Tuesday, November 03, 2009

 

Come on, Autumn!

Summer may have lingered in the temperatures, but traditional autumn activity was going on at the Chambers County Library System. With the school year in full swing, students with parents in tow headed for our three libraries to work on assignments. This in turn involves a lot of staff time, with our people running around the stacks to show children where their subject books are, assisting with computer picture printing, and generally providing the sort of excellent service that our patrons are accustomed to in Chambers County. The Accelerated Reader program continues to be a challenge for our library system, with the needs of the children who try to reach their reading quotas far outstripping our abilities to keep up with the increasing number of titles requested. Challenged readers are now allowed to use unabridged talking books that they can use to “read along,” which then involves more purchases and additional interlibrary loan requests.

Staff involvement outside the library included three events this month. The Houston Area Library System Fall Meeting was held in Diboll on the 8th; this is a gathering of the 67 member libraries in 28 counties in east Texas and is part of the official activity affiliated with the State Library. (We are the 23rd largest library, by measurement of our service population, in HALS). A smaller group comprising libraries in Hardin, Jefferson, Orange, Chambers, Liberty, Jasper, and Newton Counties met on the 20th; this group focuses on the issues concerning the practical running of our libraries. And at the end of the month, three of our staff members attended the current session of the Small Library Management training, held by the State Library to provide our “off the street” librarians with some of the background and basic skills that allow them to see the bigger picture of the library world outside their branch walls.

Teen Read Week is a national event held in mid-October, and events at Mont Belvieu and Anahuac were scheduled to feature the theme of “Beyond Reality.” Anahuac ISD art students provided an exhibit of posters featuring the theme, which not only have graced the Anahuac library shelves, but appeared on our teen blog/website.

Month’s end brought a string of Halloween-related events. The staff provided theme programs for the pre-schoolers and after-schoolers at each library, and a lock-in was held at Anahuac for teens. Halloween starts the holiday season off well at the Chambers County Library System!

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