New at the CFPL

The CFPL is now offering computer classes, with a different menu every month. In May, we had a three session series regarding building your own website, in addition to "Introduction to Excel" and "Mouse and Keyboarding Basics." Watch our calendar for new offerings.

We've also started offering Friday Matinees. Now on the third Friday of the month at 2 pm, stop by for a movie, free popcorn and beverage. On June 19 we'll see Gran Torino, with Clint Eastwood.

In response to patrons eager to get the newest bestsellers as soon as possible, CFPL now has an Express Shelf. Located in the new book area, Express Books are designed to turnover quickly. Multiple copies of popular titles can be c hecked out for 7 days with no renewals, and no reserves. Copies of each title are also available in the regular collection if you prefer to have renewal options and a longer checkout.

All Iowa Reads 2009

I'm finding it rather daunting to blog, after my preliminary foray into Twitter. I kind of like the limitation of characters. Keeps it to the point.

This month I enjoyed participating in two All Iowa Reads events. The Rope Walk, by Carrie Brown, is a great discussion book. That's not to say everyone enjoyed the story, or believed that a 10-year-old girl is really that perceptive, or all of the other nuances that made us go "Hmm?" as we read. But it's a great discussion book, and it's not always easy to find one of those. If your book is looking for a title, this is a good one. And of course, you can still enjoy it as a non-book-club title.

All Iowa Reads is administered by the Iowa Center for the Book. The program encourages all Iowans to read and discuss the year's chosen title. The Rope Walk is the 2009 choice, and I think it's one of the best ever. It does fall into the "precocious motherless girl coming of age" genre, and there do seem to be a lot of those around, but the characters are great, and the writing is very good. The Waterloo & Cedar Falls Public Libraries do have multiple copies for your club members to borrow. Let me know what you thought of it.

I was elated to hear yesterday that Olive Kittredge, by Elizabeth Strout, won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. This one received a big "thumbs up" from our WPL Book Group when we read it earlier this year.

....Wishing you were in a book group? Or wanting to join another book group? The WPL & CFPL book groups are open to all, and we have a lot of fun. We talk about this month's book, and anything else we're reading. Join us!

National Library Workers' Day

Today is National Library Workers' Day. There's no parade, no special greeting card, no presidential proclamation. But--we don't really care about that. Library workers do what they do because they love the library and what it entails. The thrill of the hunt for information, the satisfaction of introducing the customer to just the right resource, the joy of hearing satisfied buzz as a group leaves a library program. That's what it's about.

The Cedar Falls Public Library staff, consisting of 19.39 dedicated FTEs, circulated 289,605 items last year. We facilitated 237,211 patron visits, and answered 26,300 reference inquiries. We deal in statistics, but our real measure of success is your return visit. Most of us probably feel pretty uncomfortable giving ourselves a pat on the back--but today, let's make an exception.

We hope you feel welcome at the CFPL--stop in often!

National History Day

Last Friday, I served as a judge at the Grout Museum for the local level of the National History Day competition. I make no secret of my preference for history lessons sprinkled with some fiction to make them more interesting, but felt that agreeing to judge would be a nice thing to do.

And I'm really glad I did. Over 300 middle-school-aged youth were part of the competition. It was hard to judge, but that was only because the entries in my area were really great. The kids had obviously put their hearts into researching and presenting their individual within a venue designed to capture their audience. According to the website, every day is National History Day, and in addition to encouraging students in "discovering the exciting world of the past," NHD also serves to help develop researching skills, critical and problem-solving skills, builds self-confidence and much more.

Often in my position I hear primarily about the problems with teens. And as a librarian, I do have a particular interest in research. So, it was wonderful to see this age group hand over a multi-page annotated bibliography. They'd done the research! It was mostly internet-based, and not necessarily sources I might have chosen, but I was also given the opportunity to make suggestions. There are thousands of students out there who are interested in excelling at more than their MySpace profile (not that there's anything wrong with MySpace....)! And I was handed a great opportunity to reach out and humbly contributed to their research skills. I was impressed, and I enjoyed my history lessons.

Performance Evaluations

I hate performance evaluations, even for excellent employees. I like numbers, I like other sorts of assessments, but it's just no fun for me to do performance evaluations. As a result, I procrastinate. I reward myself with a small piece of chocolate when one is completed. And the day seems brighter when they are all behind me for another year. No profound point to this paragraph, but I do think about library performance evaluations--we do get a little informal feedback. Not a lot, when you consider the number of people through the doors.
Always feel free to offer feedback when you get the urge.

I am on disc 3 of the 7 disc set of "The Shack." Sometimes I read just to see what the fuss is about. I am hoping with this title that there's a big surprise coming, because so far, I'm not getting the fuss. I get the part about God, so far. But the conversation going on in the shack right now seems a little ... goofy. I'll stick with it, and assume there's a reward at the end.

Great Stuff at the CFPL

Last Friday evening, I attended our first murder mystery, "The Loaded Librarian." It was fantastic! Almost two hundred people attended, and many commented that they had a wonderful time. Thanks to the hard work of staff members (especially Neal & Carol) and performers Half-Masted 3.2, we had a fun event. The program was made possible by the Cedar Falls Civic Foundation's Kathryn Ray Fund for use by the Library, and the Friends of the Cedar Falls Public Library.

This Wednesday, March 4 at 5pm, we will have a ribbon cutting ceremony for our new computer lab. Everyone is welcome to attend. The first computer class will commence at 6 pm with instructor Kim Van Deest. Computer Basics and Basic Internet Searching are on the calendar for March. New classes will be offered each month. Classes are free, but pre-registration is required. The computer lab and classes are made possible by grants from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association, the Cedar Falls Civic Foundation's Library Building Fund and Kathryn Ray Fund, and the Friends of the Cedar Falls Public Library.

Computer Classes at the CFPL

We are ready to take a formal approach to teaching technology literacy! Last year we received a grant from the Black Hawk County Gaming Association that allowed us to start this project. Then, we applied to the Cedar Falls Civic Foundation for use of the Library Building Funds to match the project. In addition, the Friends of the Cedar Falls Public Library and the Kathryn Ray Funds (also a part of the Cedar Falls Civic Foundation) have pledged funds to hire instructors.

Next week, on February 26, we'll have a fun roll out of the computer lab. Participants will be shown how to setup a profile on an online dating site. In March, we'll buckle down and learn some computer and internet basics. Kim Van Deest will present these sessions. Kim is a former trainer for the Gates Foundation, the State Library, and currently works at the Waterloo Public Library and has quite a following in computer classes at that Library. Call 273-8643 to sign up for Computer Basics or Internet Searching Basics. I've assisted or passed through during several of Kim's classes, and have picked up tips even when I thought I knew it all.