Moving to the new library

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, November 2012; written by Lisa Pearson.

Now that the calendar has flipped over to November, we are starting to get a lot of questions at the public library about the big move. For the next few weeks, our preparations are going to become more visible and there will be lot of things happening before we move. Here are some questions answered and some things to look for:

When are you closing? The last day of library operations in the Centennial Building will be Wednesday, Nov. 21st. We will be opening up on Tuesday, Jan. 2nd in the new Copper Ridge site, with a Grand Opening Celebration slated for the 19th of January.

What will I read when you’re closed? The week before we close, you can come in and stock up with books. You can check out up to 100 books and they will not be due back until Jan. 15th. The average book in the Adult library weighs 1 lb.; that’s 100 lbs. of books to tide you over until the New Year!

What are my other options? We are part of the First City Libraries consortium. Therefore, your library card is valid at the UAS-Ketchikan library, as well as all the school libraries. You can use ListenAlaska to download eBooks, audiobooks and music for free from our website. Our website also contains free databases for car repair, small engine repair, language learning, and legal forms in addition to newspaper and magazine archives.

Are you getting all new books? No. Replacing the 74,000 items in the current collection would cost about $1.48 million, and I don’t even want to think how long it would take us to catalog them all! We will be bringing our storage items out into the regular shelves. As we currently have about 10% of our collection in storage, that’s a fair amount of books that will be rediscovered by library users.

What about the holiday books? Every year, we bring out a large collection of holiday movies, craft magazines, Christmas music on CD, holiday-themed novels and cookbooks. They usually don’t make their appearance until Thanksgiving weekend, but this year we have them out already. Think ahead, and fill up on cookie recipes, gift-wrapping ideas and Christmas carols early.

Why do you have to be closed for so long? Think about moving a bookcase in your house. How long would it take to carefully box up the books, move them to another house, and place them in a new bookcase? Now multiply that by 740. The big catch: they have to be on the shelf in the exact same order as they came off, because everything in the library is in a specific place. Don’t forget to add in the office supplies, files, back issues of magazines, step stools, garbage cans, craft supplies, etc.

What can I do with my kids? Finding activities for little ones can be important in the winter. As a parent, I can highly recommend the preschool open gym at the Gateway Recreation Center. For a small drop-in fee, kids 2-6 can play with all sorts of balls, trikes, tunnels and even the bouncy house on Thursdays. They also do preschool crafts on Tuesday mornings at 10 am, with the open gym included in the cost. And if you haven’t tried the new Aquatic Center, you really need to take the plunge; the whole family can enjoy that.

What else should I be looking for this month? In addition to the Teen Advisory Group meetings, kids’ crafts and regular storytimes, we will have two big events. On Saturday, Nov. 10th we will have a big cassette audiobook sale in the main entry to the library. All audiobooks will be $1.00, and there will be hundreds of titles available. On Monday, Nov. 12th, there will be an author visit from historical novelist Mary Doria Russell. Her latest book, “Doc” imagines the early friendship of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday in Dodge City. Although the library will be closed that day in observance of Veterans Day, the Annex doors will open at 6:30 pm for this event. If you have any questions, you can always call us at 225-3331.