Ledyard Libraries Working Together

As anyone familiar with Ledyard knows, there are two separate identities in our small town. We have two zip codes, two post offices, even two libraries, but we are one town. In the early days of Ledyard, there were two distinct population centers. There was the farming town of Ledyard Center and the vacation village of Gales Ferry. It wasn't until the 1950's when housing developments began to spring up all over town, that the distinctions began to blur. Now that we have a mobile society traveling all over town, we have come to see ourselves as one unit working together.

At the libraries that means both branches working together. Our staff rotates between Bill Library in Ledyard Center and the Gales Ferry Library. We collaborate to make two libraries function as one big (or really medium sized) library for the town. We move books and other items between the libraries five days a week. We hold programs that require a larger seating arrangement in the meeting room at Bill Library and groups that are more intimate meet in the Gales Ferry multi-purpose basement. Story times for smaller groups are held in one library, but the more popular age groups have sessions at both libraries.

Although you may have a blue Gales Ferry library card or a cream Bill Library one, you are a patron of the Ledyard Libraries. We are just a little spread out to serve all of Ledyard.

Is Summer Over?

Summer reading at the Ledyard Public Libraries ended on Saturday, August 7. Did summer end that day too? I think not. As far as I know, summer doesn't end until September 22nd this year.

Of course, the summer reading I am referring to is the library game for children ages 4 through high school. That program usually lasts six weeks and almost always ends on the first Saturday in August. Since there are at least three weeks after that before children return to school, the question arises- When should summer reading really end? That question arose several times last week, both in the libraries and on our facebook page. Some people felt the summer reading game should continue for the whole school summer vacation. Is that realistic? Do you want to see the summer reading game extended? Is there teen volunteer interest or financial support available for a program of that duration? We would need to have all of those things in place to consider an extended program.

So we know summer doesn't end on the first Saturday in August. Should summer reading end? Let your view be known!

To Blog or not to Blog

To blog or not to blog, that is the question. Does anyone read the library blog? Has anyone missed the library blog? I imagine if you were in the habit of checking it every week or so, you have been very disappointed the last couple months. The blogger didn't even realize it had been over two months since she put fingers to keyboard to update these ruminations.

So the question remains, to blog or not to blog. When the library blog originated, it was our first foray into a new technology for reaching our patrons. Since those days, not quite two years ago we have moved on to twitter and facebook. Soon there may be other applications that we don't even know about now. The blog can be time consuming. 140 characters on twitter goes by in the blip of a minute. Facebook is fun because you actually know that someone has seen it and they comment on it.

So this is my blog. Maybe next time I will actually talk about something, or not.

Brought to you by the Friends of Ledyard Libraries

This has been a wonderful season of programming at the Ledyard Public Libraries. The library staff has always presented a winter/spring series of programs and this year has been no exception. From Easy as Pie in February, Lisa Starr's poetry reading in March, Square Foot Gardening and the Authors and Writers Showcase in April to a four part series of hikes, we have had a tremendous response to all our endeavors. And we aren't done yet! Jean Scialabba will return with Composting with Worms on Thursday, June 24, 7 pm, at Bill Library.

This year, however, we have been joined by the Friends of Ledyard Libraries in sponsoring a variety of programs. The Friends have always been supportive of library programming financially, but this year they have created a committee to provide additional programs. The Friends brought Patty Carver and This Old Hat, Linda Lilly of Sprigs and Twigs, Jake Barnett and Tropical Birds, Forests and Snakes, Curt Nelson and Bob Walsh with Fishing with Hand-Tied Flies and this Monday they will present Michael Tougias, author of Overboard. Nearly all programs have had a standing room only audience. The library is very grateful to the Friends for bringing new and interesting programs to the people of Ledyard. We look forward to an exciting fall season.

Advisory Question

Two weeks from today, the citizens of Ledyard will be asked to answer the following advisory question when they vote in the annual budget referendum: "If future cuts to the library budget are necessary would you support closing the Gales Ferry Library instead of reducing hours and services at both libraries?"

So, if you want to close the Gales Ferry Library vote yes and if you want to reduce services vote no? Or if you want to keep the Gales Ferry Library open vote no and if you want to keep hours and services vote yes. I think I got it right the second time. Of course, there is no third choice that gives voters the option of keeping both Gales Ferry Library and hours and services. And why is the library budget singled out for an advisory question? I guess the library should be honored that we are the only segment of town government that required an advisory question or does that mean we are the only department that will require future cuts. I am confused!

I am also concerned that many other people will be confused when they go to vote on May 18. Most probably don't even know there is going to be an advisory question on the ballot. When they read it for the first time that day, will they understand what they are advising?

If you want to keep the Gales Ferry Library open, you must vote NO on the advisory question. If you want to keep an institution that has been part of the Gales Ferry community since 1923, you must vote NO on the advisory question. If you want to keep the library that has 40% of the circulation in town and only 20% of the library budget, you must vote NO on the advisory question.

The per capita cost for the Gales Ferry Library is $7.75 a year. Residents will spend a lot more than that for gasoline to drive the extra miles to Bill Library.

The town council is waiting to hear from you. We can reduce hours and services at both libraries in time of fiscal crisis. We can close a library in time of fiscal crisis. We can increase hours and services if the economy improves. A library closed in time of fiscal crisis, is a library gone forever.

VOTE NO on the ADVISORY QUESTION to KEEP the GALES FERRY LIBRARY.

Saturday at the Library

Saturday is unlike any other day at the library. It is the relaxed day. People stroll in, no rushing. A lady lounges in a chair, leisurely reading a magazine. Another couple spreads out the newspapers on the table. Computers are busy all day, but no one stays on very long. Patrons drop by for books, but stop to chat. The phone doesn't ring nearly as much, but when it does the question is often the same. "What are your hours today?" As the day goes on it changes. "How late are you open?"

Now that it is spring, one of the biggest activities on sunny days is selling the town leaf bags. You can guarantee on the those first bright, warm days that at least ten people will be cleaning up their yards and discover they need leaf bags. Two hours later they return, flushed and sweaty, to announce they need more left bags. I think there must be two groups, the fall leaf baggers and the spring leaf baggers. I sure hope it isn't the same person coming back twice a year for 2 or 3 packages of bags.

As the afternoon winds down, we close at 5:00 by the way, the crowd of patrons thins out. The people finish up on the computers and the newspapers are put away. We start to go through the routine of closing the library. That's when the ten people who knew they had to come to the library all day realize it is almost closing time, but they are sure they can get there before closing to make that copy, check their e-mail and find that book for school on Monday. Usually they are in and out by 5:00, but put the emphasis on usually.

Have a good weekend or what is left of it, that is.

Lisa was a Starr

If you were one of the over 30 people who attended a presentation by Rhode Island poet laureate Lisa J. Starr last week at Bill Library, you were lucky to experience her poetry. To have a product of Ledyard so eloquently express herself was a treat for all who attended. For Lisa, it might have been a touch overwhelming to gaze over an audience that included childhood neighbors and friends, her fourth grade teacher and her father's former secretary. Yet with grace and style, she shared her poetry and her life with a willing audience.

Lisa Silverberg Starr grew up in Ledyard and graduated in 1984 from Ledyard High School. Her father was a prominent local attorney. He died when she was in her early teens after several years of illness. Her mother passed away a few years ago. Lisa, who is divorced, currently lives on Block Island with her two children Orrin (13) and Millie (12) and her dog Brother. They all figure prominently in her poetry. She owns and operates Hygeia House, a ten room inn. She has been poet laureate of Rhode Island for three years and will serve for two more years to complete her term. Her work as poet laureate has been to bring poetry to the less fortunate. To this end she has held poetry workshops in elderly communities, hospitals, shelters and the state prison.

The library is pleased to own a copy of her most recently poetry collection, Mad with Yellow. Her previous books are This Place Here and Days of Dogs and Driftwood.

We were delighted to have Lisa at Bill Library.

A Day in the Life of the Ledyard Public Libraries

Someone in a library in New Jersey apparently came up with the idea of snapshot day. It worked. So someone in a library in Connecticut heard about it and said let's do snapshot day in Connecticut. So we did. Libraries all over the state, took pictures and collected statistics for one day in the third week of February. What else did we have to do? February is a pretty dull month anyway. Ground Hog in the beginning, hearts in the middle and then it is gone in a quick 28 days! What librarians found, however, is quite amazing. People use libraries. What a concept! Nearly 100,000 items were checked out of libraries in Connecticut in one day. Over 80,000 people walked in the door, for one reason or another. Over 12,000 came to use a computer. So much for the theory that libraries will die because everyone will get all they need from a home computer.

What does a day in the life of the Ledyard Public Libraries look like? On Tuesday, February 18, 274 people visited the Bill and Gales Ferry Libraries. They checked out over 550 items. Judging from that, our patrons check out two items per visit on average. Nearly 50 people came to the libraries to use the computers. Over 45 children came for story times. Some came to read the newspaper or relax with a magazine and a cup of coffee. These things happen at your Ledyard Public Libraries every day. And that doesn't count all the people sitting at home or work taking advantage of the resources on the library web page. They are reserving items through the library catalog or state library catalog (request), learning how to repair their car using the Chilton's data base or finding out about washing machines on Consumer Reports on line.

A day in the life of Ledyard Public Libraries is many things to many people. And we are very happy to be here to serve your needs.

Have You Given Us Your E-mail Address?

As the Kenny Roger's song goes "you've got to know when to hold ...." Increasingly our patrons certainly do know when to hold. Our hold shelves are full to bursting with books, movies and cds that people have put on hold. We are very grateful for the many people who are now using e-mail for contact with the libraries. Everytime a book arrives in the library for you, an e-mail goes out informing you that it is ready.

Several days before your items are due, another e-mail goes out reminding you to return or renew your items. People have told us that they appreciate the reminders and it does cut down on fines. You also receive overdue and billing notices by e-mail for the items that have not found their way home to the library shelves. This saves the library postage costs when we do not have to mail notices.

We are happy to call patrons who are not e-mail users, but if you are, please consider giving us your e-mail address. We will be in touch!