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Key: IHLS Library
Chris Dawdy: Good afternoon! We'll be getting started in a little bit.
Shawn-Elwood Township: Hi, Chris. Thanks, I am early so I don't forget :D
Chris Dawdy: Me, too!
Chris Dawdy: Welcome to your first Directors' Chat, Angie from Breese!
Chris Dawdy: What would you all like to talk about today?
Angie--Breese: Thanks, Chris!
Ellen Popit: Can you believe that it's August already?
Chris Dawdy: And school starts real soon?
Ellen Popit: Yep~ I think Wal-Mart and Target are the places to be!
Ellen Popit: Anything on anyone's mind that you'd like to throw out for the good of the order?
Kathy @ PinckneyvillePL: Summer has flown by but now I feel like I'm missing something that might be due...IPLAR-done, E-rate done..anything else coming up soon that I'm forgetting?
Chris Dawdy: Angie, as a new director, do you have any questions that this fine group of directors could help you with?
Ellen Popit: And, your non-resident fee is done! I think you're fine. Per Capita won't be due until this coming January.
Kim: What about the recipricol borrowing survey, are we still doing that?
Stephanie Dennis: The Members Matter session that was held last month was a really good idea especially for small libraries. sometimes our voices don't get heard over the larger libraries.
Ellen Popit: Kim, are you talking about the survey that talks about offering cards to non-residents and what you charge?
Angie--Breese: I have a patron that is questioning why we left Overdrive and went to 3M, since Overdrive still exists. I supposed that it was monetary, but she would like some real numbers. Can anyone help?
Ellen Popit: That's great to hear, Stephanie and just what we hoped for.
Kathy @ PinckneyvillePL: Great! We are "weeding" to try to make more space in our library for programs and events. We are having a big booksale August 19 and 20, it's also Pinckneyville's City Wide Yard sales so if you are in this area stop by!
Chris Dawdy: And the next Members Matter meeting is September 6.
Kim: No, the one that is in the drop down box with the IPLAR survey from the state.
Ellen Popit: The next Members Matter will also be in the afternoon, in order to attrach our school library colleagues.
Stephanie Dennis: Our cost for Overdrive was over $1500 and the fee for 3M is $441 for us now. I like those numbers better
Stephanie Dennis: Sometimes the issues for school librarians and public are very separate issues. So different times might work better--just a thought
Kim: Interlibrary loan and reciprocal borrowing survey
Jill Pifer: Angie: I've gotten the same thing too. also mention that an ebook is often 4 times the price of a regular book for us especially bestsellers. SOmething that often floors patrons. To be on your own in OverDrive you would never be ablet o full their needs with the material they want being so expensive. It was the purhcasing power of the group that made it so successful
Ellen Popit: Thanks, Stephanie. This first year is very much a pilot as we see what works and what doesn/t.
Ellen Popit: @Kim---yep, the survey is done for this year.
Angie--Breese: Excellent answers, Stephanie and Jill. That helps.
Stephanie Dennis: Our circulation for ebooks has tripled since we went to 3M and is only growing each month. The comment on prices also floors our patrons.
Ellen Popit: Very cool!
Ellen Popit: Do any of you have strategies to entice non-users to check out your libraries. Certainly the availability of e-books would be a big one, but how to you reach them?
Chris Dawdy: Lesley Z. told me yesterday that we had 29,000 circs--a really significant increase--on the (3M) Cloud Library in July. And I'm guessing that will go up even higher when all of the Lewis & Clark Digital collection finishes migrating to the Cloud.
Mary @ Hayner: Question for the group: How are everyone's circulation numbers this year (reported in IPLAR)? Up or down?
Stephanie Dennis: We have been weeding and "cleaning" in the children's library the past three years. Thanks to grants and a lot of community support, we have been able to update this area. In doing so we seem to have increased circulation quite a lot and been able to maintain those numbers even after the summer reading program is over. When the kids come in so do the parents!
Angie--Breese: Excellent, Stephanie! Study after study has shown that when you weed your shelves, your circulation goes up!
Kathy @ PinckneyvillePL: We have a lot of non readers attending our programs, so we are getting them in. Our Adult Coloring remains popular, we've been coloring the 2nd Tuesday of each month since December. We offer this program after our normal hours so the folks can visit and laugh and not disturb patrons. We average 20 each time. We just got our movie license so we are ging to start offering movie nights
Kathy @ PinckneyvillePL: I agree Angie, we've already had folks ask did you get some new books, I've never seen this one before..we've found books from as far back as 1945 so we were long overdue (pardon the pun)
Ellen Popit: Welcome to the weeding bandwagon---I'm a big fan!
Stephanie Dennis: We have a craft night every Monday after we close and once a month an information program. Sometimes this is the first and only time some of these people are ever in the library--but not always the last!!
Angie--Breese: One of the things that I have started, with my weeding...is a LAST CHANCE book display. I made a sign and put all of the books that haven't went out in a long time (a date that I determined). My sign says...if you want this book to remain here, then check it out now. Otherwise, it will be deleted. Check out a book and save its life. Quite of few of the patrons check this area out first.
Kathy @ PinckneyvillePL: After weeding and a big book sale what do you do with the left-overs? I know some will likely go to recycling mainly because of their condition but any tips on someplace/somebody who would want books. I don't think I have any that any libraries would want because they are so old. Has anbody used Better World Books? I saw them mention on an exchange email.
Shawn-Elwood Township: Weeding is wonderful! I have 56 boxes of weeded books that are going out tomorrow to Better World Books. That doesn't include the books I have kept on the for sale shelf.
Angie--Breese: Our local hospital has a book sale ongoing in their basement...so our books go there.
Stephanie Dennis: Breckenridge took our leftovers last year.
Twilla Coon: We Weeded our books that was in very bad shape that we had two of the same kind we keeped the better one out of the two
Ellen Popit: Just as a bit of advice, if you have titles that contain inaccurate or outdated information (Medical Books, Computer books, etc.), make sure they go to recycling and aren't passed on to other users.
Shawn-Elwood Township: The books I am sending to BWB are old. Very old. There are books that are at least 60+ years old and then there are some that have been on the shelf and not C/O in 20 years. I had to weed!! Ugh!
Ellen Popit: Shawn, I bet your shelves look lovely!
Shawn-Elwood Township: The first thing patrons say is how much better it smells in the library. And it does smell a lot better.
Kathy @ PinckneyvillePL: So Shawn, you just box them up and they come pick them up right?
Shawn-Elwood Township: They have different solutions for what you need, Kathy. The option I chose is just a final solution because my books are so old.
Teresa / Paris: Our circ is down a bit from last year, but this summer compares favorably with last. However, summer reading attendance was worse than last summer. Going to have to reinvent again.
Shawn-Elwood Township: They have an option that if you prescreen your books you can make a percentage back on those books. Then another percentage will go to a charity of your choice. So if you have a Friends of the Library, the other percentage can be donated to them.
Mary @ Hayner: We noticed that our item count was up but the circulations on those items was down. Did anyone else have this happen?
Kathy @ PinckneyvillePL: Thanks Shawn, I was exploring their web site before chat today to see if that was an option for us. It sounds better than me loading my car and making multiple trips to Carbondale to the recycling center.
Shawn-Elwood Township: Absouletly, Kathy! I didn't want to have to do that either. And I felt a bit sad when I thought of books that had a little life left in them being recycled. So BWB was the solution. I use their guidlines on what they will take, and I put them in boxes, and they are picking them up tomorrow. I don't have to cart them out to their truck, it's all them! :D
Twilla Coon: We donate our books with others that would give them a good home
Stephanie Dennis: Thanks Shawn for the tip--this sounds like something we need to look into ASAP!
Ellen Popit: To follow up on Teresa's comment re: Summer Reading. Any challenges or greaat successses?
Twilla Coon: The parents just love summer reading it really gets the children to read more
Stephanie Dennis: We were very fortunate to receive grants and money from the community to build our children and young adult area up this past year. All these new books--popular characters the kids like--really helped our summer reading!
Chris Dawdy: What kind of grants did you get, Stephanie?
Chris Dawdy: We're always on the lookout for new grant possibilities, you know!
Stephanie Dennis: We received another one from Libri as well as a large donation from Banterra Bank in our hometown and the area Farm Bureau donated several farm books.
Twilla Coon: I would love to find a grant to help improve on our children area and community room
Ellen Popit: Chris, didn't we just hear that the Libri grant has changed names?
Ellen Popit: It's now the Pilcrow Foundation.
Stephanie Dennis: We just found that out recently
Ellen Popit: Also, if you are a member, ISLMA is offering a $1,500.00 grant for non-fiction and membership is affordable.
Chris Dawdy: Let's see if this copy and paste works--this is from our Grants tab on the IHLS website...
Chris Dawdy: The Pilcrow Foundation, a national non-profit public charity, provides a 2-to-1 match to rural public libraries that receive a grant through its Children’s Book Project and raise $200-$400 through local sponsors for the purchase of up to $1200 worth (at retail value) of new, quality, hardcover children’s books.Rural public libraries in the United States that have suffered loss and damage due to recent natural disasters (flooding, fire, hurricanes, etc.) may be eligible for special non-matching grants: Disaster Relief Grant information.For more details and application process, please visit the website: https://thepilcrowfoundation.org/childrens-book-project/
Chris Dawdy: Have you all looked at the new grants portion of the IHLS website?
Chris Dawdy: And, Ellen, we don't have the one you just mentioned listed on our grants page!
Susan Colbert- Sparta Public Library: Yes, Chris. I'm so glad to have that as another resource!
Twilla Coon: Thanks I will look under grants see what I can find
Chris Dawdy: I really want someone to write and receive the Awesomeness in the Universe grant.
Twilla Coon: what kind of grant is that
Ellen Popit: Stephanie, did Banterra have a local application for you. We have lots of Banterra's in our neck of the woods.
Stephanie Dennis: Wee found it online and filled it out and hand delivered to our local bank,
Chris Dawdy: You'll have to look at the IHLS grants page for the Awesomeness in the Universe grant, Twilla :)
Chris Dawdy: And I'll check out Banterra next time I'm roaming the internet, searching for grant possibilities.
Twilla Coon: cool thanks
Susan Colbert- Sparta Public Library: We just received the Reading is Grand! grant sponsored by Black Caucus of the ALA. The program will be about grandparents teaching the next generation on gardening, meal prep, and etiquette.
Chris Dawdy: Sounds like fun, Susan!
Ellen Popit: Wow! Please let us know how that goes! Send pictures!
Susan Colbert- Sparta Public Library: Will do!
Chris Dawdy: Sorry if your screens just flipped around. I hit the wrong button!
Kathy @ PinckneyvillePL: Susan you find the neatest grants, I've never heard of that one before!
Ellen Popit: At least I'm not crazy!
Susan Colbert- Sparta Public Library: I'm pretty sure I saw it on either the ISL or IHLS eNewsletters.
Darlene Barlow lovingtonpld@gmail.com: I take books that are donated to us and if we already have them and are in good shape then I trade them out at the Old Book Barn or at the Book Nook in Mattoon. I get book credits for the books that they take then I buy more books that we might be missing in a series or just pickup a new author! It's kinda fun!
Chris Dawdy: We're getting close to the end of our hour. Any last minute thoughts?
Twilla Coon: I just love the information on grants are great
Kay Burrous South Macon: Thanks for all the information.
Peggy - MVE: Thank you.
Twilla Coon: Thanks for all the information that everyone gave today
Dawn @Sherman PLD: Thanks for the good ideas today!
Darlene Barlow lovingtonpld@gmail.com: Thank You, have a Great Afternoon!
Chris Dawdy: By the way, this conversation will be posted on both the IHLS website and the SHARE website, though it will be a couple of days before it gets posted, since Brant is on vacation! In the meantime, have a great week!
Ellen Popit: Bye, all!
Twilla Coon: You too thanks for everything