Library news & updates
Director's Note

Statistics can tell interesting stories. Throughout December, it seemed like Gail's pickup was taking on more books than usual with each delivery. We didn't think much of it at the time--after one or two heavy deliveries it starts to feel like normal. Perception can play interesting tricks that way. Retrospectively examining the circulation data for the period, though, shows that we weren't just circulating more books than usual for a pandemic month. We were circulating more books than ever.

In December 2019, we checked out 1,526 print books. In December 2020, we checked out 2,112. Alongside digital loans, which increased from 654 to 967, this was enough to make up for the rest of our under-performing collections and make December 2020 a record-setter for total circulation statistics by a whopping margin of 12.5%.

So while the pandemic may have put a damper on everyone's social holiday plans, it appears that a lot of Douglas's introverted bibliophiles had the holidays of their dreams. Or at least they were prepared to. We can't guarantee that you read every book that you check out, but it is pretty obvious that a lot of patrons had stacks of reads ready to ring in the new year.

Unlike Santa, though, we'll be delivering books all year long. Call or email to enroll.

Thanks for Reading,

Justin Snook
Memberships and Auction Update

If you got your Friends of the Library membership mailer and placed it on your kitchen counter with the intention of reading it later, only to find that “later” never quite materialized before said mailer disappeared into the recycling or down the gullet of a beloved family pet, fear not! You can read it here, and the Friends will accept memberships all year long. They even have their own page where you can join electronically if you like.

The Winter book auction ended up raising $1,074 in high bids on the 183 listed book bundles, all of which will be deposited into the Library’s interest-bearing building donation account and set aside to defray the cost of a future building renovation. We’re getting close to rounding the corner on $100,000, which will put us nearly 1/4 of the way to our $400,000 goal. Thanks to all who participated. Hopefully our next book sale can be in person.
Fully Loaded Diaper Changing Station

Thanks to Cadette Girl Scout Troop 11900 of Douglas, we now have a fully stocked diaper changing station in the restroom. The troop reached out to us offering to buy a changing table because they really thought we needed one. The funny thing is that we also thought we needed a changing table so we had already procured one.

Still eager to help, they went shopping to stock up our table with diapers, liners, wipes, lotion, a pail, and sorters. When we are open again and you find your little one in need of spiffying up, the Library bathroom will already have everything you need short of a spare outfit…but hopefully things to escalate that far.
3,000 New Digital Magazines

That’s not a typo! The number of current magazines available in our OverDrive Collection and Libby mobile app has increased from 110 to over three thousand. These titles are always available. You don’t have to place them on hold or wait–they are just there. So go enjoy them! For help with magazines in Libby, visit our OverDrive FAQ
Calling All Carpenters

In order to expand the number of books we are able to keep in our circulating collections, we need additional space. We have this space in the form of a weatherized attic with shelves built into it, but the door to said attic (pictured) is very tiny. We need a bigger door. The Trustees of the Library would like to collect a few estimates on the vertical expansion of this door. So if you or someone you know is a licensed, insured carpenter/contractor type capable of enlarging doors and is interested in this project, please email me at jsnook@cwmars.org to schedule a time to come have a look.
Brought to you by the Friends of the Simon Fairfield Public Library.