Fake News, Reliable Sources, COVID-19 Information and You

South Portland Public Library

Note: Chet Lunner had been scheduled to speak at South Portland Public Library as part of our Senior Programming initiative, sponsored by the Maine Humanities Council.  Due to COVID-19 prevention measures, this talk was postponed and, subsequently, City buildings – including the library – were closed to the public.  Mr. Lunner was kind enough to write this article in order to get this important information out to the community at this important time.

By Chet Lunner

When an unexpected event like the coronavirus takes place, our first problem is often a lack of information. What just happened? How bad is this? Am I at risk? What can we do?

The next problem is way too much information. This scientific mumbo-jumbo is confusing. Where can I find the best, most clear information? Who is the most trustworthy expert? How do I separate the wheat from the chaff?

In the case of the virus, we’re well into the second stage; our sources of intelligence have gone from a trickle to a Niagara Falls of 24-hour news alerts and a constant barrage of online chatter. Citizens must navigate a convoluted maze of data and sort the good from the bad, find the true experts and ignore the rumor mongers, wrongheaded blowhards and scammers.

This is not an academic exercise. In a situation like this, “fake news” kills people. And many of those most vulnerable to the virus are also the most vulnerable to the effects of misinformation. Ironically, that group — our senior citizens — are also much more likely to pass along misinformation they find on social media.

As people age they become generally more trustworthy and tend to believe what they read online. The Federal Trade Commission reports that up to 80 percent of scam victims are over 65, and researchers at NYU and Princeton have found that seniors are seven times more likely to share questionable social media than younger users. (Whatever happened to “trust but verify?”)

Maine’s librarians can play a key role today in the fight against “fake news,” by carefully curating their websites to offer clear, trustworthy, easily navigated materials. It may sound counter-intuitive, but I would argue that in the current situation, a “less-is-more” approach may serve elderly patrons better than an endless online collection of scientific sites. Let’s look at a few examples that I believe are particularly user-friendly for senior citizens, offering easy access to the basics while opening gateways to deeper levels of information. 

Maine Council on Aging

This site features colorful, large “click boxes,” which lead the user with two simple clicks to an extensive set of clear, well-written FAQs about coronavirus, plus a well-organized list of resources — local, state and federal — and helpful links for those who wish to delve deeper. At the same site, the council also offers daily email coronavirus updates.

AARP

As you might imagine, AARP concentrates on issues of concern to seniors, and they do a fine job. (You don’t have to be a member for access.) Attractively designed, clearly labeled topics include how and why the virus affects older people, how to make Skype calls on your computer, how to deal with forced isolation and the like.

World Health Organization (WHO)

This United Nations agency is just what its name implies: the epicenter of the international fight against the current pandemic. A trustworthy source, the WHO site offers a global perspective and an extensive collection of one-click topics related to virus issues.

I’m sure you’ve found some good sites, as well. The more Maine librarians can share the trustworthy sites with seniors, the better.

A big part of the problem seems to be that seniors didn’t grow up using the Internet, with its steady diet of fake news, disinformation, and rumors. In their day, newspapers, books and magazines could generally be trusted.

Seniors need to start automatically asking some questions about what they see online. Is it from a political source with an ideological agenda? What does the other side say? (There’s always at least two sides to every story, right?) Are they asking you to send them money for something? 

Does the story even identify a verifiable source, or does it cite unidentified “informed sources,” or vague “experts” who apparently have no names? Do you recognize the source as usually reliable and knowledgable, or is this someone you’ve never heard of?

In a crisis, a society’s most valuable resource is timely, consistently clear and trustworthy news upon which its citizens can make potentially life-and-death decisions. Librarians across Maine are on the front lines of the battle against fake news. 

 

Lunner, a former Maine newspaper editor and national news correspondent, is available as a public speaker on “The Impact of Fake News” as part of the Maine Humanities Council’s World In Your Library program, or at chet.lunner@gmail.com.

Virtual Story Time…

South Portland Public Library

Here’s a selection of  video read-aloud of some of our favorite books!

Stranger Things’ actor David Harbour reads our friend Julie Falatko’s book, Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book).

Maine author Lynne Plourde, reads her book The Dump Man’s Treasures.

Maine author Lynne Plourde, reads her book Moose, Of Course!

Libraries and Users: Sharing the Wealth and the Responsibility

South Portland Public Library

Sharing is central to what the library does – we share our collections with you. However, sharing works in several different ways at the library, many of which may not be obvious. With a big change coming in how we lend materials (which I’ll talk about later in this piece), I thought this would be a good time to discuss the concept of “sharing” in the world of the library, and the part we all play in making this a valuable service to the community.

The most obvious form of sharing is what the library does with you, the user. You come in, choose material you wish to use, and we let you borrow it. Thanks to our “share” of the annual municipal budget – less than $30 per taxpaying household, annually – we are able to develop the library’s collections, and share those materials with you.

We also do lots of sharing with other libraries. If you are a regular user of the library, you are likely familiar with Minerva, the statewide network of libraries of which we (and approximately 60 other Maine libraries of all types) are members. The Minerva network is, fundamentally, about sharing. Not only do member libraries share in the cost of running and maintaining the software system that enables us all to operate our libraries and maintain an accurate online catalog, but we also share our combined holdings of over six million items with the users of all other member libraries. This massive collection of shared materials means that residents of even the smallest communities have ready access to library collections far beyond what any single community in Maine – regardless of size – could ever have for itself. In addition, since Minerva members include not just public libraries, but also school, college, medical and other specialized libraries, the collection holdings are diverse as well as extensive.

The ‘big change’ I mentioned at the top of the column has to do with Minerva. On July 21, the Minerva network embarked on a trial period during which libraries will allow DVDs to circulate for the same three-week loan period as books. This is a change that some libraries had already undertaken – with tremendous success – on an individual basis, and one that we have been advocating for system-wide for a while. We feel this will be a big plus for our users, given that a large amount of our DVD circulation is in television series. These multi-disc DVD sets represent a huge time commitment and we hear, time and again, how difficult the one-week checkout period is for these items. Having a three-week checkout period will give you a little more time to watch a season of Game of Thrones!

A few Minerva libraries have expressed concern over this change, fearing that longer checkout periods will result in longer waits for materials. Given that the Minerva holds system automatically allocates priority on holds to users of the library that owns the item (in other words, a South Portland user will be given top priority for an item owned by South Portland, even if a user from elsewhere in the state requests it first), we do not feel this will be an issue for our users. In addition, we have a system in place where we purchase additional copies of items to better meet local demand. While being a member of Minerva gives our users access to materials system wide, we feel it is in the best interest of our users that our collection reflects our local – high volume – use of materials.

Of course, the thought that longer checkouts will lead to longer waits assumes that just because a DVD can be kept for three weeks, it will be. I do not feel that this will be a problem. We do not see this behavior with books, and I do not think we will see it with DVDs. I think that our users will be conscientious of the fact that the materials they are using are also wanted by other users, and that materials will be returned when users are done with them and not kept out longer simply because they can be kept out.

This brings me to the final aspect of sharing that I wanted to touch on here, and that is the sharing that the library’s users do with one another. When we acquire an item for the library’s collection, we do so because we know there will be a demand for the item. When you have an item out, there is likely someone else waiting behind you that would like to borrow it. Just as you want to borrow library materials that are clean, current and usable, so does the next person who will use the material you have, and the person after them. Mindfulness of the ongoing life of the library’s materials is important and, as we embark on this trial of unifying circulation terms for our items, we hope all of our users will keep this aspect of sharing in mind.

So, both the library and our users play an important role in keeping our shared collections serving as many people as possible. We invest in and care for the materials and hope that our users not only find our collections useful, but also feel a sense of pride in them. Working together, we can ensure that that our collections can serve as many users as possible, making the most of the investment of your tax dollars. As always, I welcome your feedback on library services and, in particular, your experiences with this change in circulation policy.

This post was originally published as a Library Links column in the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry on August 1, 2014

Book Groups: sharing the experience of reading

South Portland Public Library

Book groups (also referred to as reading groups, book clubs and other various combinations of those words) are a great way to keep in the reading habit as well as to enjoy some social interaction with others interested in reading. Book groups are a fairly traditional part of library programming and the South Portland Public Library (as well as the Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth) offer several ongoing groups based at our libraries as well as – in the case of South Portland – outside of the walls of the library.

The South Portland Public Library offers five regular, monthly, book groups. These groups offer a range of options for differing reading tastes, as well as options for meeting days, times, locations and – in our newest offering – age. Three of these groups meet at the main library and one at the branch, as well as a regular, off-site, group we conduct at the Betsy Ross House. While book groups are traditionally aimed squarely at adults, our Youth Services department has recently launched a group specifically for our teen readers.

The Main Library’s Morning Book Group is a friendly gathering of readers who enjoy talking about books. Over the years the group has read a various selection of fiction and non-fiction. These have included The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson, and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Library staff facilitates the group and participants recommend and decide on the titles to be read. The Main Library Morning Book Group generally meets on the third Tuesday of the month, at 10:30, in the Kaler Room at the Main Library.

The Main Library also offers an Evening Book Group, which we think of as being quite adventurous. This group reads an eclectic assortment of fiction and non-fiction, with recent selections including Ann Patchett’s novel, State of Wonder (We gave it a mixed review – ambitious authorial reach but it didn’t quite hold together for us as a story), Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (Our discussion was wide-ranging and thoughtful), and Glen Duncan’s The Last Werewolf (We’re not big fans of misogyny and gore, even when it is written with eloquent, literary verve). As with the Morning Book Group, Library staff facilitates this group and participants recommend and decide on the titles to be read. The Main Library Evening Book Group generally meets on the second Thursday of the month, at 6:30, in the Kaler Room at the Main Library.

Over at the Memorial Branch Library, the Branch Book Group offers a convenient evening gathering for book lovers on the western side of the city. This group reads a wide range of books, fiction and nonfiction, from classics to more contemporary works. Past books for this group include, Truman by David McCullough, Shanghai Girls by Lisa See and The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian. Volunteer participants facilitate the group and the group chooses the titles. The Branch Book Group generally meets on the first Monday of the Month, at 6:00, at the Branch Library.

A somewhat unique book group offering, which meets monthly, outside of a library building, is the Betsy Ross House Book Group. This group is a perfect fit if you’re a passionate reader who enjoys discussing books that are part of the mainstream cultural current. Recent titles include The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Girl in the Blue Beret by Bobbie Ann Mason, Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht. Just because the critics like it, doesn’t mean that Betsy Ross House readers will! Independent of mind, we decide for ourselves if the buzz on a book is merited. Discussions are spirited and full of good humor. Although this group meets in the Betsy Ross House Library, members of the community are welcome and encouraged to join us at any time.  The Betsy Ross House Book Group generally meets on the first Thursday of the Month, at 1:30, at the Betsy Ross House in South Portland.

Finally, the newest addition to our assortment of library-sponsored book groups is Page Turners, which is the once a month, Thursday afternoon meeting for teen readers, at the Main Library. Molly in the Youth Services department kicked this off at the beginning of this year and we are actively encouraging new participants to help us grow a strong, sustainable, group. If you are (or know) a teen reader, please feel free to get in touch with Molly for more details.

Our involvement in book groups is not limited to just the five groups I have outlined above. Many reading aficionados participate in groups that are independent of the library, such as groups of friends meeting at a home, or coworkers meeting at work, on lunch breaks. The library helps to support these groups by not only being available to suggest possible titles for a group to consider reading, but also by enabling users to put the power of the shared Minerva network to their advantage and obtaining multiple copies of titles, quickly, for use by a group.

If you are interested in joining a book group or having the library help your existing group out in any way, please do not hesitate to visit our web site or to get in touch with us directly for more information. Happy reading!

A special thanks to the library staff members who contributed to the descriptions of their book groups for this column.

Kevin M. Davis, Director, South Portland Public Library

This post was originally published as a Library Links column in the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry on April 25, 2014

The Library as an After-Hours Live Music Venue

South Portland Public Library

When you drive past the main library building on most evenings, after the library has wrapped up business for the day, you’ll see a dark building, its face an expanse of glass reflecting lights from traffic, surrounding buildings, and the moon. If you drove by the building on Saturday, March 8, however, you may have noticed the glow of lights and signs of activity within the building, long after we had closed for the day. Was the library staff working late into the night, rearranging books? Was there a cleaning crew tending to the carpets? No, Saturday night saw the most recent of our ongoing series of musical performances at the library – a concert of traditional Irish music, performed by the Nicole Rabata Trio.

South Portland Public Library After Hours is our name for the diverse series of musical performances hosted at the library over the past year and a half. Back in the summer of 2012, the library’s adult programming committee, headed by Deputy Library Director Susan Samberg, began discussing the addition of live music to the library’s slate of programming. The goal was to bring something different, something that would break from our traditional programing and add a new and, perhaps, unexpected flavor to the library’s activities.

As we brainstormed this new series, we wanted to do something special. We have hosted live music in the library over the years but – as with a lot of the library’s events – had traditionally held the performances in our large, basement-level, events space. This space, while functional, is far from what could be considered a “comfortable” space. Since we had been working on cleaning up and rethinking the upstairs public service spaces of the building, we thought it might be fun to try and pull off a concert in the library proper. How could we do this, though, without totally disrupting the regular users of the library? We decided we’d do it late, after the library closed for the day.

So, on the Saturday of the first concert, after the library closed, we got to work transforming the space. Tables and chairs, filled with people reading and working with their laptops during the library’s usual business hours, were moved aside. A curtain was hung in front of our collection of biographies, defining a performance stage. We brought in some plants and experimented with which lights to leave on and which to shut off, to create a comfortable ambiance for enjoying music. Rows of chairs we set up for the audience we hoped would show up. In short order, the library had taken on the feel of an intimate performance venue, with the expanse of glass providing a view of the life of South Portland going on outside.

On the day of that first concert, the library wrapped up business at its usual Saturday closing time of 6pm. When we re-opened the doors at 6:40, 115 people showed up to see Cul de Sax, a saxophone quartet, play a lively show. The popularity of the show far exceeded both our expectations and our capacity. The 50-odd parking spaces in the library’s lot filled up fast. Soon after, all possible seating (and standing room) in the library was filled as well.

Since that first concert, the After Hours… series has continued with the frequency of a show approximately every other month.   Music has ranged from the Gerswin interpretations of Cul de Sax to bluegrass (Tricky Britches), to Irish/country (Two Old Friends), latin music (Primo Trio) and the New Orleans- and Chicago style jazz and swing of the Beallmy Jazz Band.

Show after show, the library’s space is filled with a mix of people known to us as regular library users, as well as a large number of visitors who have never been inside the library before. At each show, we hear positive comments about the building, the interesting use of space for the show, and, of course the music. Statements such as, “I didn’t expect a library to have this kind of music!” are not uncommon.

Of course, no discussion of library programming of any kind – and this concert series, in particular – should ever happen without a huge note of thanks to the Friends of the South Portland Public Library. The Friends provide all financial support to allow us to book these talented musicians. Without the Friends, these shows – and much of the library’s activities beyond our most basic services – would be impossible.

So, if you have enjoyed our past shows, or are interested in catching one, there are many more coming up. The After Hours… series will be continuing on for the foreseeable future and, in fact, the shows are picking up pace. April 12th will see the ProfTones, an eclectic cover band performing a mix of R&B, folk and tock & roll. The month of May sees two After Hours… shows, with an encore performance by the Bellamy Jazz Band on May 3rd and the Casco Bay Tummlers bringing Klezmer music to the library, for the first time, on May 31st. If you know of a musician or group that you’d like to see play at the library as part of our series, please let us know or have them get in touch with us!

Kevin M. Davis, Director, South Portland Public Library

This post was originally published as a Library Links column in the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry on March 14, 2014

Go On a Blind Date With a Book

South Portland Public Library

If you visit the library in the next couple of weeks, you may notice displays of books, in plain brown paper wrappings, in various locations around the library. There are no titles or authors listed on the wrappers and there’s no peeking to see what book is inside these anonymous packages – they are sealed up tight. What are these books? Are they books so bad that we’re looking for a way to trick people into checking them out? Are they titles so scandalous that we’ve covered them, for your benefit, lest a neighbor see you with one? No, not at all. These are books we think you’ll fall in love with, if you just give them a chance.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, we are playing matchmaker for library visitors, fixing them up with some of our favorite books! We’re excited to be presenting, for the first time, Blind Date with a Book, where you take a chance and check out a book we’ve selected, without knowing exactly what that book is until you get it home. We’re hoping we can introduce you to a book you’ll love, but may not have picked up on your own, otherwise.

Blind Date with a Book is an idea we’ve read about online and Molly, in our Youth Services department, decided she wanted to try it out with our teen library users. Not a group to let the kids have all the fun, our Adult Services staff have gotten in on the act as well and, as a result, you’ll find Blind Date with a Book displays targeted at different groups of readers, throughout the library. In addition, I hear that the Thomas Memorial Library, with whom we share this column space every other week, is doing the same for their adult readers, through the month of February.

While other Blind Date with a Book activities, elsewhere, have involved librarians writing personal ads to pique readers’ interest in a book, we’ve taken another approach. The books are made anonymous in plain brown wrappings, and library staff members have decorated the outside with words and images in hopes of tempting you to take a chance and read something new and unknown. Blind Date with a Book is an exercise in, truly, not judging a book by its cover.

The selected books include both fiction and nonfiction titles, with basic genres and categories clearly marked on the wrappings. Apart from these categories, though, we are trying to be vague yet intriguing with the hints we are adding to the book wrappers. An adult historical novel says, “It’s 1351 B.C. and you’re about to step into a world filled with drama, political intrigue and a little bit of romance…” A book for teens, tagged as being in the historical/fantasy/thriller genre says, “If someone told you a ‘spirit’ said the Titanic was going to sink, would you believe them?” How about an adult nonfiction title, which asks, simply, “Life of a Maine Farm girl… Is it paradise?”

We hope this idea will catch on and that our readers will have fun with it. As books are checked out, we will be adding to the selection of eligible (and available) books. Do you have a book you think your neighbors and fellow readers would enjoy? Let us know and we’ll add it to the mix. Who knows, if you all have fun with it, this might continue indefinitely!

So, if you’re feeling a little adventurous, and would like to take a chance on finding your true book love, come on in, take a look at the displays and see if any of our eligible books intrigue you. The book you choose may end up being a one-time thing, or it could lead to years of happy reading. Either way, we promise we won’t tell!

Kevin M. Davis, Director, South Portland Public Library

This post was originally published as a Library Links column in the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry on January 31, 2014

The Ever Changing World of the Library

South Portland Public Library

There’s a quote attributed to British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli which holds true for libraries, as it does for many aspects of our lives, “Change is inevitable. Change is constant.” Whether you consider a “library” to be a service, the people delivering that service, or the building itself, what a library is now is very different than it once was. Change is very much on my mind today, so pardon me while I muse a bit…

Judy Kimball has recently retired from service with us. If you are a regular user of the branch, you’re sure to know her by her friendly smile and jovial nature. Judy has been a fixture at the branch library since the early 1990’s, coming on as one of the volunteers who got the branch doors opened again after they were unceremoniously locked following a cut to the municipal budget. Judy eventually became a paid employee when funding for the branch library was restored. When I was hired as Branch Manager in 2003, Judy and Rita taught me everything I needed to know. Through the years, Judy has been a solid supporter of the library and advocate for our users. Though we’ll miss her serving in an official capacity as an employee, I’ll bet that she’ll not be a stranger to the library in the future.

I remember Judy telling me once how, occasionally, a book would come across the library desk with her mother’s handwriting inside the cover. It turns out that many years ago, her mother did cataloging work for the library and, in the days before printed labels, marked the books by hand. Some of those older books still exist in the library’s collection. I’ve always found that connection through the library, across the two generations of Judy’s family, very touching.

So, as is part of change, Judy’s departure means that we have new people joining us. Three new part-time employees, in fact – Molly, Lydia and Lauren – will be filling out our work-week, both at the branch and at the main libraries. Each of them brings new and unique talents to our group, and we can’t wait to get to know them better.

Just as the staff at the library changes, so do the services of the library. Whether due to the changing tastes or needs of the community, or changes made necessary by evolving technology or other factors, the ability to adapt is central to being able to succeed. I am lucky to work in an environment where change is not only embraced by the library staff, but pursued. As a group with very diverse interests, we are all encouraged to not only bring our interests into the mix of what the library offers, but to solicit new ideas from our users. Programming at the library, both for kids and adults, has grown tremendously in the past few years and, I expect, will continue to grow and change.

In addition to a group of enthusiastic library workers, the building itself has proven to be very adaptable to change over the years. The openness of the space has allowed the library to easily evolve its service offerings to meet the changing needs of the community. An area of the library that was once home to a couch, some small side tables and other casual seating when the library first opened is now home to our public computer cluster as well as our DVD and audiobook collections – services not even conceived of at the time the library was built. Adapting the library for technology – whether wired or wireless – has been fairly easy over the years, with few walls or other obstacles to get in the way.

Another area, originally designated as a smoking lounge (yes, you read that correctly!) is now an open, multi-use space, serving as our gallery space for local artists, a seating and work area adjacent to our teen area, and a quiet corner for smaller library activities.

On the opposite side of the building, what was once an area filled with row after row of work tables and bound volumes of now-obsolete reference materials, is now busy with users working on laptops and tablets while other visitors relax and read, basking in the sun streaming through the windows.   On select evenings, this space transforms to meet a new kind of use. If you have attended any of the “SPPL After Hours” concerts over the past year or so, you have seen how this space can change into a cozy spot for live music. With a quick rearrangement of furniture, and the addition of a few atmospheric embellishments, this space, bustling with more traditional ‘library’ activity just hours before, reopens to the public as a sometimes peaceful, sometimes rollicking, music venue. On January 25th, the latter will be in effect as we host The Marc Chillemi Quintet for an evening of midcentury jazz.

Change is always happening at the library and we embrace it, as each point of change offers us the opportunity to evolve, expand or otherwise enhance our services. So, while a change such as Judy’s departure is sad for us, it also presents us with an opportunity to welcome new friends into our mix of coworkers and to wonder, with some sense of excitement, where this new mix will take us.

Kevin M. Davis, Director, South Portland Public Library

This post was originally published as a Library Links column in the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry on January 17, 2014

Library’s Youth Services Staff Share Their Favorite Books for Younger Readers

South Portland Public Library

One of the best aspects of my job here at the South Portland Public Library is the people I am lucky enough to work with every day. The staff here at the library possess a diverse range of knowledge, talent and interests, and we all benefit from (and can lean on) one another’s skills in areas where we may not be strongest. It is in this spirit that I turn this week’s Library Links column over to the library’s Youth Services staff to share some of their favorite recent, and not-so-recent books for our preschool through teen readers…

Kim, preschool specialist and Head of Youth Services

One of my new favorite picture books is Moo! by David LaRochelle, featuring illustrations by Mike Wohnoutka. Not only is it perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, many adults have gotten quite a kick out of it! One of the impressive things about this book is that every word in the book is some variation of the word “moo,” except for the last word.   In this hilarious tale, Cow has taken Farmer’s car for a joy ride, unbeknownst to Farmer. Let’s just say the police are involved, too…not quite the way Cow had expected! Mike Wohnoutka’s illustrations are priceless and the winning combination of author and illustrator make this story one that can be read over and over and still keep you laughing! A great story for children (and adults) to act out!

“Mustaches” seem to be all the rage right now. I’ve seen mustache lollipops, fake mustaches, mustaches on mugs, you name it. I hadn’t really been impressed by this trend until I saw Mo’s Mustache by Ben Clanton. Mo is a monster who is trying on his individuality… with a mustache. As his friends quickly pick up his trend (there happens to be a sale on mustaches), Mo grows frustrated. He tries something else to have of his “own.” That doesn’t seem to work either. Mo’s quest to find himself and each monster’s personality adds much humor to this story. Pick up this book and meet Mo and his friends and let the laughs begin! Oh – and adults who grew up in the 1970’s will get quite a kick out of the last page!

Jess, elementary specialist

We have many great series here in the Children’s Room that will encourage kids to keep reading book after book in order to follow the adventures of their favorite characters. One of my favorites is the 43 Old Cemetery Road series by Kate Klise. These books, intended for kids ages 8-11, tell the tale of an unusual family unit consisting of an 11 year old boy, a best-selling children’s author, and a ghost named Olive C. Spence, who work together as coauthors of a popular book series. These fun, humorous stories are told through letters and newspaper clippings, making them an excellent choice for both avid and reluctant readers.

Another great series is the Ivy + Bean stories, by Annie Barrows. These books, for children ages 6-9, follow two unlikely best friends as they get themselves in and out of mischief. Ivy, the quiet one, and Bean, the rambunctious one, are charming, engaging characters that children will love to get to know.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, for kids ages 8-12, by Jeff Kinney is another very popular series here at the library. Hard Luck, the 8th and newest book, is all about Greg Heffley’s bad luck streak and the things he’s willing to try to turn his luck around.

Molly, teen specialist

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta is a powerful, tenderly written book and a new favorite of mine. The main character, Taylor, is a complex teenager balancing her own emotional pitfalls (abandonment by her drug addicted mother forefront on the list) while simultaneously trying to lead her classmates in the secret “territory wars” against the local kids (Townies) and the visiting military camp (Cadets). Written with a dreamlike quality, the story unfolds through two interwoven narratives that initially seem unrelated, but build together slowly toward the suspenseful ending. With an artful blend of humor, adventure, mystery and just a touch of romance, this book is sure to resonate with both teen and adult readers alike. It is one of the most hauntingly beautiful books I have read in a long while!

Gated, by Amy Christine Parker, is a fast paced and intense read. This page-turner is packed with suspense and action, building towards a shocking and brutal finale. The main character, Lyla, has lived in the Community ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks twelve years ago. Under the influence of their visionary leader, Pioneer, the people inside this self-sufficient complex are getting ready for the apocalypse that will surely erase the evil lurking outside the Community’s walls. When I first picked Gated up, I was expecting another predictable dystopian teen novel, but it quickly blew me away with its complex character development, especially the psychological effects and brainwashing potential of religious cults. Lyla’s gradual transformation from follower to leader is a remarkable piece of the story, as the Community’s life literally depends on it. I found this book to be equal parts shocking and compelling, with a compulsive can’t-put-it-down readability.

Kevin M. Davis, Director, South Portland Public Library

This post was originally published as a Library Links column in the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry on December 27, 2013

The Little Library on the West Side of Town

South Portland Public Library

Tucked in among the trees, overlooking the Municipal Golf Course on Wescott Road in South Portland, the Memorial Branch Library has been an integral part of South Portland’s library services since 1977. Opened just 10 years after the Main Library was built, the Memorial Branch location is a gem of a little library, with a unique environment and wholly different personality than the larger main library location. Various visitors have referred to the Branch as “the neighborhood’s living room” as well as “the tree house library” over the years. Both of these are apt, as it is hard to argue that the Branch does not have a special feel to it. Since the library is on the second floor of the building, the view out the large rear windows is pretty spectacular, year round. Personally, my favorite time of the year is the spring and summer months, when the room is filled with dappled sunlight filtering through the jewel green leaves of the surrounding trees.

Memorial Branch Library, 155 Wescott Road

Memorial Branch Library, 155 Wescott Road

The Memorial Branch is not named as a memorial to anyone in particular, but is named in reference to Memorial Middle School, across the street. In fact, at one point, plans called for the city’s second library location to be built on the grounds of Memorial Middle School, tucked in underneath the school’s library. Eventually, the current location was chosen, across the street, with the building purposefully built to house the library upstairs and the golf course’s pro shop and snack bar downstairs. I suspect we are the only library/golf course combination you will find anywhere.

While some may see the branch as a duplication of library services in the city (in other words, a second, smaller version of the main library) it is, in fact, a complementary service point, allowing for library services to be extended in a way that would not be possible with just a single location, due to space and budgetary constraints. Both the staff time we utilize at the branch, as well as the materials we lend from there are resources we would be still be using if all of our services were delivered from just the main library location. Having the branch allows us to distribute our services across two buildings, giving us more space to shelve materials, provide a couple of more computers for the public to use, and a little more space for people to work, meet and socialize. In addition, due to the small size of the space, it takes fewer people to staff the building (even with two of us working there at a time, we’re often falling over one another!), allowing for lower payroll costs to deliver the service. Ultimately, the branch is a cost effective way to extend library services to the community, with the added bonus of the secondary location being convenient for residents of the west side of the city. Currently, the Branch accounts for about 15% of the library business in South Portland.

Budget constraints forced us to rather drastically scale back our hours of operation a few years ago and, regretfully, the Branch is no longer available as a regular afterschool destination every weekday afternoon, something we would really like to offer, given the close proximity of two of our city’s schools.   Sundays at the branch, however, remain an integral part of the library schedule. When the budget required the library to cut Mondays from the main library’s operation, we found that we could move those service hours over to the Branch – at a lower hourly cost to the city – and maintain access to library services on that day. To the best of my knowledge, South Portland is the only community in Maine to offer residents access to library services seven days a week, year round. We’re proud to hold this distinction and, in fact, specifically changed our operations several years ago in order to do this. Even with four library locations, the Portland Public Library – the state’s largest public library – does not offer access to library services on Sundays, something we are able to do at the Branch. In fact, Sundays are – by far – the busiest day at the branch.

So, if you’re not a regular user of our branch library, you should stop by sometime and check it out. Yes, it’s small, it doesn’t have as many books or videos or computers as does the main library, but what it lacks in those areas, it more than makes up for in charm and personality.

Kevin M. Davis, Director, South Portland Public Library

This post was originally published as a Library Links column in the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry on December 13, 2013

Minerva: Sharing Resources for the Benefit of All Library Users

South Portland Public Library

Minerva LogoIn the first Library Links column that Rachel and I wrote for the Sentry, we mentioned the Minerva network of libraries as an example of the collaboration that frequently occurs between Maine’s libraries. Minerva is such a large group – and adds so much value to library services statewide – that I thought it would make a worthy subject for a column on its own.

Minerva is a statewide consortium of libraries of all types. While both South Portland Public Library and the Thomas Memorial Library are examples of the most represented type of library in Minerva – public libraries – Minerva is made even richer by including other kinds of libraries and their more specialized collections. Our partners in Minerva include Maine’s community college system, Unity College, and Kaplan University as well as several k-12 school libraries. We also have a few hospital-based health sciences libraries in the network. Combined, the collections across Minerva provide our users access to over six million items.

South Portland Public Library is proud to be among the first members of the Minerva group, having joined the consortium back in the year 2000. While most of our users who are aware of Minerva think of it simply as a means to get interlibrary loans, that function is far greater now than it was in the early days. While always envisioned as a means for sharing resources between libraries, early on, lending between libraries was very limited. Libraries did not want to lend out their newer items or audio and video materials to other libraries, so lending was limited to books only and, of those, only older titles that were not in very high demand.

Minerva took the plunge into what we refer to as “open lending” about eight years ago. Lifting the restrictions on what could be requested through the system sparked an explosion of growth in the lending traffic statewide and fundamentally shifted both how Minerva libraries operate, as well as how our users interact with us. What used to be months–long “wait lists” at the library where our local users would have to wait for one of our one or two copies of a popular book to become available has given way to the broader collection of the Minerva network, where there may be more than 100 copies of a title available, system wide, zipping back and forth across the state, from library to library, efficiently filling holds in the order in which they were placed.

And when I say Minerva has changed the way we do business, that is not a statement made lightly. Daily, the South Portland Public Library handles hundreds of items coming and going, to and from, other libraries for our patrons – and theirs – to use when something is not available locally. Between July of 2012 and June of 2013, South Portland Public Library borrowed 21,677 items from other libraries, representing approximately 10% of our annual checkouts. On the lending side, we sent out 22,359 items to other libraries. The system does a pretty good job in maintaining “fairness” across the network – how much a library lends out is determined not by the size of the library’s collections, but by how much that library requests, for their users, from other libraries.

The volume of interlibrary loan traffic has certainly changed our workflow. Handling the materials we receive and send out is a responsibility shared by several members of our staff. If it were made into a single job, though, it would be a more than full-time position, and one that didn’t even exist just ten years ago. Each morning, staff pounces upon our daily delivery of four to eight 40+ pound boxes filled with materials sent to us from other libraries. The materials are unpacked and sorted, some going to patrons who then need to be notified that their book has arrived, some simply our own books, DVDs or CDs being returned to us, needing to be returned to our shelves. Later in the day, library staff gathers requested materials from our shelves and processes and packs them to be shipped out the next morning.

The development of Minerva over the years is a great example of not just collaboration between libraries, but also of the library world in Maine being responsive and, in many ways proactive, to meet the changing needs of our users. Our investment in what was, at the time, primarily a technology infrastructure back in 2000 has led now to a broad and efficient network of libraries, providing ready access to materials for users of all types of libraries in all types of communities, across the state.

So, when you startle awake at 3am, suddenly having just remembered the title of that book your coworker mentioned that you would really like to read, or the movie that was just released on DVD that you never got around to seeing at the theater, you can go to your computer (or pick up your smartphone or tablet) and know that Minerva is just a click away and, in most cases, we’ll have your item sitting at our desk, waiting for you, within just a few days.

Kevin M. Davis, Director, South Portland Public Library

This post was originally published as a Library Links column in the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Sentry on November 25, 2013