It was New Year’s Eve when James Keenan (the Library Applications Supervisor for CWMARS) ran a report and realized that, as a consortium, we were 925 circulations shy of having circulated 1 million items in Overdrive. It wasn’t a record we were really cognizant of until that point, but we immediately made it a goal to break that record. And we did! The final checkout talley for 2018 is in at 1,001,975 digital loans. 5,849 of those were borrowed right here in Douglas.

CWMARS started circulating ebooks and other e-material in Overdrive in July 2005. We hadn’t circulated a million items until the middle of 2014, so we circulated more items in 2018 than we did in the first 9 years of providing the service. The biggest jump in digital circulation came with the advent of the Kindle and other e-readers. In 2010, annual circulation was 52,277. In 2011, more than doubled to 108,645. Since then, the numbers do this:

2011      108,645
2012      238,537
2013      366,592
2014      544,860
2015      700,856
2016      781,281
2017      834,355
2018    1,001,975

Happy New Year!

Looking for entry-level library work? The Simon Fairfield Public Library is looking for you! We need a page who can help us bring order out of chaos every other Saturday from 9 to 1, as well as an additional 4 hours every every week (ideally on Monday and Wednesday). We pride ourselves on offering a congenial, laid-back, but efficient atmosphere for our patrons and staff. We encourage applicants who will thrive in such an atmosphere.

Basic responsibility:
To shelve library materials. In addition, the library page will be trained to perform minimum duties on the circulation desk including but not limited to checking in and out of materials.

Education/Knowledge:
Minimum requirement: High school student or high school degree. Position requires basic knowledge of math and English and the ability to alphabetize and understand Dewey Decimal System.

Experience:
None required

Judgment:
Duties are often routine but may involve making minor decisions. Employee is expected to ask questions rather than complete a job incorrectly.

Supervision required:
Employee works under direct supervision of Library Director; Children’s Librarian and Circulation Librarian.

Accountability:
How well the library page does his/her job has a direct impact on the overall operations of the library. If materials are shelved incorrectly, the efficiency of the library is negatively affected. The inability to find materials results in loss of service to patrons and is unacceptable.

Communications:
The library page will have interactions with the public due to the nature of the job and the environment of a small public library. The page is expected to exhibit tact and courtesy and to refer to other staff if and when it is required.

Confidentiality:
The library page is expected to observe privacy policy and laws applicable to the public library.

Environment:
Normal office conditions.

Manual Skills Required:
Filing, Shelving.

Physical Effort:
Little or no physical effort is required of position.

Occupational Risks:
Little or no potential risk of injury.

Supervisory Responsibilities:
None

Salary:
$11.00/hr

How to Apply:
Please fill out an employment application and email it, along with a resume and any other desired documents, to Justin Snook at jsnook@cwmars.org. Applications submitted by July 7 will be considered. The Town of Douglas is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.

Please join us at the Simon Fairfield Public Library on June 5 at 6:30pm for a celebration of local literary talent! Local authors will be here to promote, discuss, and sign their books. The Friends of the Library will be supplying delicious refreshments. So come mingle, eat cheese, and have some tea with your writing neighbors!

We have confirmed the following writers:

-Michael Stinger, author of Runner’s Dawn.
-Jane Willan, author of The Shadow of Death.
-Rachel Odell Howe, author of Ripple
-Paula Sullivan, author of Simply Being Happy

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Please note that the Library will closed on Monday (we will still be open Saturday, though). Also, the catalog will be down Sunday and Monday as we upgrade our Evergreen servers. The servers should be up Tuesday morning. Hopefully, you will noticed better, more accurate search results, faster response time, and a few other quality of life improvements.

There is a parade on Sunday! The program is available here.

April 2 to May 30

• Mondays @ 10am: ages 15 months to 2
• Mondays @ 1pm: ages 3-5
• Tuesdays @ 6pm: ages 3-5
• Wednesdays @ 10am: ages 2-4

Due to yet another last-ditch fury of this accursed winter, the library will be closed today. Chess club, knitting class, and music and movement will resume next week. The affordable housing lottery information session will not be rescheduled, so see the brochures for contacts to whom you can direct questions. I will inform everyone as soon as a new date for Intrepid Readers is chosen.

I apologize yet again for the inconvenience.

The library will be closed tomorrow (March 7) for what we sincerely hope is the last big winter storm. So come to the library tonight to get your snow day reading and viewing material!

Thanks to a grant from the YMCA Family & Community Partnership, our Music, Movement, and Storytime program is going to be expanded from 30 minutes to 45 minutes from January 2 to February 6! During that six week period, the program will be Tuesdays from 1:00 to 1:45. Afterwards, it will go back to being a 30 minute session.

The Library will be closed on Saturday, November 11 in honor of Veterans Day. Thank you to all the men and women who have served in the armed forces of our country to protect us from those who would see our freedom to read and say what we wish diminished.

Did you know that the Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day? World War I ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. President Woodrow Wilson declared Armistice Day on the same day in 1919 to commemorate the nation’s “solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service.”

In 1926, Congress asked President Calvin Coolidge to issue a proclamation every year to observe November 11 as a day of commemoration. It wasn’t until 1938 that Armistice Day was was codified by Congress into a national holiday.

The next big change to the holiday came in 1945, when a WWII veteran named Raymond Weeks, together with General Dwight Eisenhower, expended the celebration to include all veterans of all wars–living or dead. This was codified by Congress in 1954. Armistice Day was officially renamed Veterans Day.

From 1971-1977, Veterans Day didn’t actually fall on November 11 due to an initiative to make all national holidays fall on Mondays. It ended up in October during those years, until it was moved back to its proper place (11-11) once more.

One more fun fact: there is no apostrophe in Veterans Day. That’s official!

Looking for entry-level library work? The Simon Fairfield Public Library is looking for you! We need a page who can help us bring order out of chaos every other Saturday from 9 to 1, as well as an additional 4.5 hours every every week (ideally on Monday and Wednesday). We pride ourselves on offering a congenial, laid-back, but efficient atmosphere for our patrons and staff. We encourage applicants who will thrive in such an atmosphere.

Basic responsibility:
To shelve library materials. In addition, the library page will be trained to perform minimum duties on the circulation desk including but not limited to checking in and out of materials.

Education/Knowledge:
Minimum requirement: High school student or high school degree. Position requires basic knowledge of math and English and the ability to alphabetize and understand Dewey Decimal System.

Experience:
None required

Judgment:
Duties are often routine but may involve making minor decisions. Employee is expected to ask questions rather than complete a job incorrectly.

Supervision required:
Employee works under direct supervision of Library Director; Children’s Librarian and Circulation Librarian.

Accountability:
How well the library page does his/her job has a direct impact on the overall operations of the library. If materials are shelved incorrectly, the efficiency of the library is negatively affected. The inability to find materials results in loss of service to patrons and is unacceptable.

Communications:
The library page will have interactions with the public due to the nature of the job and the environment of a small public library. The page is expected to exhibit tact and courtesy and to refer to other staff if and when it is required.

Confidentiality:
The library page is expected to observe privacy policy and laws applicable to the public library.

Environment:
Normal office conditions.

Manual Skills Required:
Filing, Shelving.

Physical Effort:
Little or no physical effort is required of position.

Occupational Risks:
Little or no potential risk of injury.

Supervisory Responsibilities:
None

Salary:
$11.00/hr

How to Apply:
Please fill out an employment application and email it, along with a resume and any other desired documents, to Justin Snook at jsnook@cwmars.org. Applications submitted by Friday, October 13th will be considered. The Town of Douglas is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.