PANEL DISCUSSION ON THE GLADE RESERVOIR/POUDRE RIVER
 Fort Collins Regional Library District brings to light important issues concerning the citizens of the District and beyond.
On April 7th the Fort Collins Regional Library District invited a distinguished 12 person panel representing the Northern Colorado Water Conservation District, the Save the Poudre Coalition, and community and environmental interests, to help clarify the Glade Reservior/Poudre River issue. Northern Colorado Water Conservation District says that the Glade Reservoir is crucial for preserving Colorado’s agricultural roots. The Save the Poudre Coalition says that 90% of the Poudre River has been dammed and diverted. It is essential, they say, that the remaining 10% flows freely to maintain the ecosystem health of the river. The discussion was moderated by Martin Carcasson, Director of CSU Center for Public Deliberation and co-sponsored by Front Range Community College - Larimer Campus and the Society of American Foresters Front Range Student Chapter.
Would you like to know more? The discussion panel will be rebroadcast on City Cable Channel 14 at the following times, check their schedule for additional broadcasts.
Sunday, April 20, 10 PM
Wednesday, April 23, 3 PM
Thursday, April 24, 7 AM & 8 PM
Friday, April 25, 9:30 AM
Saturday, April 26, 2 PM
The discussion will also be available on-demand via the internet. The link is http://atlas.fcgov.com/GladeReservoirForum/msh.htm or check out the DVD from the Fort Collins Regional Library District, www.fcgov.com/library after April 18.
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LIBRARY DISTRICT BEGINS NEW RFID PROJECT
The Fort Collins Regional Library District will soon offer a great new customer service in the form of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags on library materials.
The Library District is adding this new service beginning this fall to create greater circulation efficiencies, as well as better customer service and self-service, to help keep up with an increasing demand for library materials.
"The Library District is excited about the new possibilities of increasing patron satisfaction with our services by providing them with friendly, intuitive and functional technologies that invite self-service. The technology will dramatically speed up check out time for patrons because multiple items can be checked out at once, instead of one at a time." Announced Brenda Carns, Fort Collins Regional Library District, Executive Director.
RFID is essentially a sticker that has a tiny, flat microchip and a maze-like foil trace that acts as an antenna. In libraries, RFID is used to provide the item’s barcode number in electronic form, as well as the security status of the item (whether the item is checked in or out). The tags are “passive”, no battery is included in the tag and it is not magnetic so there are not any problems with audiocassettes or videocassettes.
The process is currently under way to add RFID tags to all of the Library Districts 350,000 items!
The library expects to offer the customer service improvements offered by RFID in late summer or early fall 2008. Watch for updates on the Library District Web site, www.fcgov.com/library.
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PUBLIC FORUM ON PROPOSED URANIUM MINING PROJECT
The Fort Collins Regional Library District facilitated a presentation and discussion on the proposed uranium mining project in northern Colorado on Monday, January 14, 2008. Representatives from Powertech Uranium and CARD (Coloradoans Against Resource Destruction) and the Colorado Environmental Coalition presented information on both sides of the issue. Dr. Paul Alexander, the Director of the Institute on the Common Good, Regis University, Denver, moderated the presentation.
Would you like to know more? The discussion forum on the proposed uranium mine is being rebroadcast on City Cable Channel 14, check your local schedule for times. The forum is also be available on-demand via the internet the link is http://atlas.fcgov.com/uranium/index.html# or check out the DVD from the Fort Collins Regional Library District, www.fcgov.com/library.
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CHILDREN'S LITERATURE AWARDS ANNOUNCED
The Association for Library Services to Children division of the American Library Association recently announced the winners of children’s literature’s most prestigious annual awards. Copies of these titles are available at the Fort Collins Regional Library District libraries.
The John Newbery Medal is awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published during the previous year. Laura Amy Schlitz is the 2008 Newbery Medal winner for Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village. Three Newbery Honor Books were named: Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis; The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt; and Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson.
The Randolph Caldecott Medal is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the previous year. The Invention of Hugo Cabret written and illustrated by Brian Selznick is the 2008 Caldecott Medal winner. Four Caldecott Honor Books were named: Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine; First the Egg illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger; The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain illustrated and written by Peter S&iactue;s; and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity illustrated and written by Mo Willems.
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FORT COLLINS REGIONAL LIBRARY DISTRICT WINS "2007 PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD"
The Colorado Association of Libraries will honor the Fort Collins Regional Library District with its "2007 Project of the Year Award" at a ceremony in Denver this week. The award, which will be presented at a dinner banquet Nov. 9, is designed to recognize an especially innovative project which furthers library service in Colorado. This year's award is being given in recognition of the successful effort to form the new Fort Collins Regional Library District. ...more
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FREE WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS AT THE LIBRARIES
Its here! After many requests from patrons, the Fort Collins Regional Library District is pleased to announce the availability of free wireless Internet access at the Main and Harmony libraries!
"Wireless devices are everywhere, and patrons have come to expect wireless Internet access as a modern library service", said Technology Coordinator Carson Block. "Folks using wireless laptops and other devices now have a convenient new service at the library".
Using the wireless network is easy - wireless users simply choose the librarys network identifier (the SSID for the library network is named publiclibrary) and open their web browser. After accepting the librarys wireless policy, patrons are free to access a world of electronic resources. The wireless network supports the most common wireless protocols, including 802.11a, b and g.
The library wireless project is the result of cooperative work and partnerships between the library, Front Range Community College, the City of Fort Collins MIS department, and Comcast cable. The Internet connection for the library wireless network has been generously donated by Comcast High-Speed Internet Services.
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FORT COLLINS REGIONAL LIBRARY DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES BEGIN COMPLEX WORK
The Library District's Board of Trustees are ready to roll up their sleeves and start the complex work of running the new regional Library District.
The Board of Trustees elected officers are Mary Atchison, President, Mike Liggett, Vice President, Michelle "Shelly" Kalkowski, Secretary and John Knezovich, Treasurer. Nina Bodenhamer, Robin Gard, and Bob Viscount are members at large.
Citizens may attend regular meetings. The meetings are posted in the Larimer County Offices at the Courthouse, on the Main Library's bulletin board, the Harmony Library's bulletin board, and on the Library's webpage.
Other topics to be discussed in future meetings include negotiations with the City and County on the Library District's Intergovernmental Agreement, policies of the Library District and plans for the South East Branch Library.
More information will soon be available on the Board of Trustee's web page at the Library's website, www.fcgov.com/library.
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AREA VOTERS APPROVE NEW LIBRARY DISTRICT
On Tuesday, November 7, 2006 voters overwhelmingly approved the creation and funding of the Fort Collins Regional Library District. The new library district will be funded by a 3-mill property tax dedicated to library services. The existing Fort Collins Public Library will form the foundation of the new district, which will serve a large regional area with essentially the same boundaries as the Poudre School District. The Library District will be governed by an appointed board of 5 - 7 members. Applications for the board will be posted on the County website in the near future.
"Library staff and community volunteers for the library are absolutely elated that voters made a clear choice to support excellent library services," said Brenda Carns, Fort Collins Public Library Director. "Now we will be able to restore the services our patrons have missed the most and provide a truly outstanding library system."
With the stable and increased funding a district provides, the library will restore and enhance services and collections beginning in 2007:
In January, cuts to hours made in 2006 will be reversed. The Main Library will reopen Thursday nights and Harmony Library will open again on Saturday mornings.
The programs for teenagers and children cut in 2006 will be restored in 2007.
Beginning in January, the library will add more new books, CDs, DVDs and other materials to provide better access to items patrons request, and to reduce wait times for popular materials.
By April, the library will replace the six community drop boxes that were lost due to prior budget cuts and look for additional key locations to be located outside the city but within the new library district boundaries. Remote dropboxes increase convenience for customers within as well as outside Fort Collins by allowing them to return items closer to home without traveling to the library.
Construction on a new southeast library branch is currently scheduled to begin in 2007, with an anticipated opening in 2008. The new branch will provide a wide range of popular library services to the residents in the southeastern region of the district.
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FORT COLLINS PUBLIC LIBRARY AWARDED 2006 COMMUNITY RELATIONS AWARD
The Colorado State Library has selected the Fort Collins Public Library Awareness Campaign as the recipient of an Outstanding Achievement Award for the diversity and leadership shown by library staff and volunteers. The goal of the Committee, consisting of a broad spectrum of participation by library supporters from the community and staff volunteers, is to raise support for the library through "READ @ Your Library" posters which are distributed to businesses, colleges and other community gathering places. The posters have been personalized to the featured celebrity or leader's interests . Costs of the campaign are paid through private contributions to improve library services. The $100 prize will be put to good use as the committee continues its efforts to raise awareness of the Library's importance in the community.
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LOCAL CELEBRITIES READ IN SUPPORT OF THE LIBRARY
Fort Collins Public Library announces the launch of promotional poster campaign: READ @ your library. Notable Fort Collins residents and community faces-from Coach Sonny Lubick to Poudre Valley Fire Authority-have posed with a favorite book to support literacy, reading, and public libraries. The campaign will showcase the unique and vital roles books play in everyone's lives.
READ is a national poster campaign created by the American Library Association (ALA) over 25 years ago, which features national celebrities from Elvis to Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates to Bill Cosby. Recently, the ALA released its trademarked brand, READ, for libraries to create their own posters to raise awareness about the variety of programs and services offered at our nation's nearly 123,000 libraries.
"The library plays a vital role in helping citizens of all ages to have the opportunity to read," says Coach Sonny Lubick. "Reading is a lifelong experience, and one that allows people of all ages and interests the chance to learn throughout their lives."
Over 20 local posters have been created and will be distributed throughout Fort Collins. The eye-catching posters include valued members of our communities, such as Al Yates, Tom & Jean Sutherland, Temple Grandin, and Kim Jordan. The posters also showcase valued community providers or organizations such as a the Fort Collins Police Departments, CSU Trial Gardens, the Debut Theater Company, and Fort Collins City Council.
"Public libraries are for everyone regardless of economic status or time of life," says Brenda Carns, Director, Fort Collins Public Library. "They educate and entertain. Early childhood learning, adult literacy, research through books and technology, and well-trained friendly professionals make our Library a timeless community treasure. You don't have to be famous to be a celebrity at the Fort Collins Public Library."
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YOUR FORT COLLINS PUBLIC LIBRARIES - A REAL COMMUNITY GEM
Here is your chance to view the PowerPoint presentation (MS PowerPoint / 22,901 KB) that our Library Director, Brenda Carns, gave to Council this year.
Did you know that the Library loans more than 2 million items per year, and that 1300 patrons visit each of our two libraries DAILY?
Have a look at a few of the ways the Library enriches the community through the enthusiasm, creativity, and professionalism of the Library staff, the generous and wholehearted support of Library volunteers and partners, and the varied programs and resources offered.
See some of the reasons why the Library has been voted one of the top 10 libraries in the nation. Presentation in PDF format (PDF format/2,034 KB)
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LIBRARY OFFERS NEW WAY TO CHECK OUT TALKING BOOKS
Fans of talking books now have a third format available to them. Downloadable audiobooks are available to library cardholders. Instead of coming into the library to check out “Angels & Demons” as a book on tape or a book on CD, patrons can download the book from a home computer.
What are Downloadable Audiobooks?
Downloadable Audiobooks from NetLibrary and Recorded Books are digital versions of audiobooks that are available through the Internet. Audiobooks can be played on any desktop or laptop device supporting Windows Media Player (version 9 and above). You can also transfer your favorite titles to a wide range of portable devices, including portable music players (MP3), portable media centers, Pocket PCs, and even select smartphone devices. The library is subscribing to this service through Recorded Books, the leader in the talking book industry. NetLibrary is a leader in the delivery of electronic books.
Many popular authors are represented in the Recorded Books library including Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell, Alexander McCall Smith, Diana Gabaldon and Brian Jacques. Patrons can also access the popular Pimsleur Language Program. You can find downloadable audiobooks in the library catalog or in the database link to NetLibrary on the library's webpage. Patrons can also access titles directly from NetLibrary (http://www.netlibrary.com/); just look for the link “Audiobooks Center.” Find books by author, title or narrator. You will need a library card to create an account at NetLibrary and download the titles.
More information is available at either the Main or Harmony Libraries.
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GIS IMAGES AVAILABLE FOR CHECKOUT
Ever wonder what your house looks like from the air?
The library now has aerial photos taken of the City of Fort Collins in 1999 available for checkout. Roughly 70 CDS with tif images were given to the Library by the City's Geographical Information Services (GIS) Department.
The photos are of the City north of County Road 36, south of Douglas Road, east of Horsetooth Reservoir, and west of 1/2 mile east of county Road 5. The GIS Department created these maps and many developers, planners, builders, and architects make use of them.
Two index CDs and 2 large poster indexes will be available to help customers locate the area they want to view. The CDs with the aerial images are shelved on top of the blue Reference Map filing cabinet (next to business reference, young adult fiction, and Espanol).
The loan period will be similar to that of videos--they will checkout for one week and there will be a limit of 5 GIS CDs per card.
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SELF-CHECK SERVICES PROVIDE GREATER CONVENIENCE
Can't wait another minute to read the book you have on hold? The Library's self-help holdshelf are available for you. Books will be banded and labeled so that only the customer's last name and the hold expiration date are shown.
This allows patrons to go straight to the self-check stations with their items or take their items with them while they search for other books, tapes, etc.
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LIBRARY CARDS OFFER COPYING AND CHECKOUT OPTIONS
Library cardholders now have the option of obtaining a card that acts as both a copy card and a checkout card. For customers looking for convenience and savings when printing documents at the Library the new cards are a great option. With the new card, or old copy cards, copies are 7 cents. Without a card they cost 10 cents. The new cards which look identical to the old cards can be purchased for $1 or if your old card has expired, it will be replaced free of charge. Patrons must surrender their old cards when obtaining a new one. Cards typically expire every two years. This helps Library staff maintain a current database of patron information which annually logs in about 15,000 new cardholders.
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