NW's Jax Read!! Event

Northwest library participated in the Brown Girl Dreaming, Jax Reads! event, September 23^rd. Nineteen attendees ranging from a 5 year old to age 14 enjoyed the chance to make their own dream jars.  They discussed their goals and talked about the book, Brown Girl Dreaming. One girl said she wants to be a teacher while her sister pronounced to the group that she wants to be a princess! 

                                      Kids' dream jars

Press Conference For Student & Educator JPL Cards A Great Success

The September 24 press conference to announce the partnership of JPL and the Duval County Public Schools to put library cards in the hands of 60,000 students, K-5th grade, was a resounding success. Library Director Barbara Gubbin and Dr. Nikolai P. Vitti (above) both spoke of the educational success this partnership will foster.  

Director Gubbin had this to say after the press conference today, "Putting books into the hands of young children seems a simple enough task but as we listened to Dr. Vitti, who articulated so well the barriers to making this happen, we were reminded again of how difficult this actually can be.  Instilling a love of reading because reading is easy and fun for a young child is one of the most important things that we can do as people who work in our library.  What you did today and the work Amber and the team of all our children’s librarians and their support teams at every library – circulation staff, reference librarians, custodians, security guards - everyone – are doing for 60,000 DCPS students and their teachers will have  positive outcomes for those children for many years to come.  Great job and thank you again!"

Mayor Lenny Curry addressed the conference and sang the praises of this partnership. Several of his staff also attended, along with DCPS Executive Director Larry Roziers, DCPS staff member Tia Ford, some Council Members, Library Board members Sybil Ansbacher, Gerald Reid, Mario Payne, Ronnie King, and former Board Chair and JPL liaison to the JPL Foundation Dr. Brenda Simmons-Hutchins, and some JPL staffs. Additionally, students of Garden City Elementary School enjoyed the Children's Department, engaged in story time, and checked out books using the new virtual Student Cards.

  

JPL A Win At NEFLIN Conference

Deputy Director Jennifer Giltrop accepted a  "Making the Most of NEFLIN in Continuing Education Award for a Large Library" from NEFLIN at their September 18 conference.

JPL seems to have a track record of making the most of whatever resources we have.  HOORAY FOR US!

Thanks to Manager of Strategic Initiatives Richard Mott for the input and picture.

A Bountiful Basket for NEFLIN Conferences - Thanks to JPL Staffs

A bountiful gift basket donated by JPL staff was auctioned off last Friday, September 18, at the NEFLIN Annual Meeting at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Baymeadows Road. JPL's basket brought in $80.00, and a total of $1,631 was raised by the silent auction and raffle for the Jim Morris Fund. The fund provides up to $500 per recipient in travel funds to be used towards attending conferences or other professional development activities.

Diane Alexander and Pam Beaton coordinated the basket project for JPL, soliciting and receiving donations from JPL administrators, as well as staff who have profited from NEFLIN training over the last year. The basket theme was “Road Trip Picnic” and it was filled to overflowing with organic trail mix, tortilla chips & salsa, veggie chips, dried fruit, crackers, salami, chorizo, cheese, nuts, granola bars, and two bottles of wine – one red and one white – along with picnic accouterments for two – tablecloth, place mats, flatware, wine goblets – and many other tasty items too numerous to catalog.

Richard Mott, Manager of Strategic Initiatives, said, "Many thanks to Diane and Pam and all those who contributed to this good cause."

SE's JAX Reads! Event Coming Up, 9/25/15

Anjelica Bencomo, SE's Teen Library Assistant, is proud of their Teen Advisory Board members. Here they are seen preparing for SE's Jax Reads! event, 4:30 pm, September 25, when 13-18 year old teens will discuss a  diverse and multi-cultural art experience  in a program called Graffiti.  Teens will explore a wide range of techniques and create their own works of art which will be put on display. 

If you know any artsy teens, tell them about SE's upcoming program.

Traveling Tales Presentations by JPL Staff At NEFLIN

Stephanie Miller (above) and Rebekah Mitchell (right background) are shown presenting Traveling Tales to attendees of the NEFLIN annual meeting, September 18. Traveling Tales is a project funded by a NEFLIN grant.  Richard Mott (above left foreground) and Lynn Jacobson (right foreground) can be seen enjoying the presentations.

Council Member Matt Schellenberg Reads At SOM

Library Associate Christie Rogers reports, "The South Mandarin Library was pleased to have Council Member Matt Schellenberg join us and read at story time on September 18, 2015. He read two stories that featured cats.  He then let everyone ask him questions and shared some personal information. 

"Most of the questions were in regards to the books. He brought zoo tickets and would ask the children 'What was the name of the cat?' and 'What color were his shoes?' When the child answered correctly he/she received a zoo ticket. CM Shellenberg shared that he is one of eleven children and he has a new grandchild. When someone mentioned noise he said that noise doesn’t bother him since he comes from a large family. He enjoys coming to the library and thanked everyone for having him. 

"Sixty two customers enjoyed our special guest."

Kudos From Customers

Graham Branch: The Library is my favorite place; I had a great experience. Ms. Tyhedra Wilson taught me how to keep account of my reading list. Thank you so much.

Highlands Branch: *Ms. Juanita Searles takes exceptional care of me and my husband. She helps us not only when we come in the library but over the phone, too. Everyone that we come in contact with is so very helpful and nice.

Main - Circulation:  …Erin Tuzuner…recognized me as the owner of a local business that she frequents. In addition to greeting me and making me feel extremely welcome she also recommended a newly arrived book to me -- a fiction novel that had elements of my business as part of the story. Jacksonville may be the biggest city in the country (by area of course) but when a librarian like Erin goes out of her way to make thoughtful reading suggestions and build relationships with the neighborhood in this way it shows that we still have the potential of being a small town in which residents receive this unique, personal service. Thanks for the tip, Erin; I liked the book and I'll be back.

Main – Special Collections: I was researching in the Florida history room and left my wallet on the table. It had over $1,000 in cash. She (Christa Snow) found my phone number, called me right away and was as nice as could be. I tried to give her a reward and she flat out refused anything of the kind. She is a wonderful person and an invaluable asset to the library.

San Marco Branch: Ms. Emily (Gideon)…is amazing. We would not continue to support the library if story time programs were cut. We home school and rely on story time.

_______________________________

*Ms. Searles, formerly at DU, is now at SS

54 JPL Educator Cards Given At TEACH Conference

On Saturday, September 12, 2015, several JPL staff attended the TEACH Conference (teachers met to inspire each other and share their ideas and concerns) sponsored by WJCT at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Jacksonville. JPL staff took this opportunity to make 54 educator cards for private, public, and charter school teachers in Duval County.

Those who took their Saturday to promote this wonderful project were Amber Holley (Youth Services Manager-Main), Susan Mankowski (Early Childhood Specialist-Main), Rebekah Mitchell (Youth Services Librarian III-Main), Lynn Jacobson (Bibliographic Systems and Access Manager, SST), Charlene Ovshak (Library Circulation Supervisor-Main), Stephanie Harley (Clerical Services Supervisor-CW), Beverly Brown (Clerical Services Supervisor- PCR), Corey Z. Scott (Library Assistant, Circ, Main), Milicia Thomas (Library Assistant, Popular-Main), and Donna Crowther (Library Assistant- Main).  Thanks to Milicia for the input.

Kathy Lussier, CR&M Manager, Honored By Library Board

Erin Skinner, Chair of the Library Board, presented CR&M Manager Kathy Lussier with a Certificate of Appreciation at the Library Board meeting, August 10, 2015, for Mrs. Lussier's outstanding work accomplished during her five year tenure with JPL. Mrs. Lussier introduced branding to JPL, received an award for instructing JPL staff on LibraryAware and strongly promoting its use system wide for individual libraries' promo materials, and she and her team rolled out unbelievable numbers of programs and their own p.r. materials for JPL, including posters, pamphlets, news releases, the JPL Newsletter. etc.  

Mrs. Lussier and her husband Joe, will be moving to Austin, TX, and her last day at JPL will be September 18.

Olga Bayer, who will pinch hit for the CR&M Manager until a new one is found, said, "All of our team can honestly say there is no one like Kathy. She is a wonderful person and boss, and she and her many talents and brain will be sorely missed here in CR&M. We wish her the very best always."

All of JPL employees can ditto that statement, Kathy!

Staff Profile - September 2015

Eric Cusaac, Library Clerk at Mandarin Branch, has been with JPL 24 years.  He began as a part-time clerk at Mandarin Branch in 1991, then transferred to old Main as a driver for distribution when JPL still owned that service. Later he moved to Brentwood, then to West Regional before going back to KR in 2009.  There he serves as a supply and property clerk and is responsible for reporting building issues to JPL Facilities. 

The Library Awards Committee (formerly R and R Committee) awarded Eric a Challenge the Process Award on July 9, 2015, for his diligence in resolving the constant clutter of boxes that became a big nuisance and safety issue in the staff workroom at KR.

Q: You volunteered to reclaim KR’s work space, What relationships had you already solidified that helped you solve the problem of hundreds of boxes of books that stacked up weekly ?

A:  I used my experience as a driver to communicate with the current distribution staff.  We could understand each others' problems and work together towards a solution to KR’s clutter.  Additionally, I had a good working relationship with KR’s staff and we wanted to see the clutter diminished.  We had a common goal that would benefit everyone.

Q:  How did you get your vision across to staff?

A:  I met with staff, outlined a plan for streamlining the donation process, listened to suggestions, kept good communication going between staff and myself, my supervisor and Region Manager.  I first secured my superiors’ input, suggestions, and approval before proceeding with the plan.

Q:  What steps did you then take to set your plan in motion for diminishing the clutter and safety hazard in the staff workroom?

A:  I had worked elsewhere on Sundays and observed how those branches handled donations and adapted some effective measures for KR.  I organized carts for sorting donations and weeded materials.  I created book sale and recycling signs for carts so donations could be sorted and packed quickly, saving much time and energy for all concerned.

Q:  Life is a learning process for all of us; was there something beneficial that you learned during this process?

A:  Laundry carts are not the most efficient way to store items for recycling.  Current distribution trucks are smaller than the ones we used at old Main.  They don’t have the capacity to hold lots of  laundry baskets and they don’t have tailgates to load them on their trucks.

Q:  What is something we may not know about you that you would share?

A:  I like to stay in touch with my family and I travel to Atlanta, Orlando, and Florence, SC as often as I can to see them.  I like sports, particularly bowling and fishing, and my favorite football team is the New York Giants.

GB Gets Into "Brown Girl Dreaming"

Marie Myers at Graham Branch reports, "We had our first Art Club/Brown Girl Dreaming (Jax Reads! featured book for 2015) poetry project at Graham Branch, September 3rd.

"Twelve teens used the image on the first page of the book as a background for our poem. I chose two poems from the book, which I photocopied and cut out the words. Teens then used the words on the table to create their own "found poem".  I thought it was a great twist to the classic found poetry technique. As they were finishing, they had a choice to either glue their poems on the paper, write it, and/or draw on it, too. We read the actual poems at the end."

Beautiful West Regional Library Celebrates 10th Anniversary

WST's Manager Kathy Tekin recounts their big day, "A fun time was had by all who attended the West Regional Library’s 10^th anniversary party, August 29, 2015.  Despite a bad rainstorm, we were honored with 200+ guests and we commenced with the reading of an official proclamation by the Jacksonville City Council recognizing West Regional’s 10th anniversary. Library Director Barbara Gubbin welcomed everyone and recognized Melodie Bishop, architect for West Regional, and her husband, former Council member Bill Bishop. Representatives of the Maxville Friends of the Library and Friends of JPL were also there.

"Festivities included storytelling by Northside Storytellers, music with Al Poindexter and adult crafts by Elise Fare.  The children were encouraged to participate in craft activities relating to the St. Johns River and pretend fishing in the river to win prizes.  Refreshments of cake, chocolate dipped strawberries, popcorn, and punch were served by our local Girl Scout Troop 607. 

"Party attendees were afforded the opportunity to meet City Councilman Doyle Carter and Board of Library Trustees Vice Chair Guy Anderson (pic at top), who addressed the gathering.  Guests also had an opportunity to ask questions and learn from our community partners, Duval County Cooperative Extension Office, AquaJax, and our own Talking Books and Special Needs Librarian II, Chris Easton (pic below)."

Jax Reads! Ready At WBK

WBK's Library Associate Kimberly Cherry said, "The Westbrook Branch staff had their display ready for the Jax Reads! community promotion of  Brown Girl Dreaming. I designed this large poster and colored it to resemble the book cover. The display includes other books by Jacqueline Woodson so that we would have a variety of books for children to adults.".

LET'S HEAR ABOUT YOUR JAX READS! PREPARATIONS! 

Jax Reads! Kickoff Big Draw For VIP's

Library support was vibrant at the Jax Reads! kickoff at the Main Library, September 1, 2015, attended mostly by VIP's.  

CR and M's Manager Kathy Lussier welcomed everyone and introduced Director Barbara Gubbin, who acknowledged many VIP's individually. Attending were State Senator Audrey Gibson's Aide, CM and Chairman of the Finance Committee Bill Gulliford, CM's Aaron Bowman. Katrina Brown, Doyle Carter, Al Ferraro, Jim Love, Joyce Morgan, Sam Newby and Scott Wilson; Margaret Smith with the Friends of JPL; some Library Board members; Leslie Kirkwood, Chairwoman of Banned; Michael Boylan, WJCT's President and CEO and other media reps, and some of the Mayor's and JPL's staff. 

She thanked the city for not reducing the JPL budget FY2016 and recognizing the importance of libraries.  Director Gubbin also thanked the CR and M staff and JPL employees as a whole. She gave a brief background of the author and said the book, written in poems, won the National Book Award and other awards. The Mayor and CM's will receive copies of Brown Girl Dreaming. She then introduced Mayor Lenny Curry.  

Mayor Curry acknowledged that reading precedes any success in life and the importance of libraries. He said sports as priority one in his life was overturned by reading in his youth and reading was a major contributor to his success as it can be for anyone. His family uses the San Marco Branch. 

Mayor Curry encouraged everyone to read Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson, during this city wide effort, September 1-October 4.  

Director Gubbin and Board Chair Erin Skinner unveiled the READ poster designed especially for Mayor Curry and the Jax Reads! kickoff. He was obviously delighted with the poster and thanked everyone.

Ms. Lussier also thanked all JPL staff without whom there would be no Jax Reads!--and particularly graphic artist Denise Turner for the Jax Reads! logo and color combination used in all of the attractive promotional materials.

Author Jacqueline Woodson will be at the Main Library Hick's Auditorium, October 4, to culminate the Jax Reads! program. 

To view more of these really good pics (thanks to Olga Bayer), you can link here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cityofjax/albums/72157655721146634