Ch-ch-changes

If you've been to the library this week (and you better have because it's National Library Week!) then you might have noticed a bit of construction work on our lower level. What's going on? Glad you asked.

We're relocating eddie's coffeeshop from its current spot tucked against the stairs to a bigger and better location in the wing off the large meeting room. Soon folks interested in a great cup of coffee to go along with a great read will have more space to relax. Plus Eddie will be able to offer a wider variety of tasty treats - check in at the coffeeshop and see what this month's special coffee is.

Don't worry, eddie's coffeeshop and the meeting room are both open for business during the update. Once all is in place, we'll have a cool large display case for community use as well - so if your organization would like to show off what you're doing make a reservation now!

The library's new look

The new Self Check-Out machines have been unveiled and will soon be in service. As the sign indicates, you will want to have your library card handy when you try them out.








The Information Desk is gone...











...to be replaced by the Ask Me Station.







Where the Check-Out Desk is now will be the home of our shiny new Book Returns.

All of the Returns will be sorted and labeled, as well.

Changes, changes, changes!

The new Accounts Desk is here! It may not be quite ready to try out yet, but it is in place and looking very spiffy indeed! Ben, our official library photographer, is not around to record this historic moment so I thought I'd try my hand. Unfortunately, I lack his experience and knowledge, but I suppose that amateur pictures are better than no pictures at all.


In other exciting news, our Self Check-Out stations have arrived as well! They should be up and running in the near future for our library patrons to use. This is certainly an action-packed week full of changes for all of us here at Missoula Public Library. Every day there is something new to see when we come to work! I hope that you will stop in and have a peek at the Library's new look, and maybe pick up a good book or a hot new movie while you're here.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2009! We'll be closed today to celebrate the first day in the year of the ox, but we'll be open again tomorrow at 10 as usual. Is your New Year's resolution to get all your books back on time, or something else? Let us know in the comments. Our resolution is to get our construction done and get back to a semblance of quiet in the library.

(Photo by Flickr user Mykl Roventine. Some Rights Reserved.)

Construction Update

One of the plastic walls in our back circulation office has come down this morning, exposing the nice curved wall that will serve as the backdrop for our accounts desk. The opening in the center will be a window, although staff commented today that maybe an aquarium would be a better idea. We'll have to look at the budget.

Now that they've pretty much gotten a handle on the drywall, things should start moving along at a quick and hopefully quieter pace than before.

Tons O' Updates

(Original Photo by Flickr user Xurble. Some Rights Reserved)

If you've been to the library, or you follow this blog, you no doubt know that we've been going through some pretty big changes. I thought I'd take a moment to update you on the progress, or changes to what I've already told you.

In downloadable audio news, the folks at Overdrive have just rolled out a mac version of their media console. Now you mac users can download and listen to audio books on your computer and transfer them to mp3 players. I'm not a mac user, so let me know what problems you encounter and I'll try to find a solution or workaround. Just head over to MontanaLibrary2Go and pick up the player.

In self hold pick-up news, we've changed the way holds will be ordered because of privacy concerns. Now, you can find your holds ordered by the last 5 digits of your library card number. This way, your name isn't associated at all with the items you are checking out, and isn't visible to anyone else. The holds are located past the current check-out desk on the way to the reference desk.

In "Giant Plastic Blob" news, construction is hammering away, sometimes quite literally. They've made a ton of progress as shown here

In behind the counter news, which I haven't yet posted about, here's a look at our new, stainless steel check-in counters. Our Frenchtown branch librarian Heather is seen here testing the new setup and looking for ways to make to make our work more efficient.

And finally, starting today we're trying out a new system of letting you, the patron, help us out a bit by putting kids and young adult books in the right hand slot, and adult books in the left hand slot. You'll see this when we finish our remodel, so we thought we'd just go ahead and start now to get everyone used to it.

Even More Current Events

In addition to the new self hold pick-up area I told you about yesterday, you'll notice a giant plastic blob where our old sit down check-out desk used to be.

Today our construction workers are starting to demo (as in demolish) one of the walls that used to house the circulation department. This is yet another phase in our ongoing remodel. The plastic blob will be replaced by the new "accounts" desk. This will be where you will pay fines, deal with missing holds, ask for help, etc.

The plus side is that the big plastic blob will be a great landmark in giving directions to our self hold pick-up. "Just walk past this big plastic blob and you'll see the holds."

There will be a bit of noise in the coming days, but trust me, it will be worth it. We're finally nearing the final stages of our *huge* remodel project.

Reference Gets a Makeover

Once the new reference desk arrived last week, it was assembled pretty quick. Today is the official first day of operation for the new desk.

Here it is all finished. Ok, ok, it might not be totally finished yet, and the old desk is still sitting behind, but it is functional at least.
So stop by and ask our reference staff a question at their new, sleek desk.

Big Wednesday at MPL!

Today was a busy day! Our brand new reference desk finally arrived and was plopped down in front of the old desk. Starting tomorrow, expect to hear very loud drilling, banging, etc. coming from the reference department. No word on when it will be finished, but hopefully soon.

As I type this, there is a presentation going on in the large meeting room about movies that were shot in Montana. This is part of our Know Montana series facilitated by our genealogist-extraordinaire Paulette. The next Know Montana date is October 8th, with more details here. History buffs, these programs are for you.

And also, we're right in the thick of banned books week. With a little help from some of our Young Adult patrons, we've put labels on banned books on our shelves to highlight the sheer number of books that have been banned or challenged. Here's a great article on banned books.

Ok, that's enough for one day. Tomorrow, I'll be heading to Olympia, WA to attend the WALE conference. I might even have an update from the road, who knows?

Reading Lights and Newspapers

As part of our ongoing renovation we're getting our "Reading Room" ready for action. The idea is to give patrons a comfortable, relaxed area where they can sit back in a nice comfy chair and read while they're in the library.

We just finished the first stage, adding some nice warm bright lights - because reading under fluorescent lighting for any period of time isn't the most pleasant experience ever.

We also added some new newspaper racks to make way for more chairs with more cushions along with a couple of end tables. You can see the old newspaper rack in the background of the picture and the new, vertical ones in the foreground. It really opens up the space.

Coming up next - comfy chairs! Stay tuned.

The Construction Keeps Chugging Along

The doors to the YA room have arrived and are in place along with another coat of paint on the walls. Things are starting to look finished in there. That is if you avoid looking at the mess that resulted from the months of construction work.


Also, at this very minute, painters are working on the Stonehenge-like entrance to Entertainment Central. We have already started shelving CDs inside but we're waiting on the rest of our shelving to arrive before we start putting the rest of the AV materials in there.


In the next couple of weeks we will be starting the transition period for the circulation desk. Don't worry though, you'll still be able to check things out and pick up holds. More on THAT phase of construction later...

In Technicolor!

The new walls in the Young Adult room are now getting fresh coats of paints. The walls will be blue, tanish and red. Take a look!



The Children's entrance has also seen some action in the past few days. Now that the big pieces are finished, the details are emerging. Butterflies, foliage, and gnomes galore.




Exciting, right? The Children's entrance should be finished by May 17th and we'll have an opening reception to celebrate. More about that soon.

The Monolith

When you come into the library, you'll now notice what reminds me of either a white version of the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, or more accurately a single piece of Stonehenge. But actually, it is the future entryway for "Entertainment Central," the place where all of our CDs, DVDs, Book CDs, etc. will be stored in the future. Shelving is arriving as we speak, so expect to see even more changes in the next few days as Entertainment Central begins to take form.

The Great Walls of YA

The steel framing has been replaced by walls in the YA area! Finally we get to see a little visible progress. While a lot of prep work had to go into getting the walls ready to go up, there's nothing like seeing the future entrance to the Young Adult area look close to what it will look like when it's all finished.



And the Rest of the walls look pretty classy as well!



Of course the construction workers made a big mess while putting up all the drywall, but that's to be expected. They still have a long way to go, and an even bigger mess to make before all's said and done. I'm sure they'll clean up after themselves in the end.

The Progress Just Keeps Coming

We just keep on keeping on here at the library. Things are constantly moving and changing, as reflected by our new banner.



We are truly a work in progress. But if we take a second to peek behind the plastic we can see that lots of stuff is going on back there. This is the scene our YA librarians are greeted with each morning when they pull books from the construction zone to bring downstairs or to the hold shelf.



The Gnome Archway has kept getting more and more decorated. Some new trolls or gnomes or sprites are now welcoming kids into the children's department, while tree branches have been popping up all over.



We're still a ways from being done, but progress is progress and we'll just keep on keeping on until we get things settled into the new normal of the library.

The New Face of Information

Coming into the library looks different just about everyday with all of our construction and yesterday was a big change. Our old, clunky information desk has given way to a new lightweight station that will eventually serve as a home base for a "roving librarian" who will help patrons find the items they're searching for. We're hoping that this desk will feel more approachable and our staff won't be as hidden as in the past.

Feel free to stop by and ask us where to find books or where to get the information you need. Even though the sign doesn't say "information" anymore, we still provide it.

Where did YA go?

No, not you, but the Young Adult collection and computer room. Today we officially closed off the upstairs Young Adult area to do some construction, but never fear - we still have books and a computer room for you downstairs in our small meeting room. We are going to be keeping a YA librarian down there to help you find books in the new, temporary location.



We're enclosing the YA area to let you guys be a little louder and be able to have fun while you visit the library. Today is day one, and we're already pretty far with the wall framing, so hopefully this won't last too long!



There has also been quite a bit of progress on the entryway to the Children's area. Our Gnomos Locos got busy and started painting and texturing (which I'm not sure is even a word...those crazy gnomes!) the whole structure. And what's more, we're starting to see strange things, like faces, popping out of the the top. I can't wait to see how it will turn out.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

If you've stepped foot in the library the past couple of days, you've already noticed the changes that are taking place. We're starting a big shift to make room for our CD/DVD/Video section "Entertainment Central." Shelves are being constructed, collections are being moved temporarily, and things may not be exactly where you're used to them being. But don't worry, we know where everything is, so don't hesitate to ask us where that book you can't find is located.




And it looks like those "Gnomos Locos" who are building the entryway to the Children's area are starting to test out some paint, I can't wait see what they come up with next!

Construction Action

The kids department was awash in activity today as we began to shift our shelving units 18 inches. Sounds pretty easy, but believe me, it's not. All the books have to be shifted to an empty shelf, and the units have to be dismantled and unbolted from the floor. Plus They're really heavy. But, like Nicolas Cage says in Con Air, "Many hands make light work, my daddy taught me that." We're not quite halfway done, but progress is being made, special thanks to our maintenance guy Rob for doing the bulk of the work.

The new kids entrance also saw some improvements as details began to emerge. Its always strange to come to work and see things that have happened overnight, almost as if the gnomes themselves were building it.



And speaking of the gnomes, the staff was treated to a message from the builders explaining their view about how the entrance will turn out. Viva los Gnomos!

Construction Update

If you've been into the library in the last week or so, you may have noticed some unusual goings-on in the children's department. The children's non-fiction books aren't quite where they used to be, it seems like something is missing, and it definitely feels like there's something new.

That's because we are building a gnome-house-inspired entryway to the children's department! This is just the beginning of some of the changes that will be coming. You may remember that our Director and Administrative Assistant got new offices a couple months ago. Next on the docket are the children's and young adult sections, with the entryway getting the ball rolling.

To make room for the entryway, we had to move one of the non-fiction shelves to the other side of the range of shelves, which is why all the books don't seem to be in quite the same place.

This sketch to the right is an idea of what the entryway will look like when it's all finished. Something is being changed or added every day, so come in and check it out.