Parker and Florida Construction Site Tours

On Friday, July 11, I had the fortunate experience to be able to attend a construction tour at ALD’s future library site at the corner of Parker Road and E. Florida Ave. Members of the community as well as representatives from the Spring Institute braved the near-100-degree temperatures to take a look at how the library was taking shape. Although it is still in its early stages of construction, one can only anticipate the resources it will bring to its community. This new branch will be built on 3.5 acres in unincorporated Arapahoe County. The 28,000-square-foot library will serve residents in Glendale, Four Square Mile and Holly Hills, as well as the larger community, and is scheduled to open in early 2009. I highly recommend taking a tour of the site. The next tour will be offered on Friday, August 1, at 3:30 pm and again at 4 pm. If that date does not work for you, tours will be held monthly and can be registered for online at www.araphoelibraries.org.

“What’s Your Flavor” Contest Tips

In order to help you get started, below are a tips for sharing about programs and events with library patrons.

We’d love to hear from you! Please post comments with your own tips for sharing about programs and events!

“What’s Your Flavor” Contest Tips:
· Remember, you are the most powerful publicity tool – share your enthusiasm for the program you select.
· If desired, feel free to select a different program each day to share about.
· Have fun with it! Wear a “buggy hat” or a bug pin and share about some of the different bug-themed programs happening at your library.
· Wear a Sock Puppet while sharing about the “Rockstar Sock Puppets” program
· Paint your face and share about Face Painting events.
· Tell a story – engage patrons while telling about the Bug Safari event (“I held Rosie the tarantula…!”) or how much the kids enjoyed the juggling and comedy show in a casual and friendly way.
· As an example, ask patrons, “Have you seen the movie Batteries Not Included?” We’re showing it this Friday outdoors – what a great family night out!
· While facilitating programs and events, tell the participants about upcoming programs and events.
· Use The Dewey program calendar and library-specific handouts as a conversation starter.
· If you’re helping someone at the computer, tell them about computer-specific classes that are coming up. Let teens who are using the computers know about the iMac classes or “Rock Your Profile” events.

Our Neighbors, Our Patrons

Happy 4th of July weekend! While you are out and about this weekend, joining friends and family at community events, I challenge you to appreciate all of the good things our individual communities have to offer – including our libraries. I appreciate that we work for a respected organization supported by our very own neighbors.

I also challenge those who are working in the libraries this weekend to take a moment to consider those patrons coming through library doors to spend part of their valuable holiday weekend with us. It says a lot about who we are and what we do for our friends and neighbors in the community. Enjoy!

Summer Reading Photo Contest Winners

Congratulations to Monica Owens, Michelle Shields and Marta Soderberg -- winners of the 2008 Summer Reading Photo Contest. Many thanks to all who participated! Look for these winning photos in the August edition of The Dewey.

When a Reporter Calls...

The phone rings at the library, you pick it up and offer a friendly salutation and an offer of assistance. The person on the other line is not a patron, but Joe Reporter from the local newspaper. What do you do next? Freeze? Set down the phone and run? No, our tendencies towards customer service may compel us to help out this lost soul who needs “just a little information…”

STOP! The only help you need to offer the reporter is to refer them to the Communications Department. Your standard answer – no matter how persistent that person is – is to direct him to either Nicolle Davies or Jessica Sherrick, or another available Communications staff person. We would be happy to take the reporter’s call and find the information they need. Whether this reporter’s inquiry is seemingly innocuous or he is on the offense from the beginning – you can hand him off to Communications to determine the best response or course of action.

Summer Reading Pics

Many thanks to everyone who submitted Summer Reading Photos. We received some fabulous photos and appreciate the hard work that went into pulling off the events, and taking pictures of them on top of that! All of the photos we received reflected the fun that our patrons experienced at the various Summer Reading programs throughout the Library District and we look forward to publishing some of the photos in the next edition of The Dewey. Stay tuned!

Quirky Works!

Those of you who work with the public in the libraries are fortunate because you are in prime position to observe story ideas. Do you have a regular patron who is particularly interesting, or even a fellow staff person who has a great story to tell? You just never know what you’ll uncover by talking to people. If you come across anything that may be of interest to those outside of the library, let me know – we could grant that person their 15 minutes of fame!