517 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

i think waiting 13 years is fine.  those butterflies will keep.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 12 January 2020 - 10:03 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Libraries could stay open in pandemic

 

I am a long-term library lover. I am also self-employed. My work helps people to reduce the intensity of strongly felt emotions.

 

I am aware of how difficult it is for many people to be at home for weeks on end, without many healthy distractions.

 

Anxiety and fear are running rampant.

 

 

 

seems reasonable.

 

 

https://www.timescol...ooms-1.24121356

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 21 April 2020 - 07:36 AM.

[mbjj]

I'm not sure the library has enough staff to do that sort of thing. They've cut back quite a lot in the last year. I doubt they could afford mailing costs if they can't afford sufficient staff.

Edited by mbjj, 21 April 2020 - 08:50 AM.

[Midnightly]

opening the library in some way would be great, i know many parents out there are struggling to entertain their kids with their limited about of books they do have (and reading them over and over again) i have even seen posts on facebook of parents trying to do book swaps... i don't think books by mail would work, Victoria has just too many users too many books spread out through multiple libraries plus the huge added cost of shipping... now if they could say extend  the dates (some things have a 7 day return time) and find a way to do a pick up service that could be great... though it would require more staff, your average person with minimal training could be a picker filling the orders but you would need trained staff to properly put the books away (maybe they could tap onto the school librarians for added staff)

[mbjj]

Searching for holds isn't as easy as it sounds (also very time-consuming, esp. if you had to do it for each patron's requests). I did it for twenty years. Anyways, the library has cut back on that level of staff in the past year, I doubt if they'd be willing to hire more. Self check-outs would likely be disabled so they'd need more clerks for check-out.

Edited by mbjj, 22 April 2020 - 07:21 AM.

[Jackerbie]

opening the library in some way would be great, i know many parents out there are struggling to entertain their kids with their limited about of books they do have (and reading them over and over again) i have even seen posts on facebook of parents trying to do book swaps... i don't think books by mail would work, Victoria has just too many users too many books spread out through multiple libraries plus the huge added cost of shipping... now if they could say extend  the dates (some things have a 7 day return time) and find a way to do a pick up service that could be great... though it would require more staff, your average person with minimal training could be a picker filling the orders but you would need trained staff to properly put the books away (maybe they could tap onto the school librarians for added staff)

 

Of potential help to people interested in book swap, many of the "little free libraries" are still open and maintained by their owners. Some have also been stocked with puzzles, games, chalk, and other such things to keep kids entertained. GVPN keeps a list if anyone wants to take a look. https://victoriaplac...free-libraries/

[Nparker]

...many of the "little free libraries" are still open and maintained by their owners.

Came across one the other day where the "proprietor" had converted an old time radio into a book box. A sign adjacent to it said the radio was from the same era as the cottage to which it belonged. Some time in the 1930s IIRC.

[todd]

Libraries could stay open in pandemic
 
I am a long-term library lover. I am also self-employed. My work helps people to reduce the intensity of strongly felt emotions.
 
I am aware of how difficult it is for many people to be at home for weeks on end, without many healthy distractions.
 
Anxiety and fear are running rampant.
 
 
 
seems reasonable.
 
 
https://www.timescol...ooms-1.24121356

I’d be more worried about what has laid eggs on those books. Every now and again I get a library book that smells like pesticide. I love old decaying books as much as everyone else but digital makes sense.

[todd]

“.....It turns out that tiny bedbugs and their eggs can hide in the spines of hardcover books. The bugs crawl out at night to feed, find a new home in a headboard, and soon readers are enjoying not only plot twists but post-bite welts...“

https://www.nytimes....rary-books.html

[todd]

Usually keep my library books in a plastic bag when not in use.

[todd]

^ https://youtu.be/5xTNeDg-HG4

[Victoria Watcher]

what a few of us have been saying all along.

turns out 115 library employees have been at home doing no work but still being paid full salary since mid March.

https://www.vicnews....rary-employees/

now they will be laid off.

[spanky123]

what a few of us have been saying all along.

turns out 115 library employees have been at home doing no work but still being paid full salary since mid March.

https://www.vicnews....rary-employees/

now they will be laid off.

 

And after they are laid off they will get another 8 weeks pay.

[Redd42]

I don't understand why they are not offering any service at all? Couldn't they do some kind of curb side service like the bookstores? And when books get returned, just quarantine them for a few days or a week before recirculating them?

 

Are all libraries every where completely shut like GVPL?

[Victoria Watcher]

I don't understand why they are not offering any service at all? Couldn't they do some kind of curb side service like the bookstores? And when books get returned, just quarantine them for a few days or a week before recirculating them?

 

Are all libraries every where completely shut like GVPL?

 

 

With libraries closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, some cities, including Coquitlam and Burns Lake, have introduced a curbside pickup service. Library patrons preorder books, DVDS and other items, and then pick up the items in a manner deemed to be safe.

 

https://www.newwestr...vice-1.24129802

 

“The curbside library is a fabulous idea,” said Daniel Fontaine, president of the New West Progressives. “I’d love to be able to get that going. There are prototypes and models in other cities, like Burns Lake and Grand Prairie.”

 

a popular adage is "necessity is the mother of invention".  might be plato.

 

when there is no necessity to stay open (employees stay at home at full pay) then the invention (curbside pick-up) never happens even with all that brainpower and book-smarts at home thinking up solutions for nearly 2 months.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 May 2020 - 05:02 PM.

[mbjj]

I wouldn't say all have been doing no work. I just ran into a librarian I know this week and she said they are doing a lot of online meetings trying to come up with new ideas so some services can be introduced. The IT people are still necessary.

 

My daughter has a Masters in Library Science, (doesn't work at the library) and we were discussing changes that would have to happen in the library for it to reopen. I think it will happen, it will just take some planning. Same in her workspace.

 

When the library does reopen, the pages are going to be run off their feet.

[mbjj]

I don't understand why they are not offering any service at all? Couldn't they do some kind of curb side service like the bookstores? And when books get returned, just quarantine them for a few days or a week before recirculating them?

 

Are all libraries every where completely shut like GVPL?

Part of the problem may be lack of space and trucks for quarantining books. As far as I've heard, most libraries are closed because there's so much close contact. I'm sure the library here will have to eliminate people sleeping in there all day.
 

[Victoria Watcher]

I wouldn't say all have been doing no work. I just ran into a librarian I know this week and she said they are doing a lot of online meetings trying to come up with new ideas so some services can be introduced. The IT people are still necessary.

 

My daughter has a Masters in Library Science, (doesn't work at the library) and we were discussing changes that would have to happen in the library for it to reopen. I think it will happen, it will just take some planning. Same in her workspace.

 

When the library does reopen, the pages are going to be run off their feet.

 

the article said 50+ were doing work the other 115 or so none.

[Matt R.]

Will they at least get the wage subsidy?

Matt.

[Victoria Watcher]

Will they at least get the wage subsidy?

Matt.

 

government can't get it.