One, two, three...six thousand

Monday 8th February 2016

Today is the day we have to start our stock count. I had been a little anxious about how I was going to manage to do it - especially on a busy Monday when I'd be interrupted all the time. I need not have feared though - as my wonderful boss Terry arrived first thing this morning to help me out! He stayed the whole morning - so we made a start on the counting. I did the fiction and large print and he did the children's and non-fiction. By 11.30 we had done the whole lot! I can't remember the exact figure - but there are over 6000 books in my library.

Better Wi-Fi - sorted!

I even had time to do my banking and take the loot into Santander's in town - before he had to go on to Knutton library at 1pm.

Terry was surprised how many mums and babies came for Coffee Tots. In fact the Health Visitors are worried that the numbers may exceed what is safe to have in our meeting rooms. The official limit is 20 in the big room and 16 in the smaller room. They have the whole space with the partition open. So, do you count babies as one person - or maybe half? We have to decide how we work it out!

I've also had my Wi-Fi updated. There was a problem that no-one in the rooms at the bottom of the library could connect to the Wi-Fi point behind the counter - so it has been beefed up and placed at the end of the room. The chap got up his ladders and didn't take long. It's been flashing blue ever since!

The computers have been very busy too. Mrs D - an American who now lives in Silverdale, was trying to research car insurance. She told me that she'd spent 40 minutes this morning on the phone to just one company. It was so much easier on the internet. Lots of people come in to print out their car insurance documents - as they never seem to send them to you anymore.

Naked Miner - who is he?

My Blast from the Past today is a picture that has been hanging by the counter ever since I have been at Silverdale. The Mysterious Naked Miner!
There are many photos from Silverdale Pit (no longer open - it is now a new housing estate and a country park) which are on loan from the Borough Museum in Newcastle. Most local people are fascinated by them as there is usually someone they know on them. My dad was at Silverdale for 12 months before he retired.

However, no-one has ever claimed to know who the naked miner is! I wonder if I will find out before I leave?