As the year twenty eleven winds down, many of us like to review our accomplishments and successes. Being a geeky librarian, I pull out my 2011 Reading List and review what I did and did not get to during my reading life from January to December. When I originally create my list I try to select a balance of fiction and nonfiction, old and new, children’s and adults. Somewhere along the course of the year a pattern usually unfolds that strays from my initial goal. A few years ago, I found that I was drawn to titles on Asian culture and history after having just returned from China, Viet Nam and Cambodia. Last year as a new Colorado resident, I was steeped in reading Colorado books. Immersed in researching for my Colorado Literary Map project, I came to read the important historians David Lavender, Thomas Noel, Wilson Rockwell, and Frank Waters. I found newer authors like Craig Childs and David Cullen, and read Sandra Dallas’ novelization about the southwestern Colorado Japanese internment camp Amache, titled Tallgrass. If you are interested in the Colorado Literary Map project, please email me at amron[at]lmpl.org.

 As I reflect upon my reading patterns of 2011, one thing becomes quite apparent. I am in a graphic novel phase. This genre often gets a bad rap by those who think it is only for teenagers and consists of only superhero adventures and silly comic strips. I have read all kinds of wonderful biographies, rich wordless memoirs, bold family tragedies and significant pieces of literature fused with breathtaking artwork. I have devoured Niffenegger’s The Night Bookmobile, Phelan’s Around the World, Say’s Drawing from Memory, Thompson’s Blankets and Habibi, and Tan’s award-winning book The Arrival. If you haven’t yet given them a chance, check out one of our children’s, teen or adult graphic novels from the library. Click here for our catalog and type in “graphic novel” into a keyword search. After all, it’s the new year, why not try something new! [The arrival. By Shaun Tan]

 Among the many books from my 2011 readings, I thoroughly loved these:

Twenty Pearl Jam
Maphead by Ken Jennings
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Bird Cloud Annie Proulx
The Dreamer Pam Munoz Ryan
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
The invention of Hugo Cabret Brian Selznick
Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth

What books did you love this year? What’s on your 2012 Reading List?

Join us at our Book Club Tea event January 18^th @ 6:30pm. Here you will meet other book club members in town and learn what the library’s book clubs have in store for 2012. This is always a great way to get book recommendations as well. If you are looking for something that we don’t own, let us know. We are always taking purchase recommendations!

Whatever you do, don’t stop reading. There are too many good books yet to be cracked. As the famous librarian S. R. Ranganathan stated in 1931, “Every reader its book. Every book its reader.” One of my biggest professional goals of 2012 is to get everyone reading more (of course!).

-Amron

“Humphries Poli has worked on many libraries in Colorado,” says Library Director, Donnalee
Baxstrom, “including the facilities in Mancos and Dolores. Their experience and
library expertise made them an clear choice.”  She says this is the first step for the library’s Facilities Task Force,
as they determine what the Bayfield-area community needs. Earlier this year, a community-wide
survey showed a need for more “people space.”

Earlier this year, the library remodeled a corner of their building to provide a space for teenage patrons. Library Director, Donnalee Baxstrom, says it was a short-term fix for a long-term problem. "The buidling we currently have is quickly becoming more and more full, and we are running out of space." It's one of the many reasons the library board is looking to expand.

So what are some ideas coming out of the library’s task force?  “Some people want a performing arts center,
or more meeting areas, and we’re really keeping an open mind.  Colorado libraries tend to be on the
forefront of community services, and we want to live up to that standard.”

This month, the library’s Facilities Task Force and the Board of Trustees will meet with
Humphries Poli to begin the comprehensive plan phase of the proposed project.
Baxstrom says it’s the first step toward incorporating the recent survey into a
plan for the library’s future. After the comprehensive plan is created, the
firm will begin work on developing a conceptual design for an expansion.

Refer Me to the Resources: Episode Five.

Are you overwhelmed with all of the new bills being proposed in Congress? Do you want to make your voice heard but don’t know how? Check out the latest in online resources that connect the public to the politicians.

1. POPVOX https://www.popvox.com/ is a powerful and current interactive website that ”bridges the gap between the input the public wants to provide and the information Members of Congress want and need to receive…It is not a discussion forum. It is a place for action.” 

   Read what their work is all about:
   “POPVOX verifies, aggregates, and simplifies communication with Congress on an open and trusted (and nonpartisan) common ground. Advocacy organizations, trade associations, unions and other groups send their members to POPVOX to take action on bills pending before Congress. Congressional staff and lawmakers log into POPVOX to measure the pulse of their district. POPVOX provides a curating interface for anyone — including Congressional staff, the public and the media — to access and understand the voice of the people.”

   Most exciting is that it includes entire bill texts, sponsors, bill status and processing schedules. You can voice your votes on each bill with a click of the SUPPORT or OPPOSE buttons, or you can simply go to site in order to collect much needed information. They include details about major organizations and their legislative agendas with contact details. The website engages commentary by anyone who votes and thus encourages civil discourse with the online community.

2. OPEN CONGRESS http://www.opencongress.org/  is similar to Popvox in that the website hosts articles and text of the current bills, their supporters, the surrounding issues and allows you to email your Congressional members. It is also a non-profit, non-partisan, public resource aimed at bringing up a more informed voting population.

   One of their unique contributions to this conversation is their Money Trail feature http://www.opencongress.org/money_trail. It tracks and posts specific financial contributions made to Members of Congress and from which Sector and Industry they received from. They state, “Open Congress makes it possible to draw connections between campaign contributions, the specific content of bills, and the voting of Members of Congress.

3. ROCK THE VOTE http://www.rockthevote.org/ is a twenty year old organization that has registered more young people to vote than any other organization or campaign.  Their mission is clear: “Rock The Vote is dedicated to building the political power and clout of the millennial Generation by registering and turning out young people, by forcing the candidates to campaign to them, and by making politicians pay attention to youth and the issues they care about in office.”

   Two of their most successful initiatives are Democracy Class and ElectionLand USA.
   Democracy Class http://www.democracyclass.com is a fantastic first step for any 18-24 year old that is beginning to get involved in civic life. It brings information to new voters about what to expect when going to the voting poll, shares students perspectives from around the country, and posts video highlights of various artists and celebs who support the cause. Check it out and share with the young people in your life. It is never too early to begin the process.
   Election Land USA http://electionland.com/ engages conversations about the voting process, allows you to register to vote by jurisdiction, and allows you to ask questions of the candidates in online debate and online Town Hall features.

4. If you are looking for print resources, check out our online catalog and search under:
   Keyword: “United States – Politics and government”
   Sort: Reverse Year (to get 2011 books at the top of the 89 item list).
   Or search our website links for Government here: http://www.lmpl.org/dbOverview.asp

 Most importantly get informed and get out and VOTE!

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi

—Amron

There are currently over 21 million Americans living with some form of incorrectable vision impairment. The public library has always been an advocate for supporting these patrons that still want to read and acquire information in some format. Here is a list of the Lavenia McCoy Public Library’s current materials and services that are catered to this group of people:

1. A collection of LARGE PRINT BOOKS in both fiction and nonfiction titles. The font is 16 point type and the publishers follow the national standards for visually impaired publications.
2. A collection of AUDIO CD books in fiction and nonfiction, juvenile and teen titles available for checkout in the library.
3. Downloadable audiobooks available for checkout with our MP3 players or you can use your own device.
4. A collection of different ELECTRONIC READING DEVICES (or E-readers) and downloadable e-books from our library digital collection. The library loans current models of Sony, Kindles, Nooks, Kobo that enable the reader to control the font between among six different sizes.
5. We can register our patrons to join the free library service available through the Colorado TALKING BOOK LIBRARY. This is a wonderful program administered by the Colorado State Library. It allows any resident of Colorado to receive free audiobooks, large print, magazines, and braille books. They shipped directly to your home. When you register you can select different levels of service based on how much you read.

In addition to what the library offers, there are a wealth of low vision related technologies available on the marketplace. These include:

• Low-tech aids: LARGE FONT phones, clocks, calculators, keyboards, thermostats. Available many places including: www.independentliving.com.
• Magnifiers: These are magnifiers that allow you to lay the lens atop text and pictures for powerful magnification. There are both desktop and hand-held versions available. They cover a broad spectrum of capabilities and prices and can be found online in various places including www.enhancedvision.com .
• Text-to-speech: This is a handheld device that allows you to take a “picture” of the text (from any format such as book, magazine or newspaper) and it reads it aloud. There are very expensive versions out there but the cheapest is available as an app on the iPhone called ZoomReader for only $20.
• Low-vision cell phone: The Samsung Haven flip-phone provides voice command (you tell the phone what to do) and voice output (it speaks to you) technology. They are serviced through Verizon wireless.

 There are numerous other high-tech gadgets for low vision persons including talking GPS units and currency readers.

For more information:

Colorado Center for the Blind at www.cocenter.org  

National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at http://www.loc.gov/nls/

Lighthouse International (formerly National Association for Visually Handicapped at www.lighthouse.org

On a personal note: I registered my grandmother, Ethel, up with the lending audio books and machine service from National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped when she first acquired macular degenerative disease. It literally changed her life. She listens to over 10 books a month and swears that she has never felt so literate and connected. She is always listening and sharing with me about her latest book. She told all of her friends about how wonderful her granddaughter, “The Librarian” was. This is why we do what we do.  If you have any questions about registering for yourself or someone you know, please don’t hesitate to call us at the library at #970-884-2222.

—Amron

In recent years, many concerned adults (parents and teachers mostly) feel that boys were falling behind on their reading competence. It was informally deemed the “boy crisis” and was debated by countless professionals and agencies. There have been some extremely valuable resources published in recent years dedicated to identifying the cause and developing solutions to this situation. Do you have a boy in your life that is not a reader? Check out these resources for further information:

Kleinfeld, Judith. “The State of American Boyhood.” Gender Issues 26.2 (2009): 113-29.
You can access this article through our website: www.lmpl.org . Click on Databases and then EBSCO. Enter the article title and you will be able to read the 18 page article.

Lamm, Dottie. “Our Boys Are Falling behind in Education.” Denver Post 18 Apr 2010.  http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_14893585#ixzz1Yche5I2T.
The former first lady of Colorado is a vocal and powerful advocate for issues related to gender, health and education. This article tackles some of the controversies and statistics surrounding the issue.

If you want more information about the man behind the stories and artwork including his early political cartoons, Wikipedia has a very detailed page here. Keep an eye out for a new book published post-humously titled The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories which will be available at our library in a few weeks. And come in to the library and check out our large collection of children’s books by Dr. Seuss. You can search our catalog here. Stay tuned for events on March 2, when his birthday is celebrated nationwide as “Read Across America”.

Additional Links of interest: 

• Seussville http://www.seussville.com/
• Dr. Seuss Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Seuss_bibliography
• Books by and about Dr. Seuss in Worldcat http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n79-53201

For my first post, I would like to share information about the regional newspapers of now and then. A patron recently inquired about locating an obituary about a rancher (the patron’s grandmother’s brother) who died in 1940. To start with, we learned about the dates of publications of the regional newspapers that may have included his obituary. Here is the list of the La Plata county newspapers and their runs:
Durango Herald (1881-present)
Bayfield Blade (1909-1925)
Ignacio Cheiftain (1917-1925)(1933-1934)
Ignacio Chieftain and Bayfield Blade (merged from 1925-1932, 1934-1965)
Pine River Valley Chieftain and Bayfield Blade (merged from 1932-1933)
Chieftain (1965-1972)
Four Corners Chieftain (1972-1974)
Mountain Eagle (1974-19??)
Pine River Times (approx 1980-present)

The patron was then able to locate her grandmother’s brother’s obituary from the Durango Herald at the Durango Public Library! Magnificent!

If you are looking to locate the physical or virtual copies of these newspapers, check out:
1. The Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection (a joint effort of the Colorado State Library and the Colorado Historic Society) has digitized a large number of newspapers from 1859-1923. It houses a searchable database online at http://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/.
2. The Library of Congress also houses a very extensive virtual collection and information database on historical newspapers called “Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers” available online at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/. You can search by various parameters including titles and dates. Some of these are digitized and some are not.
3. The Lavenia McCoy Public Library also houses an incomplete collection of some of the Bayfield Blade, Ignacio Cheiftain, and Pine River Times.
4. The Durango Public Library also houses an historical collection of the Durango Herald newspaper from 1881-present. This is the best kept secret of their library!

Digitizing historical documents including newspapers is going on all over the world. This will continue to increase and evolve as more sophisticated technology is introduced. Today, we have a fantastic opportunity to preserve the information and images that were once distributed via a medium that is very fragile (newsprint) and often lost. We would like to improve our historical newspaper collection’s here at our library, so if you have any old copies, or an interest in helping us collect, archive and digitize these collections, please contact me at Amron[at]lmpl.org or 970-884-2222 x 520.

If you are looking for more information about other historic Colorado newspapers contact the Colorado Historical Society (the steward of th Colorado Historical Newspapers Collection initiative) at their email address . If you are looking for more geneology resources online, check out our list of websites under Geneology available at http://www.lmpl.org/dbOverview.asp. Good luck and happy researching!

Digitize: Entire copies of old newspapers are scanned into the computer and made viewable online through a database.

The departure is a sad one for the rest of the LMPL staff, but welcome news for the residents of Mancos, Colorado.  At the first of next month, Lee will officially become the Executive Director of the Mancos Public Library.   So while we are happy for Lee and his new adventure, he will really be missed in Bayfield.  Stop by the library this week if you’d like to wish him well (or make him feel guilty for leaving us!).

Lee's haircut wasn't the only thing that caused a stir in Bayfield. Known as "the guy" at the library, Lee has made many friends in the Bayfield community.

As Lee departs, there will be a few changes at the library.  First, I (Karen) will be taking over Teen Services.  This includes teen programming, the Teen Advisory committee, Manga club, and gathering input from our teen patrons.  Please feel free to stop by the library or email me at karen@lmpl.org with your suggestions.

Lee’s many other duties are being divided among other staff members.  It’s amazing what Lee has done in his past four years (minus a short “break” from Bayfield a while back).  He has brought a lot of energy to our staff, and his easy-going attitude will be missed. 

Thank you, Lee and good luck in Mancos!

The

When the Lavenia McCoy Public Library (which,  incidentally was named the Pine River Public Library until 2006, when the name officially changed to honor Lavenia McCoy) first opened in 2004, the board of trustees and the library director thought about possible growth in the area.  Plans for subdivisions and homes were on the horizon, and new businesses were beginning to open.  In fact, the east side of the current building was planned with a possible expansion in mind.

But did our library leaders really understand just how vibrant this library would become?  Could they foresee the hundreds of people still lacking internet access?  Were they purvey to the pending economic crisis, leaving people searching for free entertainment options?

Probably not.

Since 2004, library programming has increased dramatically.  For example, in 2004, there were 320 kids that attended programs.  But just five years later, there were 3,659.  Wow!  That number is also sure to rise this year, as Liz continues to develop the children’s programming department.

When it comes to our adult offerings, the numbers are just as impressive, with program attendance increasing by more than 100%.

Aside from more people coming to our programs, we also have more people coming to the library for other reasons.  We offer free wifi, computers, and books for our patrons to use, and some just stop by to chat!

In the coming months, the library’s Facilities Task Force will be making more decisions about what to do with the library building.  To find out more about those decisions, check our website, Facebook page, and library blog.

This week the director of the Lavenia McCoy Public Library distributed a Request For Proposal for architectural and design services.  Director Donnalee Baxstrom says the board decided to move forward with exploring the idea of expanding, after experiencing unprecedented growth.  “The library is running out of space,” she says, “and a recent survey of the community shows that people want more space for a variety of activities.  We hope that doing an RFP will give us an idea of how this building can meet those needs.”

The library building is relatively new, opening in 2004, but the population of the Bayfield area grew and library usage increased.  For example, between 2004 and 2010, the number of items that checked out of the library increased by 60%.  In addition, during that same time period, the number of programs offered increased by 95%.

The library has a meeting room for many of those programs, but sometimes that’s not enough.   “Last month, there were so many people at our Summer Reading Program events that we had to move them outside,” says Baxstrom.   “Our single meeting room is not big enough for many of our activities.”

As libraries continue to foster more social interaction, Baxstrom says it’s important for Bayfield’s library to be prepared for the future.  “We want to offer services requested by our community.  Putting out the RFP is the second step in determining what works best for this library.”

Baxstrom says she hopes to have an architect chosen by September.  After that, the library’s Facilities Task Force will gather input about any possible expansion.  “This will continue to be an open process- it’s all about what our community wants.”

Aside from a physical expansion, library officials are also looking at other ways to meet patron needs.  A performing arts center, more e-resources, and developing more technology resources are some of the ideas being considered by the task force.   

More information about the RFP can be found on the library’s website at http://www.lmpl.org/jobs.asp.