By Barbara Mellon
In a small library such as ours, space is always an issue. In order to make room for the new books our patrons want to read, we often have to get rid of older, less popular titles. Weeding our collection is not always an easy process. Some of the criteria we use are how long it has been since the book was checked out, is it considered “a classic”, is the author one who is likely to entice a new reader to go back and read older works. For non-fiction volumes, we instead will look to see if we have multiple books covering the same topic and, if so, would it make sense to pare down the number. Many a spirited debate ensues as staff and volunteers work together to find room for our growing collection. Thanks to Tyler Gray, woodworker extraordinaire, we have a bit of breathing room now. He has graciously constructed for us two new sets of bookshelves as well as some racks to hold larger volumes. The additional shelf space this affords us is so very appreciated.
We have recently received donations of quite a few wonderful children’s books. Among them are science titles, board books and story books. I’ve squirreled away a few I want to use for Story Hour, but stop by and check out the others that are finding their way onto the shelves in the Children’s Room.
Speaking of Story Hour: because of a time conflict with swimming lessons, it will be held at 1:00 pm Wednesdays during the summer. This will give our young patrons a chance to have a bit of lunch after swimming before curling up to hear a story.
Look for our annual Garden Tour to be held on Saturday, July 21st. Not only will we have some new gardens this year, but a few houses will be open for viewing as well. Don’t miss this wonderful event, sure to give seasoned and novice gardeners alike a few ideas to take home with them. ~