Renewed interest in bibliotherapy?

I read a lot about reading. Really, it makes more sense than it sounds. I am obsessed with the idea that early reading - pre-school reading - is the key to success in school more than just about anything else. As I read about reading though, I come across many articles about other uses, focuses, etc. This is one of those from Smithsonian Magazine: Doctors are now prescribing books to treat depression.

This is no new idea, in fact it was an old idea when I studied counseling psychology in college. Intuitively it makes sense to me that reading would help if one felt totally isolated from those around her or him. It might even "trick" you into coming out of that inward-spiraling cycle that is depression.

Talk20 Returns!

It's the return of the six minute and forty second challenge! Come listen, mingle, and learn about something new. Listen to local stories you might never have imagined. Here's a description of what I'm talking about. It was an amazing success the first time out and this second event promises the same. July 18th at 7pm here at the Hutchinson Public Library.

The list of presenters will be up soon - check back for the line-up!

Prepare for your Robot Overlords

Some people know that I have a tongue-in-cheek "obsession" with Skynet, the computer network from the Terminator movie series that becomes self-aware and concludes that humankind are not necessary. It's a bit of science fiction that hopefully will not become reality, but that makes for a great action movie premise.

To (again tongue-in-cheek) help this future become a reality, HPL has deployed a new RFID system from Bibliotheca to help us cut down on the amount of tedious, repetitive work and focus more on customer service.

Our new check-in shelves help our staff AND you in several ways:

• You can now see in real-time that the items you've returned are actually checked in.
• We can see right away when an item "on hold" has been returned, so we can process it right away.
• By placing items on shelves instead of dumping them in a bin, we all save wear-and-tear on the materials.
• The items you return are immediately available for another patron to use, simply by browsing the return shelves.

Our new self-check kiosks are similar in ways to many others we have had over the last 10-15 years. The new ones do have a couple of enhancements:

• We have added extra security - you must enter a password (PIN) to check out items.
• Multiple items check out simultaneously.

What does this new equipment mean for us in terms of saving time? Here is one example involving the process to check in an item. The old process (once you dropped it off in a bin) went as follows:

1. Staff waited until bin was reasonably full (this meant digging if we needed to find an item to check in early, such as when a patron had reached the limit for certain types of, like DVDs)
2. A staff member rolled the filled bin to a separate check-in space.
3. The staff member checked in each item one at a time
4. The staff member sorted, printed holds slips, etc. one at a time
5. The items were loaded back on a cart and rolled to reshleving areas
6. Items were ordered on the carts and reshelved.

The new process eliminates steps 2,3, and 4 and shortens steps 1 and 5. The end result being that staff members have more time to help patrons use the library to its full potential.

I think anything we can do to focus more of our time on actually serving the public rather than performing tedious, repetitive tasks is a good thing. Our investment in this system may be "buying in to" whiz-bang technology, but the goal has nothing to do with getting the latest-greatest thing and everything to do with being available for our users.

2014 Summer: Fizz, Boom, READ!

HPL kicked off summer reading with its annual Summer Celebration today. It was a HUGE success due to the hard work a dedication of library staff and a small army of volunteers. You can check out some pictures of the fun on the library's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Hutchinson.Public.Library.ks

My little part in the show was helping kids make paper airplanes to throw over the balcony rail at various targets on the first floor. There were lots of great plane designs - and hey, how often are you encouraged to learn a little bit about aerodynamics by throwing paper airplanes in the library?

The rain held off today but the clouds we did have provided shade for the usually toasty outside activities! Thanks again to all the staff members who have put in so much time to pull off this event and double thanks to all the volunteers who run the gamut from Boy Scouts from Troop 21, YA Advisory Board members, RSVP volunteers, sisters, brothers, husbands, and more.

Special thanks to the Hutchinson Fire Department for bringing the big ladder truck and another truck to display. Thanks also to all the other organizations who came out to celebrate science and reading including the Cosmosphere, The Kansas Kids Museum, the Great Plains Nature Center, and I'm sure others that I am momentarily forgetting!

There are programs and event going on all summer at the library and they are all free! Give us a call (620)663-5441, check our website, or contact us on Facebook. Hope to see you in the library this summer!