Report of the Library Director for February, 2012

Circulation steady – Wii games popular – Children’s Lib interviews begin

Circulation
Circulation for February was 4,056. This is slightly more than last month (7.4% increase), and almost the same as last year (1.5% increase). 557 interlibrary loan holds were placed.
Our laptops were checked out 28 times in February, our Nook e-readers circulated 7 times, and our videogames had 39 circulations.

Digital Content Use
BYKI: In February, 15 users accessed byki for a total of 15 hours. Our top languages were Spanish and French.
Wowbrary: 2 new users signed up for Wowbrary, for a total of 101 active subscribers.
Overdrive: eBook circulation to Upton patrons: 101, eAudio circulations: 29.

New Patron Registrations
16 new patrons registered in February.
Collection Development
We added approximately 109 items to our collection in February.
Passport Applications processed in February: 16

Programs
Library book group: 5 people met on February 29th.
Senior book group: 5 people met on February 7th.
Thursday storytime averaged 4 children per session for 8 sessions.
TinyTots lapsit is not held until we have a children’s librarian.
Library Table: 5 visits, averaged 10 patrons and 24 items.
Lego Days: averaged 9 children per session for 4 sessions.

Special Events
Parents and Students in the Spanish Immersion Program organized an evening storytime which was attended by 10 children on February 22nd.

Upcoming Events in March
Baby Sign language course, Tuesdays March 13, 20, 27 10:30-11:30am
Spanish Storytime – date TBD
Children’s Librarian applications to guest read at storytimes.

Plans for Next Month
1) 2nd interviews for Children’s Librarian
2) Final budget processes
3) Continue office organization

Children’s Librarian Position
First interviews for Childrens’ librarian have begun. 7 candidates have been scheduled for interviews. The next steps are to decide on a format and questions for the second interview, and select our finalists.

Collection Development
I met with two book salesmen, one from Sebco Books and the other from Penworthy books, and placed two orders totaling ~$1,600 worth of non-fiction and juvenile materials. These orders have arrived and are being processed for circulation.

Videogame collection
The videogame collection continues to be constantly out circulating, with 39 circulations in February. I added 5 more titles to the collection, so we now have 18 Wii games, and I will continue ordering 3-4 per month.

Baby Sign Language
The Friends of the Upton Library agreed to fund half the cost of a baby sign language course. It is scheduled for March 13th, 20th, and 27th, at the library from 10:30-11:30. I have started publicity, but we need people to sign up for this program, so if you know anyone with a pre-verbal baby, please mention it to them.

Rdio Music
After several delays, Recorded Books is ready to start their Rdio online music subscription program for libraries. We decided to purchase the trial version for $500 per year, which will give each Upton patron 5 hours worth of listening time per month. The trial version is only usable from an internet connected computer, it does not include the offline or smartphone options.

Evergreen Circulation
We are still in a holding pattern waiting for CWMARS to be satisfied with their testing of Evergreen. Library staff had another training session on February 6th. I do not plan on another training session until we have a release date from CWMARS.