Consulting Corner
EMMA STEWART
Here in the consulting department we’ve been enjoying the unseasonably warm November for as long as it lasts, especially since it made for great driving weather to squeeze the last few consulting visits of the year in!
We have had a great time over the course of this year’s rounds of meeting with the library managers and staff in their spaces. You all do amazing work, and it’s always exciting for us to see the changes that a year can bring to each of your libraries.
Our Barbie-themed fall marketing campaign ran on Facebook ads and in-person at our libraries over the month of October. We were very pleased to see the uptake from library users; there were 687 entries into the prize contest, and Jill made 225 Barbie-themed library cards for patrons. Jill announced the winners this week and sent out their prizes - congrats to all the winners and thanks to all who participated! Stay tuned for next year’s campaign… Jill has got some great ideas already brewing.
Summer reading clubs are done for the year, and I know all of you are beginning to think about next year’s program! Many of our libraries continued to offer independent summer reading club programs while 22 libraries participated in the 2023 TD-Summer Reading Club with a total of 568 registered TDSRC participants across the region. Of those, 293 were participating in the Summer Reading Club for the first time. The 2024 theme is going to be “To The Stars”, which should make for some exciting graphics and activities. We’ll be changing up how we approach summer reading club prizes this year, so stay tuned for info on that in the new year.
Don’t forget that now is the time to gather your “typical week” statistics for your annual LibPAS report. In order to be considered eligible for provincial funding, library boards must complete and submit this report by February 28 of each year.
So make sure that you’ve got all your data squared away before the end of the year, as well as any stats that you want to collect at a local level that may not be required by LibPAS! The Public Library Services Branch (PLSB) accepts a typical week count if your library doesn’t track these statistics throughout the year.
The annual statistics that you can gather through a typical one-week count include number of sessions on the public computers, number of reference transaction questions asked by users, number of informal technology assistance transaction questions asked by users, number of visitors to the library, etc. They’ve also begun incorporating new questions related to virtual programs and take-home kits since those new practices introduced by COVID-19 measures are clearly sticking around in some libraries!
If this your first time doing the annual report and you’re a little stressed about the prospect, give me a call or shoot me an email, but don’t worry: the PLSB will provide lots of training on how to complete your LibPAS annual report in the new year, and you’ll receive reports from PLS on the numbers we track through Polaris and Relais.
Emma Stewart
Consulting Services Manager
DUNCAN LOTOSKI
New Book Blocks Available to Request
There are 5 brand new blocks available for member public libraries to borrow.
AUD600 - Playaway
Includes 15 X Playaway devices. Preloaded with popular titles including Atomic Habits, The Silent Patient, Spare, and more!
Playaways are pre-loaded audiobook devices that allow patrons to take them anywhere! Each playaway comes with 1 X AAA battery. Playaways have a universal headphone hack and are not compatible with Bluetooth devices. (headphones are not included - patrons will need to use their own).
More information on Playaway devices can be found on their website: https://playaway.com/audiobooks/
LP336 - Western
Includes large print Western Titles.
SEA101 - Fall
Includes diverse Fall holiday titles.
SEA301 - Spring
Includes diverse Spring holiday titles.
SEA525 - Christmas
Includes Christmas titles.
These have all been added to the Google Lending Form.
You can find inventory sheets for every block on the Blocks page on the PLS Website.
Duncan Lotoski
Librarian Consultant
JILL KERGAN
My contribution to Consulting Corner is a collection of photos from our tour of the Stanley A.Milner Library as part of the Stronger Together Preconference in Edmonton on November 9th.
We were blown away by the architecture, the Wall and the technology available in the makerspaces! Rather than writing about the tour, I've uploaded the photos into a gallery on our website - a picture's worth a thousand words.Many photos are captioned with interesting information about the photo.
I hope you enjoy the photos and get inspired to visit the Stanley A. Milner Library the next time you're in Edmonton.
Jill Kergan
Librarian Consultant