| Well, last year was a hard one for the Chico Branch – hours were cut due to lack of resources (money). But there was good news too. Young adults are involved in the library’s creative space. The 3D printer is a hit, and there are even a couple of 3D pens. Staffer Leslie Botsford and her enthusiastic young volunteers are busy. Library staff and library volunteers worked hard in 2015 to meet the needs of the community. The Chico Friends of the Library’s web page has been overhauled (http://chicolibrary.org). There is a rumor that we might have a new volunteer to take over the web page maintenance (Yay!). The Chico Friends of the Butte County Library Facebook page is active and this is where we put timely bits of information and maybe a joke or two (https://www.facebook.com/cfobcl).
2016 will be a year of physical changes in the library. An automated check-in system will be installed pretty soon (estimated first quarter 2016). Library material will have Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags installed in them, and then when you put a book into the book drop it will be scanned and checked in automatically. All this automation should free up staff to interact with you more … right now they spend most of their time doing check in/check out activity instead of developing community programs or helping you in the library. This new staff availability should make a difference in Butte County, and Chico in particular. There will be other physical changes, probably, but this is enough to deal with for now.
Book sale volunteers took the holidays off (well-deserved days off), and they are ready to open again. Since they missed a couple of sale Saturdays they have another surplus of books and will have yet another half off sale this weekend. If you are ever in doubt about whether or not a book sale is open, check our calendar.
Dates to keep in mind:
- The First Friday book sale, actually the second Friday this month, is this Friday, January 8th, 2-4PM in the library meeting room. This is for CFOL members only, so it’s a peaceful browsing environment which should be a welcome change after the bustle of the holidays. If you are not a member, you can sign up at the book sale.
- Regular Saturday morning book sales resume this Saturday, January 9th, 9-11:30AM in the library meeting room. There is no book sale on Saturday, January 16th (MLK Junior holiday at all branches). The book sale volunteers always welcome your donations of clean books. You can drop donations off at the book sales or any time the library is open.
The book sale volunteers can use some help, so if you find yourself with some free time and are in good health please call Hellen Sutton and speak to her (530-588-4989). The book sales are our main source of income and we spend it all on the library. Your time will help the library.
Have a nice, wet January! |
