Librarians Report,

7/9/2015

Summer has been very busy with the summer reading program for children going
on, many visitors coming, and I have put in many hours trying to fix problems with
equipment. I just fixed our laminator last night, that broke during the day. I came in
early to fix the WIFI which has been out for several days. I purchased some
additional memory and other hardware to upgrade another computer and now have
to find time to do it. The list goes on and on.
We received the Libri Grant and they dont require a match anymore, so that is
wonderful. I will need to find some time to go through their book list, picking out
books that have good reviews and that would be of interest to our community.
We got notified that we got the Public Library Assistance Grant for $6,650. I just
need to fill out a few more forms. This helps with library material and it helps with
wages.
You might see me at the library late in the evenings. I am trying to get ready for a
test in Fairbanks, to get certified as a computer IT. For the past year I have been
taking computer classes that have really helped me with my job. I do this off the
clock, but need to use the library resources in order to take the class. They are
online classes and I received library grant funding to take them. Once I am done
with the test in Fairbanks, I will move on to the next class that deals with
networking.
The OWL grant (surprisingly) is still going and now they have purchased a firewall
for us that blocks hacking sites and other problem sites such as hard core
pornography and hate sites. Actually in order to be in compliance with E-Rate, we
must be filtered. I just wish that they had told me that they were going to provide
this, since I just purchased filtering for our library. This will save us money in the
long run on filtering. They also have money for VC classes through CILC which is a
content provider for these types of classes. I will need to spend more time
researching classes that might be of interest for our community and then schedule
them. If you have ideas for classes that might be of interest to you or others then
let me know. I will see if they offer anything like that.
We have been named as the star interlibrary loan library for approx. 5 years now.
We do more interlibrary loans at our library than at any rural library in the state.
What does that mean? It means we have a lot of readers and it means that we dont
have enough material to meet our patrons needs. It means that we have a library
that encourages ILLs and that your librarian is very busy. For those of you who
dont know what ILLs are, If you need a book and we dont have it at our library we

can get this material for you from a different library. It basically opens the doors of
all the libraries nationwide, just for you. It is awesome!
This is all there is to report at this time.
Darcia Grace, Nenana Librarian