EBOOKS!!!!

Such excitement in Liberty Hill....we have eBooks at the Library!  Couple ways you can log in and get your books (and yes, you must have a library card).

1.  go to http://ctdl.lib.overdrive.com.  Log in using your card number.  Include ALL the letters and numbers, letters in all caps.  Use your phone for password....no dashes, just the last seven digits.

2.  the simple way?  Go to our catalog at https://libertyhill.biblionix.com/atoz/catalog/ and upper right hand corner....log in your account.  digits only for account login, phone for password, again digits only.  Click the OverDrive logo bottom right side, VOILE!  You are IN!

Things to keep in mind....loads of videos to help you and you may  need help.  Downloading OverDrive Media Console and Adobe Digital Editions is something you will need to do.  You will need to create an account with Adobe.  Best thing?  Once you are in our Digital Collection, the left side has a GET STARTED tab.  Click it and, well, get started!

Actually is very easy, just got to do the set up once and you are set.  EBooks check out for 14 days and you are limited to five.  But....I figure one at a time for me.....someone else is waiting and we are part of a consortium, so I appreciate ppl reading and passing on the books fast, so I want to do the same.  Yes....you CAN return items as soon as you are done, which is appreciated, rather than waiting for it to disappear at the end of the two week loan.  It moves wait lists faster. 

So much is going on!!

The Liberty Hill Public Library would like to invite you to stop in and say hi and see what we’ve been up to!  Inside you will notice that slat wall has been added to increase our display space and add warmth to the library.  Our collection continues to grow as we stay on top of the latest best sellers, and yes, they are here.  If you don’t see them on the shelf, they are circulating, get on the wait list!  The newest release that everyone is chatting about is THE STORYTELLER by Jodi Picoult.  Hint….waiting list is the only way you will get this one for a while.  Give us a call or go online to reserve it!

Through the amazingly generous donation of ONE local family, we now have over 2,000 DVDs.  Yes, we are your only source of DVDs in Liberty Hill (well apart from the one RedBox).  DVDs check out for seven days and all you need is your library card, which is free.  

The biggest changes in the library are still ongoing and not “seen” upon entering.  First, we have access to the TexShare databases again.  This is a collection of approximately 50 databases full of information: academic and scholarly journals, medical, legal and genealogy databases, and so much more.  This is much deeper than Google and the info won’t be found in general web searches.   Accessible at the library or at home, all you need to do to gain access is log in to your library account and click on the TexShare logo.  Alternatively, you can call the library and get the login and PIN for access if that is best.

And the most exciting and talked about change?  Not here yet, but on the way…….EBOOKS!!!!  We have joined a local consortium to get ebooks for our members.  Right now, all the behind the scenes stuff is happening, set up on the corporate end, tech wizardry, staff training…..  Give us a bit, but our goal is by May 1 to be circulating ebooks. 

Hard to believe we are already in March, but NOW is the time to plan your garden and start planting.  Come in and scavenge our collection of gardening books.  Many are central Texas specific and will help you identify what is in your yard as well as what you’d like to add to your yard.  April will bring our annual convention and lots of new exciting ideas and book, May the launch of ebooks and believe it or not…..SUMMER READING is looming!  

We are accepting sponsorships, monetary as well as goods/services for our summer program and at this time, we have gained the phenomenal support of Union State Bank, Classic Bank and First Texas Bank in sponsorships for our program and it will be bigger and better this year!  We will be having quality entertainment/programs weekly and some wonderful prizes for kids, teens and adults.  Kids aren’t the only ones getting to have fun this summer!  SPOILER ALERT!!!!  Big prizes for summer reading?  Each age level (kid, teen, adult) will have the opportunity to win a FLIP VIDEO CAMERA!  That is just the start. 

Lots of excitement coming to the library and we want YOU to be a part.  Instructors are always needed in a variety of topics.  If you have a special skill or interest, contact me!  I’d love to see local interest groups starting up and information sharing.  Interested in knitting or crochet?  Let’s get classes up and running!  Are you skilled at teaching people to use the computer?  Contact me if so, because you are in big demand!  We will be purchasing some laptops for training purposes and hope to hold some basic classes locally.  While not qualified to teach computer classes, I CAN teach computer 101 or mouse 101.  Basic computer skills are my limit.  I am planning to do an intro to Facebook (or “Keeping up with the Grandkids”) class as well.  BUT….bottom line is we need your talents.  

This is YOUR library.  We are here for you.  Ask for classes and programs you would like to see.  If you have talents and resources, we’d love if you’d share them with the community, so many will benefit.  

Connect with us……

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/LibertyHillPublicLibrary

Website:  http://www.lhpl.org/

Blog:  http://lhpl.blogspot.com/

Flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/lhpl/

Twitter:  @LHPL

E-books are coming! E-books are coming!

This is it!  The Liberty Hill Public Library is going to be adding e-books to the collection.  Our target date is start of May.  The next few weeks will be spent in training and set up along with book ordering.


We will be joining a consortium which will give us the ability to pool resources basically. We pay a fee based on the population size (11,970) and we get access to all the books within the consortium....meaning lots more than our little library could ever afford. Doing it on our own? No way. Consortium, attainable!!!! And thanks for shopping Liberty Hill. Our funding comes from sales tax so that 8.25 percent you pay within the district boundaries, .25% comes back to us and our income is up which is why we can do this and a few other things. Keep spreading the word!!!

DVD collection GROWS!!!!

The Liberty Hill Public Library just celebrated its 10^th anniversary and we still hear, “we have a library in Liberty Hill?”  Please help us spread the word, we are here and have so much to offer.

Yes, we are small, but we have a lot to share.  The New York Times best sellers are always something we have, though if you don’t see them on the shelf, they are circulating and we will put them on hold for you.  We are the ONLY source of DVDs in town, and the collection is growing rapidly.  We had a resident bring in 300 DVDs to add to our collection and she says this is the “first wave” of DVDs.  The community benefit is going to be amazing.  Our DVD collection is now over 1800 movies, bet we have something you haven’t seen yet.

Community information?  We have it.  The front page of our blog has a visual directory.  Just click on the icon to go to websites.  We are currently working on a comprehensive database for the entire area known as Liberty Hill, including churches, restaurants, retail, associations and groups.  You can find it on our website under Online Resources – Community Links.  I’d love any recommendations so that I don’t forget anything and if you have a service or product you sell from your home, I’d list that too.  Categories that I think we definitely need information on are feed stores and horse boarding and lessons.  Feed me the information!

We are looking for a few things, though.  First and foremost is a friends group to be an advocate for the library….support, raise funds, do special projects….whatever it might be that their hearts desire.  If you have an interest in heading this up, we’d love to get one going.  We are also constantly looking  for volunteers to help take care of our lawn area as well as do small projects like power wash the building or repair a window screen.  

And one tease…..E-BOOKS!!!  What do you think of having e-books at the library?  I’ve gotten many questions about it and the negatives that always exist in the start of anything new seem to have been worked out, so I’m looking into the possibility.  HOWEVER, I do need some help.  The cost to the library is half of my book budget for the year, with a three year commitment.  Simply too much to justify on e-books at this point, however if we can get some fundraising help and bring some money in, it can be a go.  So….what I hold out to you is a plea.  If you desire e-books in the library, consider donating, whether it be monetary or in time.  A book sale utilizing the hundreds of books we receive in donations would go  toward making e-books feasible sooner rather than later.  Any sort of fund raising effort would help.  If you can give some time to a project, let’s make this happen!

Give Sandy a call at 778-6400 or email at librarian@lhpl.org, or better yet, stop in!  I’d love to chat with people about the above opportunities to make YOUR library bigger and better.  The community deserves it.    

YOUR public library……check it out!

librarian@lhpl.org

www.lhpl.org

http://www.facebook.com/LibertyHillPublicLibrary

Giving a return new life...

A new book return, how's that for excitement at the library?  A few months ago I made note that our return was rusting out and started researching replacement costs.  Ten years of "weathering" the weather takes a toll on a return.  Research on replacement said that I would need to spend approximately $2600 for a new return, not something I really wanted to do, so......I took the issue to our Library Trustees (two are builders in the area) and drew upon their expertise regarding refinishing something like this.  They happened to know that there is a powder coating company in Liberty Hill so off I went  to call them.

JT took my call and came out the same day to give me a bid and take the return away with him.  I chose to have the return painted in a "mocha" color, hoping that would alleviate some of the "do you have a book return" questions I received when the drop was the same color as the limestone building.  The color blends with the dark wood trim on the building and is one of my favorites....deep brown with flecks of black. I'd like to say a big thank you to Highpoint Powder Coating for working with us on this refinishing and doing such a wonderful job, as well as saving us some money on the delivery and removal/installation.  Highly recommend them.  AND....when you are wandering Foundation Park, take note of the purple signs stating things like "Spivey Pavilion".  Highpoint did those as well.  Nice work!

BUT, the return saga isn't done yet.  I have decals that have the International Library symbol on them as well as one that says 'book return' that need to be applies.  I refuse to do it because I would make it crooked and have air bubbles underneath, and would then proceed to kick myself black and blue.  So....currently waiting for Rich Tulp of Digitex Printing to come put the decals on.  He's volunteered to apply them at no cost!  LOVE people that see value in our small town library that operates on a puny budget!  We do everything we can for the community and when we can save money somewhere, the more YOU get back.  (BTW we are NOT a city or county library, read this older post about our funding). 

Summer Reading is coming....

Summer Reading 2012 kicks off:

Wednesday, June 6

10:30 am

In the Pavilion

We will be talking the science of balloons and balloon art.  Be sure to join us for this fun event and walk away with your own piece of balloon art!!