Books Are Our Base
Library Champion,
We always say that libraries are more than just books. This is true, but at our core books are our base. A recent survey found that the two main reasons people visit the library is for social interaction and to browse books. Next to payroll, we spend the majority of our library funds each year on our collections, including buying books, movies, magazines and newspapers.
Books come in many shapes and forms. For a long, long time books were only print on physical pages. Now they come in audio and digital formats, allowing readers to take them wherever they go but also take in the content of a book that may work more for them than reading it in print.
To receive state aid, we must spend at least 12% of our entire budget on our collection. Since our budget is around a quarter of a million dollars, that comes out to be at least $25,000 spent on purchasing items for our collection. That’s a lot of books!
A growing number of our book borrowing is coming from digital formats, such as eBooks and eAudio. They are not close to the borrowing numbers we see for print, but they are growing, especially during the pandemic where it’s easy to borrow them. With 4 months to go in 2020, we have already surpassed the number of digital checkouts we had in 2019.
You can search for your favorite author or genre in our online card catalog, available 24/7 on our website: https://juniata.sparkpa.org/eg/opac/home
You can also do the same for digital books by clicking here: https://www.juniatalibrary.org/programs-services/ebooks-main
Wondering what new books we have purchased? We have lists of them so you never miss a release. View them all here: https://www.juniatalibrary.org/using-library/jcl-at-home
Join the Friends of the Library and receive their monthly newsletter than includes lists of our new titles, the most popular items in a given month, and more. Click here to join.
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Full funding in 2021 for PA public libraries is in jeopardy. You can change that TODAY by making a donation to the library. Simply click here: https://www.juniatalibrary.org/donate/one-time-donation
Contacting your state elected officials will show that libraries matter to you and your community. The 2021 budget is being drafted now and your action is needed TODAY to ensure full funding for public libraries is included. Learn more about library advocacy by clicking here: https://www.juniatalibrary.org/donate/advocacy
Here is one book I am reading and a book (or two) that I just bought.
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My current read: The Terror by Dan Simmons
To take my mind off of current events, I am going back in time to October 1847 with Terror (one of the Brittish expedition’s two ships; the other was Erebus) trapped in the ice north of Canada, where they have come in search of the Northwest Passage. The initial scene immediately introduces the novel’s main supernatural element: a giant bear-like entity (the crew call it the thing) that preys on the explorers and appears invulnerable to their weapons. The expedition is in enough trouble without this hostile being’s attention. Food is short, thanks in part to improperly prepared canned goods; the ships have been frozen in thick sea ice for two consecutive winters; many of the crew show signs of scurvy; and temperatures have been consistently 50 or more degrees below zero. Overconfident Captain Franklin has disobeyed orders to leave behind messages detailing his movements, so rescue expeditions have no idea where to search for him. Captain Crozier, for his part, is a chronic drunk, although it doesn’t seem to affect his command of his ship and men. Simmons convincingly renders both period details and the nuts and bolts of polar exploration as his narrative moves back and forth in time to show the expedition’s launch in 1845 and its early days in the Arctic. Tension builds as the men struggle to survive: The thing is a constant menace, and deaths continue to mount as a result of brutal Arctic conditions. This is a dense book but is rewarding. -
I purchased earlier today The Law of Innocence (Lincoln Lawyer Novel #6) by Michael Connelly and The Kingdom by Jo Nesbo. I look forward to both author’s books and during times like these both are treats I can sink my teeth into.
Lists of our new releases are available in-person at the library and online so that you never miss a new release.
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🍁 November Take & Make Kits 🍁
ELEMENTARY: Beginner Cross Stitch Kit 🧵
GRADES 6-12: Marble Dipped Jars 🌈
Take & Make kits are available while supplies last during our business hours and can be picked up at the circulation desk or at curbside. First come, first served. One kit per person, please.
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Your library misses you. We wish you and your family health and wellbeing during these (and all) times.
Vince
P.S.- You don’t need to make an account or jump through any hoops to be a library champion. I wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t true. You can make this happen in less than a minute. Just click here.