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

Fine Free Month......

Make Room for Christmas Gifts…..

….Return Your Library Materials!

Return your overdue books, DVDs, magazines and other library materials during Fine-Free Month and pay no fines!

Library materials that were due
November 30, 2012 OR BEFORE
and are returned between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, 2012
will have all late fees waived.

  
*We cannot waive charges for lost or damaged materials.

Donations Accepted

Donation Guidelines 

The library receives thousands of donations of print and non-print materials each year. Donated items that fill a need in the collection are added. However, most go directly to the book sale. We have learned from long experience what sells and what doesn’t. We have to be selective because of storage limitations and the labor involved. 

Publication dates and condition are important.
The library accepts books published in the last 5 years in good to excellent condition. That means the hardback books should have covers that are intact, not ripped, and the books not be musty or dirty.  Paperbacks must not be yellowed or have cracked spine.  Paperbacks must have covers.  DVDs in good condition or better, regardless of age, will be accepted as long as they are in their original packaging.

We ask that you bring your donations M-F between 10 am and 4pm.  If the Director is available, they will be reviewed on the spot, accepting what we can use.    

We do not accept magazines, text books, VHS, encyclopedias, cassette tapes, CDs.  We cannot accept gifts of artwork, equipment, furniture, etc. except with the approval of the Director.

Thank-you for your generosity to the Liberty Hill Public Library!

Volunteer Locally

Invest in your community, donate time or resources to the Library.  I've been making a list of what we could use and thought I'd post it here in the hope that our community gets inspired to support locally.  Your donations to the Public Library go far and benefit EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY!

WISH LIST
*volunteers for Traveling Storytime, 30 minute commitment every other week
*shelf of any type/size for lending library at LH resource center (LHPL supplies all books)
*office chairs (2)
*cardstock in white and colors
*general labor to cut and install slatwall
*someone to trim tree at front of library
*power washer and someone to power wash library
*decal application on our refinished return box
*garden work
*laptops for in-library use
*Friends of the Library group - someone to organize
*new computers
*monetary donations are always welcomed

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!!