Tell Me A Story...

It's been a while since I've had a blog posted on MCPL's website:


May 23rd, 2012
Books have been around for a very long time. I mean, a REALLY long time. Many people, myself included, have an eReader or a way to access digital books, even audiobooks. With all of this new technology used to read and access information, it’s easy to forget where this information started.

Did you know that audiobooks have been around since the 1930s? It all started in 1931 when Congress established the talking-book program to help blind adults. The American Foundation for the Blind then started developing the first talking-books the next year. You may be asking, "What did they record on?" Well, they were recorded on 33 1/3 vinyl records or sometimes aluminum discs. Of course, audiobooks didn’t really catch on until the 1960s and ‘70s. At that time, libraries started offering them for free. The medium, the cassette tape, was also more readily available. Since then, audiobook popularity has exploded, and now you can find them on your library’s shelves and even online. MCPL offers many titles for download through two services, OneClickdigital and OverDrive Digital Downloads. You can access either service here.

Keeping with the tradition of the American Foundation for the Blind, the Wolfner Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped provides audiobooks and braille materials to those who aren’t able to use standard print materials due to some visual or physical disability, temporary or permanent.

You can pick up an application for their services at any MCPL branch or by contacting them directly at 1.800.392.2614 or wolfner@sos.mo.gov.

If you’ve never tried an audiobook, I would suggest the Harry Potter series, narrated by Jim Dale, or any book narrated by Tom Stechschulte. Audiobooks are like having a grown-up storytime just for you! Come in and browse our audiobooks on display too. Be sure to check them out, no matter the format!

Summer Outreach and Why I Love My Job

Ok, there is an opportunity that came to me a couple of weeks ago, and I am excited to say that it is officially happening, and I couldn't be more excited!

Through communication with a local school district, it was brought to my attention that many students have no way of accessing the library’s services. Many students have library cards, as a result of past school visits, but very few have actually been to Red Bridge Library. Because of transportation constraints, limited internet access, and other socio-economic factors, they are unable to benefit from the library’s services, including the annual Summer Reading Program.

The school district hosts a Summer School program for Pre-K students through 4th Grade. The program lasts through the month of June, and I proposed that our branch visit these Summer School sessions weekly, effectively bringing the library to the students. We will be in the school's library center, and students will be able to visit this combined library during their enrichment periods. By providing the following, I want to expand access to the students who would otherwise not have it.

These are the things that we will bring to the library:

• 2 or 3 staff members
• 2 laptops with Circulation Management Software and barcode scanners
• 1 receipt printer
• Summer Reading Program reading logs
• library cards and card sign-ups
• SRP incentives/prizes
• totes filled with awesome things for students to check out including
• Juvenile Easy (picture) books
• Reader books (R1, R2, R3, Rocket Readers)
• Chapter books
• Juvenile Fiction
• Juvenile Non-Fiction
• easier Teen Fiction
• A weekly themed display

Yeah, that's right... a display every week to whet their appetites for reading.  I think this will get kids to check out more.  Even if they don't, the Summer Reading Program this year doesn't have the library book limitation.  Children can read their own books too, which means that students will be able to read their school's library books and count them for our SRP, too!

I have a special card to track those circulation statistics, too.

All of the items will be due back on the last day of the program, since it could get expensive for students and the library if they keep things longer.  Without transportation or internet, they will find it hard to renew, and no one wants to get charged for a book!

Finally, we will take no money and place no holds.  Having another bank is a lot of paperwork and not feasible, since we're in the early stages here.  Holds are impractical because they may not come in on time, among other things.

I'm hoping that this works out and that we can continue it next year.  I also hope that it can expand throughout the summer.  This is why I love being a librarian.