Just a reminder that, as usual, the library will be closed on Sundays during the summer months, beginning June 17. We will begin Sunday hours again (12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.) on October 21, 2007.

Have a great summer full of fun-filled Sundays. We will.

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.

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

Due to the Federal holiday, the library will be closed on Monday, February 19th.  We will reopen on Tuesday at 10:00 am.  No library materials are due back on the 19th so enjoy your extra day!

The 2nd in a series of Community Forums will be held tonight Nov. 29 at North Haven Village Hall at 6:00 pm. The Library Development Committee, among others, will be discussing the site plan adjacent to the Park. Exterior design and floor plans will not be the focus of this particular program. Rather, tonight’s discussion will deal with the division between two buildings of the services provided by the library as well as the site.

This event will take place in the Pierson High School auditorium. The annual budget meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Library Board President Greg Ferraris and Director Allison Gray will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the budget for 2007, which will be put to vote on September 19th.

The Candidate Forum will follow at 7:00 p.m. Seven candidates are running for three seats on the Library’s Board of Trustees. Sag Harbor Express Editor Bryan Boyhan will moderate. This will be your one opportunity to hear each of the candidates speak about the issues that are important to them and the Sag Harbor community. There will be an opportunity for questions to be submitted by the public. The Trustee elections will also take place on September 19th at the John Jermain Memorial Library form 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

As always, on the day after a holiday and a rainy one at that, we are experiencing several technical difficulties.  If you plan on using our Internet computers, please phone first - right now, the Internet is down.  Also, the photocopy machine is broken and the repair person likely won’t get here to fix it until Thursday.  You can get copies made at the Variety Store, Chelsea Crossing, and, I believe, the laundromat.  Sorry for all of the inconveniences, now we are just waiting for the interior rain to start….