Putnam County Public Library receiving upgrades

Library Director of Technology Administration Mike Acsbok presented 2015's accomplishments as well as goals for 2016 and '17.

A technician is now available four days a week at the community help desk, with more than 300 patrons helped so far. Nearly the same number of patrons attended weekly computer classes in 2015 to learn about tablets, Smartphones and Windows 10.

The network was upgraded to allow for increased use of network connection, like high-definition video streaming, in the Imagination Portal. The computer lab monitors are now 23 inches wide, and the library website has a local history page with databases.

In the digital realm, the library now offers Hoopla (eComics and Graphic novels) and Freegal (downloadable music patrons can keep).

For 2016, Acsbok hopes to add workstations in the computer lab and young adult area, charging stations at the tables, a help desk for patrons, and a station for patrons to repair their own computers with help from library technicians. The technology classes will also be uploaded to the website for easy review.

In other developments:

-- Director Grier Carson announced that the second floor of the library will be receiving updates in 2016. The reference area will include more seating and work space.

If all goes well, a lounge and work area will be put in by the Walnut St. windows, while a teen area will be placed where the large print collection was. The fiction sections will no longer be grouped by genre, but rather presented as a whole to expose patrons to more options.

"Once these changes are in place," Director Carson said, "we feel strongly that not only will our patrons benefit from expanded and much-improved access to technology and related resources but they will also see a more intuitive use of overall space, more inviting and attractive lounge and work areas, and perhaps a better feel for what we have to offer in the way of print fiction."

In other business:

-- Director Carson delivered the circulation stats for Dec. 2014 to Dec. 2015, which overall showed a small decrease in registered borrowers and circulation and large increases in outreach, wireless users and Youth Services AWE computer users. In circulation, online children's audio books saw the greatest increase, followed by online young adult audio books.

-- Local artist Amy Welch, who painted the mural on the Eitel's building, is now to paint another mural on the bulkhead above the circulation desk. The project is still in the design stages, but the board hopes to have it finished in time for the summer reading program. The public is welcome to contribute ideas during the painting.

-- With a very "healthy" budget in place, the library has been able to purchase a new microfilm reader, laptops, a flat screen scanner and patron access to "novelist," which is a centralized location for many online sources. "We are so proud of the way the budget ended in 2015," Treasurer Lisa Barker said.

-- The board bemoaned AARP's decision to discontinue their free tax service for seniors and low-income familiies. Patrons who are interested in that service must now go to the Hendrick's County Senior Services center at 1201 Sycamore Lane in Danville.

-- The non-resident library fee will now be $30 rather than $25.

The next board meeting will be Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. in the Kiwanis Conference Room at the Putnam County Public Library.