It’s Halloween!

Library staff are acting up today…don’t be alarmed, but there’s a few ghouls and witches about! A touch of All Hallow’s Eve is upon us, and we’re happy to share. If you visit the Library today you will find cauldrons of goodies, along with spiders and spells. Get ready for trick or treating with Halloween Facts and Fun, Quick Costume for Kids and The Facepainting Book of Masks.

“Hello” from the new Children’s Services Officer

Hello everyone!

My name is Holly and I am Tea Tree Gully Library’s new Children’s Services Officer. I come from a teaching background and am so excited by my change in career. I feel like I have the best of both worlds by still working with children and being surrounded by fabulous books, CD’s, DVD’s and magazines!

 I am a mum of two young children and I love music, art, technology, cooking (particularly the eating part) and gardening.

The Child and Youth Services team are a talented, friendly and passionate bunch of people who are planning some exciting school holiday programs and supports for schools.

Please say “hi” if you see me in the Library. 

Holly

New face in the Library

New trainee Chloe

Hi my name is Chloe and I’m the new trainee at the Tea Tree Gully Library.
I will be working full time over the next twelve months as part of the Partnerships Team,  to complete a Certificate 3 in Business. 
At the start of this year I moved down from Mount Compass to the city after completing Year Eleven. I am the oldest of three children and the only girl. 

I love reading books (when I have the time!) and also working with children.
This is the end of my second week and I have really enjoyed working with the lovely staff and meeting all the people who visit the library.  
I have learnt so much and look forward to working within the library and as a member of the Partnerships Team.

If you see me in the Library, please say hi!

What is your favourite quote from a book?

Some selections from library staff…

“Reality is what trips you up when you walk around with your eyes closed.” – Healer by F. Paul Wilson

“There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.” – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

“Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three.” – Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

“Everything begins and ends at the exactly right time and place.” – Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

What are library staff reading?

Megan recently read a book in the Phryne Fisher series called Ruddy Gore, written by Kerry Greenwood. She says, “technically I didn’t read Ruddy Gore, rather I listened to the book read on CD. I enjoyed listening to Phryne, an elegant and sassy sleuth, investigate a murder mystery in racy 1920s Melbourne.”

Sonya says, “I am reading Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper – not the Greek epic but the tale of a cat that was adopted as a kitten, and had both eyes removed and stitched up at 3 weeks old. He was going to be put down but a kind lady adopted him.”

David recently re-read Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock, just in time for a new film adaption. “Genius! Greene is one of my favourite authors and this is my favourite of his books. The book’s heroine, Ida, is in my opinion one of the strongest and most admirable female characters in twentieth century literature. Nail–biting in its suspense, I won’t ruin it by saying anything more about it.”

Suzanne has just finished reading Ash Rain by Corrie Hosking. “My book group were reading stories set in Australia, and I found Ash Rain quite by chance and it was set in the Adelaide Hills. It tells the story of a family made up of a single mother with her little girl and her female friend whose house they live in. All of the characters need to find out what is important to them and learn to speak their truth. Ash Rain is an engaging story, which although quite short (just over 200 pages) had me enthralled right until the last page.”

What are you reading at the moment? Tell us by leaving a comment!

A new addition to the Library family!

Welcome Remy!

All the staff at Tea Tree Gully Library would like to congratulate our Local History Officer David and his lovely wife Natalie on the birth of their son, David Remy Rex.
Big sister Jean-Louise is very excited too!
Remy was born Saturday, 5th March at 3:15pm, weighing 3.6kg and measuring 51cm.
First visit to the Library at four days of age is pretty impressive.
He looks impressed doesn’t he!

Library Lovers Day

While today is traditionally known as Valentine’s Day, within Libraries across Australia it’s also known as Library Lovers Day.

I’m taking this opportunity to say thank-you to all Library staff, and those across Council who assist us in delivering you one of the best public library services in South Australia.

The Magic Million

In 2010 the Library lent out more than one million items … 1,134,217 to be precise. Of these we checked out 230,000 Adult Fiction novels, 220,000 DVDs, 165,000 Adult Non-Fiction books, 76,000 magazines and 21,000 graphic novels.

And then 1,133,780 items were returned to us … all of which had to be placed back in the right spot on the shelf.  Over a quarter of a million items (266,650) came back late.

And yet, we don’t always have the item you want when you visit us. And so, patrons placed 106,234 reservations/holds on books that were already checked out and we also ordered approx 2,500 InterLibrary Loans from other libraries … and supplied about the same number.

Our top 10 list for 2010

While the year is but a few days old, let’s take a moment to reflect on our  highlights in 2010 (in no particular order):

1.  Launch of new Adult Literacy Tutoring program run by volunteers to  assist individuals to improve their english.
2. Family History volunteers being finalists as part of SA Heritage Heroes award.
3. Completion of stocktake of the Library collection.  This was a large amount of work for all staff, well organised by our Systems team.
4. Inaugural Reader’s festival.
5. Launch of the Blu Ray DVD collection – currently 320 available for loan.
6. Improved access to Environmental resources within the adult non-fiction collection.
7. Welcomed 388,853 people through the door.
8. 733 programs/events were held of which 28,851 people attended!  Children’s Book Week and performance of the Christmas Wish were a couple of outstanding highlights.
9. Growth in Library Access Services program – assisting individuals to access the service who can’t due to health or infirmity
10. Added over 30,000 new items added to the collection.  Congratulations to our technical service team as that is an increase of over 3,000+ items from 2009!
11. Come ‘n’ try e-books: featuring Kindle, I-pad, Sony e-reader touch, and Kobo.  They are still on display – come and play! 

… and here comes 2011 – another exciting new year!

Congratulations Pam!

If you are a regular to the library, you would be familiar with a number of friendly faces who have worked here for many years.   There are even a couple who have been here for 22 years – amazing!  Staff are an important part of our business, and we recognise these individuals as they have a wealth of knowledge and experience they bring to the library service!   Today was no exception,  as Pam was presented with a certificate recognising her 15 years of service.  Congratulations Pam – and thank-you!

“It has been great working with such pleasant, talent and supportive staff and it has been a lot of fun.  Plus I have enjoyed being kept up to speed with all the changes in technology and our resources that has occurred during this time”