Merry Christmas...
we have reached the end of another year (2007) and it has been, well...interesting!
It has been a successful year in terms of meeting our goals and targets and the team has worked successfully to ensure high customer satisfaction. We have been without a library manager during the year which made things difficult (we lost our 'mojo'), but we have survived!
We ended the year with our traditional Christmas lunch for library staff, Friends of the library, volunteers and others who have provided support throughout the year.
We look forward to the New Year and the challenges it will present and plan to develop and improve our services, facilities and most importantly, ourselves...let's have a fun year... a great 2008!

Community info display...
They said it would be installed before Christmas...and they were right! (just).
It's big, it's black and it has lots of slats but we will have to wait until the New Year before we have the required brochure holders. Until then we will have this hulking monolith standing conspicuously in the library as a constant reminder of the things to come...

Shabby Chic?...
Gone! ...is the industrial shelving; the lockers; the assortment of staff desks; and the clutter.
This is the new look for the collections area of the work room (with a Wow! factor of 10).

New fridge...
She's tall, she's quiet and she's so... cool!
Thanks to the 'Friends of the library' we now have our new fridge installed and ready to chill. No more fighting for space in that tiny 'thing' we used to have. Or looking for something in the ice box that was always 'iced over'.
And check out the groovy ice cube making gizmo - now that's cool!

a BIG week...
A week of celebrating our 10 year anniversary has come to an end. There were activities, balloons, cake and giveaways to celebrate this milestone. We also took the opportunity to thank our volunteers on Wednesday with a special morning tea that we shared. Then there was the launch of the new literacy kits and the storytime quilt made by our volunteers.
Lots of happy customers, a good celebration and exhausted staff (but we had our cake - and ate it!).

Help...
we need to choose the colour of the new carpet at Seaford (and that's harder than shaving your legs with a blunt razor - so I hear), so help us - take the poll!

Finished...
The building extension has been completed! From the public side it looks completed and the children's area has been rearranged to utilize its new shape. The door glass and the external windows will be coated with a film (soon) to increase privacy. Then we move on to the internal redesign. In the meantime we have the new carpet to consider.

The building extension has started...
The long awaited extension to the staff kitchen/lunch room has commenced and is progressing quickly. So far it looks great giving us a significant increase in room size. In just a couple of days the building work will be completed and we then move on to the next stage - kitchen layout redesign.

Compactus...going, going, gone!
In preparation of the building changes to the staff lunch room (to start next week) we have moved the compactus (which has found a new home in the school). It was a big effort to remove all the stationery (and other assorted goodies) and to find a new temporary home for them. All done now though and now we eagerly await the construction to commence.

CommCab makeover...
it's amazing how disorganised a commcab can become over the years (and we've had 10). So it's great to see the outcome of this makeover. No more wires entangled to form a web for unsuspecting users. No more 'unidentified' cables. No more 'I guess we're out of ports'.
'Hello' to order and tidiness!

work commences...
the funding has been secured, the authority has been obtained, the design has been developed, support has been garnered, and now the installation has commenced!
The drab wall on the perimeter of the library is about to undergo a dramatic transformation.
WTS (watch this space)

all hail! new printer...
It's here, it's installed and it works (well)!
OK, we've only had it for a couple of days but it is going well. The old printer has gone to the school (together with its brother who was keeping a low profile in the secure store) and now we have the sleek new colour printer. Yay!

pre BOOK WEEK author visit
it's the week before Book Week and we have had Michael Wagner visit us at Seaford library.
There were stories, readings, laughter and games as Michael explored and talked about his books, themes, games and more with all the students attending.
A great time all round!

...mmmmmmmmm!
there's nothing like the smell of a new set of Britannica's.
Leather bound and hot of the press the NEW! 2007 edition will have all the ref. info. seekers smiling from ear to ear.
Google may be fast but these babies you can feel (and smell, and caress and turn the pages) - and that 'clicking' is sooo over rated).

firies...
no not fairies - firies , as in Fire Wardens!
Nathan and Albert have completed their Fire Warden Training and are now the library site's Chief Fire Wardens.
So, if you have any questions on fire evacuation safety, fire fighting equipment, fire-safe housekeeping, bomb threat procedures or any related organizational responsibilities, don't hesitate to ask.
NOTE: There is no need to address them as Chief (or to salute)!

Cladding
We have installed metal cladding to the walls in the check-in room. Why? To give the walls some protection from the constant damage inflicted by the crates (and, yes, we do like shiny things!).

we have LCD...
the new display screen is up and running at the circ. desk!
Now all our customers can see the programs and services we are promoting while they check-out their books. The school will also be able to use this promotional tool to highlight school information, events and activities.
What will we think of next?

we have Plasma...
it took us a while but we finally have a plasma screen in the Teenage Lounge. It looks great! At the moment we have digital TV - and we're talking HD quality. Soon we will have a range of sources to pull from (DVD, Foxtel, streaming, etc). And it won't be long 'til we have our LCD screen up and running at the circ. desk.
watch this space

the quilt has arrived...
but just for a viewing! The quilt for the children's library was brought in by Margaret but just for us to have a look at. It looks fantastic!
Great work by Margaret and her helpers. It is now being prepared for the WorkArt project but we will see it back soon. Then the kids will make great use of it I'm sure!

graphic novels move again...
and the youth collection ...and the Premier's Reading Challenge material (Youth). Now it's all on the other side of the magazine collection facing the student study area (and doesn't that make sense!).
Now we await the flow-on effect.

magazines all in a row...
yes, another move for the magazine collection. The shelving was erected between the community and teenage areas creating a partial barrier (which could be a good thing). We now have a single line of magazines which looks much more impressive.

looking very black (in a positive way)...
we received our 2 new display shelf-ends this week (well, 4 actually - but 2 were the wrong colour) and they were erected in the 'power display' position (just inside the entrance). They do look good and the colour does accentuate them (black in a sea of beech).

first day of Term 2...
well, it was a busy day but we managed to get through and get a few things done as well. The day started off well when we were awarded 'the apple' at the school staff meeting in recognition of the sterling work we do. We were able to set up the new mobile shelving for the graphic novels and the youth collection (don't they look spiffy now!). Then there was a lot of checking in and issuing of class sets, shelving, checking in, class sets, checking in - you get the picture...
Tomorrow, we get to do it all again.

flying squirrels?...
no...Express Loans!

Express Loans = best sellers available in libraries for walk-in users (only). No holds on these babies. They're on the shelves just waiting for some lucky browser to come across them and presto!, a best seller is yours for a couple of weeks. Whacko, now that's a great idea.
Starts TODAY!

at last...
children's non fiction has been moved (hence, the empty shelves). The class sets have been moved; the adult non fiction consolidated; and now, the children's non fiction has been moved. Hooray!
Now we will remove the children's NF shelving and rearrange the study area/teenage lounge/capbk's spinners/etc.
...and on it goes.

tub chairs...
that's not to say that we have 'tub' people at Seaford but you can't have enough 'comfy' chairs! We now have 6 in a plush 'leatherette' chocolate brown (a well known and useful library colour). These chairs are now distributed throughout the library until we finalise their placement according to the 'uber' plan.
Feeling tired? Have a nice sit down!

self service holds...
Well, it's been a few weeks now and the self service holds look to be working well. There are 3 bays of shelving available for reserved items and that seems to be adequate for now. Customers are now used to the 'self service' practice although we still have some customers using this service for the first time (and they require assistance). Also, changing the markers to an iridescent green (from white) has made it easier for customers to find their holds. So it's all go for self service holds!

It's Rhyme Time! giveaway...
Since last weekend we have been supporting the Rhyme Time giveaway. Customers producing the required coupon from the Advertiser newspaper are given a booklet and DVD that provide rhymes, songs and books which are used to support children's development.
Another great project by

and the shelving goes on...
Moving the ANF collection is progressing well and the end is in sight! Once we have completed this we can move the CNF into the main body of shelving, making more room for individual study areas (and, with any luck, have some shelving to house the Teenage NF collection and graphic novels).

sign, sign, everywhere a sign...
but it's no good if the sign is wrong - so, we've corrected the access hours signs at both entrances and given them a coloured background. Now you can actually see the information on the signs!
And the moving of the ANF collection continues...
another row completed and we are about half way.
The stock-take/audit has commenced and we will have to rally for volunteers to work on a Sunday to finish the bigger collections. That should be fun!

Raaaaawwwrrr!.....
Week 1 of school...expecting anything...ups and downs...high expectations...speedy transactions...interruptions...work needs to be done...

Well....
luckily we're pretty cool cats that can handle the rush and the crush - we can handle the stress and the occasional mauling. And surprisingly, before you know it, we've reached the end of the week!
And IT WASN'T TOO BAD, in fact we all did pretty well (although someone did fall over a crate) ...don't worry! they're OK!

New shelving for class sets

It's taken a while but it's great to see that the shelving has been set up and the class sets now have "a pride of place". Now the task of moving the non-fiction collection (and then incorporating the children's non-fiction). Sounds like fun - let's do it!
Teacher resources were moved out of The Keep freeing up some much needed space (and we were able to set up some shelving which has been put to good use). Other changes to the layout of library (particularly school use areas) has put us in a good position for the start of the school year.

Self service holds
Yep! we're taking the plunge and will trial self service holds during the school holidays (and then see how they go once school is back). So far it's looking good but we need to ensure that all library users are supported in the use of the new system. Hopefully, once they are familiar with the system it will prove to be the most effective way of delivering holds. Time will tell.

A New Year!...
It's hard to believe but it is a new year. 2007. What will it bring? No doubt more challenges, changes and excitement as we plunge headlong into the new year and beyond.
With the resignation of the library manager there will be someone new at the helm this year. What direction will they take us? Who will stay and who will 'abandon ship'? Well, we'll have to put all this speculation to one side as we prepare for the start of the new school year. No dobt there will be more that enough to do to keep our minds focused on tasks at hand. All hands to the oars!