EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

Starting in September, the Windsor Locks Public Library will begin sending email notifications of due dates, holds, and overdue materials to our borrowers. If you have an email address and would like to receive these notifications, just email our Adult Services Librarian or call 627-1495 to have your email address added to your library card record. If you provided an email address when you registered for your card, then you are all set and will receive notifications automatically.We also have two email lists available for you to join. INFOMAIL subscribers receive periodic updates about events, programs, and services here at the library and BEST SELLER ALERT subscribers are informed when new popular books are added to our collection.If you haven't given us your email address yet, now may be the right time! We do not share your personal information with outside entities. We hope to hear from you soon!

BOOK BLOGS

Did you know that we have not one but 2 book blogs in progress on our library web site? I write an adult blog, which, of course, primarily reflects my own reading tastes (women's fiction, chick lit, mysteries, with some great book club selections thrown in) while our Youth Librarian, Ms. Kristin, reviews books for young people at Ms. K's Book Blog! If you get a chance, please visit our blogs for pesonal reflections on some great (and occasionally a not-so-great) books, all available in our library. Ms. K's blog even has pictures!

For Playaway Fans

ATTENTION PLAYAWAY FANS! We recently acquired 20 new playaways on loan from the Connecticut State Library Service Center (which is like a library for libraries). They will be available for checkout at the Windsor Locks Library for about 3 months, after which they will be removed from our collection so another library can borrow them. They are all brand new titles. Our wiley cataloger Beth discovered that the State Library had just made this purchase of new playaways, so she rushed right down to Middletown in the blazing heat to claim them for our library. What dedication! Make sure you stop in soon to check them out. For those of you who are not familiar with playaways, they are basically little MP3 players that each include an entire book. All you need is headphones or ear buds and you are set to go. No more changing tapes or CDs during your daily walk!

ANOTHER GREAT CONCERT!

Since we have a beautiful lawn and gazebo that are just right for concerts, we have decided to offer another free performance this summer, this time by native son Nic Blackburn. Nic will be playing acoustic guitar and perfroming original blues, jazz, and rock music on Wednesday, August 6 at 7:00 PM. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather (will we ever see that again?). Bring your blanket or folding chair, some snacks and some drinks and settle in for an hour of wonderful music from a performer that you probably know already. It should be a terrific evening!

Riverboat Dixieland Concert

Enjoy a Riverboat Dixieland Concert on the library lawn on Wednesday, July 30 from 7-8 PM. This concert, by "A Touch of Jazz" featuring Vin Cassotta, is free to the public and is co-hosted by the library and Step Up Main Street, a group dedicated to revitalizing and improving Windsor Locks' Main Street corridor and strengthening an awareness of the street's historic past. The public is welcome to bring chairs or blankets and relax on the library lawn to listen to music that will bring back memories of the days when steamboats navigated the Connecticut River and the Windsor Locks Canal. Funding for the concert is being provided by Dexter Plaza LLC. Starbucks will provide free refreshments. See you then!

ORDERING INTERLIBRARY LOANS FROM HOME

We are part of a consortium of libraries, Library Connection, that uses a common circulation system and public catalog. Many of you currently place holds on our materials from your home PC and, when the item becomes available for you, we call you to come down and pick it up. Our online catalog (iBistro) allows you to log in to cancel holds and check their status as well renewing materials and checking your account.

On July 1, the option of placing holds on books from OTHER libraries in our system and having them sent directly to OUR library became available through iBistro, our online catalog, to all of our library card holders. In other words, you can now order interlibrary loans (books only) through your home PC if you wish. Please keep in mind that our staff is available to handle your interlibrary loan requests as we have always been. The option of placing these holds yourself is an additional service and is not meant to replace interaction with library staff, so try it if you wish, embrace it if you love it, but remember that we are here and happy to serve!

RETURNING MATERIALS TO ANY LIBRARY

As you probably know, in the state of Connecticut everyone has the option of returning their library materials to any public library. The State Library runs a wonderful car service (CCAR) that picks up and delivers books daily or at least several times a week to all of the libraries in the state. The purpose of this car system is to provide for quick and efficient interlibrary loan services and to support Connecticard, which allows Connecticut library card holders to borrow from any public library in the state.

We have noticed that the number of materials being sent out from and delivered to our library is growing each month and that many of these items are from libraries that are conveniently close by, like Warehouse Point or Windsor. Every day significant amounts of staff time (in both the sending and receiving libraries) is used processing, packing, and unpacking these materials, which may end up being out of circulation for days or weeks at a time while they travel between libraries. We have found that, despite many precautions, using CCAR inevitably increases the chance of items being lost or damaged in transit.

With the advent of patron-placed interlibrarary loans we expect the use of this delivery system to increase. It has in other library consortiums that offer this service. While it is everyone's right to return their books to the library that is most convenient for them, we would ask that you think about returning your materials directly to the owning library rather than leaving all of them at one place to be sorted and transported, especially if if you are traveling to our library or to another on a regular basis. If it is necessary to return them all to one place, the service is here for you and we are happy to provide it, of course. However, if you are planning to go to Windsor or Warehouse Point or Enfield tomorrow or the next day, why not wait and take their books with you to return there? While there have been no predictions that CCAR service will ever be discontinued, the price of fuel and increasing numbers of books, movies, music, and other materials being transported between libraries every day may necessitate some changes in the future. Help us to do our our share keep things running smoothly and efficiently on all fronts. Thanks!

SUMMER SCHEDULE

As our regular library users know, our schedule changes slightly during the summer months. We will be closed Friday, July 4 and Saturday, July 5 for a long Independence Day weekend. During July and August we will be open from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM on Saturdays instead of staying open until 5:00 PM. Don't forget to mark this on your calendars! We always have a few people who saunter in at 1:58 on a Saturday and ask us to stay open late so they can get their DVDs because they didn't realize that we closed at 2:00 PM. The summer hours last until the end of August, when we will close for another long weekend. Hopefully somewhere during those 2 months we will have a day that is SUNNY! At least if it keeps raining we have plenty of great materials for reading, listening, and watching.

Thank you for your support!

Our book sale was a big success! We met actually met our somewhat ambitious goal, thanks to all of our loyal supporters and volunteers. Since our book sales are our biggest fundraisers each year it is important for us to bring in as much business as possible, which in turn helps to support our book budget and allows us to continue providing the type of collection that successfully meets the needs of our user community. I think that the library and the community work exceptionally well together in partnership, which is as it should be. I have said many times that we value feedback and suggestions, and we are fortunate that you are not afraid to "speak your mind" where your library is concerned. It is encouraging that most of the feedback is positive and most of the suggestions are excellent. Keep up the good work and we will do the same. Thank you!

BOOK SALE CONTINUES THROUGH SATURDAY!

Our semi-annual book sale continues through the end of the week. Right now sales are still strong and we are earning much-needed money to purchase new materials for the library. We greatly appreciate the support of everyone who shops our book sales and encourage all of you to come down and browse. Our prices can't be beat! Regarding the possibility of selling books for $1 a bag... we generally reduce our prices when we have reached our projected sales goal. I know that many of you have been asking when we are going to reduce our prices, but please remember that our goal is to raise funds for the library. We have a lot of volunteers that contribute hundreds of hours to preparing for and running our book sales and we need to make it worth all the time and effort. Thanks for your support!