NOYS: Collect Your Stats!

Hey!

If you're anything like me, you just finished your annual scramble to pull together your end-of-the-year statistics for your programs and events, and hope to avoid that particular hassle next year. With the increase in attendance at Summer Reading Programs this year, a good count is more important than ever!

Well...here's your chance to make things easy on yourself: Stats are collected using Evanced!

Go to The Evanced site, which should look like this:













Pick the branch location of event from the drop-down manu at the top, and select "Event Attendance" from the box on the left.

This will show you the calendar of events at your branch. Click on your event and fill in your stats (don't forget to "save"!) and your are done!

Little fuss, no muss, and you won't be rifling through your desk next May, searching for a scrap of paper that has the number of teens at your PS3 program last July!

(Or is that just me?!)

NOYS: Read.Watch.Listen. turns 1!

On June 9, read.watch.listen celebrated its one year anniversary. In that time:

• Hits on the homepage have almost tripled
• There has been a 40% increase in hits compared to the first six months
• There have been 335 reviews submitted from teens
• Hits are coming in from all over the world - from Canada to Cameroon to Australia
• Partnerships are being formed with local youth organizations, such as The kNOw and The Fresno Youth Folklore Society
• Authors have thanked RWL staff for their support & offered to contribute to our site themselves.

Thanks to all staff who have supported us through the last year. And, a special thanks to the 2009-2010 RWL staff: Faythe Arredondo, Lisa Lindsay, Gina Becker, Jennifer Bethel, and Ryan Ewers.

--Connie Urquhart, Teen Services Coordinator

NOYS: SMILE when you say Retire!

Hear ye, Hear ye!

Kathy Kenslow (Librarian in Youth Services, of course), is retiring as of June 19, 2009.

What? OF COURSE there will be a pot-luck/party!

Where: The Sarah McCardle Room at the Central Library

When: Friday, June 19th from 12pm - 1:30pm


Check out the pot-luck list on the "J" drive at:
J:\Public\_Kenslow Retirement Potluck sign-up.xls to see what is still needed for her rockin' send-off, or call Youth Services at 488-3205 with any questions.

To sign a card and/or contribute to a gift for Kathy, please see Liz or Elida in the business office.

From the Professional Library

A new professional resource from the Urban Library Council is now available for staff checkout from the Professional Library.

Welcome, Stranger: Public Libraries Build the Global Village by Rick Ashton and Danielle Milam explores strategies that help communities successfully welcome New Americans. The report and accompanying toolkit examine successful library outreach at work across the country, and its impact on communities.

Work of Art

Susan Mann, Gillis and Ivy


Celeste Riojas and Edna Saragosti at Gillis have created an awesome bulletin board to promote the SRP, and as I look at it I have to say… I think they have raised the bar for the rest of you!

Thanks Celeste and Edna for the beautiful work!

Kudos to Kingsburg Friends

Sally Gomez, Kingsburg

Volunteers from the Friends of the Kingsburg Library raised approximately $1,000 for the well-used community branch during their annual book sale. Temperatures soared during the Kingsburg Swedish Festival on May 15 and 16, but volunteers braved the sweltering heat as they sold more than 1,500 books.

The annual book sale is the primary source of fund raising for the Friends group, and local bibliophiles look forward to the sale every year. Kingsburg Library staff field phone calls in the days leading up to the sale from interested buyers asking if the sale will in fact take place and if there will be boxes and boxes of books just like years prior.

The sale takes days of preparation, as donated books are received at the library and stored in its basement. Local students volunteer to help sort the books and carry them upstairs for the sale.

The Friends of the Kingsburg Library have been extremely supportive of the branch and have used funds to purchase items to improve library services. Past purchases have included a Wii gaming system and a flat screen TV. Recently, the Friends group purchased new benches and planters to beautify the building from the outside.

“The benches are great and very colorful,” said branch librarian Sally Gomez of the mint and chocolate colored benches and planters. “They get well used. It’s especially nice for the folks who get here before we open. They have someplace to sit and wait.”

The Friends of the Kingsburg Library also sponsored an open house earlier this year, offering snacks, entertainment and a chance to meet their new branch librarian. Sally was promoted to branch librarian of the Kingsburg Library in February.

Linda Sward, a member of the Friends group, said that she supports the library because she has always had an affinity for libraries.

“I think for me and for probably everyone involved in the group … the library has been and will continue to be an important part of our life. It’s an important resource,” said Sward.

NOYS: Staff SRP!

Introducing the first annual Staff Summer Reading Program!

Why should kids & teens have all the fun? Now you can read & win prizes too! All staff are eligible and encouraged to participate*. All you do is read teen books. The more you read, the more points you get. The more points you get, the better your chances for prizes! Simple and fun.

Please read the official rules and guidelines on the staff wiki.

I know you’re all excited (me too!) but please wait to read your books until the official SRP program start, which is June 15th. We expect kids to read new books, so we should too. Honor system applies.

*All reading must be done off the clock and not during work time. Youth Services staff is not eligible to win prizes, but will be reading along with everyone else, just for the fun of it.

Spring Music Concert

Stephanie Horal, Woodward Park

The KIPP Academy String Quartet presented a music concert at the Woodward Park Regional Library on Sunday, May 31. Deanna Hill, orchestra conductor at KIPP, performed with Eric Zamora, Naoko Little- Johnson, and Sarah Dick. The concert was part of the quarterly series of concerts presented by the West Coast Clarinet Congress of California State University, Fresno. Refreshments were provided by the Woodward Park Friends of the Library. The next concert is scheduled for Sunday, July 26, 2009 at 3:00.

Lost Without Your "K" Drive?

Jill Potter, Headquarters

It’s happened to all of us at one time or another. You’re in a hurry and you need to access a document you saved to your K drive or you need to update stats A.S.A.P. for your branch and the file is stored on the J drive. Quickly you log into your profile and open up My Computer and prepare to click on the icon for the K drive. IT’S NOT THERE! AAAHHHH…And Tech Support isn’t answering their phones. What to do now? You can reconnect, or re-map the connection to the K and J drives and have access to all the files within minutes and not have to wait for Tech Support to fix the problem.

Follow the links below for handy instructions that will get your J and K drives up and running in no time!