Director's Town Hall Meeting Notes

Greetings:

Notes and Q&A from the April 2009 Director's April Town Hall meetings have been posted to the Team Site on the Portal:
http://inside.coj.net/li/dnext/imp/Shared%20Documents/Town%20Hall%20Meeting%20Notes

To leave questions or comments, click on the word "comments" below.

Melonee Slocum

Mandarin Branch Reaches Out To The Community

Staff at the Mandarin Branch Library had a busy month last month! The Mandarin Senior Center hosted an Arts and Crafts Fair, Saturday, April 18, from 9-5, and featured a table with information on library services and programs. The seniors were very interested in Mandarin Branch's programs, especially the movies they offer.

On April 25, several staff members had a booth at the Riverside Arts Market. An attractive display with flyers and pamphlets promoted activities at the Mandarin Branch. The weather was beautiful and the setting was wonderful, right by the river. Shown in the picture, left to right, are Lisa Veal, part-time clerk, and Margo Crafton, children’s librarian senior.

Notes form Collection Development

Summer is around the corner so that must mean new books on the American Past time and the Boys of Summer (some of them bad boys!)--

A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez

Documents the life and controversial career of the baseball star, including his childhood in New York and the Dominican Republic, his rise to stardom with the Seattle Mariners, his record-breaking contract, his marriage, his relationship with Madonna, and the revelation he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Straw: Finding My Way

PW Reviews 2009 March

Website: http://www.publishersweekly.com/

From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in baseball, a perennial All-Star who was dubbed "The Black Ted Williams." Sadly, his effortless production on the field belied his troubles off it. Growing up in South Central L.A. with an abusive, negligent father left Strawberry unsure on "how to become a man," and playing pro baseball provided the foundation and means to become an alcohol and drug addict. Thanks to Strawberry's hard-living lifestyle, his attempts at domestic stability are colossal failures, and his halfhearted attempts at rehab lead to jail time and a damaged reputation. At his lowest point, Strawberry turns to God, leading him to redemption. The sheer turbulence of his life which also includes two bouts of cancer in his 30s certainly makes for a readable book, though not a probing one.

The Road to Omaha: Hits, Hopes & History at the College World Series

Booklist Reviews 2009 May

McGee delivers an all-embracing profile of the College World Series and its historic setting, Omaha's 60-year-old Rosenblatt Stadium, which, sadly, is scheduled for demolition after the 2010 season. Focusing on the 2008 series, won by upstart Fresno State University, McGee had exceptional access to coaches and players in covering every game played by the eight-team field, culminating in Fresno State's best-of-three win over favored University of Georgia. He complements his play-by-play with a loving, if at times tedious, portrait of the principal players and coaches, fans both locals and out-of-towners and the "Blatt" and its colorful south-side locale, leaving readers a memento marking what is soon to be the end of an era. Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.

Bottom of the Ninth: Branch Rickey, Casey Stengel, and the Daring Scheme to Save Baseball from Itself

PW Reviews 2009 March

Website: http://www.publishersweekly.com/

In 1958, after the Dodgers and Giants had both left New York for California, a group of investors sought to bring the city a new baseball franchise, and their proposal was a bold one. Led by former Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, they sought to create an entire new major league. Meanwhile, as the advocates for the would-be Continental League tried to make their case before the existing major league owners, New York Yankees manager Casey Stengel struggled to keep America's most popular team in championship form. Shapiro (The Last Good Season) parallels these two stories, arguing that they represent a hinge point when team owners could have taken radical steps to reclaim the sport's hold on the public imagination, but chose instead to cling tightly to their near-monopoly, paving the way for other sports, like football, to rise in popularity. The history, filled with colorful personalities, is told in a straightforward manner. While its two halves don't always fit together neatly, they offer a lively perspective on backstage dealings that almost changed the course of professional sports in America.

Southeast Branch Welcomes Its New Branch Manager, Theresa Barmer

During lunch time on Wednesday, May 13, Southeast Regional Library welcomed the arrival of its new Branch Manager Theresa Barmer, with a late spring cookout and paper flight competition. Grilled hamburgers were served, as well as a variety of side dishes for the occasion. Mrs. Barmer was able to meet with most of the staff and also participated in the paper airplane contest. Pictured above is newly arrived Manager Barmer completing a toss of her personally designed paper airplane, with Radhika Kandlakunta, Library Associate Senior, in the background.

Pictured from left to right are competition winners Bob Silkett, Librarian Senior, (third place with a 37 foot flight), Carisia Rooney, Children's Librarian (first place with a 44 foot flight), and Michael Platzer, Librarian, (second place with a 43 foot flight.), who are standing in Olympian order after receiving their winners certificates from Manager Barmer.

JPL's Center for Adult Learning Recognized for "Exemplary Project"

The Center for Adult Learning was recently recognized by the Division of Library and Information Services for a project targeting lower-level adult readers and their tutors. This initiative, Volunteers as Special Educators, was selected as the “FY 08-09 Exemplary Project” among those supported by LSTA funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Volunteers as Special Educators received accolades for its innovative way of teaching syllable division and syllable types to literacy tutors and adult new readers. CAL has provided training throughout the state and recently demonstrated components of this new curriculum at the 2009 Florida Literacy Conference in Clearwater.

JPL’s Center for Adult Learning first began providing reading instruction to adult learners in 1985. They currently offer small group and computer-assisted instruction in reading, math, pre-GED and English language skills to more than 800 adults annually.

Happy Mother's Day

Beware: This May Be Your Mother
By: Latosha Franklin from Northwest

This is an All-Points-Bulletin
Be on the look out for a woman approximately
20 to 30 years your senior.

She may be carrying a belt or a wooden spoon in her oversized handbag.
Now, don’t be alarmed and don’t run for cover,
This woman may very well be your mother.
If she’s ever braided your hair so tight that you looked surprised all day long,
She may be your mother.

If you ever had to endure wardrobe readjustments in front of your friends at the bus stop
The culprit may just be your mother.

If you ever had to wear a sailor suit for your class picture,
The woman responsible for this heinous act may be your mother.

If she tortured you by sitting and watching to make sure you ate your most hated food,
You can be sure that this woman is your mother.

If she ever almost came to blows with another woman over whose kid hit who first,
She might be your mother.

If she ever chaperoned your first date
This traumatic experience may have been caused
By your mother.

If she ever caught you smoking and beat you with her shoe,
Then she’s definitely…my mother
However…
If she ever stayed up all night with you because you had a fever,

Or sat and watched cartoons with you on Saturday mornings,

Or let you keep your favorite stuffed animal when she gave all the other ones away,

Or let you sleep in her bed during a storm,

Or let you lick the spoon,

Or took you to church and taught you how to pray,

She may be your mother.

If you see this woman, call a florist, call a candy maker, and call Jesus
And tell HIM , thank you for this lady
And while you’re at it, don’t forget to tell her you love her.
Rise up and call her blessed
Because this woman is your Mother.

Staff Profile

Natacha Leftwich has a bright smile that enhances her service at the Murray Hill Branch.

Q: How long have you been working for the Murray Hill Library?
A: I have been working at the library for two and half years.

Q: What is your current position?
A: I am a part-time clerk.

Q: Are you currently in school or college?
A: I am a full-time student at the University of Florida.

Q: What is the one thing that you want people to know about you?
A: I am a nice, sociable person and people can always ask me for help.

Q: What are you reading or what is your favorite book?
A: My favorite book is The Guardian, by Nicholas Sparks. I am currently reading Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, by Steve Harvey

Notes from Collection Development

Personal Finance

330.973 DENT 2009

The great depression ahead : how to prosper in the crash following the greatest boom in history / Harry S. Dent, Jr.

ISBN: 1416588981

Booklist (Monday , December 01, 2008)

Dent, author and consultant, predicts the economy is moving toward a major depression, with the deflation of bubbles in stocks, real estate, and commodities between mid- to late 2009 and mid- to late 2012, and it could last for a decade or more. Rather than offering only a gloomy outlook, Dent presents a road map for the difficult times ahead, suggesting cash and money-market investments initially and then highest quality U.S. Treasury, municipal, and corporate bonds and that same quality of bonds in stable Asian and European economies. When assets eventually fall in value, there will be unprecedented buying opportunities for those who are lean and mean. Theories and forecasts abound in the financial turmoil facing the U.S. and global markets in late 2008, and everyone may not agree with Dent. However, he makes a compelling case for his predictions and this is an excellent book to challenge a broad range of library patrons.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

THE NEW COFFEEHOUSE INVESTOR : how to build wealth, ignore Wall Street, and get on with your life / Bill Schultheis

ISBN: 159184245X

Booklist (Sunday , March 01, 2009):

This little how-to-invest book, which elegantly summarizes our common worries about how to build wealth, was initially published 11 years ago. This updated, revised, and revamped edition stands the test of time and of updating. Seattle-based Schultheis states his three principles of investing allocate assets, approximate stock-market average, and save then proceeds to expand and expound with personal stories and provocative questions. When is enough enough? What’s behind this Wall Street obsession to beat the market? Why do we need to lead a penny-pinching life today for a high retirement style tomorrow? Forget the complicated formulas, the diversity of spreadsheets. Concentrate instead, he advises, on understanding your burn rate, the meaning of diversification, and the value of being on financial autopilot. Like his peers (Suze Orman et al.), the author exposes two myths: no load mutual funds and great companies make great investments. All in all, solid and comfortable investment counsel that will help balance (and, eventually, grow) your balance sheet. Appended: partial list of index funds; notes; additional reading. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

330.9 EPPING 2009

The 21st century economy : a beginner's guide : with 101 easy-to-learn tools for surviving and thriving in the new global marketplace / Randy Charles Epping

ISBN: 0307387909

Booklist (Wednesday, April 15, 2009):

The economic upheaval of 2008 has left many investors and ordinary citizens stunned and confused, as it seems like none of the normal rules apply in this fast-paced world of electronic trading and instant information. We hear many terms thrown at us, but few understand their meaning or why they have any relevance to our own financial health. Epping, author of A Beginners Guide to the World Economy (1992), has created this beginners guide to fundamental economic terms and concepts to help the average person understand and navigate the rapidly changing twenty-first-century economy. Oft-heard but confusing terms such as credit default swap and collateralized debt obligation are defined in concise, easy-to-understand language to help readers make sense of the information overload coming via media sources like CNBC and the Internet. There is no guarantee that this guide will make you a better investor, but today more than ever it is essential that more citizens become economically literate, and this is a great place to start. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

332.024014 PARNESS 2009

Rule your freakin' retirement : how to retire rich by actively managing your assets / Michael Parness

ISBN: 0312375751

Booklist (Sunday , March 01, 2009):

The advice given here prompts every American, wealthy or not, to not only understand finances but also to manage money not invest it for the long term. It begins, as most financial planners agree, with a firm analysis of ones assets, liabilities, and needs, including all types of insurance, estate planning, and an objective look at Social Security. Then the usual content follows, including discussions of 401(k)s, mutual funds, bonds and bond funds, cash, and asset allocation. Yet the author does dive into the kinds of tips usually known only by financial pros, such as possible fleecing in terms of management fees from mutual fund companies, the differences between mutual funds and the advantages of ETFs, and defining the bond ladder with a few simple how-tos. Part 3, then, clinches the deal, where Parness shares some ideas and tricks used by traders and inveighs against investors. With end-of-chapter quizzes and an approachable colloquial writing style, Parness helps ensure his future as a TV and radio expert. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

332.02401 FISHER 2009

The ten roads to riches : the way the wealthy got there (and how you can too!) / Ken Fisher, with Lara Hoffmans

ISBN: 0470285362

Booklist (Wednesday, October 15, 2008):

There’s not enough space to list all 10 roads, but here are 5 of them: start a successful business, become a CEO of an existing firm, turn celebrity into wealth, capitalize on other peoples money, and this reviewer's favorite marry well. Fisher, a self-made billionaire, chronicles how some of today’s millionaires made their fortunes and how you can, too. He offers case histories of famous and not-so-famous examples of success and failure. In his final chapter, The Road More Traveled, Fisher says that the first step is saving, and the second is to invest in something that offers substantial returns. He warns that bonds are a riskier investment than stocks, and he provides a five-step guide to saving and investing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

Southeast Branch Honors Its Volunteers

On Tuesday, April 21, Southeast Regional Library held a Volunteers Appreciation event for the branch volunteers. Light snacks were served and each volunteer was presented with a volunteer t-shirt and notebook/pen set. Volunteers are indispensable members of the Branch family, helping to provide assistance with a variety of tasks necessary for the efficient operation of the library. Southeast greatly appreciates the hard and valuable work our volunteers perform for the Branch each day. Pictured are a few of the volunteers and employees who participated in the event. Shown from left to right are Neeraja Jampani (Volunteer), Joyce Myllykangas (Clerical Service Aid II), Tiffany Losco (Volunteer), Annah Bowser (Volunteer), Anthony Martin (Volunteer), Marie Boyer (Librarian - Volunteer Coordinator), Bill Richer (Volunteer), Arlene Wilson (PT Shelver), and Lauren Banks (PT Shelver).

Take the Genealogy Collection Virtual Tour

Last week, the Genealogy Collection placed their new virtual tour of the collection on the JPL website and debuted the tour in front of a large audience at the Spring Seminar & Genealogy Fair. The virtual tour highlights the resources of the Genealogy Collection. David White, David Fuller and Kate Holmes worked together to create the tour. David Fuller wrote the script; David White provided all the photography and narration and Kate Holmes edited the tour with the Training Department’s Adobe Captivate software.

This is a narrated tour, so headphones or speakers are recommended. You can view the virtual tour at http://www.jaxpubliclibrary.org/training/narrated-tour-all.htm

Interlibrary Loan Employees Celebrate Service

On April 1, Special Services invited the JPL staff to help them celebrate the 5th anniversary of ILLiad at JPL, the 30th anniversary of OCLC's online ILL service, and the debut of Lyrasis--created from the merger of SOLINET and PALINET-- and to thank them for their contributions to the success of Interlibrary Loan at JPL.

Notes from Collection Development

The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced on April 20, 2009.

The Pulitzer Prize is an U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City. Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories.

JPL owns copies of each of the winning titles below.

The 2009 winners for literature are!

Fiction - Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (Random House)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Hell. We’re always alone. Born alone. Die alone, says Olive Kitteridge, redoubtable seventh-grade math teacher in Crosby, Maine. Anyone who gets in Olive’s way had better watch out, for she crashes unapologetically through life like an emotional storm trooper. She forces her husband, Henry, the town pharmacist, into tactical retreat; and she drives her beloved son, Christopher, across the country and into therapy. But appalling though Olive can be, Strout manages to make her deeply human and even sympathetic, as are all of the characters in this novel in stories. Covering a period of 30-odd years, most of the stories (several of which were previously published in the New Yorker and other magazines) feature Olive as their focus, but in some she is bit player or even a footnote while other characters take center stage to sort through their own fears and insecurities. Though loneliness and loss haunt these pages, Strout also supplies gentle humor and a nourishing dose of hope. People are sustained by the rhythms of ordinary life and the natural wonders of coastal Maine, and even Olive is sometimes caught off guard by life’s baffling beauty. Strout is also the author of the well-received Amy and Isabelle (1999) and Abide with Me (2006). Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.

History - The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed (W.W. Norton & Company)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* In the long-awaited sequel to Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy (1997), Gordon-Reed delivers a powerful composite portrait of the African American family whose labors helped make Jefferson's Virginia residence a fountainhead of American culture. Primary interest naturally attaches to Sally Hemings, the gifted black woman who chose?at age 16?to live as Jefferson's enslaved mistress in America rather than as a free woman in France. But Gordon-Reed highlights the family role of Sally's mother, Elizabeth Hemings, whose experience in bearing children to both black and white fathers schooled her in the racial dynamics of early America. Biracial relationships immensely complicated life at Monticello, where the Virginia planter famous for declaring the equality of all men counted among his slaves four of his own children, fathered in a union he never publicly acknowledged. Gordon-Reed teases out telling clues from correspondence and journals of the Hemingses' struggle for dignity despite the cruel constraints of slavery. That Jefferson finally freed his children by Sally does not obscure those restraints, nor does it hide the tragedy visited upon other Monticello slaves when Jefferson's posthumous debts licensed the auctioneer to break up black families to increase their market value. A must-have acquisition for every American history collection. Copyright 2006 Booklist Reviews.

Biography - American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham (Random House)

Booklist Reviews

There are numerous books on the seventh president, but this one is distinguished by its particularly fluid presentation. As the subtitle indicates, it has special appeal for those readers who may be uninterested in a complete cradle-to-grave treatment but are looking for a particular focus on the Jackson presidency. The “evolution of presidential power” is the basic theme around which Meacham constructs his riveting account of the freshness Jackson brought to the White House—meaning, before his advent into the chief executive office, political power was considered to be best left in the hands of the landed elite, but Jackson believed in the “primacy of the will of the common people,” and during his administration, “democracy was making its stand.” This was a difficult time for the American republic; the issue of slavery was developing into a major political issue, and with that, the rise of southern questioning of just how strong the union of states was and what rights individual states possessed to safeguard regional interests. But Jackson administered the ship of state with good instincts and wisdom. Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.

Poetry - The Shadow of Sirius by W.S. Merwin (Copper Canyon Press)

Booklist Reviews

With no punctuation and a solitary launching capital letter, Merwin's elegant poems are built to the measure of breath and sweep the page like palm fronds. Yet each word is old, lustrous, and solid. Only a poet as seasoned as Merwin can wrest so much meaning from dark, moon, wake, river, and song. The questions he poses are as old as night, and the answers are forever elusive. The contrast between airiness and earthiness is intrinsic to master poet Merwin's newest poems, lithe works steely in their testing of the mesh of memory and sensuousness; the coil of time, our continuing fiction; and the ripple of shadows attendant upon the brightest star, the most radiant life. Childhood reminiscences summon the dead and recall the now obsolete; the underworld masquerades as a coal mine or a shadow without form or the darkness that is the mind of day. And Merwin contemplates the earth's verdant singularity in the vault of darkness, our entreaties straying far out past the orbits and webs. Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.

General Nonfiction - Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon (Doubleday)

PW Reviews

Wall Street Journal bureau chief Blackmon gives a groundbreaking and disturbing account of a sordid chapter in American history—the lease (essentially the sale) of convicts to “commercial interests” between the end of the 19th century and well into the 20th. Usually, the criminal offense was loosely defined vagrancy or even “changing employers without permission.” The initial sentence was brutal enough; the actual penalty, “reserved almost exclusively for black men,” was a form of slavery in one of “hundreds of forced labor camps” operated “by state and county governments, large corporations, small time entrepreneurs and provincial farmers.” Into this history, Blackmon weaves the story of Green Cottenham, who was “charged with riding a freight train without a ticket,” in 1908 and was sentenced to “three months of hard labor for Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad,” a subsidiary of U.S. Steel. Cottenham's sentence was extended an additional three months and six days because he was unable to pay fines then leveraged on criminals. Blackmon's book reveals in devastating detail the legal and commercial forces that created this neoslavery along with deeply moving and totally appalling personal testimonies of survivors. “Every incident in this book is true,” he writes; one wishes it were not so. (Mar.)

Mandarin Branch Honors Its Volunteers

The Mandarin Branch Library has many dedicated and loyal volunteers. Many have volunteered there for years, starting when the library opened in 1986! In appreciation of their service, the staff of the library hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Day on Wednesday, April 22. Volunteers enjoyed a wonderful luncheon with a Honey Baked ham and plenty of delicious sides. Featured are (clockwise from lower left) Arthur Martin, Kathy Reiff, Barbara Permenter, Dorothy Hill, Leslie Smith, and Dot Gray.

Kudos from Customers

Argyle - My son loves the family art. We never miss a week. Ms. DeLon (Rowan) always has great projects planned and she does a great job with the kids.

Main - Florida Collection & Remote Reference - I got exactly the information I required (online) from Catherine L. Currier and I received another email from Michael Shell checking that I had in fact received the information that had been sent. Very good service & thanks.

San Marco - I would like to comment about Erica Brown. She was by far the most helpful and pleasant librarian I've spoken with at the San Marco Branch and has given me a new Grade A opinion here.

University Park - Your staff is like family. Mina Figuerrez is always helpful.

Webb Wesconnett - The Children's Department is great--Jackie Bartha, Jack Betancourt, and Tenesha Anderson.

A Unique "Mini Museum" at Southeast Branch

Have you ever heard of the rock band Paramore? No! That’s ok, nobody else has either. Paul Schaffner, Library Assistant of Southeast Regional Children’s Department, remembers asking people about the band years ago and always getting an “I never heard of them” response. Paul has an interest in all things musical. He recently organized a children’s program for two to five year olds making 100 guitars out of empty tissue paper boxes, paper towel rolls and rubber bands. As Paramore’s number one fan in Jacksonville, or the southeastern United States for that matter, Paul has decorated his cubicle with a montage of items and posters of the band. Surprisingly, according to Alternative Press magazine, the band recently won band of the year. Pictured is Paul with his tribute cubicle to Paramore. So, if you have an opportunity to visit Southeast Library, you are welcome to take the tour of probably the only Paramore museum in North America.

Staff Development Day Banners in LIVING COLOR

If you didn't get a chance to view all the creative SDD banners, or look as long as you would have liked, we have added a slide show to the right for your viewing pleasure. (You can click on the picture on the screen and it will bring up an enlarged version, and then click the right arrow above the picture shown to proceed and see enlargements of each banner.)

The Great Job Hunt at Mandarin Branch Library

The Mandarin Library offers a variety of job resources, including a good selection of resume and cover letter books, as well as job research books. At left, librarian Elizabeth Garnett is shown next to Mandarin's job resource area. This area is designed to highlight the many job resources found at this branch.

Southeast Regional Branch Holds Its First Annual Employee Easter Egg Hunt

The first annual Southeast Regional Library Employee Easter Egg Hunt was held before the library opened on April 8th and 9th. Participants included full-time and part-time employees as well as volunteers. Pictured to the right is the starting line for the second day hunting event. (L to R, first row: Deborah Wainwright, Josh Riffe, Tiffany Losco, Bob Silkett; back, L to R: Nelly Harnisch, Crystal Kadkhodaie, Arlene Wilson, Cathy Smith & Mike Dubnick. If you double click on the picture, you can see the frog in the back jumping for joy as they start.) One hundred eggs were hidden in the Children’s Department on each day of the two day event. First day winners were Lauren Banks and Anthony Martin. The two determined fortune hunters located a total of 21 eggs each. When he found the fabled "golden" egg, Anthony Martin also won the supreme prize, a large chocolate bunny.

Contestants and Easter Egg Hunt fanatics were eagerly on hand for the second and final day of this prestigious sporting event. The winners of the second day were Deborah Wainwright, who found the “golden” egg, and Crystal Kadkhodaie, who found the winning total of 23 eggs. Each of them won prizes commensurate with their achievements and the previous day’s prizes. Pictured around the table are contestants, L to R: Arlene Wilson, Nelly Harnisch, Crystal Kadkhodaie, and Cathy Smith, during the final egg count on the second day.

Many thanks to Joyce Myllykangas and Carisia Rooney for organizing and officiating this event.

Calling All JPL Staff to Read "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London

Looking for a good read? Something that tugs at the heart perhaps or leaves you wanting more? The Call of the Wild has all that and more! This book is an exciting story about Buck, a once beloved pet that is torn from his home and comfortable lifestyle only to be thrown in the trenches of a dangerous and brutal pursuit of riches and power.

This is a short and fast read that you can enjoy on your lunch hour or at home with your family.

We invite you to take the poll over in the right column (just under "Labels" and "Subscribe to JPL Staff News"), if you have read, re-read or plan to read The Call of the Wild before The Big Read finale, May 6, 2009--and let us know your thoughts.

Staff Profile

Alfreda Whitfield is a Clerical Support Aide II at Bradham Brooks Northwest Branch Library, who obviously enjoys serving library customers.


Q: As a native of Jacksonville, you lived several years in Alaska. Where in Alaska did you live, how long, and what did you find most interesting there?
A: I lived five years in the heart of Alaska, which is Fairbanks. What I found most interesting while I was there was that at any given time, you might find a moose in your yard gnawing at a tree. You could also find them walking down the street as a little family or just roaming through the neighborhoods. The caribou were so cute; you could be driving along a long stretch of mountainside road, and it seemed they would stand and actually pose for a picture. The mountains were absolutely breathtaking and I miss the snow dearly.

Q: What do you think is the most important contribution you make to good customer service?
A: I feel I serve my purpose while working at the circulation desk. When a customer comes in and says, “There’s that smile,” and some look for me as if I were that important, or just because they really appreciate my service to them, that’s my contribution, my personality, and spirit.

Q: Tell us a little about your family.
A. I am one of eleven brothers and sisters. I’m at the bottom: number nine. I’m a wife and mother. Between my husband and me, we have three girls, five granddaughters, and one grandson. I’m married to someone I’ve known since fourth grade, who has always had a crush on me. We had both been married and divorced when we ran into each other back in 1998. After my daughter and I came home on vacation in July 2001, Gartrell and I were married, and my husband followed us back to Alaska; the rest is history.

Q: What is your favorite book and why?
A. I don’t really have a favorite book. I love books period--mostly inspirational books. I love that pick-me-up feeling they give me, and Chicken Soup for the Soul is one of my favorites, the stories are touching, and get right to the heart. I guess you can tell I’m one of those sentimental persons.

Q: What is something most people do not know about you?
A: I’ve often heard that I don’t look my age, but something most people don’t know about me is that I’m a great grandmother of a beautiful boy and girl.

April Town Hall Meetings

What are Town Hall meetings? Town Hall meetings are scheduled periodically by the Library Director to give all staff members an opportunity to learn more about the Library, get to know senior staff and to ask questions. They also give the Director and her staff an opportunity to know about issues that are important to you!

How do I participate? Let you manager know if you are interested in attending and he/she will accomodate attendance by as many people as possible. Even if you aren't able to attend, you'll be able to read notes from the meetings on the blog. Remember, you can submit your questions ahead of time by clicking on the "comments" button below. (Comments can be anonymous.)

April Meeting Schedule:

4/21/09 - Main, MP1, 2:30-4:00 and, remote to South Mandarin
4/22/09 - Main, MP1, 2:30-4:00 and, remote to West
4/23/09 - Pablo Creek, meeting room, 2:30-4:00

Mandarin Branch Library Celebrates with Spring Break Programs

The Mandarin Library is the place to be for fun Spring Break programs! Tuesday and Thursday, March 31 and April 1, the Teen Department held a Video Game Gala, featuring Wii sports. Staff tried out the Wii to check for “quality assurance”. Jeff Geiger, Librarian, demonstrated his proficiency at the game of tennis while members of the staff cheered him on.

One Millionth Customer at University Park Branch Library!

On March 30, the one millionth customer walked through the doors of the University Park Branch of the Jacksonville Public Library. Anjill Herron and her son, Kaleb Herron, were presented with a gift basket provided by the Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library and an anonymous donor. The gifts included a membership in the Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library.

Located in a remodeled K-Mart building near the intersection of University Boulevard North and Fort Caroline Road, the University Park Library opened in October 2004. During the four and a half years it took to reach the milestone of serving one million customers, this library branch has become a community hub in the Arlington area providing free meeting space for meetings and programs of nonprofit community and government organizations. Some of the groups that have provided programs include AARP income tax preparation, Greater Arlington and Beaches Vision Plan, U.S. Census employment recruitment, Jacksonville Human Rights Commission Study Circles and numerous homeowners and neighborhood associations.

The library itself provides a wide variety of its own children’s and teen programming. These programs have included storytimes, summer reading programs, Hispanic heritage festivals, Native American heritage festivals, Black History, movie nights, teen art contests, Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, Mother and Daughter Self-Defense, Stocks to Study and many more.

Free computer access to the Internet and to word processing programs are also available. Customers can bring their laptop computers to the library to use wireless Internet access. The branch offers free checkout of not only print materials but also books on CD, CD music, DVD movies, DVD documentaries and DVD nonfiction. Reference and children’s librarians are always on hand to assist customers in finding the materials they need for recreation, education or information purposes.

Notes from Collection Development

The recent DVD additions to our collections highlighted below will allow customers to “See different parts of the world” from the comfort of home!

Synopsis: In 2008's MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA, the endearing New York City zoo animals of the original hit movie return for another zany round of CGI adventures abroad. Leaving the island of the title by way of a ramshackle penguin-designed aircraft, the quartet of Alex the Lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), along with unlikely friends such as King Julien the Lemur (Sacha Baron Cohen), crash-land on the African savannah, setting in motion a whole new series of exploits, involving Alex's long-lost parents (Bernie Mac and Sherri Shepherd) and a stranded group of tenacious NYC human tourists. Reuniting directors Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell, as well as all the principal cast members of the first film, MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA takes full advantage of its sweeping setting, making room for beautifully expansive landscapes amidst the mammal mayhem. While the leads are in fine form, they are ably assisted by series newcomers, including the late Mac, Shepherd, and Alec Baldwin, who plays a scheming rival lion. Though various plotlines get increasingly ridiculous as the movie goes on (see the return of MADAGASCAR's aggressive Grand Central Station granny), the good-natured main characters and their silly support players (particularly lemurs and penguins) keep ESCAPE 2 AFRICA entertaining no matter how far the story strays off the wildlife reserve.

Synopsis: MOULIN ROUGE's Baz Luhrman and Nicole Kidman reteam for this epic that pays homage to their homeland. In AUSTRALIA, Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) is a prim and proper Englishwoman who journeys to Australia in the years before World War II reached the country's shores. She is determined to have her estranged husband sell his cattle ranch to a monopoly-craving businessman named King Carney (Bryan Brown), but when she arrives, Lord Ashley is dead, and her plan to sell the ranch changes when she sees an employee named Fletcher (David Wenham) cheating her husband's business and mistreating a young boy named Nullah (Brandon Walters) because he is of mixed race. Urged on by both pride and a sense of justice, Lady Ashley wants to drive her herd of cattle to Darwin so she can sell them to the troops, but she'll require the help of an independent cowboy (fellow Aussie Hugh Jackman) to get them there. AUSTRALIA changes genres almost as much as Kidman's character changes from fantastic costume to fantastic costume (courtesy of Luhrman's wife and collaborator, Catherine Martin). The film begins as a fish-out-of-water comedy, then changes into a Western, then morphs into a romance, and it finishes as a World War II drama. But in this genre-bending epic, there's something for everyone, especially for fans of Jackman. The actor has rarely looked better, and there's plenty of opportunity for him to show that he can be an action star as well as a romantic lead in the mold of the Golden Age stars. The film itself harks back to classic Hollywood, at times resembling essentials such as GONE WITH THE WIND and THE AFRICAN QUEEN. And fans of THE WIZARD OF OZ will enjoy seeing how the beloved film works its way into AUSTRALIA's plot and score.

Synopsis: High school romance is difficult enough to navigate when both people are human. But for 17-year-old Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart, INTO THE WILD) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE), Edward's life as a vampire complicates things even more. At first, when Bella moves from sunny Phoenix to the rainiest corner of Washington State, she isn't sure where she fits in at her new high school. Then she meets Edward, an ethereal beauty of a boy whose unnatural speed and strength lead Bella to the conclusion that her new crush is one of the undead. Suddenly, Bella's boring life is transformed; she's surrounded by love and danger in equal parts, thanks to the hunger of Edward and others of his kind. TWILIGHT is based on the first book in the addictive series by author Stephenie Meyer. Director Catherine Hardwicke (THIRTEEN) certainly knows her audience, which is primarily the teenage girls who worship the book and its characters. There are plenty of swoonworthy shots of Pattinson's perfectly pale Edward, and his romance with Stewart's nicely acted Bella will cause many a sigh among the devoted fans. While TWILIGHT is primarily a love story in the ROMEO AND JULIET mold, there's also plenty of action and horror to be found. Blood flows (this is a vampire movie, after all), but the small amount of gore shouldn't be too much for the squeamish viewers--and it might even draw a boy or two to the screen. The film's record-breaking box office take alone is proof that the film's appeal isn't limited to screaming teen girls.

Worth An Encore - "The River Dance" Video from Class at Staff Development Day

This brief video--with Josh Jubinsky, Keli Likins and Susan Mankowski--was used in a Staff Development Day class, "Don't Roll Your Eyes at Me". It is a humorous reminder how important it is to listen intently and ask necessary questions until we have the input needed to give customers accurate information.

Mandarin Branch To Promote JaxREADS -The Big Read & "The Call of the Wild"

April will be a busy month for all ages at the Mandarin Branch Library as the library promotes The Call of the Wild during JaxREADS-The Big Read. Linda Smith and Melissa Tison created the attractive disply at left to encourage customers to read and participate.

The Adult Department will host two book talks and will show the movie, Alaska.

The Teen Department will show the movie, The Call of the Wild.

The Children’s Department will host numerous programs along with a month long photo display, “I Love my pet because…..” and children can bring in pictures of their pets and post them on the display board. The Children’s Department will have a mother-daughter book club featuring the book, Black Star, Bright Dawn, by Scott O’Dell, the story of the Alaskan Iditarod (their premier dog sled race). A local Mandarin veterinarian will talk to school age children about taking care of dogs and how to become a veterinarian. Pawsitive Pets will bring in reading dogs for children to practice their reading skills with the dogs. In addition, the movie, Balto, will be shown.

SDD Photos + BOBsled Video

Photos from Staff Development Day are now available on the Staff Day teamsite for your perusal. Here's the direct link: http://inside.coj.net/sites/staffDev/SDD4ALL/SDD%2009%20Photos/Forms/AllItems.aspx.

Many thanks to photographer Cranston Burney for the excellent job he did of capturing the whole day in images.

The BOBsled Relay video is also posted on the Staff Day teamsite. Find it in the Shared Docs of the Staff Day Teamsite (http://inside.coj.net/sites/staffDev/SDD4ALL/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx).

Champions of Live Chat Reference

We celebrated some great library teams on Staff Development Day. Here's another team to commend: JPL's Ask a Librarian live chat reference agents.

We have 60 agents system-wide, representing every branch, plus Teen, Popular Library, Special Collections and Reference at the Main Library. Take a look.

Row 1: Laura Minnich, David Fuller, Christa Snow (co-coordinator), Erik Larsen, Julie McNeil, Carol Bailey, Mike Shell (coordinator)

Row 2: Yuri Jewitt, Sharon Kirkes, Valerie Mattair, Curt Beadell, Gloria Buenavista, Elizabeth Garnett

Row 3: Daniel Kibler (standing), Guy Adkins, Karen Hardin, Janine Stanley, Katherine Daye, Eve Harm

Row 4: Michael Rouse, Rita Vernon, Sara Radovic, Jeff Geiger, Margaret Morford

Not pictured: Susan Arthur, Jessica Bailey, Jack Betancourt, Mia Brack, Cheryl Callavini, Mia Clark, Margo Crafton, Kristi Dorney Revondolyn DuBois, Doug Fair, Kimberly Forster, Arnetta Girardeau, Trudy Hill, Amber Holley, Lanette Jackson, Radhika Kandlakunta, Justin Keiser, Alissa Leonard, Keli Likins, Laura Minor, Mary Mlady, Jay Mooney, Brian Moses, Matthew Moyer, Jodie Nehrt, Michelle Petrin, Isabelle Pierre, Michael Platzer, Anne Robert, Carisia Rooney, Theresa Rooney, Greg Royce, Maude Scott, Jacinda Stephens, Tasha Toliver, David White, Laura Young

Alumnae: Kema DeSegrada, Francesca Roccosalvo, Stacey Van Hoy, Carrie Paez

These folks serve real-time remote customers 20 hours a week. Local customers come through the JPL website interface, but the team also handles customers who come to Ask a Librarian through any Florida library site.

For more details, check out the Ask a Librarian Day post on this blog, as well as the statewide Ask a Librarian Blog.

Thanks, all you marvelous people!

The Big Read: The Big Snowy Day

Don’t miss out on all the action at the Main Library during April’s Art Walk (April 1st--no joke) is Art Walk, Wednesday, 5 pm – 8 pm).

You will discover literary riches by joining us in the celebration of this year’s Jax Read! The Big Read selection, The Call of the Wild, by Jack London. This family program, “The Big Read: The Big Snowy Day”, will have something for everyone to enjoy.

Outside the library on Laura Street, we will have real snow perfect for making snow angels or building a snowman. You can even brave our gigantic snow slide. The fun doesn’t stop outside! We’ve transformed the library into the Yukon, just like in the book. There are lots of activities to enjoy including story time with special guest, Kathryn Peyton, panning for gold, rock climbing, and live music. Be sure to button up because it might be warm in Jacksonville but a snow storm is headed straight for the library!

If you’d like to be part of the action and are willing and able to help out, please check with your supervisor and let us know. Right now we’re looking for volunteers for the following:

Clean Up: 3; Rock Climbing: 2; Set Up: 2; Snow: 4

We’d love to have you on the team!

Kudos from Customers

Main - Popular: Karen Harden is great. She assisted me in finding the ACII needed in no time. She is awesome.

Main - Special Collections: Thanks to Ms. Kathleen Krizek. She always smiles and is always ready to be of help.

Pablo Creek Branch: Susan (Williamson) is always courteous and has a smile on her face. I appreciate her service very much and just simply want recognition for her. Thanks.

Regency Square Branch: Ms. Mary (Heaney) is doing a good job with storytime.

West Regional Branch: Antoinette Walker is very helpful. I come in here a lot and she always knows the answer to my questions. She is fast to help me find wonderful books.

Banners for Staff Development Day Hail JPL Staff Champions of...

The great success of Staff Development Day was framed with 34 colorful banners, designed by staff, heralding individual branches' and departments' focus on what they are
CHAMPIONS OF...
Administration: Innovation
Argyle: Creativity
Beaches: Teamwork
Bradham Brooks Northwest: The Journey Toward Hope and Equality
Brentwood: Customer Service
Brown Eastside: Diversity
Dallas Graham: Teamwork - We Work Hard But Working As A Team Makes It Easier
Facilities: Sustainability - Leeding by Example
Highlands: Reserves
Main - Center for Adult Learning: Adult Learning -
Grammar, Spelling, Pre-GED, Workplace Skills, Computer Literacy, Phonics,
Life Skills, Math, Comprehension, & ESL
Main - Children's - Mirthful Jocosity
Main - Circulation - Circulation Desk Teamwork
Main - Interlibrary Loan: Resource Sharing - Interlibrary Loan & Books by Mail
Main - Popular: District Champs of JPL - POP - 2005-2009 - A Dynasty
Main - Reference: Reference
Main - Remote Reference:
Internet, Email, Ask A Librarian, Chat, Instant Messaging, Call Center & Phone
Main - Special Collections: Accessing Your History
Main - Talking Books: The Underserved
Main Teen: Awesomeness
Mandarin: Group Effort
Maxville: Customer Service - Happily Helping Customers - All Shapes and Sizes - Since 2005
Murray Hill: Diversity
Pablo Creek: Circulation, Customer Service, Technology, Volunteers, & Holds
Partnerships & Communiction:
Promoting Partnerships, People, Places, Communication & Events
Regency Square: Customer Satisfaction...Just Ask Us
San Marco: Customer Service
Southeast: Children's Services - art night, game night, storytime & circulation
South Mandarin: Community - Adults, Teens, and Children
Support Services Team at University Park: Materials and Access
University Park: Customer Service
Webb Wesconnett: Technology - Come And Experience The Wild Wild Webb
80% Self Check - 90% Computer Usage
West Regional: Teamwork - Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Westbrook: Community
Willowbranch: The Neighborhood

Congratulations to all who worked to make these beautiful banners!

Notes from Collection Development:

Are your customers still interested in the New York Times Bestseller lists? Do they want to know a bit more about the titles on the list? Perhaps they are interested in what other readers think of the titles? Maybe you don’t have enough hours in your day to keep up with all of the latest popular titles and want a quick way to stay current…

Well there is a new mash up you may want to investigate and pass along to customers.

It’s called Reading Radar: http://readingradar.com/. The creator, John Herren, has won awards for his mash ups. Reading Radar combines the NYT bestseller lists, Amazon’s customer written reviews and Amazon’s star rating system. So if you, or a customer, want to know more than just the spot a title occupies on the bestseller list, take a look at Reading Radar.

Also keep in mind that you can find the bestseller lists with links to our catalog holdings by going to “Resources for Readers/Hot Titles at the Library” on the library’s website.

Staff Profile

Wally Bowden has been Graphic Artist for JPL nine years and his professional graphics and input help put JPL's best foot forward. At left is a picture of Wally, 2nd from right, with his bride, Jenny, and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Walt Bowden.

Q: You’ve been JPL’s Graphic Artist for nine years. What part will your expertise play in the success of the new Library Card Campaign?
A: I am working with a great team on a committee to cover the social media aspect of the campaign. We will be doing a case page on Facebook promoting library card awareness, some youtube materials, blogging and shared stories via email which will allow all branches to participate.

Q: Why did you become a graphic artist?
A: I actually backed into the profession. My college major was Advertising and my minor was Political Science. It is impossible to break into the advertising field without any experience. My church had an open position for what was then called a typesetter. I was qualified for that with the few design classes I had in my days at UNF. That was 1997 and I have been doing it since.

Q: What is your favorite subject to read about and why?
A: I absolutely LOVE history and great historical figures such as Lincoln and Washington. Lately, I have also been reading a lot about how to turn good companies into great companies. I believe a lot of the same principles apply to making a good church a great church. My wife’s brother began a church in Jacksonville last month, and we are a part of the launch team for that church on the Northside. Outside of that, I just love suspense authors like Patterson and Koontz.

Q: Since design and color are big aspects in your daily work, what is the most beautiful place you have visited?
A: When I was married in June 2008, my wife and I wanted to honeymoon in Greece as my international travel only consisted of a trip to Canada, and I always thought that Greece is beautiful from the pictures/documentaries I have seen. Unfortunately, the cost of a wedding dictated us staying in the states so we went to Captiva Island, Florida, and it was gorgeous. We plan on taking that trip to Greece and celebrate the finish of her Masters in Counseling next year.

Q: What is something most people would not know about you?
A: I played two years of tennis for FCCJ on scholarship and just this February started my first tennis coaching position. I am the coach of the Varsity tennis boys and girls team for Mandarin Christian school.

Ron Block Is Runner-Up as Library Journal’s Paraprofessional of 2009

Ron Block was nominated by Gretchen Mitchell, Main Library Administrative Supervisor, for the Library Journal’s award for Paraprofessional of the Year, and he is the runner-up. You can read the article in the April 2009 Library Journal by clicking here.

Among his notable accomplishments, Ron sequestered Adriana Trigiani and had his picture made with her. (Ms. Trigiani entertained a crowd with her hilarious presentation at Much Ado About Books' luncheon, Saturday, February 28.)

Ron Block has been JPL’s Circulation Services Coordinator since October 2007. Among his varied challenges, he chairs Jacksonville Public Library’s Circulation Review Unit, comprised of librarians and support staff, and CRU reviews and recommends changes to policy and procedures that have supported the Library Board of Trustees' development of JPL’s user-friendly policy. Their work has resulted in improvements in our holds, library card registration, and renewals procedures. Through this team, Ron led the cause to make it easier for homeless living in shelters to obtain library cards. In addition to this team, he chairs the Circulation Roundtable, a group of paraprofessionals from each branch. Ron is also one of 16 trainers who teaches in the JPL’s Destination Leadership program. Prior to his current position, Ron worked as Clerical Services Supervisor at Regency Square, University Park and Southeast branches.

Lincoln's Bicentennial

How can you honor this great man? Read one of these recent orders and promote them to your customers.

920.073 STAUFFER 2008

Giants : the parallel lives of Frederick Douglass & Abraham Lincoln /John Stauffer.

ISBN: 0446580090

Booklist (Wednesday, October 01, 2008):Like Paul and Steven Kendrick, authors of the recent Douglass and Lincoln, Stauffer has to scale up to achieve book size, since the men’s personal relationship consisted of just three meetings. Stauffer does that partially by using the Kendrick’s method of chronicling Douglass' criticisms of Lincoln and partially by presenting a dual biography couched in the theme of the self-made man. As he hits the mile markers of the men’s rise from nothing, Stauffer, an English professor, often speculates about what each man certainly or would have thought about events in their lives (such as Lincoln's supposed homosexuality, of which Stauffer is convinced, despite acknowledging there is no explicit evidence). This casts his narrative more as historical essay than straightforward history. Stauffer also emphasizes what he regards as key features of the men’s interaction, such as a friendship, perhaps genuine, perhaps diffident, growing out of Lincoln's incremental adoption of the abolitionist position championed by Douglass. A work well worth the attention of students of emancipation. – Gilbert Taylor (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)



BIO 973.7092 LINCOLN 2009

A. Lincoln : a biography / Ronald C. White, Jr

ISBN: 1400064996

Booklist (Thursday , January 01, 2009): A scholar of Lincoln’s rhetoric (Lincoln's Greatest Speech, 2002), White offers the full-bodied Lincoln biography, the most recent example of which was David Herbert Donald’s highly praised Lincoln (1995). Donald’s intent was to craft a definitive portrait of Lincoln's enigmatic personality, while White aims for a chronological narrative of Lincoln's public activity. White adheres to a factual tone rather than trying to figure Lincoln out a la Donald. This is an important need for readers seeking the arc of Lincoln’s life (rather than an interpretation of it) and is one that White ably fulfills. Recounting Lincoln's beginnings, White informs readers about the importance of Lincolns' stepmother; the rapidity with which Lincoln, once emancipated from his father, gained political standing in Sangamon County, Illinois, in the 1830s; and the rise of his reputation through descriptions of numerous election campaigns that Lincoln conducted from his power base. Capped by his account of Lincolns' Civil War presidency, White's book provides a solid informational foundation. – Gilbert Taylor (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

BIO 973.7092 LINCOLN 2009

Mrs. Lincoln : a life / Catherine Clinton.

ISBN: 0060760400

Booklist (Monday, December 1, 2008): This biography of the wife of the sixteenth president is perfectly timed: it will be published in the first month of the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. It is certainly not a rush job. Clinton's careful research and thoughtful presentation result in the best treatment of the troubled life of Mary Lincoln in recent memory. It is important to approach Mrs. Lincoln with not only respect but also balance, to not only understand her eccentricities but also sympathize with them while making no unwarranted excuses for her. This Clinton does brilliantly. Mary Lincoln’s mercurial, insecure personality and crimes, namely, overspending on clothes and White House improvements, were hot fodder for journalists during her husband's administration and even during her peripatetic widowhood. Clinton sees Mary making many wrong choices in behavior that simply fueled the smear campaign against her and gives witness to Mary’s deteriorating mental condition after the shock of her husband’s assassination played havoc with her already fragile stability. The issue of whether she went insane, her only living child, Robert, had her committed for a while to an asylum to stop her waywardness is sensitively analyzed. She was, and continues to be, controversial, but, as Clinton submits, she remains a figure of great color, worthy of continued interest. – Brad Hooper (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)