible can get their hands on them and enjoy a good read.  Teens have their own special reading lists for middle- and high schoolers all ready and waiting in the Teen Services areas at the Main and Branch libraries.  And what about the adults? One of our very own voracious readers creates a list each month of great reads. Click here to see the list. But what if that is not enough? We can peruse bestseller lists and watch TV talk shows. However I find the very best endorsement of a good book is made by a friend or family member who enjoys the same great read as you do.  For those people who like thrillers, are fascinated by political figures or just love reveling in the quirkiness of other peoples’ lives you might find these books interesting. Summer reading has begun for me! Now the real escapist adventures begin - Jonathan Kellerman’s Obsession was my best friend this weekend. Then onto more gossip from Tina Brown about Lady Diana’s foibles in The Diana chronicles. What next? Well what about A woman in charge: the life of Hilary Rodham Clinton by Watergate raconteur Carl Bernstein. Then back to pure fluff: The sleeping dolly by Jeffrey Deaver. And then some more fascinating biographical reading:  Fathers and sons:  the autobiography of a family by Alexander Waugh. Click here to go to the library website and place a hold on these fun reads!

Book and author appetite whetted!

Last weekend Book Expo took place at the Javits Center in New York.  Thousands of people attended including 4,400 librarians from across the country. For newbies Book Expo can be overwhelming until you embrace the frenetic pace and dive right in. Just imagine rubbing shoulders with acclaimed authors who you have worshipped from afar. What about getting your hands on many of the 175,000 books published each year?  You can get a firsthand look at the forthcoming titles and discuss publishing trends with representatives from big name publishing houses. You can revel in the love of books with all the other book lovers. You can chat up authors to see if they would be interested in visiting your hometown library.  You can stare at those more interesting characters dressed in suits with maps of highway I-95 painted on them or people dressed up as storybook characters.  This fabulous annual trade show brings together all kinds across America celebrating that sumptious feeling - the love of books!

Share with us - - What makes a good book a great book?

My family is a reading family. I just spent a week with my parents lately and we resumed our lifelong rhythm of reading whenever we can “steal” a chance. Some days it felt we are doing things in between reading bouts. We start our day reading the paper, we read in lines while waiting at the grocery store, we read in cars as passengers, we read to relax before sleeping, we read sublime passages to each other across international time zones, and there is no better valued gift than a “good book.”

But what makes a good book a great book? In my opinion, different books provide different experiences. Some books inform the reader about the world. Some are less concrete and provide fodder for musing about life. Others connect us to other people through biography, history, etc. What about the book that makes you laugh out loud? Books can stimulate development of ideas and understanding. Books can bond you to others by sharing a reading experience. Books are marvelous companions for so many different life experiences. A question for you — in your opinion, what makes a good book a great book?

Thank you to Volunteers!

On Tuesday April 24 the Library hosted a lunch for all of our volunteers who have been helping us with many jobs over the past year.  We invited over 170 people to join us to  have a nice meal and conversation with library board members and staff. As you may know we have many people helping us apply RFID tags to the collections at the Main Library. We are so grateful to everyone who has helped with this project. Now we do see a light at the end of the tunnel and hope to be finished in August.  Many people have adopted a shelf at the Main and Branch Libraries. Every person is responsible for keeping a shelf in order and letting us know if there are books in need of repair or replacement. Other people have helped us with special projects in children’s services. Students needing community service have helped us with short-term projects. 

Currently we are developing new volunteer opportunities.  Teen librarian Nicole Scherer may be setting aside certain days where students can help us tidy up the shelves, collections, etc. Very shortly we are going to ask people who are really tech-savvy to become computer lab assistants.  We will ask them to help computer users in the lab to be as productive as possible. They will help people to troubleshoot those pesky problems that arise such as sending emails, printing documents, and saving documents. 

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer please contact the Library and come in and ask for a volunteer application. Alternatively you can download the application from our website by going to: www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org/friends-volunteerap.pdf . Maureen O’Rourke, our  crack “Volunteer” Volunteer Coordinator will review your application and then give you a call to set up a meeting. During the meeting you can  discuss what you are interested in doing and how that might fit the needs of the library. For more information, please contact Maureen V. O’Rourke at mvor@optonline.net. 

What do you consider to be great customer service?

We all recognize the feeling when we have a great experience in a retail or in a public service agency. What are the tangible things that make the experience so great? Do you like being acknowledged when you arrive? Do you like a friendly smile? What about someone approaching you and asking you if you need help? Does good signage help? Do you read signs? What saves you time?  Shorter lines? More personal service? More self-help technology? 

It is  my believe that there are some common things we can do to make your library visit that much better.  Be friendly. Be prompt when serving someone. Be willing to get the item for the patron/customer.  Be willing to show people how to find a book, send an email, download information from a database.

But what else can we consider doing for you to make your library visit/experience stellar?  Here is your chance to share your ideas.  Please be positive. Please don’t focus on a particular staff member.  Also if you give us information about yourself such as you visit the library most times with your young children and spend time in the children’s library and would like to see…the following….that will help us.  We do not promise we can do everything. We do promise to consider your ideas seriously and implement those we can. 

Arm Chair Travel or Morsels to Whet Your Travel Appetite

The world is getting smaller with technology enabling us to link to each other around the world close to instantaneously.  We can chat to people around the globe, see them as they live their daily lives and be impressed with the similiarities and differences among people. For some of us this translates into a deep curiousity and need to experience different worlds while we imagine ourselves “being there” or actually physically going and experiencing something other than what we understand.  Spring is typically a time where people start to travel for a variety of reasons. Perhaps to be with family around holidays, to explore college campuses, or to seek out the wonderful heat of other climes.

 Travel books, audiobooks, and DVD’s are some of the most popular library materials in Fairfield.  We are constantly updating, reviewing and purchasing new travel materials.  Here are six new books that are sure to fascinate. The Elephant’s Secret Sense. The Hidden Life of the Wild Herds of Africa by Caitlin O’Connell (599.64 O); Francisco’s Italy. A person journey through Italian culture - past and present by Franciso Da Mosto (945 D - Francisco appears on the Travel Channel narrating his travels and love for his native Italy.); Imagining Egypt. A Living Portrait of the Time of the Pharoahs written and illustrated by Mark Millmore (932 M); Jobs for Travel Lovers. Opportunities at Home and Abroad, 5th ed.  by Ron and Caryl Krannich (331-702 on the Rotary shelf); Sandy Berger’s Great Age Guide to Online Travel (910.4 B); and Soaring with Fidel. An Osprey Odyssey from Cape Cod to Cuba and Beyond by David Gessner (598.93 G).  They are all ready for you in the new books section!  Place a hold from home or office. Come in and browse!

Self check-out coming new week!

Next week we hope to enter a new era in library service.  Come in and try our brand new self check-out stations. Also expect to see our staff ready to help you use this new technology.  Ask us to show you how to use the machines. Just think - less time standing in line waiting to have your items checked out!

Please note we will be retrieving your books on hold as we have always done. We will also be checking out some materials that are not tagged such as magazines, music CD’s, playaways and children’s materials! And know we are always check-out your materials if you prefer. 

Please recognize that we are also learning this new technology alongside you. We will make mistakes and we will not always know the answers but we will do our best to help! 

Try these two new books about technology: Totally Wired. What teens and tweens are really doing online by Anastasie Goodstein (305.235 G) and Boys and their Toys by Bill Adler, Jr. (155.332 A).