Saturday, August 18, 2012

August?

So we didn't melt over the summer but it was a close call - we saw a lot of 90+ degree days, which really is a little unusual. It's amazing how pleasant 85 degrees can feel after much warmer temperatures! The Library roof is being replaced, a 2-month project that started last month. The area of Computer Services was the starting point; sometimes it seemed we were the "testing ground" for the process. I'm not sure anyone realized how much dust and debris would filter through the metal ceiling (although plastic was laid out it often looked like a small snowstorm). When black clouds began building, I'm not sure they were taken seriously, with the result that the first rainstorm brought a nice rainfall into the library! But those issues have been resolved (and we haven't had much rain recently!). Things are moving along nicely now, and it's almost time to remove and replace the skylights. The smallest, which is over Computer Services, has already been taken out and the space covered with plywood, which means it's a bit dark and gloomy over here! Although the Library has been open all summer, we expect to be closed for 2 days during the skylight event. It would seem to be just a little too dangerous to have the public walking around - they can't be trusted to stay out of roped-off areas! We also started staying open until 6 p.m. Friday nights, a change suggested by a survey we did last year. So far that final hour hasn't really seen a big audience, but that could change when fall comes around. The few people who do stay are happy, I'm sure. We've hired a new person for the Computer Services desk! That will help with staffing, removing the Reference staff from the Monday schedule, and improving the service we provide by increasing the consistency. Even more exciting (to me!) is the revision of my schedule to a 4-day work week - longer days, but shorter week. I'm looking forward to trying this out. I don't work Sunday or Monday anyway, so this is just taking away Saturday (frankly, a very quiet day when it hasn't really been necessary for me to be here - no computer-related disasters come up, and Saturday staff is able to handle what does). Jason will begin working soon, and this new schedule might start next month. New staff, new schedule, new computers - what a summer! A small but wonderful change: when setting up 2 new catalog computers I realized I could set them (using the software that keeps people from accessing the hard drive) to turn off at closing! This seems like the best idea yet. Don't know why if took so long to figure this out. Now, if we could only get them to log themselves on...

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