10 Reasons Why We Need a Larger Library
# 10 Work space for staff and storage space is very limited
We were very fortunate in 2006 to be allotted 2 half time positions, because our Library is recognized as one of the busiest branches in the province. However, this has resulted in a very crowded workroom. In addition to our 5 FTEs, we have 39 people who volunteer on a regular basis. In the past year, they volunteered for 2033 hours. This adds up to more than 39 hours of volunteer time per week! Last summer, we had 8 students to add to the roster. All of these people need a space to do the various “behind the scenes” activities that make your library run as smoothly as it does. There’s more to running a library than checking materials in and out!
As it is, most of our part-time staff must share a desk with others since there simply isn’t enough room for six desks. We also share two computers among the entire staff (including summer students) as there isn’t any room for more.
Consider all those books that you ordered in from other libraries around the province. Did you know that in 2006-07, we sent more than 2900 books to patrons and libraries around the province and received almost 3500 books from other libraries for our readers? Your “hold requests” are stored in the staff work room near the phone until we call you to let you know that they have arrived. Sometimes they threaten to take over the entire wall!
Did you ever wonder what happens after you donate your books to the library? After we receive your donation, we must check each book and see if we wish to add it to our collection. We added 1,924 donated items to our collection in 2006-07. Other items are carefully packed and sent in to our Market Square branch in anticipation of our annual Regional book sale. Sometimes we feel the mountain of donations might take over the work room.
Our work room is also the home of our very popular “Trader” collection. All these books that are donated or returned are stored until we have room to display them on the Trader cart. Our Story Sack collection and Periodical collections, which would in many libraries be kept in a special Storage Collection room, are also kept in our staff work room.
When the Library was built in 1984, there was no room allocated for storage. The expansion in 1994, changed the staff room into a storage area, but today it is not large enough to accommodate all of the meeting room chairs that must be used for adult programs and meetings; the craft supplies for our children’s programs; the supplies that are used for our tutoring programs during the summer months; puppets for our puppet shows; computer equipment, and let’s not forget the toilet and hand paper needed!
# 9 We need room for special collections
People living in the Kennebecasis Valley realize the importance of a second language. Many of our children take their classes in French Immersion. And more and more we have people whose first language is French moving to the area. To support both of these groups the collection of French language material has been growing at the Kennebecasis Public Library. In fact our one bookcase of French language material is filled to overflowing. But there is no room for one more.
Another group that is growing in number in our community is the Korean population. We have been fortunate in recent months to receive a large donation of materials from the Saint John Korean Society. Currently, they are being catalogued, but when they return to the library, we have a problem. We now have one shelf for a small block loan we have from our central resource library. The 150+ donated books are not going to fit on this shelf. Librarian Leslye McVicar has been vigorously weeding older material from the shelves in order to be ready to receive them. Another donation has been routed to the Saint John Free Public Library where they have room for such a special collection.
Like other public libraries in the province, we have recently started an Adult Literacy collection. What a wonderful resource for those struggling with reading. But the same problem was encountered. We wanted this collection to be front and center, so those needing it would not have to wander around in order to find it. But the adult fiction section is smaller because of this
# 8 We need a larger – and specialized – area for our preschoolers and young children.
Have you had occasion to visit the Kennebecasis Public library on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday morning recently? If so, you may have had a problem finding a place to park, and you would have definitely noticed the noise level when you entered the Library. On Tuesday, and average of ….toddlers and their caregivers come to Toddler Time, a fun time for those between 18 months and 36 months, plus accompanying siblings of various ages! Wednesdays mornings, “Babies in the Library” is held. What fun to see young mothers and dads, Grandma’s and sitters singing and swaying with their babes as they are introduced to the rhythm of language! And then of Friday morning the “Three and Up Club” meets for stories, songs and simple crafts. Generally, there are… attending this program.
Perhaps you already know where the books are kept for these preschoolers. Under a lovely mural of blue dolphins, we have a tot sized display table and bench where youngsters can peruse the latest in picture books. There is a colourful mat on the floor, and bookshelves border the area. While I think that this is a welcoming place, it is simply not big enough. On a recent trip to a Halifax library, I checked out their children’s area. There were literacy games on the wall, a small puppet theatre and puppets, a Thomas the Tank engine train and other learning toys and activities. If only there was room in our library for these.
There is one shelf in the picture book area called the “Parents Shelf”. Here, we house picture and non-fiction books on various issues to help parents explain them to their children, issues like a pet dying, going to the hospital, grandparents suffering from Alzheimer’s, divorce and a new baby. I think the section should be bigger, allowing adult parenting books in the same area, so that parents can peruse these while their young ones are choosing their books. Children’s audio, video and DVDs should also be located in this area.
# 7 We need an audio visual area for the new formats available since we opened in 1984 (DVDs, CDs, and Listen for pleasure)
It’s hard to believe but when we first opened the library in 1984, our audio collection was on vinyl! Then came audiocassettes followed by compact discs. Currently we have our cds stored in cabinets at the circulation desk and we cannot weed them fast enough to make room for new arrivals. We also have cd-roms that include children’s educational games, junior reference, and language instruction, among others.
Our “Listen for Pleasure” collection also grew to include books
on tape and now we offer a growing number of very popular audio books (books
on CD) in both official languages. While we are happy to offer such a
selection, we only wish we had more space to display them!
The children’s area boasts a large number of “kits”.
These are made up of a book and a tape or CD, and are available in both French
and English. Kits are great for those first few months when children are
first learning to read, and Mom or Dad doesn’t have the time right now
to sit down and read whit them. The kids can listen to the story on the
tape/CD and read along in the book with it. These kits are also great
to pass the time on car trips.
The same holds true for our visual collection. Since the introduction of VHS format in the early eighties, our collection of VHS movies for both children and adults has grown to ……….fiction and non-fiction titles. These titles include popular works, self instructional and non-fiction films including an extensive collection from the National Film Board of Canada. While we expanded our AV area again by adding several new display racks with the introduction of films in DVD format, now there is not enough room to allow a wheelchair or even baby carriage to get around.
# 6 The teens should have a separate area, a place to “hang out” with room for listening stations and comfy chairs
Currently, our Young Adult section is cheek by jowl with the picture book section and just around the corner from the junior fiction. Do you remember what it was like being 16 years old and being seen anywhere near your 8 year old sibling? These young folks need a place where they can view their materials before choosing what to bring home. They need a place where they can sit and read magazines, preview a movie or surf the Net. Perhaps we could even have listening stations to check out the latest CD. We are very fortunate to have one of the highest circulations of Young Adult material in the province, and we want to encourage these teens to continue reading and using the library.
Teens should have a separate area, a place to “hang our, with room for listening stations and comfy chairs.
# 5 We need more parking!
There are times when you drive into our library parking lot only to be faced with a problem – there are no places to park, except immediately in front of the door (which of course we do not like to have blocked!). While we do have space for 30 vehicles, if you arrive during one of our story times or another program, you may be out of luck. While we do have access to the Town of Quispamsis parking lot (for the Arts and Culture Park and Comex, located behind the bowling alley), this is especially frustrating for our many patrons with young children or those who have difficulty walking any distance. A larger library must come with more parking spaces to serve our growing community!
# 4 We need a larger meeting room that can be divided off to allow for concurrent programming.
The Kennebecasis Public library has a meeting room where our programs are held and which can be rented to community groups when not in use. However, during the summer for example, when children attend programs in conjunction with the Summer Reading Club, it simply is not large enough. It is also not large enough for some community organizations looking for a meeting place. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a small stage where authors and guests who visit could be seen easily by all? And our puppet shows could be easily viewed by the youngsters at the back of the room?
In recent years, we have divided our “Family Storytime” into two groups – Toddler Time, for those 18 months to 36 months, and The 3 & Up Club, for those over 3 – dealing with the needs and interests of 2 year olds and those 4 1/2 at the same time just was too difficult! However, many young moms and caregivers have children in both of these age groups, so felt uncomfortable attending either of these programs. A meeting room with a retractable wall would allow us to hold concurrent programs, solving this problem. This would also allow community groups to hold meetings at the Library, and not disturb a library program scheduled at the same time. Ideally, we could have one room set up for meetings, and another available for programs. Our staff is not old, but putting up and taking down these chairs and tables between programs is wearing!
# 3 We need more room for computers
Our statistics indicate that during 2008, 18,439 people took advantage of the 8 internet computers we now have, and all indications are that this number is not dropping. While ownership of personal computers is growing in the Kennebecasis Valley, many households cannot afford the cost involved in internet service. Many people use our computers to do job searches and create résumés. Others are here only when their printer dies. The Library has free public wireless internet service and so those with laptops can surf the net from our comfy couches to our garden benches. In addition to the regular computers, our library should have assistive technology, opening worlds for those with special needs. Currently, if they were available to us, we have no where to put these additional computers.
# 2 - There is not enough “Community Space”
Libraries bring people and ideas together. Think of the library as the living room of your community. Our library living room is a busy one – and sometimes a noisy one.
We need more space so that we can have groups like our “Newcomer’s Group” meet and practice their English without disturbing those reading, working quietly or on the computers. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a coffee shop here so you could read a current magazine or newspaper while enjoying your coffee? Our “Library Gallery” displays the work of local artists, but if they would like to hold an “opening”, it must be done in the Meeting Room, at the farthest end of the library from the display.
Rooms for public rental are at a premium in the Kennebecasis Valley area, and our room is in great demand. Community gatherings should have the option to meet at an inexpensive and centrally located facility such as the library.
Increasingly, libraries are being thought of as the “centre” or “focal point” of a community. We need a spacious, welcoming, highly visible, accessible place where people come together to gather information and exchange ideas. We need a quiet refuge from the demands of urban life, an “oasis” for quiet reading, rest and relaxation within an otherwise lively urban centre. Whether patrons come to participate in a book club, surf the “Net”, join a parent and tot program, or just curl up in a cozy chair sipping a coffee and browsing the latest periodicals, our library will be a “community hub”.
# 1 There is no room on the shelves.
There are currently over 40,000 items housed at the Kennebecasis Public Library, and new material is arriving weekly. In order to make room for the new material, Librarian Leslye McVicar has been vigorously weeding older material from the shelves. The Library also benefits from the generous nature of Valley residents who often come with their “gently used” new best sellers to donate to our collection. Recently we had to shuffle shelves to make way for our first Literacy Collection, and now we have received a donation of over 200 books in Korean. Where to put them? Our children’s magazines had to be moved to a corner out of the path of most of our young ones, because there was no other place for them. A consultant’s report recommends an area of 12,380 sq.ft. for collections. This would allow us to place some books face out, to allow for better visibility and ease for our users. It would give us room to actually place our CDs and DVDs in the library rather than behind the desk (where they are already doubled up). It would allow us to separate the French language Adult, Teen and Children’s material instead of having them crowded together in one side of a bookcase. Perhaps we could even have the luxury of having more than one copy of a book!
Kennebecasis Public Library - Building the Next Chapter