Miss Maria Returns

 

3-28-2025

It’s spring at the library, which translates into cleaning in my native tongue. This year it was courtesy of the best Department of Public Works a library could ask for. A few weeks ago, Jason Equitz and I toured the building in anticipation of creating the 2026 Capital Budget. The library board followed up with approval to replace the two sections of concrete in front of the library with cracks running across them.

Jason followed up by sending Anthony, aka the library’s DPW guy, over for the day to clear out some of the clutter in the mechanical rooms, make a plan to install a dehumidifier (I just realized my $2,900 cut to heat and electric will take a hit), measure for a shelf to organize cleaning supplies, and hang our ladder. Anthony was still wiping off phantom cobwebs at the end of his day. 

Additional cleaning will require assistance from the East Troy Lions Club. One of our mechanical rooms has a fair amount of storage space available. It houses several items the Lions left in storage when the library took over the building. The space is too remote and damp to be terribly useful, but anyone who has seen the library’s evolution over the past three years knows I’m not a fan of clutter. Given how many years the items have been in that room, it isn’t likely the Lions even know what is there. I also have to fess up to storing a few items there for later consideration that need a second look.

The above makes me happy, but for all of us I followed the Save the Best News for Last adage. Miss Maria’s doctor signed off on her return to work!

April 3^rd will see Miss Maria back in the library on a limited basis. She will be here for Monday afternoon programming, her regular Thursday shift, and Friday children’s programming. I will continue to cover her Saturday shifts for at least another month but up to another four.

She’s been planning for April for months with Easter and spring focused storytimes. This includes a visit from Mr. Nibbles on Thursday, April 10^th at 2:00 for a bonus Easter bunny storytime. In the past Miss Nancy wore a bunny costume. Miss Maria arranged for a bunny instead. She will continue the Easter Egg hunt tradition the following day during the regular Friday morning storytime.

Miss Maria’s most ambitious program upon her return is Mini Golf in the Library on Thursday, April 17^th at 11:30. This is during East Troy Community School District’s Spring Break. It is open for all ages.

 Listening to Now: Children of Dune by Frank Herbert

Technology Got the Best of Me

 

3-21-2025

I consider myself at least technologically literate. Like many Americans, I spend much more time on my computer, phone, and tablet than is really good for me. I answer questions about patron devices on a regular basis and can troubleshoot just fine. True there are devices I choose not to learn such as our video game system and the most recent update to the smart tv, but that’s because I have staff and can delegate. If I really need to use it, I learn how.

Then Friday happened.

One of the services a library system provides the libraries in its service area is negotiating collective purchasing and subscription agreements. Deciding what subscriptions will be included is a focus for several months. The directors of Prairie Lakes libraries began discussions on the 2026 services and budget in February. This is the budget that funds Ancestry.com, our Libby/OverDrive contribution, and computer programs for staff use among other services.

One of this year’s computer programs is a marketing tool for sending out emails – newsletters, announcements, even personalized messages. We haven’t used any email newsletter services, so this was supposed to be exciting and tailored to fit the strategic goal regarding expanding communication.

The marketing director for PLLS arranged a workshop for libraries wishing to receive hands on instruction and work time with peers available to ask questions and bounce ideas. As a bonus, a rep from the company was available to lead the training portion. So, I sallied forth to Milton Public Library to get creative.

Let’s just say after waiting an hour for the rep to log into the webinar, my sallying time was dwindling quickly. Staff from the larger libraries, ones with dedicated marketing time, had newsletters ready to go and were there to brainstorm and fine tune. I learned how to make it past the log in screen. An hour later I had a rough idea about the purpose of various tabs without any real comfort in using them. That was partially due to every libraries’ documents being saved together and no clear understanding about the various boxes I was supposed to be filling in with titles and descriptions and commands.

An hour after the rep began answering questions, I was able to log into their help site, yes it’s a different website and covers all the companies products making it ever so fun finding the answer to that one, beginner level question. I’ll take it as a win.

If you find me huddled in the lower level with my laptop, I’m probably searching their help site for training materials or throwing my hands up and using YouTube videos to figure it out and wishing Apple made the product. (Yes, I’m iPhone, not Android.) The frustration will be good for me. I’ll be ever so much more empathetic in the future.

Newsletters to follow.

Listening to Now: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

What to do with the white chairs?

 

3/14/2025

If the library staff didn’t already know the weather is lovely, the sounds of children playing at Playmore Park would clue us in. There is so much joy being experienced this week, I have to remind myself the school district isn’t on Spring Break. Knowing they aren’t, I’m sending my thoughts to the teachers who have to keep students engaged for the next four weeks.

Here at the library we can dust off our outdoor Library of Things items instead and offer them up. It’s a great time to checkout the telescope. The weather is lovely, the stars are relatively close, it still gets dark fairly early, and there are no mosquitoes to battle. Of course, last week before the whole-time change would have been better, but then the weather was less cooperative. That’s Wisconsin for you and proof we can’t have both.

Looking for excuses to be outside, I brought a stack of the white chairs from our lower level out to be disassembled and recycled. The seat and back are plastic, but the frames are some form of metal. Looking a them in the sun, it seemed a shame to do so. They are less sturdy than I would like and fewer than we need, but tightening the screws on the frame and replacing missing screws on the back made them serviceable for someone.

Therefore, I held off. The stack is still just outside the library for all to see. I’m wondering if there is any organization who could find a use for some or all of them. We have about 35 left. They do have all their parts and are tightened. The distinction among them now is regarding the whiteness of the plastic seats. Some are more so than others which are showing their wear more.

They do stack for storage. We kept the stacking down to 4-5 as unlike heavy restaurant chairs, the stacks tend to lean. Plus, I was always worried a little one would try to climb on top of one of the stacks. A few years ago, we could line the stacks up against the wall. Now we have bookshelves where they used to go. Our new chairs are a navy blue that matches the couches and chairs in that space. They also fold and fit somewhat on a cart in the side storage room making them much easier to store and free up floor space.

I’ll give word of mouth a few weeks to work its way through the community and find a group/groups interested in a few or all of them before finding a means of disposing of them. Anyone interested should call or stop by and take a look at the stack outside available for trying out.

Reading Now: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Book Club already met, but it's worth finishing.)

Listening to Now: Paper & Blood by Kevin Hearne

Senior Outreach

 3/7/2025

I know it seems as though sourdough is all I am interested in. That’s not true even though I stayed up late baking sourdough, chocolate chip cookies for my daughter’s March 7^th birthday. (She’s 19 and away at college, so I had to ship them.) I have not forgotten about other aspects of my job. One of those is implementing the Strategic Plan.

Goal 3 calls for the creating solutions to minimize facility shortcomings. Translation, how do we make our programs and materials available for people who can’t make it down stairs or to the library at all.

With the second scenario in mind, we reached out to the management of The Heritage, East Troy Manor, and Brolen Park about beginning at out reach program. This is modeled after the Dane County Library services provided to my mother’s senior housing facility in Stoughton. The library drops off a crate of books each month for the residents. We have offered to do the same for East Troy’s senior living facilities. Thanks to a donation by our Friends group, we will also lend them a portable CD player and headphones and include audiobooks in the delivery.

The items will be checked out to a corporate library card in order to track where they are and update their availability status in the library’s catalog. A clipboard with a title list will be provided for residents use in signing out material to aid management’s ability to track in house. So far, two of the facilities have agreed to participate. The third hasn’t had time to respond. Deliveries will begin in early April.

The long-term goal is to offer delivery to individual patrons. It would not be difficult from our end to have residents with their own library cards, place holds and include their books in the delivery.

We actually have tested this with a resident at one of the facilities. Each week his daughter, who lives on the west coast, logs into his library account to place holds on movies he’d like to watch. On Thursday we get take out. I deliver this week’s checkouts and pick up his returns as part of the lunch pick up. It’s gone very well. With the help of a volunteer, I anticipate opening up this outreach service to patrons who live in private homes as well. The key to success has been having the patron or a family member make the selection and having a consistent day for delivery.

If this sounds like an appealing service, reach out to us in May, after we get into the swing of things and before summer kicks in.

 Reading Now: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Listening to Now: Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup