Busy Saturday

Saturday 30th January 2016

I was rushed off my feet today! I had queues at the counter as well as people waiting around to use a computer. We have five public computers in Silverdale and usually they are well used with people spaced out over the day.

The boys enjoying their Putin game

However, today I had some boys in that I haven't seen in the library since back in the summer when they did the Summer Reading Challenge. I was really pleased to see them back in. All three went on the computers - after being reminded of their PINs to get back on. It was so nice to see them all playing the same game - yet being so well behaved. I'm not sure what the game was - I hadn't seen it before. It seemed to involve a grid background with coloured balls bouncing around the screen. In the middle floated pictures of Vladimir Putin or Barack Obama! It looked like fun anyway :-)


 


More good news - today Mr. C came back in! He replied to my text last night to say he'd had a bad back so hadn't been out much all week. It was lovely to see him back and choosing his horses once more.... and he brought me some chocolate biscuits too!

My Blast from the Past is a photo of one of my favourite book titles! It makes me smile every time I go past it on the shelf. I know some staff at Newcastle have a competition to try to find the most ridiculous Mills and Boons titles - but I love the ones that are lines from or titles of song.

There are quite a lot of them :-)

Want to work for nothing?

Friday 29th January 2016

Advertising for my replacements...

 Came in today to find leaflets and posters all over the counter and walls asking for volunteers to work in my library. I knew this was coming, of course, in fact they need to get a move on if they want people to be in place after I leave on 31st March. But, it is still upsetting to see it right in front of me all the time.

I don't know how many volunteers they want to cover for me - but I think it would be a few, if they only want to do a few hours each week. I guess time will tell.

I did have to put the leaflets out in the foyer and on the windowsills - so I didn't have to see them ALL the time.

Am still worried about Mr C - no sign of him today. I decided to text him to see if he was okay. I asked him if needed any emergency whisky bringing over!

Yummy individual Bakewell



I did have one thing to cheer me up today - one of the aforementioned Co-op Bakewell tarts. Delicious as ever!

The Knit and Natterers were in today - they were working on knitted toys for children. I was quite excited that I had a new book in for them - but they were not impressed! Maybe Easy Knits for Babies was insultingly basic for ladies with such experience! I won't make that mistake again :-)

My Blast from the Past today is from when my former colleague at Silverdale, Tracy and I did our first Race for Life - as part of the Book Group. We were joined by my good friend Janet and Tracy's sister - Dawn. It was back in June 2013 - after I'd recovered from my cancer treatment and was back at work. We do it every year now!

The Book Group - with medals!

Poets in full flow...

Thursday 28th January 2016



Caroline

I love Thursdays - 'cos it's poets day! The wonderful Keele Poets at Silverdale have their weekly class. They come from far and wide (mainly Cheshire - which is a whole county away!) Caroline is the tutor - and not only is she an amazing poet herself - she's also a researcher and the agent for Oxford Professor of Poetry - the wonderful Simon Armitage. If it wasn't for her - he would never have visited our little village library.

I like to get the room ready before they come - because sometimes some of them can get stuck in road works or on the motorway. They like to have the desks moved out of the way and sit in a big circle. Caroline always sets them homework - and they all get chance to read their work to the others. I can quite often hear hilarity ensuing when I'm at the counter - the other end of the library from their room!



Caroline and her poets

They are the ones who wrote all the poems that are proudly displayed in our Public Toilet - as part of their Bards in the Bog projects. Customers love them - but do tend to spend a lot longer in there than they used to!

Busy reading their work

One of the poets wrote a fab poem about Silverdaleans - turning them into Silvered Aliens! It was very funny :-)

At Christmas they wrote one about me - the are so lovely!

Very proud of my poem :-)

Library volunteer

Their term lasts until the end of March - then they have a break until the following September. I just hope that things are going well in the library then - so that they can still have their room. They all love coming to Silverdale - the room is just right, there are no stairs or steps and we even got them a hearing loop for the room - to help the few with hearing difficulties. There's also free parking in The Parade!


Today's Blast from the Past is one of my more unwelcome customers - eeek! I don't like spiders - and this one was HUGE! Also there's a kind of funnel web just behind the photocopier where a spider has been living for the last 9 years! Or maybe a succession of spiders - many generations even.

I don't think I'll miss this customer too much! Talking of missing customers - I've not seen Mr C all week. I am seriously worried. I will have to text him if he's not in tomorrow....

Remembering TOWN

Monday 25th January 2016

The calm before the storm

I love my library first thing in the morning before I even open the doors. Once I have opened al the shutters and let the sunlight in - it looks just beautiful.

My library has dual-aspect windows - from the left you can see the High St with the bus stop outside and down the entire right side you can see the car park behind and in the distance the hills of the Apedale Country Park. It looks beautiful whether they are green or white and covered in snow.

It's always a calm start to the day - until I unlock the door, people start to come in and the day begins!

Another Monday - another Coffee Tots. The group is getting so big now - the leader Trudie from the Heath Centre asked me what the room capacity was - for health and safety purposes! I checked and it is 36 if using both rooms with the partition removed. She had 28 mums - all with babies and toddlers. We had to cordon off the children's library for the parking of all the prams and buggies.

The computers were busy too - one customer hadn't been in for quite a while - but needed to print out some bank statements. I reminded her how to log on with her card and PIN - then told her to shout if she got stuck with the printing. She gave it a go herself - but needed help to get the statements to come out. I showed her once and then she was fine, we were soon churning them out. She left a happy customer.

I was worrying that I wasn't going to get any lunch when no relief staff has arrived by 1.15pm. I had a call from Newcastle though to say someone was on the way. Janet arrived rather flustered - she hadn't started until 1pm today - but no-one had told her she was meant to start at Silverdale. I got my lunch - then she had to get back to the counter at Newcastle. They are very short staffed now - so I really don't see how they are going to cover Silverdale once I have gone. I hope someone looks after my customers! I had an email to say that all libraries will be getting forms for prospective volunteers to fill in. We are meant to display them for people to pick up and we have to refer anyone who shows any interest to a new member of staff at Newcastle who has been appointed to find volunteers for my library - and four others in our district.

Joy performs TOWN

It does make me feel sad - and I'm very tempted to throw them in the bin! It is quite an insult, after going to library school and getting a diploma and a Masters degree in Library and Information Science - to be told that anyone off the street can come in and do the job I love. I know we are meant to grin and bear it - but it is very hard. I don't know ANY member of staff - whether staying in the service or leaving - who is happy. No-one can see how it is going to work!






Cakes for everyone

Today's Blast from the Past harks back to much happier days at Silverdale. It was the night the wonderful poet Joy Winkler came to the library to perform her drama TOWN. We'd not had anything like it in the village before - and everyone loved it!

 Read the full story here

Monday puzzles

Monday 18th January 2016

I'm only in work for one day this week. off to London for the rest of the week helping out Jigsaw School Apps at the huge BETT 2016 show. It was a busy day though. We had a new group starting to use our rooms this week - they are going to alternate with Coffee Tots - every other week. This is good as it means that the rooms are used every Monday now!

Mr S in the Reference section

They are called PEEPS and from what I can gather it is some kind of parenting class to support local mums and dads. They were not sure if anyone would turn up with it being the first one - although they did have nine parents signed up. They needn't have worried - as they all came! That's the good thing about Silverdale Library - right on the High Street and easy for everyone to get to.

It helps being next to the Co-op too. It's the only supermarket in the village - and very handy for getting lunch! I have to tell you - their "Co-op Bakery" Bakewell tarts are heavenly! Crisp thin pastry, loads of jam and soft sticky almond filling. I think I might lose a few stone once I stop working here!

Another Monday regular is Mr S. who comes in every week without fail, clutching his clipboard! No- he's not doing a survey - he is trying to complete his Sunday Magazine crosswords! He has them on his clipboard, pencil behind his ear so he can sketch in answers when he finds them. He can spend hours looking through our reference books on film, biography, history and many other topics trying to get the last few clues he couldn't get at home.

It's only after he has searched our stock for answers that he comes to me on the counter and asks if I know any of them. As a final resort - if I don't know them off the top of my head - he will get me to Google them. This week I knew about Guns 'n' Roses - but had to look up who the Greek goddess of magic was! It turns out it was Circe. ;-)

I love Mondays!!

The afternoon was just as busy! We had a class visit from the local primary school's Year 6. Tracy, our area's Children's Librarian came to take this session - observed by my lovely boss Terry. This is because his new job in April will mean he has to do lots of events like this and less of organising staff to work at all the branches.

Let's Do This!

 As these children were a bit older it wasn't a story time and craft session. Instead they had a talk about the Dewey Decimal system (I approve!) and how all books were arranged in the library - followed by a noisy game of Dewey Bingo! They certainly seemed to enjoy it.

My Blast from the Past today is a photo from back in 2011 when we had a Get Online day - but the tutor didn't turn up!

It was aimed at adults who hadn't dared touch a computer yet - but felt they really should take the plunge!

So, as I had some customers booked in for the session Nathan and I did it instead! We put on the oversized t-shirts and showed the attendees the basics of getting online and using the web.

It turned out pretty well!

Snowy Saturday

Saturday 16th January 2016

Another icy day - the Parade was treacherous as no-one had gritted the pavement. I nearly fell over going into the Co-op for the local paper. Once I unlocked the library and switched off the alarm I got our bag of salt and grit from the boiler room and spread it all outside the library and up and down the easy access ramp. I didn't want anyone slipping outside my library!

Mrs D - straight from the hair salon!

The first hour was pretty quiet - but after that my Saturday regulars started to come in. Mr. C was picking his horses - although he said it looked like it would be a bad day for betting. I guess a few meetings could be called off due to the hard ground. He never bets on anything else, like football or the rugby - just the horses. I ordered him a book on how to win at racing - but I didn't seem much difference in his winnings after he read it. I think he knows most of it already! He does like to read about the trainers, like Henry Cecil and also any books on horse racing scandals.

Local Author Graham Bebbington

Today's featured regular is the lovely Mrs D. who comes in every Saturday without fail. She always comes straight from the hairdresser's - so she didn't mind me taking her photo as she is looking her best!

She loves her crime books and has read most of my stock! However, today she was lucky as she found three on the New Books display.

My Blast from the Past is from back in December 2014 when I had a very busy day. Quadruple whammy at Silverdale Library: Coffee tots, class visit for stories and Christmas crafts ( Thanks Farida!), head teacher surgery for prospective parents and author book signing! All at the same time.

This is a photo of Graham Bebbington, a local author who has written quite a lot about Silverdale. His previous one  Silverdale: Five Road Ends is one of the most popular local history books to go out. This time he was launching his new book - a biography of the Cheadle-born poet Charles Masefield, who died at the age of 35, having been wounded at Lens in July 1917. It is called The Life and Times of Charles Masefield - check it out!

Bards in the Bog...

Friday 14th January

Just half a day on Fridays - we're open 1pm - 4.30pm. It was pretty quiet as it had snowed today. Only two Knit & Natter ladies made it in. None of my regular customers came in - so I couldn't take any photos. Instead I have taken one of the sunny yellow daffodils that the poets brought me in yesterday. I have them on my counter and they cheer me up!

Had printer problems today - just before closing time. I  was worried as if it didn't get sorted right away then I'd have no printing all day Saturday! Also, just before it happened someone rang to ask if they could print out an important document as their own printer had broken! I'd assured him that if he joined the library he could use the computers and print out what he needed.

When he got here I told him there was a problem, and while he filled in his form to join, I called the ICT help desk in Stafford. They told me to switch the printer (which is also my photocopier and scanner) off while they looked at the problem.

I told my new customer that by the time I'd put his details into out system and he'd logged into our public PC, then I was sure the problem would be fixed. I was a little anxious as there was literally 5 minutes left. I need not have worried though - he downloaded his document I got a phone call back from Stafford to ask me to switch back on and try it again. Lo and behold the printer was fixed and the document printed out in time. My new customer was very pleased and grateful.
Thanks ICT Help Desk Guy!!

My Blast from the Pat today is from March 2014, when the Poets group, who meet in the library every Thursday, asked if they could do a special project for the library. They called it "Bards in the Bog" and they each wrote a poem about toilets and then displayed them in the loo! In fact they are still there! They have proved very popular with my customers - many stay in there much longer than usual - as they are reading the poems. Some are very funny! Maybe I should take one home when I leave - then I can have one in my loo too!

The life and times of Mr C...

Thursday 14th January

I know that you are not supposed to have a favourite customer - so I won't admit that. :-) However one of my most supportive clients has got to be Mr. C. He's been coming into the library ever since I started - over 9 years ago. In fact, most days he comes in more than once. He pops in first thing in the morning while he is waiting for the bus into Newcastle. You get a good view of the bus stop from inside the library. When the bus comes in - he can run pretty fast for an 81 year old!

Mr. C picks his horses

Then he comes in later, newspaper in hand, to pick out his horses for the day. He checks the form and writes down his bets for the day before going over the road to the local bookies. I love it when he comes in and says "I'm backing with HIS money today!" He always looks so happy about it.

He certainly knows a lot about horses, trainers and racecourses.


I asked him today if I could take his photo and asked him how long he'd been using Silverdale Library - and was amazed to hear he'd been coming in for nearly 40 years! Since 1977 when he moved to the village. He deserves a medal for our longest serving customer!

I am very proud of the fact that I taught him how to use Facebook - and now he can keep in daily contact with his son who lives in Greece. He used to have the odd call with him - now he can chat, message and actually see what he's been up to with all his photos. He's so good on the computer that he comes in with his betting buddy M, and looks up all the dog racing results for him!

What a star!!

Some of the 72 drawers

My Blast from the Past today is really old - in fact one of the library's' proper old-school card catalogues. They put a few up for auction last year and I was crazy? lucky? enough to buy one. In fact it is a huge one - with 72 drawers. In fact I am still in the process of renovating it. Thee are a LOT of brass parts to polish up. It is so cool to have a part of the library in my house. I love it :-)

The mighty beast

Coffee Tots return...

Monday 11th January

Coffee Tots in progress

Today was the first session of the new year for the Coffee Tots! You could tell as the library was full of pushchairs - you couldn't get anywhere near the Mills and Boons! It is a coffee morning set up by the health visitors from Silverdale's Health Centre. They asked me if they could try a coffee morning in the library as many mums would not come to events at the Health Centre itself.

They weren't sure it would take off and I wasn't convinced there were that many new mums in the village as I didn't get many in at all. Trudie and Jo, the health visitors, provide coffee for the mums and dads and grannies and healthy snacks like strawberries and bread sticks for the little ones. They have toys, colouring, songs and sometimes guests to talk to the mums and entertain the children.

The response has been phenomenal! They say it's the most success thing they have ever done and it is the first event of its kind in the whole UK. In fact other health services are copying it and it is being rolled out all over the place. Not long ago they had their first birthday.



So many pushchairs!

Every Coffee Tots session is so well attended - they are running out of space. I'm going to have to move my counter into the bottom rooms and let them have the run of the whole library, soon!

The health visitors are so pleased to see so many new mums, we even have three sets of twins in the village! Also, they encourage the mums to walk - and the library is right in the middle of the High Street, so easy for everyone to get to.

 Looks like it is going to be even more popular in 2016!

The Library Coffee Spot

The Blast from the Past today is from back in the days when I had Tracy as my colleague at Silverdale. She left three years ago for a job on the mobile libraries, after very bravely taking - and passing - her HGV test. She loves driving a monster vehicle around the tiny roads between picturesque villages in rural Staffordshire - but I still miss her!

As there wasn't a café in Silverdale then, we decided to offer tea and coffee and biscuits in the library for thirsty customers. it proved quite popular - but sadly I couldn't carry on once I was on my own.

It was fun while it lasted though :-)

A visit from a famous name...

Saturday 9th January 2016

It's the second Saturday of the month - so that means it's Borough Councillors Surgery Day! A couple of them come and sit in the library for an hour or so - so that locals can pop in to ask about anything - or let them know of issues in the village. Amelia and Tony are very helpful and pretty dedicated - as they are the only ones that turn up every month.

In other news, the computers were pretty busy today. The most popular things that customers were printing off today were either boarding passes to fly off to somewhere warmer and more exotic than Staffordshire, or returns labels for Amazon purchases going back after Christmas.

Also, there was much excitement when we had a famous name come in today. It was Peter Andre!  Actually he comes in every week, with his wife. He is very modest and unassuming and no-one bothers him for autographs or selfies. They are very cool and laid-back in Silverdale. However, today I did ask him if I could take a photo and he said yes Here it is!

Actual Peter Andre and his wife :-)

For our Blast from the Past today - we had a real famous person in the library in October 2012 when poet (and now Oxford Professor of Poetry) came to Silverdale to do a session with the Keele Poets - who also use the rooms in the library every Thursday morning.

I was lucky enough to sit in for a bit of it - when he was reading his own poetry and telling us how he became a poet. If you want to read more about this fantastic day - click here.

Caroline (Poetry tutor) and Simon Armitage

Story time with Farida...

8th January 2016



Some of the knitters in action!

Today, being Friday, meant that the library was only open from 1pm - 4.30pm. But it was still a busy and fun-packed afternoon. The wonderful Farida came from Newcastle library to oversee a class visit from Year 2 from the local primary school. Also, Friday afternoon is also Knit and Natter, Crochet and Chatter afternoon too! The local ladies come together to help each other out with their wool projects, admire each others handiwork and have a catch-up of all the local news. At the same time as drinking tea and eating biscuits. Or occasionally cake when Gwen has made some!

Farida handing out crocodiles :-)

Meanwhile, at 1.30pm on the dot Class 2 arrived. They wee walking in twos, holding hands and wearing high-vis jackets. It was actually a lovely sunny afternoon for a walk. They were so well-behaved and settled themselves on the story mat in the children's' library. Farida read them three stories - including the hilarious Whiffy Wilson - all about a wolf that wouldn't wash! She had them screeching with laughter! It was lovely to see :-) She asked them how much they thought it cost to join the library - surprising to see so many who didn't know that it is completely free. Before they went back they each coloured in their own crocodile bookmark and Farida made them promise to come back to the library again! It worked so well on one little boy that he came in with his uncle right after school!



Some of the tiny hats :-)

Today's Blast from the Past involves the Friday knitters - back in October 2013, when they took part in the Innocent Smoothies Big Knit Campaign. It involved knitting tiny hats for the smoothie bottles. These special bottles would then be sold and money given to a charity to help older people at Christmas. They knitted some awesome hats and I sent them off. Then a couple of months later they got a Thank-You card in the post. It was great!


The Thank-You card.

All about the birds...

7th January 2016

It was a bit of a traumatic morning in Silverdale today. As I was sitting at my computer behind the counter I heard a thud at the door. When I looked out there was a bird sprawled out on the path outside. He flopped about a bit then was still. I feared the worst so I went to have a look. He was right in front of the door - so no-one would have got in without stepping on him. I went out and could see his eyes were open and blinking - but he wasn't moving. I gently gathered him up in my hands and folded his wings back in place - they did not seem bent or broken. I could feel his little legs kicking as I moved him onto the grass to recover. His feathers were so warm and soft.

Taking a break from studying birds

I kept looking out of the window anxiously to see if he as moving yet - but he just lay where I had placed him. I didn't know the best thing to do - so I looked it up on the internet. The advice from the RSPB was to place the stricken bird in a safe, dark place to recover. It said broken wings or legs were rare from window collisions - so to make them comfy and let them recover for a couple of hours.

After a while the rain started to bucket down and my poor little blackbird was getting soaked. I got a box and lined it with newspaper and an old scarf and went out to rescue him again. This time however, he was looking a bit more perky and as I approached and he hopped away from me and then flew up into the tree.
I was so relieved to see him back to normal!

Some of the class

Ironically - it was the Birdwatchers' day in the library too! Every Thursday afternoon they use the rooms at the end of the library for their WEA Study of Birds course. They close the window shutters at the bottom end so that it is dark in the room and have slides and films of birds. Some weeks they are missing - when they go off on a field trip - to put into practice what they have learned, I guess!


Fun Times!

I popped into their room while they were having a tea beak and asked if I could take a photo - and they were very obliging! 


My Blast from the Past today is from September 2012 when we had a Brazilian Drumming Group in the library to show us how to drum! I had a go too - and over 20 kids and parents came along too. It was such fun and quite a revelation. The session was run by Mika and Leandro, who were great at getting everyone involved and making the session fun. We were each given a small stool to sit on and a drum to hold between our legs. Mika told us that the drum was called a Timbre and we could get two distinctive sounds out of it. One was called a Tone - which was obtained by hitting the drum on the edge with your fingers and letting them bounce off - the other is called a Bass and obtained by hitting the centre of the drum with the flat of your hand.

We have certainly done some interesting and varied things in the library over the years!

RIP Molly

4th January 2016




Eeyore - with his Christmas hat :-)

First full day in the library since Christmas. Decided to take down the Christmas trees and decorations this afternoon - while it was quiet. Today's photo is of Eeyore - who has lived on my desk for at least five years - since being left in the library by (I guess) a child.
He's been sitting there on the printer in the hope that his owner would reclaim him one day - but I think he's got used to being with me. He has been admired by many children - and possibly even more adults - but no-one has claimed him in all this time.
He had to relinquish his Christmas party hat, which he's been wearing since the Coffee Tots Christmas Party - so he's looking even more depressed now.

It was a dark and wet day and although quite a few regulars came in and I had two new people sign up - not many were cheerful. There also seemed to be a problem with the buses  as several folk came in out of the rain to peer at the bus stop just outside the library though the rain-streaked windows.

I was very sad to learn about the death of one of my customers - Molly the collie.
She always came in with her owner Mrs Butler, and wandered round the library to see what people were up to. She'd stand next to someone interesting and if they ignored her she'd just lean on them.



Molly the Collie

Mrs B said that she'd been out for a walk over Christmas and when she came back she couldn't walk. She took her to an emergency vet on Boxing Day - who kept her in the surgery for a couple of days. Seems she has torn an artery and they couldn't stop the bleeding. There was nothing they could do for her except put her to sleep - to save her from suffering. Mrs B had me in tears when she described going in to see her before they let her go. Molly struggled up to go over to her when she went in the surgery. It must have been so upsetting. She said even the vet was in tears. It must be a horrible part of the job. Molly has been Mrs B's companion for 7 years. I remember when she first had her - she's been coming to the library since she was a puppy..

So today's Blast from the Past photo is from April 2014, when Molly made one of her visits. RIP Molly :-(

2016 and counting down....

First Day Back after Christmas

2nd January 2016

Today was my first day back at work in 2016.

 It struck me that I only have three months left in the best job I have ever had - working at Silverdale Library. I have been here for over nine years now and I love it. I have grown to know all my customers like family and I am going to be so gutted when 31st March arrives and I have to leave. I am being made redundant to make way for Silverdale to become "Community Managed and Staffed" by volunteers.
So, I thought I'll take a photo every day I am in work until then dreaded day - to remind me of all my customers. my library and the great times I've had working there. It is a privilege and a pleasure - as you will see...



Julia Donaldson and hubby Malcolm at Silverdale.

So, why am I leaving? Not through choice! The council (like many others) has decided to hand some of its branch libraries over to the community and have them staffed by volunteers. So, Silverdale will be managed by the council (as no-one has yet come forward to offer to run the library) but staffed by volunteers. I don't know if they have found any yet - but until April I am the sole member of staff here. I've been single-staffed for a couple of years now - with support from staff at the local hub at Newcastle to cover when I have lunch - or days off.

As well as a picture a day I will have a blast from the past too - so today is a photo from when Julia Donaldson - the children's author and then Children's Laureate came to Silverdale Library to entertain the children from the local primary school back in October 2012. It was a very exciting day - with the press and TV companies coming too. For the full story - check here: http://pokerlibrarian.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/vips-at-library.html