Congratulations to Karen Pundsack the new Executive Director at Great River Regional library!
Karen is familiar with the GRRL system having worked there since 1999. “I am excited to work with the GRRL staff in this new capacity,” said Pundsack on the Great River website. “I am humbled and grateful to be able to serve our residents in this role.”
The announcement was also in the St. Cloud Times. Read it now.
The East Central Regional Library system and the Great River Regional Library system recently announced that they will be participating in the “Once Upon a Reader” program. This is a statewide early literacy initiative for ages 0-6.
East Central Regional Library:
This regions involvment comes in free books and events. Free copies of Moo! by David LaRochelle “were distributed through Lakes & Pines Head Start to over 400 children in Aitkin, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Pine counties and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibway.” The events are going to be at several branch libraries, so check out the ECRL calendar or the Once Upon a Reader calendar to find out where and when.
Great River Regional Library:
Like ECRL, GRRL’s involvement comes with free books and events too. From Mooovie nights to scavenger hunts, GRRL has expanded beyond the Moo! Traveling Trunk Show for some truly original activities. For the extensive list, check out GRRL’s calendar or the Once Upon a Reader calendar to find out where and when.
Should libraries charge fines or shouldn’t they? This seems to be a question that is increasingly being asked by libraries and library administrators. In her recent article on Lit Reactor, Leah Dearborn asks us to think beyond the assumption of library fines’ existence and to think of other solutions to the issue.
The impact of library fines “can be both negative and positive,” says Dearborn. “[I]t’s a more complex problem than it might initially appear. On the one hand, no fees means lost revenue for libraries that may already be struggling to pay their staff and keep up with material costs. But on the other side of the fence, fines risk deterring low-income patrons from a public educational service.”
This seems to be the crux of the debate. Libraries use fines to deter loss, theft, abuse, and gain some much needed revenue. However, on the other side, libraries shouldn’t use fines to deter users or lose readers. Interestingly, the American Library Association (ALA) largely discourages the implementation of fines, fees, and user charges.
Some libraries are getting creative with how they are addressing fines. Some St. Paul Libraries recently offered a “Do Down” where teens could learn, experiment, and produce things with technology to eliminate their fines. Locally, Great River Regional has had several “Read down your fines” events.
How do you help your users reduce fines? How about a Fine Amnesty Program?
Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/kr5ka35, licensed under CC BY 2.0
Just in time for winter break, Great River Regional Library (GRRL) branches will be offering opportunities for minors (ages 16 and under) with late fees to lower their fines by reading! Read Down Your Fines will take place from Monday, December 22nd through Saturday, January 3rd. The same rules apply as in previous Read Down weeks: for each 15 minutes spent reading at the library, $1 will be waived. But get your books and reading done early, all GRRL locations are closed December 24, 25, and January 1.