Tags

As I'm sure you've noticed if you've been around the Library today, there are brightly coloured tags appearing on our furniture. And yes, we know that it is a dream to believe that they will actually remain on the furniture in the public spaces. However, just to make you aware of what it all means, here are the colour codes:

Yellow Tag means going to auction (which will take place on March 26th at the Library)
Orange Tag means going to the mall and coming back to live in the Revitalized Library
Blue Tag means going to the mall but not coming back to the Revitalized Library
Green Tag means going to the mall in storage
Purple Tag means giving it away for free!

We have tags available in each of the colours and will need your assistance. We are not tagging anything that will be moved to the Administration Area in the first move right now. We do however need to be able to show the potential movers on Friday morning what they will be moving. Please take a good look at your own spaces and tag anything that isn't already. We had particular trouble with filing cabinets. There is a deadline for this....Friday morning at 10:00 a.m.

If you have any "tag" disputes, please let Terri or I know. Many thanks...

Staffing During Move

I know that many of you are wondering about your hours of work during the move. The plan is to aim for comparable hours to what you are presently working over the long term. However, we can't guarantee the same hours or schedule for the two weeks of the move itself. We are exploring a variety of options for staff activity during the March 21st to 31st time frame. We may still be working on preparations for the move or we may take the time to offer some staff training. We'll let you know more details as we proceed.

Divide and Conquer

Can you believe it? Two blog posts in one day! I just have more and more to tell you so I'll do so as I think of it instead of waiting and forgetting. We'd like to get all staff actively involved in planning for our move and in thinking about the services we will provide while we are at the Mall. We've already established the Relocation Task Force. Now we'd like to add two other working groups, namely the Programming and Public Services Team and the Support Team. Here are the members of the two:

Programming and Public Services Team
Paul Blower
Susan
Rudi
Heather
Ruth
Peter
Effie
Janet
Trish
Crystal

Support Team
Cindy
Mary Meharg
Terri Scott
Mary Kinczyk
Glenda
Paula
Tyler
Barb
Dana
Jody
New Person

I'll be talking to department heads about scheduling a meeting with the Programming and Public Services Team early next week.

Relocation Task Force

The Relocation Task Force held its first meeting on Tuesday afternoon and a lively discussion ensued about plans for our upcoming move to the Mall. I thought I'd just let you know what we're working on right now. We have made a list of all materials and department heads will be making decisions on what goes with us and what needs to be stored. All staff will be working on marking the materials once these decisions have been made....stay tuned. We have assessed services that we think we'd like to offer in the spaces at the Mall (i.e. study tables, lounge spaces etc.) and will be sending the information to John Knox, along with the measurements of the spaces. He will determine how much space we will have left for collections and we will make decisions accordingly. Effie, Paul Giza and I will be skulking around the Library this morning checking out furniture etc. and recommending what will go with us, what will be stored and what will disappear never to be seen again in the revitalized Library(i.e. sold, auctioned, discarded). Also, the whole group will be heading to the Mall on Monday afternoon to have a good look at all of our spaces.

Animation of the Plans

Most of you have had an opportunity to view the architectural plans for the revitalized library and to make comments on them. However, it occurred to me that we haven't really had a chance to animate for you just what the changes will mean for both you as staff of the library and for our customers. We would like to ensure that you are comfortable and excited as you speak to our customers about the revitalization. We'd also like you to have a chance to ask those questions that customers have been asking you as you go about your daily activities around the library and those questions that you yourself may have. So, I have scheduled 4 sessions on two separate days to give us an opportunity to chat. Your department head will be scheduling each of you for one of these sessions. Just know that no question you have will be too silly to ask. The dates are Monday, January 24th from 10-11 a.m. and 2-3 p.m. and Tuesday, January 25th from 10-11 a.m. and 2-3 p.m.

Unveiling

It is time to unveil our plans to the public! This will be done at a wine and cheese event on Wednesday, January 26th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Invitations will be sent to city officials, library board members (both past and present), revitalization donors to date, the Press, the Friends Executive etc. After giving everyone a bit of time to mingle, munch and sip in the Carnegie Room, a brief program will kick off the unveiling which will include a welcome, an introduction of the architects and their firm, presentation of the plans as well as the official launch of the new logo. The remaining time will be spent answering questions that the attendees may have about our plans. The next day, January 27th, we will make the plans available to the general public in the library from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Again, we will be introducing our new logo as well as talking to the public about the architectural plans. Cake will be served to celebrate.

Where are we Going?

Happy new year to one and all. 2011 is destined to be a very exciting year for St. Thomas Public Library! I know that you are wondering what is happening re the library's relocation for the duration of the construction. You've no doubt heard rumours of possible locations. We are just finalizing leasing details with the owner of Elgin Mall so it looks at this point as though this will be our temporary home. Included in the lease agreement are a variety of spaces. The Administration functions will be located in the former real estate offices across from Zeller's. The Children's and Teens' Services department will be housed in the space beside Hallmark Cards. Adult Services will take the Trad's space. There is the possibility that we will be able to use the Community Room for some of our programming but details have yet to be worked out with Mall staff. Hopefully all of these plans will be finalized soon and an official announcement will be made to you and to the public. As far as timing goes, we are hoping to phase the moves with Administration leaving for the Mall first, then Children's and Teens' Services and finally Adult Services. A Relocation Task Force has been set up to assist with the planning and they will have their first meeting soon. Stay tuned and keep asking me questions as they occur to you.