Videogame collection has strong debut at PCPL

Big things are happening at the Putnam County Public Library as Director Grier Carson strives to get the facility up to date with technology and new programs.

With the April 1 launch of the videogame collection, Carson came before the Putnam County Public Library Board with some good news in regard to its circulation.

"Videogames had a huge first day with actually 40 checkouts," Carson said. "The actual numbers are 319 total checkouts between juvenile and adult video games, which is fantastic. That pretty much signals a success."

Carson also noted that the library would soon begin looking at options in regard to programming opportunities for the collection. Communications Director Sam Hirt will also be putting together a short promotional collection as well for it as well.

As previously discussed by Business Operations Manager Lisa Barker, the library recently had issues with having insufficient funds in compensation lines.

Barker had explained last month to the board that there was a $43,000 gap due to salary and the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. After a discussion with was a representative of the Department of Local Government Finance, it was decided that the library move $40,000 from its current furniture/equipment line to cover the wage shortfall and use a combination of Library Improvement and Reserve Fund (LIRF) money and 2013 encumbered funds to cover the children's project and the roof replacement.

Barker recently attended a Putnam County Council meeting and was unanimously approved for $150,000 from LIRF to fund the children's renovation project and the roof replacement project.

With that approval, a formal submission of follow-up paperwork has begun and it is now in the hands of the state for final approval, which the library is now waiting on.

Carson also noted that the library received two local bids for the roof replacement project.

"One was reasonable and one is not so reasonable," Carson said. "So, we're going to go outside of Putnam County and seek a few more bids before we decide."

It is expected that bids will be presented during the board's May 28 meeting.

"We've had some bad luck in getting some other local roofers to give us real bids in a timely fashion. So, now it's time to go beyond Putnam County," Carson added. "Just in case, there could be a real competitive bid from someone two counties over."

Carson also came before the board to discuss the status of the library's current integrated library automation system (ILS) provider, Polaris, which was recently bought by Innovative Interfaces.

"We're going to wind up having to switch our ILS to something else in the near future, which is not uncommon. We should be doing that every decade or so," Carson said. "What's unique about the current ILS climate is that everybody is trying to move to the Cloud. There aren't a whole lot of really good web based ILS options out there, but there certainly will be. So, that's something we're going to have to keep in mind."

Although the board will not have to be moving on this issue right now, Carson noted that it should be kept in mind, as it will be a huge issue in the future.

In other business:

* The library is currently looking for volunteers to make new Little Free Libraries to install throughout the community.

* With the upcoming departure of Hirt, the library will be merging the communications director position into a new position of a technology integrator and media specialist. The library is now accepting applications and will begin interviewing candidates in early May.

* The board approved the hire of Constance Wrightsman as a part-time circulation assistant.

* Phone interviews are currently in progress for the children's manager position. The library hopes to have someone in the position by June 1.

* The library's bandwidth capacity will increase from 10 to 100 megabits starting July 1. This increase will coincide with the ENA Air, which the library previously agreed to, as it will outsource much of the library's Internet and local Wi-Fi management to expand access for patrons and staff while improving network performance.

* The board is currently working with WynWay Technologies on designing a new logo to coincide with the eventual launch of the library's new website.

* The library received a $25,000 check from the Putnam County Community Foundation.

* The library also received an $18,000 anonymous gift, which will become an annual part of the Putnam County Community Foundation's Library Endowment.