The Board of Trustees and the staff of the John Jermain Memorial Library invite the public to a series of presentations with the four architectural firms currently under consideration for the One Library/Two Building plan. These events will take place in the library’s third floor rotunda and are scheduled as follows:

• Saturday, May 3rd, 10:00 a.m. : Croxton Collaborative
• Saturday, May 3rd, 1:00 p.m. : Farewell Mills Gatsch (FMG)
• Monday, May 5th, 2:00 p.m. : Herbert S. Newman and Partners
• Monday, May 5th, 5:00 p.m. : Drummey Rosane Anderson (DRA)

Each session will consist of a presentation by the firm, and an open question-and-answer session with the public, followed by a period for the Board to question the firms. The public portions of these events will run approximately an hour and a half and will be videotaped and made available for anyone not able to attend. Proposals from each of these firms are available in the Library Director’s office. Please stop by to view them, and please share your thoughts and dreams for the future of your library. For additional information  call Catherine Creedon at 631 725.0049 extension 23.

JJML invites you to join the Academy of American Poets in celebrating the first national Poem in Your Pocket Day. The idea is simple: select a poem then carry it with you (poem in your pocket) and unfold it with family, friends and coworkers throughout the day.

For the past five years, New Yorkers have been unfolding poems on Poem In Your Pocket Day and reading them in parks, libraries, schools, workplaces and bookstores. Organize your own Poem In Your Pocket Day event during National Poetry Month, or visit http://poets.org/page.php/prmID/406 for ways to celebrate this April 17th.

If you’ve been in the library anytime during the last few years, you are no doubt aware that we are experiencing a space crunch on many levels: our shelves are full, our staff is in need of workspace, and, most pressing of all, we have no place to store things. When originally built, the library’s basement was used for storage. Now, however, the basement has been repurposed as the library’s main floor, and houses the adult fiction collection, new books, DVDs, CDs, books on tape, the copy machine, employee workspaces and more. Storage? Well, something had to give…

And so, for years, we’ve been storing things under desks, in the stariwell, on top of the book shelves — in short, anywhere the stuff would fit. Unfortunately, we’ve now run out of those types of storage spots too. And, having stored items crammed into every available space is just plain ugly taking away from the charm of the building. If you have any doubts about this, take a look at the “nook” in front of the fireplace on the third floor. One of JJML’s most appealing features, the fireplace, is completely obscured by items that have no other home.

Some day soon this problem may be solved by a new or renovated library building. But “soon” is a relative term…in this case it means at least a couple of years. Unfortunately, the storage problem is pressing and gets worse every day. As a possible solution we came up with the idea of temporarily placing a wooden storage shed — just like those that are seen in many residential backyards — against the brick wall at the back of our property. It would be an ideal solution, as items stored there would be easy to get at when needed, and the shed itself would be mostly hidden by the bushes surrounding it. There is one problem, however, and that is the cost. Pre-built sheds sell for upwards of three thousand dollars, an amount that cannot be squeezed from the library’s budget.

We mention it here in the hope that someone in the community may own a shed that they no longer need, and would consider donating it to the library, or that a local builder might be moved to build one for us using whatever materials he or she may have at hand.

Just thought we’d ask…

BTW, If you have any other ideas as to how we can deal with our storage problems, please leave a comment on the blog, or call us at 725-0049. We’ll be more than happy to listen to any ideas as to how to deal with this growing problem.

My answer, of course, would be a resounding YES!!!   There is a website done by the Maine State Library that has a formula into which you put the number of books, dvds, audio books, etc. your family borrowed in one month, along with the number of programs you might have attended.  The website then uses nationally-accepted standard $ assessments for each type of material.  I plugged in the materials I checked out in one month and came up with the answer that if I had to purchase all of those materials, I’d have had to spend well over $1400! 

Public libraries face interesting challenges in this ever-changing technological world.  Not only must we provide you with traditional and beloved materials like books, but also audiovisual materials as well.  We provide computer access, computer classes, computers for use by preschoolers, ones specifically for grade school children, ones dedicated for young teen use, and wireless access on the top floor.  Thanks to our participation in the Suffolk Cooperative Library System we are able to provide you with access to credible information from vetted databases that we could never afford to purchase on our own.  Google is great, but one must be careful to check the sites you access very carefully - when were they updated?  Who is the author?  What sites do they link to?  Is the information biased?

Of course reference services are traditional library services as well.  The only change is that we can provide answers via a plethora of sources and technologies.  Pretty soon, some libraries in Suffolk will allow you to look up materials in the library’s catalog whilst walking through the stacks; you will use your cellphone to do this.  It constantly amazes me that new technology arises as such a rapid pace.

We do our best at John Jermain to provide you with both traditional and non-traditional services.  Despite the limitations of the building, I think that the staff here do a fantastic job.  They know most of your names, provide you with polite service, endeavor to find the materials you want, and go the extra mile in finding answers to your reference questions.

So, I’d like to say WELL DONE to the staff here at the library.

I still have steam coming out of my ears regarding the widespread boycotting of the 2007 Newbery Award Winner, which the committee judged to be THE BEST book written for children up to age 14.  I will be writing on the blog about this but have to wait until I’ve calmed down a bit.  I’m sure you’ve read that the ruckus is due to the use of an anatomical term. 

I myself have the honor of having served on the Newbery Committee in 2001.  The Newbery Comm. is comprised of 15 librarians selected or elected from the US and Canada.  One has to read every book that is published that year.  It is extremely intense, time-consuming, and emotional.  An author who receives a Newbery Award is essentially ensured to be published forever, reap great financial rewards due to sales generated by the award, and have a place in American literature for children.  The deliberations of the Newbery Committee are top-secret, and never to be revealed, even years after one served on the committee. 

The 2007 Newbery Committee did not make its selection lightly, with an eye toward controversy, or to be provocative.  Instead, the committee members voted that Susan Patron’s book made the most significant contribution to American literature for children in the year 2006.

More later… 

“A book gives you a sense of accomplishment, a sense of belonging to the world you just inhabited, a sense of possibility.  Endless possibility.  No wonder they frighten the hell out of some people.  Books are powerful things.  Within their ideas hide the keys to the future. Ban them at your own risk.”

Greg Moody, a critic on Denver TV-4, speaking about Banned Books Week

Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. was kind enough to invite me to attend a budget hearing on Governor Spitzer’s proposed 2007-2008 State Budget.  I will be making a brief presentation on the satisfying aspects of funding for libraries in the proposed budget.  Importantly for John Jermain, Governor Spitzer plans to offer an unprecedented amount of library construction aid. While public libraries in New York are still funded at a low level (compared with other public agencies, inflation, etc), we are always hopeful that the Governor and our legislators will perceive the vital importance of public libraries in today’s world.

Library directors can pinch pennies like no one else, but we would love to have a fair and deserved number of pennies from the State with which to improve our services.  Wish me luck!    

Your advocate,      Allison Gray, Director

“Fiction is like a spider’s web, attached ever so lightly perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners.”

If you see me wandering around the building looking completely spaced out, it is due to the fact that I have been doing little else but writing grant proposals and letters of inquiry to a plethora of foundations and grantmaking organizations.  All of these grants are written to raise funds for the current building and its restoration.  Hopefully the hard work of the Grants Committee (Chairperson Gloria Primm Brown, Diane Gaites, Tippy Ameres, and myself).  We hope to receive grant money for the restoration of the stained glass panel in the rotunda, the dome, the exterior roof, the windows, and all of the masonry which desperately needs re-pointing.  Additionally, we want to restore the furniture that is original to the 1910 library.

If you have any connections with grantmakers or foundations, they’d sure be appreciated! And now I’m off to wander around vacantly for a minute or so before getting back to my grants

I was unable to post for a couple of weeks as I just attended the Midwinter conference of ALA.  I am on a committee that helps coordinate awards for best library building projects in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects.  I am also on a committee that awards 6 significant scholarships for students pursuing their Master’s in LIbrary Science with the intent of becoming a children’s librarian in a public library.

I had loads of fun in the vast Exhibit Halls, looking at furniture, lighting, products, etc. that would be wonderful in our new building as well as the restored current library.  It is simply amazing to see all the wonderful library items that are available.

Speaking of technology, we will begin offering audiobooks that you can download from our catalog to your mp3 player.  Unfortunately, no downloadable book vendors are compatible with Apple’s ipods.  We plan to have mp3 players available at minimal cost for those who wish to purchase them and use our collection.