WLPL Community Blog

EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

2008-08-15T16:10:00.002-04:00

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

2008-07-24T08:12:00.004-04:00

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

2008-07-24T08:03:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-07-24T08:02:00.000-04:00

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

2008-07-14T19:43:00.002-04:00

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

2008-07-02T12:01:00.003-04:00

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

2008-07-02T11:50:00.003-04:00

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

2008-06-27T15:07:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-06-17T18:50:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-06-09T17:15:00.003-04:00

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!

BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

2008-06-07T13:31:00.002-04:00

Our big pre-summer book sale is in full swing as I write this. The sale started officially today and will continue through next week, so be sure to take some time and stop down and pick up some summer reading. You can't beat our bargains! We have best-sellers, romances, cookbooks, history, mysteries, classics, movies, music, westerns, religion, health, kids' books, and everything else you could imagine. Most adult paperbacks are 50 cents and hardcovers are $1, with a few specially priced items. Kids' books are 25 cents and 50 cents.

If you prefer to borrow your books (less bookcase space needed!) we have some new additons to our collection that might be of interest. Please feel free to call us at 627-1495 or place a hold online through our catalog.

Nothing to Lose (Lee Child)
Plague Ship (Clive Cussler)
Vineyard Chill (Philip Craig)
Spies of Warsaw (Alan Furst)
Domestic Affairs (Eileen Goudge)
Death Before Dishonor (W.E.B. Griffin)
Resolution (Robert B. Parker)
Why Is God Laughing (204.11 CHO Deepak Chopra)
When You Are Engulfed in Flames (814.54 SED David Sedaris)
What Happened (973.931 McC Scott McClellan).

MORE NEW BOOKS

2008-05-29T16:46:00.003-04:00

We recently added the following future best sellers to our collection:

Blood Noir (Laurel K. Hamilton)
Blue Smoke and Murder (Elizabeth Lowell)
Shadow of Power (Steve Martini)
Fearless (Diana Palmer)

For a list of many of the new books by popular authors that are a part of our collection, just click on the title of this post. Check out our online catalog for more great books as well as movies, audio books, and music!

BACK FROM VACATION!

2008-05-28T15:16:00.002-04:00

Now that I have had a week's vacation I have renewed energy to update the library's web site and slip some great new books onto our shelves. Today we have added Newt Gingrich's latest historical fiction work, Days of Infamy, along with quite a few other great new books, both fiction and nonfiction.

If you have kids or grandchildren don't forget to check out our web site news and kids' pages for a schedule of all of Ms. Kristin's upcoming summer programs, including the big kick-off for Catch the Reading Bug on Saturday, June 14. Enjoy a live bug show at 10:30 AM!

I will be taking a break from teaching PC classes in July and August (there are still spots left in June classes), but I will be taking names for possible summer sessions. If I get enough people showing interest I will set up some classes during the summer.

Enjoy the beautiful weather and don't forget our upcoming book sale on June 7. There will be a sneak peek for Windsor Locks cardholders on Friday, June 6. See you then!

Golden Wings & Hairy Toes (again)

2008-05-16T13:57:00.005-04:00

Now that Todd McLeish's program is over I can finally reveal (in case any of you who were not able to attend were wondering!) exactly to whom the golden wings and hairy toes of his book title belong. The wings belong to the Golden-winged warbler, which makes its home in northwestern Connecticut, and the hairy toes belong to the Indiana bat, which can be found at Middlebury College in Vermont.

On Thursday evening 23 people attended Todd's colorful slide show, which was acompanied by wonderfully entertaining anectdotes about his experiences working with biologists to track lynx, the ringed boghaunter dragonfly, the northern red-bellied cooter (a turtle), the roseate tern, and the American burying beetle. Visit ToddMcLeish.com to see pictures of these amazing endangered creatures (plus more) or stop in and check out his book for more in-depth descriptions of his adventures in the wilds of New England.

BOOK SALE

2008-05-09T15:57:00.004-04:00

With our semi-annual books sale (Winterfest doesn't count!) only 4 weeks away we are in the final stages of sorting and organizing all of our donated books, movies, and music. We are still accepting donations and will be right up until the sale day. We would prefer to have your donations as soon as possible, though!

During the past few years we have done very well on our book sales thanks to the generosity of both donors and those who shop. Our most valuable asset when it comes to these events, however, is our volunteers. We are lucky enough to have three dedicated men who handle virtually all of our donations, including discarding materials that are unsuitable for sale and scouting for items that can be used in our collections. Ken Manning, Bob Green, and Bob Cianci volunteer on a daily basis emptying out every item in our blue donation bin, sorting, classifying, boxing, and storing, and then during the week before the sale they move all of the books, movies, and other items from the book shed behind the library and into the community room. We also have several women who volunteer on a regular basis during the sales as cashiers and they do a great job as well!

Putting together and running a book sale is a huge task and definitely one that we could never do alone (or at all, without help!). We are a very lucky library to have such great people willing to give up their time to help us out!

NEW BOOKS

2008-05-07T12:45:00.003-04:00

We add new books to our collection on a daily basis, so we like to let our borrowers know when potential best sellers are ready for circulation. We recently added the following to our collection:
Skeletons at the Feast (Chris Bohjalian)
Careless in Red (Elizabeth George)
Phantom Prey (John Sandford).
Don't forget that you can place holds from home by visiting our home page and using our online catalog, by following the instructions on our reserve a book page, or by calling us at 627-1495.

System upgrade complete

2008-05-06T12:30:00.004-04:00

Thank you for your patience while we upgraded our circulation system. As always, we appreciate your patience!

SYSTEM UPGRADE

2008-05-06T09:44:00.004-04:00

If you are planning to visit the library today please do not forget to bring your library card! We are in the middle of a system upgrade this morning and, as a result, we cannot look up your library record to verify that you have a card. Hopefully we will be up and running by early afternoon. If you need to look up books in the meantime please click on the post title above or the link on the right side of this page and visit our home page. ReQuest is the statewide catalog and should be a great sustitute for our usual online catalog during our downtime. Call us and we will be happy to place holds for you if you need them. Thanks for your patience!

Book Clubs

2008-05-04T08:46:00.003-04:00

As I am racing to finish my current First Tuesday Book Club selection before our meeting on Tuesday it has occured to me that many of you may not be aware that we have 3 active adult book clubs here at the Windsor Locks Library (we also have a couple of kid's clubs). The First Tuesday Book Club meets (you guessed it!) on the first Tuesday evening of every month at 6:30 PM. This club reads a variety of books, including nonfiction, historical, biography, best sellers, literary fiction, ... the list goes on and on. The variety of selections and personalities makes for some lively discussions. We have been meeting for 6 years and members have come and gone over that time, but we are always on the lookout for new members. You don't have to come every month if you don't have time or don't like the book, but I have discovered many great books that I never would have picked up if I hadn't had to read them for the book club! You can see what we have been reading over the years by visiting http://www.windsorlockslibrary.org/firsttuesday.html.

The Christie Capers is our mystery book club. We usually read cozies, with an occasional police procedural thrown in, and our usual meeting time is the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM. This year we are reading theme books (we are currently in the middle of our craft mystery phase after having read 3 historical and 3 culinary mysteries), but we like to change it up a little every year. For more information on what we have been reading for the past 5 years visit the Christie Capers' page at http://www.windsorlockslibrary.org/mysteryclub.html.

Our other book club, run by my esteemed colleague, Beth, is the Around the World Book in a Year Club. This group is especially interesting because every month they read a novel set in a different country. Did you know that there are actually novels set in Lapland? This group of armchair travelers meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6:30 and the books that they have been reading are listed at http://www.windsorlockslibrary.org/worldbooks.html.

Check out a book club at Windsor Locks Public Library. They are a great way to expand your mind, make new friends, and get some great snacks at the same time!

Golden Wings & Hairy Toes

2008-05-02T19:20:00.006-04:00

We are really looking forward to nature writer Todd McLeish's program on Thursday, May 15 at 7:00 PM. Todd, the author of more than 100 articles on wildlife and environmental issues, has made a second career of following biologists as they pursue their wildlife research. He recounts his adventures with these experts in his first book, Golden Wings and Hairy Toes. Each chapter focuses on one of New England's endangered species and includes information on the conservation and life history of the species as well as a first hand account of McLeish's adventures and experiences, including being attacked by birds and trapping bats. After the slide show and personal commentary, the author will have copies of his book available for sale for anyone who is interested. To find out more about Todd McLeish, visit his web site by clicking on the title of this post! And don't forget to call (627-1495), email, or stop by to register for this fascinating presentation. Space is limited, so don't wait too long!

New Books

2008-05-01T19:41:00.003-04:00

The following best sellers have been added to our collection in the past couple of weeks:

Delusion (Peter Abrahams)
The Whole Truth (David Baldacci)
The Winding Ways Quilt (Jennifer Chiaverini)
Secrets (Jude Deveraux)
The Plague of Doves (Louise Erdrich)
The Death Dealer (Heather Graham)
Quicksand (Iris Johansen)
The Genius (Jesse Kellerman)
The Girl of His Dreams (Donna Leon)
The Forbidden (Beverly Lewis)
The Headhunters (Peter Lovesey)
The Eye of the Leopard (Henning Mankell)
The Body in the Gallery (Katherine Hall Page)
Sunday at Tiffany's (James Patterson)
The Third Circle (Amanda Quick)
Guilty (Karen Robards)
Hollywood Crows (Joseph Wambaugh)
Santa Fe Dead (Stuart Woods)

Click on "New Books" above to see all of our popular books added in recent months. Contact us at 627-1495 to place a hold or visit our holds page for complete information on how to place a hold through our online catalog or by using our online reserve form.

The BIG READ 2008

2008-05-01T07:50:00.009-04:00

Now that May is here, the Big Read 2008 (sponsored by the Hartford Public Library through a grant from the national Endowment for the Arts) is officially over. We plan to participate again next year when the selection will be Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird", so mark your calendars and start reading now if you want to get a head start! This was our first year as part of the Big Read and we offered several programs related to Dashiell Hammett's "The Maltese Falcon" and "noir" mysteries in general. Here is a breakdown of participation in this year's events:

Movie Day - "The Maltese Falcon" (Bogart) - 11 attendees
Murder at the Library - a murder mystery game - 19 participants
Book Discussion (Carole Shmurak) - 12 participants
Noir mystery display - we couldn't refill it fast enough!

We would like to thank everyone who joined in and read the book or attended a program. I hope that next year we will have even more people participating. If you have any suggestions or ideas for programming related to "To Kill a Mockingbird" please let me know. We LOVE suggestions!

The Desk Docktor

2008-05-01T07:38:00.003-04:00

On April 17 we had a fabulous program courtesy of Doreen Stern, PhD, the Desk Docktor. Almost all of us have problems organizing our paper, our homes, and our lives. Doreen offered inspiration, positive energy, and practical advice, not only for organizing paper messes but for getting control of almost every "mess" in our lives. If you were not able to attend this program at our library you should try to catch another one of her appearances. Better yet, if you have an organization that is looking for a very worthwhile and charistmatic speaker, consider getting in touch with her (the title above is a link to her web site, by the way!). She learned the names of the more than 30 people who attended the program and actually remembered them throughout the evening! I enjoyed it tremendously and left with a new resolve to get myself organized!

Blog: Day 1

2008-04-30T19:15:00.006-04:00

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and to welcome our library users to our new blog! I am Eileen Pearce, Adult Services Librarian and webmaster for the Windsor Locks Public Library. Some of you may know that we already have a book blog where our borrowers can read and comment on personal reviews of many of the books in our collection.

This new blog will serve a different purpose, to announce new acquisitions and events at the Windsor Locks Public Library and also as an open invitation to YOU to check out different sections of our web site and see what's new without having to browse at random (time savings!). We would also like to use this space as a way to let you know how things have been going and to hear about what you think. Maybe you didn't get a chance to attend a program and would like to know how it turned out or perhaps you DID attend and have some comments to make. We welcome your viewpoints on our programming, our services, our collection, and anything else that you might care to mention. Please don't limit yourself to the web, though! Call us at 627-1495 or stop in and visit to let us know what you think and how you like what we are doing. Visit our web site at windsorlockslibrary.org for details on programs, reference resources, great links for readers, book clubs, our catalog, and lots of other great things.

Bookmark this blog by right-clicking on a section of the page with no graphics or text and choosing "create shortcut" from the menu (this will create an icon on your desktop) or add it to your favorites. Consider this blog to be your gateway to our library's web site, a quick glance at what you may want to explore in more detail on our web site or @ your library! It will be updated several times a week and eventually will replace our INFOMAIL and BEST SELLER ALERT email lists. Let me know what you think!