6 July 2015 It has been awhile since I have written to my blog but it has been a busy time.-----First, we are almost at the halfway point in the Summer Reading Program. There is still plenty of time and lots of fun to be had.-----This Wednesday we have the robotics club coming in for demonstration. Phone the library at 649-1648 for the show times and to see if there are still openings. Due to the popularity of this show we are forced to restrict the number of attendees to 100. ---We have kicked off our renovation project. This project includes: A new roof for the library and new carpeting on the main floor. The front steps are going to be repaired and we will be replacing any furniture that is in bad repair. As far as technology, we are going to upgrade our phone system, upgrade the routers and junctions for the Internet replace all of the computers except for the ones at the circulation desk as they were replaced last year. We will also be adding to more computers for the adult area. We are also going to bring in a professional firm to help us reconfigure the floor plan for the library as the current configuration was done before libraries had computers for patron use. We are also going to replace two of the furnaces and upgrade some of the cabling and electrical wiring. The reason for such extensive work is because of age. The roof, carpet and furnaces are all nearing 30 years of age and they are at the end of their effective life times. The computers are running either Windows XP or Windows 7. There in no support or upgrades for Windows XP and so it is obsolete. Part of the reconfiguration of the library floor plan will include putting a catalog workstation in the adult area so that patrons can search our catalog without having to walk up to the front of the building. This project will run approximately $208,000. The library has set aside $60,000 and grants have been written to cover most of the other expenses. The thing to remember about grants is that they cannot be considered in the project budget until the check arrives. So we are asking our patrons to consider donations toward this project. If grants and local donations exceed the amount needed for the project, the excess of local donations will be deposited in the Vicksburg District Library Foundation. ------Our grounds keeper, Bill Brumley has retired and he has moved to a townhouse in Vicksburg. He was a pleasant addition to our staff and we will miss him greatly. Cheryl Lee, one of the Library Board members, is a Master Gardener and she is taking over the library landscaping as her project. -----This fall the library will be hosting an Osher Life-long Learning Institute (OLLI)class on writing. More details will be made public when the Fall class schedule comes out.-----I will keep you updated on the renovation project in future postings. Until next time, remember,"Outside of a dog a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it is too dark to read." Groucho Marx.

10 February 2015

10 February 2015----------There is a lot of good news this month. First off we are now in the second half of winter. The sun rises earlier and sets much later. The second part of the good news is we now have a new Children's Services Librarian! Stephanie Willoughby is a Vicksburg resident and is leaving her job at the Kalamazoo Museum. She is looking forward to working with the children and officially starts on 16 February. Over the rest of the month she will be learning the procedures of the library, planning storytimes and preparing for Summer Reading. Stop in and say hello to her beginning next week.----------Speaking of storytimes, they are scheduled to restart on Monday, March 2. More details about the storytimes will be publicized as soon as the programs are put together. We are also getting near the mid-point for the Adult Winter Reading program. There is plenty of time to register and get a slip in for the main drawing. It is very easy, read, listen or watch a book, audiobook or movie from the Vicksburg District Library and score a point for each book, movie or audiobook. After 15 items checked out, you get a slip for the big drawing. For every five books, movies or audiobooks you read after that and you get another chance for the drawing. The more materials you use from the Library, the more entries in for the big drawing. The prizes this year are gift certificates for the Main Street Pub, the Vault and Rise n' Dine. Enter now and get reading, watching and listening.---------- This year we are in an awkward situation as far as tax forms. We have received the Michigan Tax Booklets which include the most popular Michigan tax forms and we also have the home heating credit forms. The Federal Tax forms are a totally different situation. We had placed our annual order back in November but late last month we were informed that because the IRS mailing and distribution program had been cut by $300 million. The message we received told us not to expect any tax forms to be delivered this year. Since the first of February we did receive 100 1040 Forms but no instruction books. We have printed off three copies of the instruction books for forms 1040, 1040-A and 2040-EZ. Two of the copies are available for checkout for one week with a $1.00 fine per day if not returned on time. The third copy is for use in the Library. We ask that you be patient with staff this year when looking for tax forms because we may not have received them----------For February the Library is once again inviting you to go on a Blind Date With a Book for Valentine's day. There are many books wrapped in red paper, pick it up take it home and read it. Let us know what you think of the book and if you would read anything else by the author of the book you chose. These books have been donated to the library so you do not need to check them out and you can keep them if you so desire.----------The annual budget meeting of the Library will be held on February 19. The budget meeting is part of the regular meeting. The meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. and the public is always welcome to attend.-------Until next time, keep warm and keep reading.-----John

7 January 2015

7 January 2015----------It has been nearly two months since I have written on my blog and a lot has happened. First, Kristy has taken the position of assistant director/tech librarian at Parchment. This is a big move for her and we wish her great success in her new position. This of course means that we are without a Children's Librarian. We have posted the job position and we have 8 applicants so far. The application period ends at 5:00 pm on Friday, 16 January 2015. We will interview the week of the 19th and hope to have a new person starting no later than 2 February 2015. Kristy was an excellent children's librarian and we all miss her.----------The Library Board is organizing a Fund Raising Committee to raise funds for some renovations to the Library. The addition was completed in 1986 and in the 29 years since we find that the Library needs to replace and upgrade the building. The two major projects are for a new roof and new carpeting. Between the two the cost is approximately $125,000. The next level of upgrading is in our computer network. Most of the computers are over five years old and when the addition was built the idea of having computers in the library was the stuff of science fiction. We want to not only upgrade our network hardware but also replace the current computers so that we will have 10-12 public access computers instead of the eight we currently have. The phone system was also installed in 1986 and the technology is not compatible with the new phone technology. To upgrade the phone and computer systems is about $30,000. The front entrance to the Library has to be repaired. You may have noticed that the center guardrail is loose and we have yellow tape and warning signs on the railing. Over the years the mortar and caulking on the brick work has come out. The stairs will need to be replaced as pieces of the stairs have broken off. While we are having the work done to the front stairs we are also going to have the brickwork on the stairs and ramp areas repaired. The estimate for the work is about $15,000. This is a rough estimate as the weather turned bad before the engineers could get a more precise estimate. Finally, we will need new computer carrells to place the additional computers as well as new chairs. Other furniture will be examined and pieces that need to be replaced will be ordered with the new computer stations. Depending on how much furniture we need the costs are pegged at $10,000. From experience it is always wise to add and extra 10% to the costs to cover unexpected expenses which would be $17,000 for a grand total of about $187,000. We are looking for people to work on the fundraising committee. We need everyone from those who can stuff envelopes, people who know of organizations that donate to community projects, people who would like to speak to groups and people who are available to help in any way they can. This is a community effort to do some repair and renovation work on the Library building.----------Andrea has become our new head of circulation and adult services. She will be ordering adult fiction materials as well as running the book discussion group. She is also the Library Webmaster or is it Mistress? She will continue to write articles for the South County News and continue to help patrons work with their wireless devices.----------So here is to the start of a new year may it be happy and prosperous.-------- John

Missed October

10 November 2014 ------October is a busy month and it is easy to forget to write a new post on the blog. Among the exciting activities this past month was filing the State Aid report. The State provides about .37 per person that is served by the Vicksburg District Library. It isn't much aid from the State but the compilied State Aid reports contain a lot of information that is useful for the library when writing grants, looking at internet speed, types of operationg systems, size of collection and so on. By law public libraries are to receive .50 cents per person but since the law was passed in the 1980's that amount was only realized in two years of the Engler's tenure as governor. So I was filling out the State Aid report and I noticed two things on the report. First, the number of people signing onto our WiFi connection has increased a lot in the past year and the number of downloads from our ebook collection is rising. These are good signs as it tells me that we are meeting the needs of our patrons and that our selection policy is working. The challange is that we need to increase the size of our available band width and we will need to dedicate more of our resources to the purchase of ebooks. With the new budget year,which begins on March 1, we have budgeted enough funds to double the bandwith next year but we will not be able to increase the amount we spend on the ebook collection. ----- Over the next year or two, we will continue with needed renovations to the library. From the bids we have received so far, we are looking at an amount between $170,000 to $200,000 dollars. As we are finding grants to defray some of the costs, we are asking our patrons to be generous in making donations to the library for the renovations. The addition to the library was made in the late 1980's which means that the phone system is a mix of analog and digital, the wiring for computers is dated and needs to be expanded to add extra computers, half of our computers are running Windows XP and the rest are using Windows 7. The carpet is stained and holes are in it by the adult reading tables and the seams are starting to come up. Our roof hasn't been replaced since the addition and the brickwork and stairs need to be repaired. Yes, I am appealing for generous donations as the roof and the carpeting are the two most expensive elements of this project. The people living in the Library District have been generous in the past and we are hoping that they will continue in their generousity. ---------- Since I wrote last, Miss Rachel has retired from the library. As you may have seen from our home page, Beth Dowson has come back to take over her duties as head of circulation. Beth will be ordering adult fiction books as well as audio books. We are sharing Beth's expertise with Comstock Library. She is here on Wednesday and Thursday and every third Sunday. Beth is also taking over the Adult Book Discussion Group on the first Thursday of the month. As she becomes familiar with our current operating system, she will be taking over as the manager of the circulation system. -----------The Library will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, 27 November. We will reopen at the regular time on Friday.----------The Library is holding an amnesty program for patrons under 18 years of age. They may return overdue items and have all overdue fines forgiven if they bring in a canned food item or personal hygene item for the South County Community food bank. ---------- The Village Council will be meeting in the Library meeting room on the first and third Mondays each month. There is a lot happening in Vicksburg and I would encourage the public to come in and attend the meetings. ---------- Hopefully I will not be so long between posting on the blog. Until next posting, remember read a good book and for parents, read to your children. John

29 September 2014

29 September 2014 I know that this is not Wednesday when I usually write this blog but this is a special week for us at the Library. Rachel is leaving the library after nearly 18 years of service. She is retiring but will still be in the area. We will be having an open house for her on Thursday, 2 October, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Come in and say good-bye to Rachel. If you are unable to come to the open house, we have a memory book on the circulation desk for patrons to sign. She will be missed by the readers in the monthly book club and by staff as she was the head of circulation. You will be familiar with the lady taking over Rachel's position, Beth Dowson. Last year she was our reference/Young Adult librarian. Beth will be taking over the selection of fiction materials, take over head clerk duties and the book discussion group. She will be splitting here time between here and her position in Comstock Library. You will also see more of our weekend clerk Emily as she will be taking 14 of Rachel's hours. Emily has been here for two years and has worked as a circulation clerk and has also helped in the processing of new library materials.--------Remember that Storytimes have begun and Miss Kristy has got them working and learning. On Monday at 10:15 a.m. there is Toddler Time this is for the children from 2-4 years of age. Wednesday is a busy morning with Babytime starting at 9:30 a.m. This is for children under 2 years of age. Also on Wednesday morning starting at 10:30 a.m. we have Preschool/Family Storytime. This is for children from 4-5 years of age. Each program is geared to the age levels and includes singing, stories and other activities. These programs are free of charge and now sign-up is required. Andrea has begun her Teen Scene program for grades 8 through high school. Finally there is the Tween hangouts for the 5th through 8th grade students. There are crafts, games and group activities and they are held after school. The teens on Turesday at 3:00 p.m. and the Tweens on Thursday from 4:00 p.m. -------- The Brown Bag Classic club is reading Dracula for October. A good scary book for Halloween is the quintessential horror book. Second only the Sherlock Holmes as a character portrayed in film, Dracula still apppeals to public a 115 years after being published. Like other books made into movies, the book is better as it takes you into the thoughts of the main characters. Copies can are being held at the circulation desk. -------- Until next week, keep reading John Sheridan, Director

10 September 2014

10 September 2014-----------This is the kick-off week for our fall programs. Toddler Time is for 18 month olds to 3 year olds. This program is held Monday mornings and starts at 10:15 in the basement meeting room. The baby time is for babies from infants to 18 months old. It starts at 9:45 and runs on Wednesday mornings in the basement meeting room. Finally we have the Preschool/Family program for children 3 to 5 years of age. This is also on Wednesday mornings in the basement meeting starting at 10:30. Miss Kristy has the activites planned out and they include singing, dancing and crafts for the preschool children.----------Miss Andrea will also be starting her Teen and Tween programs on Thursday afternoons after school.----------This past Sunday was the first Sunday that we will be open for during the school year. The hours for Sunday are from 1:00 to 5:00.----------A reminder on the checkout time for movies. You can check them out for three days and you can renew them one time before they become overdue. The overdue fee for DVD's is $1.00 per day until the replacement cost of the DVD plus the processing charge is reached. This means that if you do not return a DVD on time and the DVD replacement costs $25 plus the processing charge of $5 a total fee of $30 is levied and your borrowing priviliges would be suspended until your fees are paid down below $5. This charge is for each DVD you have overdue. So if you have 2 DVD's more than 30 days overdue the charge to you would by $60, for three it would be $90 and so on. Remember to return you materials on time.----------The next offering for the Brown Bag Book Club will be Dracula, just in time for Halloween. We meet at noon on the third monday of the month in the basement meeting room.----------That is all for this week, remember to keep reading.

27 August 2014

27 August 2014-------This year Labor Day is the earliest it can be, 1 September. This means that school will start on Tuesday, 2 September. Less than a week away and with the school year will be the start of the children's programmming. It all begins on September 8, Miss Kristy is getting everything organized and will be ready to go.-------The Library is looking for someone to work as a part-time custodian. The work is one or two days a week in the morning. The starting time is 8:00 a.m. and it starts at minimum wage. For more details please come into the library as we have a detailed job description and application form on the circulation counter.-------On September 13, the Library will be hosting a program for adults and families called the Game of Life. This program addresses the decisions and problems people encounter while working for financial stability by using the board game, Game of Life. The program is presented in cooperation with New York Life Co. This is not a solicitation for business by New York Life. We at the Library do ask you to register for the program so that we can know how many people plan to attend. The information will not be shared with the New York Life representative. The program will be on September 13, at 10:30 a.m. and will last about one hour.-------The Brown Bag Classics Club returns on Monday, September 22, at noon. This month we are reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I personally prefer this novel to his Grapes of Wrath. For October we will be reading Dracula by Bram Stoker, to help celebrate Halloween.-------Did you know that our meeting room downstairs is available to rent? The Library meeting room is used for most of the Library programs yet it is made available for public use. We have had baby-showers held there, every March we have Tax Preparers come in and use it to help seniors make out their taxes and the local Girl Scout troops use it for their meetings. Ask at the circulation desk for the terms and conditions for reserving the meeting room. There may be a charge for the use of the room. Charitable organizations are allowed to use the room for free. Library programs do have priority over any other program.-------The circulation times for library materials is as follows: Adult, teen and children's books and audiobooks circulate for 28 days, Magazine, music cd's and new adult books circulate for 14 days, Video games circulate for 7 days and DVD's (Movies) circulate for 3 days. If you return what you check out after the due date is $1.00 per day for video games and for DVD's (Movies) and all other materials is $0.10 per day. When fines or fees exceed $5.00 then borrowing privilages are suspended until the fines and fees are paid down.-------Thank you all again for being patient with us as we transition to the new circulaton system. Unfortunately for us, we changed over just as a new version was being released so we are not only learning a new system but have to wait for patches to be applied to the bugs in the new system. Bottom line, we taking longer to learn the new system than we anticipated when we did the change over. ----- Until next week, keep reading. John

20 August 2014

Labor Day is early this year, September 1. This is the earliest that Labor Day can occur because by law it is set as the first Monday of September. The Library will be closed for Labor Day and our Sunday hours will begin on September 7 from 1-5.-------Coming in September will be the Brown Bag Classic Book Club and our first selection will be John Steinbeck's East of Eden. This is a great American classic and a great read. Other books this coming year will be Frankenstein, Anna Karenina, and The Great Gatsby. At the first meeting we will decide if we want to continue meeting at noon or if it would be better to move it to the afternoon or evening.------- The Library is looking for someone to be a janitor. The duties would be the cleaning of the library, setting up for programs, as needed, and dumping trash and taking out recyclables. Apply in person at the library. We would like to fill this position by the first week of September.------- Tomorrow we will be holding the preliminary fundraising meeting. We encourage people to come in and ask questions, make suggestions on fundraisig activities, and volunteer to work on the committee. The board meeting is at 6:00 p.m. in the basement meeting room.------- This September the Library will begin hosting some programs geared to adults and children on financal management. The first program will be on September 13, at 10:30 in the morning. This program uses the Hasbro boardgame, The Game of Life, to guide people along the road of life from childhood through retirement. It will cover saving, investing and budgeting. This is a free program presented by New York Life. There is no obligation or sales pitch attached to this program. We do ask that you register with the library so that we will know how many tables and chairs to set up. We will limit attendence to 30 people. Future programs will include teaching your child on financial management and awareness of fraud against senior citizens. All programs will start at 10:30 and will last about 1 hour and be on Saturday mornings in September and October.------- Our west window display this month features true crime. From the pursuit of John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated Lincoln to the life and legend of Jesse James. Learn "Isabels Secret" or how two drifters could murder a farm family "In Cold Blood." The truth is more intriguing than fiction. ------- You may have noticed that there is a card in the movie carrels that have the new movies we have received listed. While looking for movies don't forget some of the older ones. John Wayne in Hondo or The Wizard of Oz or even the Birds. Maybe you would rather catch up on a TV series like Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy or the Brady Bunch. For the children we have Bob the Builder and Barbie movies as well as Disney films. ------- If you volunteered to work at any library program or the book sale this past year, please contact me at the library at 649-1648 and let me know. We are having a reception at the library on Thursday, August 27 at 3:00 p.m. in the Library meeting room. ------- As the summer ends, the library staff is getting ready for the children's programs that will start. More on the start days, times of programs and times will be in next week's blog.-------Until next week, keep reading and support your local library. John

13 August 2014

13 August 2014 I want to say thank you to all our patrons for being patient with us as the new circulation system continues to vex the library staff. When we purchased the new program we had talked with several libraries throughout the state and it was given glowing reports. So what went wrong? You may ask. The program issued a new version when they loaded the new system in May. Every new version of a program will have bugs, take for example Windows Vista or Windows Millenium as examples of a good program with a new version being wild for the first five or six months. Every week Verso installs new fixes for the problems that are in the new version. Libraries all over the country are running into problems, it isn't just Vicksburg. The programmers are working on fixing the bugs but it takes time to write a repair program so continue being patient as it may be October before all of the bugs are addressed.-------The Library will be holding a reception for all the people who volunteered to help at the library this past year. We will be having punch and cake. The reception is going to be on 27 August 2014 at 3:00 pm in the Library's meeting room. If you have volunteered at the Library this past year please phone the Library at 649-1648 and leave a note for John that you will be attending. I will need to know how many people will be there so I can order the right size cake.-------Parents please let know if you want you child to check out R rated or MA rated video games. When we changed the circulation system not all of the notes were copied over. You will have to come in and personnally tell us to put a note on your child's record that they can check out materials with the above mentioned ratings. Our policy states that we will follow video store guidelines on checking out R or MA materials to minors 17 years of age or younger. I know that in the past we have let some videos and games slip through especially when we are busy we are not very vigilante. Remember, next time you are in the library and your minor child has a card, tell us if you are okay with your child checking out R and MA materials. I know it seems silly especially if your child is in high school but it is in that gray area that deals with childhood safety. -------On Thursday, 21 August at the regular board meeting, the board will be discussing the formation of a fundraising committee. The public is welcome to attend all board meetings but if you have any ideas on how to make the library better or you want to help us upgrade the library building please attend. The library staff have already made suggestions and we are looking for more. The fund raising committee will be meeting with professionals in library design, phone systems, construction and internet technology among others to establish needs and costs so we can set a fund raising goal. The Library has been putting money into funds over the years to help pay for upgrades of the physical library building. We are also looking to raise some extra money to add to the Vicksburd District Library Foundation which is operated by the Kalamazoo Foundation. The Vicksburg community has always been generous with the needed time and monetary resources to maintain the library and I believe that community spirits lives on today.-------Until next week remember to read to your children. John Sheridan, Director

6 August 2014

6 August 2014 ---------- August already and less than a month before the start of the school year. The Summer Reading Program parties were well attended and fun for everyone. At the children's party, New York Life was there providing free child I.D. photos and fingerprints for parents. This is a safety benefit for the parents as it provides a way for officials to identify and search for a lost child. I want to thank the United Methodist Church on Main St for making their community room available for us. Over one hundred children and their parents or guardians attended plus our staff members and volunteers. For two hours the children enjoyed games and treats. At the end many hated to leave. Also a big thank you for Miss Kristy who worked so hard putting the Summer Reading Program together. ------ The last party for the summer will be on August 7 for 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. It is the Doctor Who party which had to be cancelled in July due to the power outage in town at that time. There will be treats, a Doctor Who trivia contest and the showing of s Doctor Who movie. ------- I want to remind everyone that there will be a library wants and needs discussion at the next Library board meeting. The needs are to repair the front steps and the brickwork on the building, replacing the carpeting and the furniture re-roofing the library, and replacing the phone system This will be the first major work done on the libray since the addition was put on in 1986. The wants of the library are? This is where you the public are needed. Do we need more computers? Maybe more audio or large print books. Should we be getting more movies or ebooks for Kindle and other electric readers? Does the public want more programming for adults, evening programs? We need your imput. We also need people that will help set up a fund raising committee and to serve on it. The committee would decide what kind of fundraiser to have. An auction or perhaps a pledge drive or maybe a community challenge? The library has been ear-marking some of our income every year in anticipation of the major work updates updates but we can only estimate that we might have 25% of the needed funds. The library will engage architectss, builders and library design firms to get a solid estimate so that we can see what we will need for the upgrade. Once we have the estimates we can see what we will need. The Library Board has decided that a fund raiser would be the best way to accomplish financing of the needed work instead of going for a millage. This way the project will be paid as the work is done and any excess funds can be dedicated to the Vicksburg District Library Foundation which would generate funds to help with future renovations. ------- This September and October we are planning three workhops on finances. These will cover Senior Fraud Protection, Teaching children financial management and the game of Life, which previews the differenct financial issues that nearly everyone faces as they grow up through retirement. These workshops are free and run about an hour. They are presented by PNC and New York Life. ------- The Brown Bag Book Club will be starting again in September and we will read East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It is an American classic and still reads strong today. We will met at noon on September 22. I know it isn't the third monday but the first Monday in Labor Day so we won't count that.------- Until next week, keep reading and remember to come to the Board Meeting on August 21.---------- John

July29, 2014

29 July 2014-----This is the last post for the month. With the end of the month comes the end of Summer Reading Program Parties. The teen party is today in the basement meeting room from 3-4. The children's party will be on Thursday at the Methodist Church from 2-4. This was a very good year for the program and we appreciate all who took part.----------The annual volunteer reception will be held in August. The date has not yet been set but it will be after the middle of August.---------At the August board meeting we will be having a barn storming session with people in our community to review what the Library offers to the public. What works, what doesn't? What needs to be done to update the building? What long term maintenance needs to be done, (roof, carpeting, furniture, computers). We will ask some of the attendees to participate in a fund raising committee so that we can do what needs to be done with out having to go for a millage increase. We have been fortunate that the rate of inflation has been low so that our income is able to rise at the same rate. I want to point out that the last major overhaul of the Library was in 1986 so we will need to address the roof, the carpet, number of computers and connect speed of the computers.We encourage you to attend and to pass the word around about this meeting so that the Library can continue to be an asset to all people in our community. The meeting is on 21 August 2014 at 6:00 p.m. in the Library basement meeting room. Please plan to attend.----------The Library is planning a Senior Fraud Protection workshop for Seniors and care providers in late October. This program is a joint presentation with PNC Bank. More details will be released as we get closer to October.----------The Brown Bag Classics Book Club will resume in September. The first book we will be reading will be John Steinbeck's East of Eden. Copies will be available after August 1. Books in the coming year will be Moby Dick, The Three Musketeers, The Magic Mountain and Dracula.----------This blog is short as I will be out of the Library to attend a workshop for the last two days of the month. Until next week remember to keep reading. John

23 July 2014

23 July 2014 The Summer Reading Program is winding down. It officially ends at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday July 26. All reading records need to be turned in by then so that the times can be tabulated on Monday. We cannot accept late submissions. The end of Summer Reading party for the Teen segment of the program will be held on Tues. July 29. Games and prizes as well as treats and music from various decades will be featured for this program. The End of Summer Reading Program for the Children will be held at the Methodist Church from 2-4 on Thursday July 31. I want to thank all of the students who participated in the program this year. The attendance at the special programs was very good and everyone had a good time. Among the favorite programs this year were the Binder Park Zoo, the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, the Robotics demonstration and the Science Fair. Unfortunately, we did not have power for the Doctor Who program but that will be held in August. I would like to say that the new season of Doctor Who starts on Saturday August 23, on BBC America.------------During the month of August our staff will be planning out programs that we will be having during the last of summer and through the fall. For the adults we will be working with PNC bank to have a couple of finacial programs geared toward adults. These programs will be held on Saturday morning and will only last about two hours.------------During August we will also be getting the bugs worked out on our new circulation system. With the summer reading, it was impossible to give any time to doing this earlier.----------The Library Board is looking for people who would like to work on a fundraising campaign for the library. The last time any major work was done on the library was back in 1986 and after nearly 30 years it is time for a facelift. No dollar goal has been set yet and not plans are drawn-up. We want our patrons to give us imput on what they want to keep, add, or do away. When the addition was put on in 1986, computers for public use in the library was a science fiction fantasy but today it is a reality. So we know we will need to address the question of how many workstations do we need and are they currently in the best place. So plan to attend the next Library Board meeting on Thursday 21 August 2014 at 6:00 p.m. in the basement meeting room. I will be attending a grant writing workshop so that we may be able to obtain a matching grant to help in our fundraising goal.----------You may have noticed the dashes in this blog post. I have found that as I type the blog when I go to start a new paragraph I am not able to get this program to recognize the new paragraph with spacing alone. With the dashes I hope that it will act as the needed break between paragraphs and make my blogs more readable.----------It has been an amazing summer! Not a warm as normal but it has been very pleasant without too many high heat/high humidity days. The high heat is okay but the humidity is what makes the days miserable. The Taste of Vicksburg was a fun time and a lot of good food was servered up now this weekend we have the Lions 41st Summer Festival. It starts tomorrow, the 24th and runs through Saturday. It will be at the Historic Village area so come out and have a good time with the family.------------That is all for this week and I hope everyone will have a safe and fun weekend.----------John

July 16, 2014

16 July 2014 Summer Reading Program ends on Saturday, July 26 at 5:00 p.m. You still have time to sign in and win some prizes and attend the end of program party. You only have 10 days until the end of the program. Even after the program ends, we encourage people of all ages to continue reading. If you are wondering what you can read, ask a staff member for a reader's advisory. We will be more than happy to talk with you to see what your interests are and find materials for you to read. Maybe you have read alot of mysteries and want to try something a little different. It may be that you would enjoy reading some true crime books. Maybe your passion is cooking, we can direct you to cookboos or even books on how to grow your own herbs. Are you a history buff? We have books on all eras of American History as well as biographies on the movers and shakers in government and entertainment. Sports, religion, self-help, gardening, young adult books, audiobooks, movies, how-to books can all these and more can be found at the library. With our new system at times a new book will come up on the item search and say the book is available but when you go to the shelf you can't find it. It may be that the book is on the processing shelf. It is one of the issues that we have not had time to resolve with the new system because so much energy is going into the Summer Reading Program. In August we will have more time and plan to make sure that books on the processing shelf will tell the patron that information so that they can place a reserve on that title. Also in August, we will be working to get the email notification module set-up. This module will let us send a notice to you telling you that you have material coming due, send out overdue notices and also send out reserve notices. When we get that module set-up we will make and announcement on our homepage,in this blog and in the South County News letting you know so you can ask to be set-up for this service. August is also the month when the programs for the coming year are laid out and times and dates put on our master calender for the year. The programs cover everything from Baby Time to the Teen Advisory Board to general library programs such as the Bridge Club and adult programs. We plan these programs out so that we can reserve the meeting rooom, get our promotional materials ready, contact any volunteers we would need and to budget for materials for the programs. Don't forget that donations to the library are always appreciated. Donations can be made in honor of a special event (50th anniversary, promotion), in memory of a loved one who has passed away or as a charitable donation to receive a tax break. In the YA section on top of the music CD spinner there is a three ring binder with ideas for materials that the would like to purchase but do not have the budget to get at this time. Board meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm in the meeting room downstairs. The meetings are open to the public. Miss Kristi is in need of empty water bottles. Bring them into the library over the next week as they are needed for on of the Summer Reading progams. Talk with you again next week and until then keep on reading and be safe. John Sheridan, Director

9 July 2014

July 9, 2014 As you noticed, there was no new blog last week as the Library, along with the rest of Vicksburg, was without power. I am going to age myself here. I remember when libraries were not so dependent on electricity. If you look at the original half of the library you will notice the large windows, that was to allow light into the building so that people could read. When books were checked out, the patron signed out on a card that was kept in a pocket in the back of the book. At that time patrons signed their names but later, as privacy became more of a concern, their patron card number was written down. The card catalog was usually of oak construction and had 3 x 5 cards that gave the title, author and call number of the book. You would look under the author's name or the book title and sometimes under a subject heading to get the call number to find the book. Under this system, you did not need electricity to keep your library open but it was very labor intensive. Some books only had two catalog cards but some of the non-fiction titles could generate a dozen cards, more or less. Each card had to be typed individually or hand written, then the cards had to be filed in the card catalog under the author last name, title and under each subject heading. Do I want the old system back? NO! I may be nostalgic but I am not stupid. With the electronic cataloging system you can do all of the work in one step and when the information is saved onto the operating system all of the information about the book is instantly available to the public. When you go into the patron record it is easier to track the reserves that patrons have placed, you can track any fines or fees and you get an automatic notice to update the patron records. The old system was great for its time but that time is past. The only time it is missed is when the power goes out and then do you want to be at work when the power is out or repairing the damage a storm may have done to your house? The Doctor Who program is being rescheduled for August. Many people have phoned in to ask if it is being rescheduled so keep an eye on our website for further information. The program will still feature a showing of one of the Doctor Who specials and it will also be a kick-off party for the start of the new season of Doctor Who. The new season starts on August 23 on BBC America. The Summer Reading Programs are very popular this year. Science is fun and both the middle and elementary students are having fun doing the experiments. The next Teen program is IRON CHEF on Thursday, July 10. They even get to eat what they make! Remember, your child can still sign-up for the summer reading program. There are nearly three weeks left for them to register and read their minutes. If you would like to volunteer to help with the programs contact Miss Kristi at 649-1648. Books are being acceptted for next year's book sale. Again we ask that you not bring in text books, encyclopedias or magazines. Remember, the Library is supported by its patrons, mostly through the millage approved by the voters back in 1986. But donations also make a big impact on the library. A donation in cash is always appreciated but we also have a wish list that can be found on the shelf by the Young Adult new book shelf. They are mostly items that can be used for the Children's Department but there are others. You can also make a donation in rememberance of a person or event for the purchase of books or other materials or you can make a donation to the Vicksburg District Library Foundation Fund. Please contact me or another staff member if you are interested in giving some extra support to the Library. Well the storms are over and regular patterns of the Summer Program are set so I hope to be back on track to posting a new blog on Wednesdays. Be safe and read a lot. John Sheridan, Director

27 June 2014

27 June 2014 The Summer Reading programs have gotten off to an excellent start. This past monday we the the Zoomobile as you noticed on our homepage. It was a fun time and the kids got to pet the bunny on their way out the door. Tuesday there were two sessions of the science fair. The morning session was geared toward the grade school children and the afternoon toward the middle and high schoolers. In the children's department the straw sculpture from both sessions is on display. You can register for the summer reading program until closing time on 26 July. This coming Tuesday the Teen Program is Doctor Who Day. There will be a Doctor Who trivia contest as well as treats and showing a Doctor Who special video. The Brown Bag Classics Club is taking the summer off. If you want to get ahead in your reading,we are going to read East of Eden by John Steinbeck. We'll be back on September 15, the third monday of September. A reminder for everyone, if your overdue fines or lost book fees exceed $5.00, your account will be blocked until the charges are paid down so that the amount owed is less than $5.00. Minimum payment is 10 cents. Next Friday is the Fourth of July and the Library will be closed that day and reopen on Saturday for the regular hours. With summer vacations many people will be traveling, take along an audiobook for the ride. We have a wide slection for young adults and adults and a few for grade school age and younger. Michigan has produced many stars over the years, among them are: George Peppard who is best known for his role in The A-Team but in his movie career he starred opposite Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Madonna was raised in Bay City and attended the University of Michigan. Robin Williams father was an auto-executive and they lived in Bloomfield Hill though Willams himself was born in Chicago. Those old enough to remember the T.V. show, Mork & Mindy, Pam Dawber who was Mindy was born and raised in Farmington Hills. Tom Selleck was born in Detroit and is a big Tigers Fan. Speaking of a Tiger's Fan, Kate Upton was born in St. Joseph. Wally Cox, born in Detroit, was the voice of Underdog. Jana Kramer, the Nationawide Insurance Girl, is from Detroit. Finally, William Lucking, Piney on Sons of Anarchy was born in Vicksburg. I knew there was a lot of talent in town. This list does not include the contribution of Michiganders to the music world, and there are a lot. Thanks to everyone for being patient with staff as we are mastering the new circulation system. There are still a few bugs that we are working out but we are getting on well with it. We are still hoping to offer email notification for overdue and reserve materials before the end of September. The Library of Michigan has just rolled out the updated Mich E-Library or MeL. Go to MeL.org and follow the links. There are buttons for kids, teens, business, health, books & literacy, jobs,legal and government. Under the kids button there is a homework helper, there are games and activities, storytime and about Michigan. For teens there is homework help, the reading zone for you to select books to read and can download to a reader. Life happens and that button can give you advice from social issues to health to vocations and jobs. A great help for teens who are at a rather confusing time in life. MeL is a great resource for the whole family. I encourage everyone to get on and to click on all the buttons to discover all that is available to people living in Michigan who have a card at their local library. Until next week, be safe and read. John

18 June 2014 The Brown Bag Book Club is taking a break during the summer but we will be back in September. We will be reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck. With the Summer Reading Program going on it is too busy to prepare for the book club and there would be scheduling conflicts while the Summer Reading Program is going on. Speaking of the Summer Reading Program, the kick-off day was Monday, June 16, and was it busy. Everything went smoothly with everyone who came in to sign up for the program getting to the proper workstation, getting library cards renewed and getting books checked out to everyone. You can register your child anytime during the Summer Reading Program however, the later you sign-up the more likely the program you want to attend may be filled. Among the programs still open are the Marble runs and straw competition where you construct a track for your marble and race your friends. Then you get to use straws to construct something you would like to see. On July 7 the pre-schoolers will be making rainbows then on July 10 from 6-7 the popular VMS Robotics team returns to fascinate people with their robots. Magician Jeff Wawrzaszek will perform at the library on July 17 starting at 4P.M.and let's face it, magic is always cool. The Teen Program also has some great events. On June 24 the Science Fair demonstrates the fun things you can do with science. On July 1, it is Doctor Who Day with snacks, a trivia contest and movie. CSI Vicksburg on July 15 will test the teens skills in forensic science to catch a killer. On July 22, the Kalamazoo Air Zoo comes to the Library to show amazing ways you can generate electic energy. The End of Summer Reading Party for the Teens in on July 29 and for the Children it will be on July 30. The Library is offering some help for parents as they make vacation plans or just plans to get away for the weekend. For the second year the Library is giving the Michigan Activity Pass (MAP) free. There can be used for places from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti, Empire to Marquette. The MAP will get you into Yankee Air Museum in Belleville or the Toonerville Trolley, at Soo Junction. Maybe you would rather tour the U.S.S. Mackinaw, the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker at Mackinaw City or the Gilmore Car Museum at Hickory Corners. To help you find all of these towns, the Library is giving the first 50 parents the newest road map of Michigan printed by the Michigan Department of Transportation. There's a lot to see in Michigan and with a free pass and a map, it makes it easier to go. Did you know that Michigan has the third most diverse agriculture following California and Florida. It is the largest producer of tart cherries, hazel nuts and mint in the United States. While Minnesota may the the Land of 10,000 lakes, Michigan has over 11,000 lakes of 10 acres or more. The only county in Michigan that does not border one of the Great Lakes or have a natural lake is Saginaw County. That is all for this week, come in for a book or a movie, the Library is always glad for your coompany. John

Only 10 days before the Annual Book Sale! At 10:00 a.m. Friday, June 13 the book sale opens with a wide variety of books, movies and audio resources. For the next week the books are being set-up in the meeting room downstairs. There are plenty of books for most reading tastes. All proceeds from the book sale go to support the children services. The book sale also runs Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the last day will be Monday from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Monday, June 16, is also the beginning of our Summer Reading Program, Fizz, Boom, Read! Children will learn how much fun science is by attending programs that cover chemistry and working with animals. The Teen program is Spark a Reaction and the teens will be able to do some science experiments in the library. All students will learn how much science is in our lives everyday. Learn about geodes, those hollow rocks with crystals inside of them. There is a family program on Tuesday, June 10 from 4-5. Pre-registration is required and it is limited to 50 people. This month we are featuring mysteries in our West Window Display. We have Sherlock Holmes, Spenser, and Ellery Queen among others. Take a look at our display and pick up a good mystery. If you are traveling this summer, remember to get an audiobook for the road. We have over 500 audiobooks available on CD's both fiction and non-fiction. Make your trip a listening experience. This Friday marks the 70th anniversary of the Allied Invasion of Europe at Normandy, France. There are very few Veterans left who took part of these landings. It was the largest invasion fleet ever assembled and it resulted in the liberation of France by the end of August and after 11 months, the war in Europe came to an end. Remember you fathers and grandfathers who fought in those dark days. The staff is slowly getting used to the new operating system and out goal is to have a general mastery of it before Summer Reading begins. As the summer comes nearer, remember to check out the Farmer's Market on Friday afternoons for fresh vegetables, honey and real maple syrup. It helps to support our local farmer's and you can't do better than garden fresh vegetables. Until next week, be safe. John

28 May 2014

Thank you everyone for your patients while we migrated to a new circulation system. It is a better system and over the next two weeks staff will be getting used to using the new system. This will get everyone up to speed by the beginning of summer reading which begins on 16 June. The new system will enable us to send electronic notifications. This isn't just for overdue notices but we will also be able to contact you when a hold request comes in and to notify you a couple of days before your books are due so you can renew them if you need or remind you to drop them off at the library. Patrons will also be able to place hold requests on line and when you search for a title you will get a photo of the cover and a brief description of the book. That is all in the future and will not be instituted before Labor Day. As mentioned, Summer Reading begins on 16 of June. There is a program on 10 June on geodes. You need to sign up for this program in advance. Details are available on our library home page. The Book Sale is on Friday, 13 June and Saturday, 14 June. We have gotten a lot of donations this past year and there is a wide variety of materials to choose from. If you have older technology, cassette players or VHS players, you can choose from a large selection of cassettes and VHS tapes this year. Among the materials available are Old Time radio shows and/or select from several Disney movies. All proceeds from the booksale go to support the children's services throughout the year. This month the Brown Bag Classics Book Club is reading the Odyssey by Homer. This is the earliest literature in Western civilization. It is the tale of Odysseus as he travels from fighting in the Trojan War on his way home. Here is an interesting fact. The word mentor, meaning a trusted counselor or guide, comes from Odysseus's servant who was entrusted to teach Odysseus's son, Telemecus. The servant's name was Mentor. The Odyssey is also the source of terms and words, Siren, Elyssium Fields, Cyclops and Harpie. The fact that it is a great adventure story also helps to keep the Odyssey in the front ranks of classic literature. Rachel's book group is reading books by Maeve Binchy. With the celebration of Memorial Day, the Library will be closed on Sunday's now until after Labor Day in September. Check out the selection of mystery books featured in the west window by the newspapers and magazines. From Sherlock Holmes to Stephie Plum mysteries have been a mainstay of recreational reading since Edgar Allan Poe wrote the Murders of the Rue Morgue in the 1830's. Today mystery novels are the most popular fiction books checked out of libraries. People will follow a favorite author waiting for the next book to come out. Read for entertainment or read for information, reading is an essential part of life. As Groucho Marx once said, "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend, inside of a dog it is too dark to read." Until next week.

May 14, 2014

14 May 2014 It has been nearly a month since my last posting and a lot has happened. National Poetry Month featured several poets works in our display case in the lobby and was the focus of the Brown Bag Classics Club. It was eye opening as participants related that the study of poetry in schools as they grew up was rarely offered. I think that it may make an interesting program for adults in the fall. Maybe call it from Beowulf to Benay, something to think about. The Library will be closed on May 21 & 22 as we change operating systems. On the 21st TLC will be downloading our records from their system to Auto-Graphics. This will take most of the morning to do. The Auto-Graphics will take our records and configure the information to work on the VERSO 4.0 system. We will be back up and running at 10:00 Friday morning. Anything that is due on either the 21st or 22nd will be treated as coming in on the 20th so that no one will be charged an overdue fine. May is the month when we get everything ready for the Summer Reading Program. This year it starts on June 16th. The start was delayed a week because of the schools having to make up snow days. The theme for Summer Reading this year is science. Miss Krity and Miss Andrea have several hands on programs that demonstrate the wonder, interesting and amazing things that makes science fun. Registration for Summer Reading starts on Monday, June 16. Board meeting is tomorrow and begins at 6:30 in the basement meeting room, the public is welcome. Next week I will tell you some of the things will be available to card holders. Have a great week John Sheridan

16 April 2014

16 April 2014 Congratulations to all who have gotten their taxes in on time. It seems every year it gets harder to make the deadline because the forms are not available from the government until late January and even into February. With spring comes thoughts of working in the garden and getting the lawn in good shaped. The Library has a display of gardening books on display in the west window above the magazine rack. Everything from pruning, shrubs, complimentary planting and how to get great flowers. This is national poem month and we have a display of poets in our display case in the vestibule of the Library. From Homer to Poe to Robert Frost and Langston Hughes. Come in and enjoy reading a poem or two. On Monday, 21 April, the Brown Bag Classic Club will be discussing poems. We meet in the Library meeting room in the basement from noon to 1:00 p.m. The Library will supply hot water for coffee or tea, you bring your lunch and your favorite poem and we'll talk. Next month we will read James Fenimore Cooper's, The Last of the Mohicans. He is the author of the Leather Stocking Tales, The Spy and The Pilot. We are taking applications for library page. You need to apply at the Library and meet the following standards. Must be at least 14 years old, work Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-5 and alternate Fridays and Saturdays from 3-5. You must have reliable transportation and pass a simple test. The page shelves the books and other materials, straightens out the shelves and keeps the materials on the shelves in order. We are also looking for a volunteer at the Library to pull the obituaries of local citizens from the newspapers and funeral homes and organize them alphbetically by date in a binder for genealogy research. The volunteer will only need to work for about two hours a week two days a week. Come into the Library and talk with me about this. We will be closed on Easter Sunday. A reminder for our parents and children that we will be ending our storytimes at the end of the month and there will be not programs during May as our staff will be getting everything ready for the Summer Reading Program. I know that many of the children look forward to coming in for the programs each week but there is much that needs to get done before the Summer Reading Program begins. Remember that you can access the Secretary of State online and perform some basic tasks such as renewing a driver's license or state i.d. card or the tags for your car, file a change of address or register for organ donation at, https://www.michigan.gov/sos. On Friday mornings, Andrea does tech tutoring from 10:30 to 11:30. If you need help setting up or using an iphone or tablet or other device bring it in and she can see if she can help you. This is National Library Week and overdue print materials returned this week will have the fines waived. This ends on April 19 at closing time. Until next week, have a Happy and Safe Easter. John