And September is Here

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As Book Review Summer was underway, I kept pretty busy both at work and in my personal life.  Now that Book Review Summer is over, after an unexpected and unannounced extension into September, let me catch all of you up.

As mentioned in the spring, I am busily planning a wedding.  Many of the big things are done: picking the venues, hiring the photographer, finding the dress, hiring the caterer, and so forth.  There are still other, less urgent things to do, such as measurements for tuxes and picking out the invitations.  As both my fiance and I are readers and I love history (his degrees are in mathematics), our wedding will have a vintage theme with a literary twist.

If you think wedding planning keeps one busy, then add the craziness at work.  This summer I planned and executed a multi-day outreach trip.  The amount of planning that went into this was staggering!  It ranged from being in contact with all the libraries on the stop, gathering the right materials to take, and creating a special version of our usual presentation as this region of the state is a low use of our Talking Book and Braille Library but has a high rate of people with visual and physical disabilities according to Census data (which I had to analyze).  I also contacted other organizations in the areas of the stops to let them know and I prepared materials for them to pick up as well.  In all, the trip was a success but it was a whirlwind of activity.

Another project at work was our website.  It was not as accessible as it could be.  Nor were many of the pages up-to-date.  I worked to update the pages that needed work.  I also edited each page to enlarge the print and add alt-text to links and images to improve accessibility.  I also have a new menu structure planned to debut at a later point.  New pages will also be added later to place some of our print materials online.

My other big summer project, which continues still, is our new book clubs for our visually and physically disabled patrons.  There are three themed clubs that meet each month, a fiction, a nonfiction, and a mild reads (little to no sex, violence, or strong language).  One of my coworkers and I worked hard to enact this program, which is conducted via conference call as we have participants from all over the state.  Originally, I was only supposed to run the mild reads group, but my coworker became ill and I unexpectedly also had to plan for hers as well.  While I enjoyed this immensely, it kept me the busiest of all duties in recent months. And why did I enjoy it?  It allowed me to build a rapport with this group of patrons (many are in all three clubs) and I love the educational aspect of the planning and moderating the discussion.  The participating patrons love it as well, so I hope this program goes on for quite a while.  And perhaps down the line we can create other programs to offer.

So that was my summer.  How was yours?  Also, please share any book club suggestions you have.  With three clubs to plan for at my library, we are always open to ideas.

And going forward, back to a mix of book reviews and regular posts.

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