This week at the library; or, I cannot think of anything clever because my head is so full of panic and loud noises

What's happening in my head and at the library

• I am feeling rather frantic as a large number of things I have been putting off while working on other things are now coming home to roost and I have a gazillion things that are happening soon and so these things need to be planned but to plan the things I need other things to happen...
• So, in the midst of my frantic panic, it was really nice to get a present for my library! I opened a mysterious package on Monday and discovered that Jason Fry had sent us the first two books in the Jupiter Pirates series! 
• I completely finished the Neighborhoods, sent the last replacement order, set up a new delivery system for my remote collections with the schools, planned programs, started going through the repairs and paper stacks on my desk, put together training materials for my new associate, updated some of the series labels for juvenile fiction, processed a huge stack of new titles (put on new stickers, uploaded to pinterest, pics on facebook etc.).
• I went home around 2 on Friday (theoretically I could have taken the whole day off because I was going to ALA Midwinter on Saturday, but in reality HA HA HA HA HA) and did laundry and started working on the sensory blankets for babies for next Wednesday.
• Also, I have 9 NINE kids registered for Bookaneers, my new book club for 1st-3rd grade that starts on Tuesday! Woo! I had to change the format a little.
• I wasn't really feeling enthused about ALA Midwinter, but once I got there I enjoyed it. I picked up a medium selection of books - almost exclusively beginning chapters, which was all I wanted. My phone refused to take pictures after only about an hour, so I just resigned myself to knowing that I will miss a few of the great books coming out soon. I got an ARC of Princess Hamster, Ursula Vernon's newest series, which I am VERY excited about - I read half of it while I ate lunch - and I got to talk to an editor about beginning chapters and what librarians are looking for, which was nice. Also, I met Meg Cabot totally by accident, so those of you who are fans can hate me that I, who am not a fan, did not have to stand in line (-:) (not that I don't like her, I'm just not really fan-ish about others). Also, which I didn't know until I saw the galley, ATTACK OF THE FLUFFY BUNNIES 2!!! Very excited about that too. I also enjoyed Guerrilla Storytime and the Flannel Friday petting zoo, although I just watched this time around.

What I brought back from ALA (not including a lot of miscellaneous paper - posters, stickers, activity kits, publisher catalogs, etc.)

• Sprout Street Neighbors by Anna Alter- recommended by a publicist. Looks cute, but might be too cute. We'll see. Art reminds me of Peter McCarty's animals
• Case of the missing carrot cake by Robin Newman - this is part of an imprint from a small publisher, supposed to be bridge books between easy readers and beginning chapters. They're in the format that's becoming popular - slightly larger easy readers.
• Nina in That Makes Me Mad by Hilary Knight - this was a freebie, which I'm pleased with b/c we don't have this one. I reviewed this for No Flying No Tights
• Where triplets go, trouble follows by Michelle Poploff - this is a beginning chapter from Holiday House. I like the cover, which I don't always for their books so I'll try this one.
• The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett - I'm interested in trying this one. Not sure if kids will go for it or not.
• True Talents, Hidden Talents by David Lubar - I've read and really liked these. I couldn't remember if the library owned them or not. If not, they'll be prizes.
• Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon - I've been meaning to read this and was pleased to get a free copy so I can add it to the library.
• Owl Diaries by Rebecca Elliott - this is a new Branches series I've been wanting to look at.
• Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal - this one is just for me! polite society fantasy
• From the notebooks of a middle school princess by Meg Cabot - I happened to be walking by the booth and thought "oh, new Meg Cabot book". and then, looking up, "oh hey, Meg Cabot!" Sorry to all the rabid fans who arrived a few minutes later and had to stand in line. This will make a nice summer reading prize.
• Pip Bartlett's Guide to magical creatures by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater - I hadn't actually noticed the authors until just now - I was just picking up anything that looked short and vaguely beginning-chapter-ish.
• Frank Einstein and the electro-finger by Jon Scieszka - this is a sequel and I haven't read the first book, but I have a kid I want to give it to.
• Ranger in time by Kate Messner - I've been wanting to read this before buying
• Appleblossom the possum by Holly Goldberg Sloan - a publisher gave me this. I'm skeptical, since A. I find possums disgusting and B. I think this is too long for a cutesy book, but I'll try it.
• Amazing Stardust Friends - this is a new Branches series which looks very....Disney-esque. Um...I think I picked this up by accident.
• Fatal Fever by Gail Jarrow - I was telling the publisher how utterly fascinating I found Red Madness (many of my friends regret that I read this, as they now know more about pellagra than they really wanted to and I didn't actually buy it for the library as we wouldn't have an audience for it) and she offered me Jarrow's newest. Very pleased to read this!
• Wild by Emily Hughes - the Flying Eye publisher gave me this. I may have to keep it and touch it for a while before I give it up. I was kind of dismissive of this one when I first saw it, but the art has really grown on me and I'd like to see what else she can do.
• HAMSTER PRINCESS BY URSULA VERNON EEEEEEE!!!!! I have already read it. I will read it again. LOVE.
• Anna Banana by Anica Mrose Rissi - this is a double of the first two books in the series. I was just picking stuff up, saw it and though "yet another red-haired heroine with a dark-skinned friend" but now that I look at it....Anna is the dark-skinned girl! YES!
• Maybelle goes to school by Katie Speck - the editor absolutely assured me that it is really coming out. The Maybelle books have been delayed for so long!
• Tales from Maple Ridge by Grace Gilmore - a brief look says "beginning chapter Farmer Boy" to me. could be good. can't think of many books of this type that feature boys.
• We can work it out by Elizabeth Eulberg - for a friend
• Prudence by Gail Carriger - for me! I like Gail Carriger, although I fell behind on her series.
• Woof by Spencer Quinn - I would love more funny mysteries but it will probably end up being depressing.
• The Detective's Assistant by Kate Hannigan - not the type of book I usually read/like, but I LOVED Cupcake Cousins, so wanted to try this one.
• Rutabaga the adventure chef by Eric Colossal - graphic novel. Might be too quirky though.
• Super Fly by Todd Doodler - although the perpetual dirty tighty whities on Bear in Underwear drive me crazy, Doodler definitely appeals to kids
• FLUFFY BUNNIES 2!!!! I have no idea this was even planned and then I saw it! A sequel to Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies! Woo!

Programs

• Tiny Tots (subbing for Pattie)
• Toddlers 'n' Books (2 sessions) (Pattie)
• Preschool Interactive: Penguins
• Books 'n' Babies (Pattie)
• Mad Scientists Club: Snow
• We Explore Favorite Artist: Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Stealth Programs - Ongoing

• 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
• Paws to Read (winter reading program)
• I Spy Aquarium
• Birdwatching station
• Take home storytime: Let it snow
• Take home storytime: Penguins

What the kids are reading

• Request for a new series - he described the last book he'd read and it was something funny with aliens, so I gave him the Alien Agent series by Pamela Service.
• Browsing neighborhoods, I asked what she was interested in and she said "frogs" so I showed her the Animals/Amphibians section and her whole face lit up. Although this kind of proves my cataloger's point, that nobody knows what amphibians are, so I better stick a frog picture up there.
• Rocks and minerals
• 14 year old who loves Dashner - recommended his new series, Eye of Minds, and Dowswell's Sektion 20
• Mallory books (I don't own this series)
• Pokemon easy readers/easy chapters (I think they're all out of print...)
• Transformers rescue bots dvds - added to order list
• A car book. Not just ANY car book, it had to have a RED car. It took me a while to find the right one, but I eventually found Hubbell's Cars. Then his sister needed something she couldn't rip, so we picked out some board books and an Indestructible.
• Harry Potter (why can nobody find Harry Potter? must have had 3 questions for that this week)

Beasts of Olympus: Beast Keeper by Lucy Coats

Beginning chapters are very popular at my library and good fantasy series are very hard to find, so I was excited when I read the description of this new series and requested a review copy.

Demon (his real name is Pandemonium) is having a bad day. First, he meets his dad for the first time. His dad, the god, Pan. And his dad whisks him off on a scary journey to Olympus! He feels a little better when he finds out he's not going to be sacrificed; he's going to be the beast keeper. He's pretty good with animals and can even talk to them...but nothing like these animals! Demon has to overcome feeling scared and alone, especially since his dad promptly disappeared, and then there's scarier things like having to heal all the beasts that nasty hero Hercules keeps destroying. When Hera shows up with her injured Hydra, will he be able to heal him or will he find himself sent down the poop chute to Tartarus to feed the monsters?

The story is about 140 pages long, with humorous black and white cartoons sprinkled throughout. The chapters are also divided into smaller chunks with lightning bolts, showing changes in the setting or plot. There are several pages of glossary and pronunciation guide which lists the gods, places, beasts, and other mythical beings referenced in the story.

I have to disagree with the publicity that promotes this as "humorous." While it's got lots of cartoon pictures and is told in a lighter fashion, I wouldn't call it laugh-out-loud funny. Demon spends most of the story desperately trying to catch up with events, stay alive, and keep his new animal friends alive as well. But that's not at all a drawback, and other people might find this funny. I loved that this is, for once, a fantasy that's not medieval with fake-diversity (look! his friend is a girl with dark skin! in a feudalistic society that devalues women...*mutter*). It has a mischievously irreverent way of treating the Greek gods and while readers will learn about their myths and enjoy the exciting story, they'll also get a different perspective on the mythic stories that are so popular. How did all those "monsters" Hercules attacked really feel about things? Is Hera good or bad?

Verdict: If you have fans of Joan Holub's Heroes in Training, this is an absolute must purchase series. If not, get this one to start with, as it doesn't have as many volumes as HiT and you can start at the beginning. I enjoyed reading it and can't wait to introduce it to my patrons. Ideal for strong 2nd grade readers up through 4th grade, although older and younger kids will enjoy it as well. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780448461939; Published 2015 by Penguin; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library (purchased/preordered the rest of the series)

Small Readers: Ten Eggs in a Nest by Marilyn Sadler, illustrated by Michael Fleming

Marilyn Sadler, a prolific author of humorous picture books and easy readers, adds a silly counting book to the well-known Bright and Early Books for Beginning Readers imprint.

Gwen, the red hen, is excited about her first clutch of eggs, but not as excited as the little rooster, Red. He's busy taking care of Gwen when the first egg hatches. Overjoyed, Red rushes off to buy a worm for his new chick. But when he gets back with ONE worm, there are TWO more chicks! Red rushes frantically back and forth, trying to keep up with counting chicks, worms, and coins until all ten eggs have hatched, there is a worm for each, and a kiss from Gwen for the sweet little rooster.

Fleming's art has a vibrant, retro flare with bold colors and lines. The backgrounds are neutral colors, emphasizing the text and colorful characters.

The text is a large font, very friendly to young children beginning to read. The text is a step above the very beginning books, which normally have only a handful of words per page, and includes longer words like "beautiful," "surprise," and "hurried." The sentences are brief and simple, with the numbers emphasized in all caps. The simple exercises in addition flow naturally through the text, although some children may be distracted by trying to count and read at the same time.

Verdict: This is an excellent choice for children who are ready to move up a step from the absolute beginner books. The lightly humorous story and child-friendly art are appealing and the math adds a unique aspect to the story. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780449810828; Published 2014 by Beginner Books/Random House; Purchased for the library

Nonfiction Monday: Sniffer Dogs: How dogs (and their noses) save the world by Nancy F. Castaldo

I can't believe it took me so long to read this and add it to my "must purchase immediately if not sooner list." It's got high-interest subject written all over it.

The book opens with several stories featuring dogs and their incredible friendship with humans and segueing into the history of domesticated dogs and then working dogs throughout human history and up to the present. The next section focuses on the mechanics of scent and how a dog's nose is designed and utilized. After we've learned out the science of smell, the next section shows how dogs use their superior sense of smell, starting with dogs trained to track live human beings. This section includes both how the dogs are trained and utilized and true stories of their adventures and heroic actions.

The next section focuses on dogs trained to smell out something even more difficult - dead bodies. These dogs can smell the tiniest amount of cremated human remains, a bone and decomposed, buried remains even after long periods of time. This is amazing. Again, both science and anecdote are included pulling the reader through the story as we see how the science and training is used by the dogs in real life.

The next sections are on dogs who sniff out explosives and drugs and those who work at fire sights looking for accelerants. The next section is a fairly new use for dogs and their amazing noses - conservation detection. These dogs help researchers by sniffing out specific types of animal poop or are using to alert to invasive species being accidentally transported or illegal natural materials. Finally, we learn about service dogs. Not the guide dogs most people are familiar with, but those who are trained to use their noses to detect changes in a human's physiology and then alert them. They are used to diabetics and others with dangerous illnesses to help them stay healthy and give them a better quality of life.

The author finishes with an introduction to her own dog, talking about how much she learned about a dog's sense of smell. Included in the back matter are extensive acknowledgements, a bibliography, suggested reading, places to visit, websites, ways to get involved, glossary, photo credits, and index.

Finally, we have the physical aspect of the book. Whoever does the layout of books, TAKE NOTICE. THIS is what a nonfiction book should look like. Not a picture book, not a text-packed chapter book, but this. The book is a sturdy rectangle, a little over 8 x 7.5 inches which gives ample space for a nice, attractive layout of text and colorful photographs. It's 154 pages, which is a perfect length. It's really, really hard to convince older kids (or their parents) to take books that look like picture books and nonfiction chapter books tend to be full of a small font that turns kids off. This is perfect.

Verdict: A high-interest subject, with sensitive subjects delicately handled, well-written, and a beautiful layout. This will fly off your shelves and I highly recommend it.

ISBN: 9780544088931; Published 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the library's nonfiction backlist to order

The Numbers: What am I doing with them? or, We have goals and we're not afraid to use them

Because my garden makes me happy

I love planning. In fact, sometimes I like planning things more than actually doing them. I am sure I am not alone in this. However, this year I tried to...plan my planning, if that makes sense. I have goals from my evaluation in May, from discussions with my director and colleague about where we're going with programming in the fall, and finally I put together a department mission and goals.

Mission Statement
The mission of the Youth Services Department of the Matheson Memorial Library is to provide informational, educational, and recreational services, in a friendly and supportive setting, to all families, children, and caregivers of the Elkhorn community. These services are available through quality materials and programs offered by a friendly and knowledgeable staff in a comfortable and welcoming environment. The Youth Services Department serves as a family gathering place focused on educating, enriching, and entertaining the families, children, teens, and caregivers of the public.

Department Goals

• Serve all age groups with a variety of programs.
• Serve all families and caregivers with a broad programming schedule
• Make the Youth Services Department a destination by offering a welcoming, fun, and enriching environment

2014/2015 Objectives

• Offer programs for each time slot (morning, afternoon, early evening, late evening)
• Offer a wider variety of programs for early childhood; active/movement programs and programs directed at smaller groups.
• Offer a wider variety of school­-age programs, specifically for smaller groups, which will enable us to build relationships and encourage use of the collection
• Revive middle school and teen programs, creating simple, sustainable programs that build on school­-age program participants 
• Expand outreach to four year olds to build an audience for the preschool programming schedule.

How Will We Get There? Meeting Objectives

• Alternate programs in time slots so we can offer more variety (monthly/bi­monthly instead of weekly)
• Alternate programs ­storytime/dance program/art program etc. instead of the same program every week
• Stagger programs ­ don’t start everything all at once, put in gaps when I know there will be heavy calls for outreach (end of October, end of April)
• Start with one middle school program (reviving middle school madness) and creating a teen volunteer program
• Implement a planning schedule to streamline marketing, budgeting and create better long­-term evaluation of programming and build word­-of­-mouth interest in programs
• November (Thanksgiving) finalize plans for January-May
• April (after big party) finalize plans for June-August
• August finalize plans for September-December

This week at the library; or, Winter or spring? I am very confused.

What's happening in my head and at the library

• The weather is weird. Was it only last week school was closing due to extreme cold and now it's in the 30s and I hardly need my sweater!
• I had two interviews, a staff meeting, and a deathly determination to finish the Neighborhoods this week. Y - Z I AM COMING FOR YOU.
• THE NEIGHBORHOODS ARE FINISHED!! Of course, I still have to deal with the 50+ missing items, everything that was checked out to the youth/tech services and not discharged, 50 holds on items still checked out, signage, and the rest of the replacement order but the main work is done!
• I went out to New Berlin on Friday morning to join another system's pre-summer reading thing (I have been told that it's NOT a conference and there are no free books, but there is Marge Loch-Wouters and that counts for me) and then I took off the afternoon and went to the zoo and shopping, which is why I'd worked 6 days last week.
As always, Marge was very reassuring and relaxing to listen to (although I probably seemed a little abstracted, especially when she mentioned my blog and I looked over my shoulder and was like "huh? me?" but I was listening, honest!) My main take-away was that I need to stop looking for the "perfect" summer reading program, which we can then do forever, world without end, amen. Instead, I need to think of what summer reading program will work well for us, right now, and possibly a few years into the future. What is something simple that can easily be changed and adapted as needed? Related to that, I need to stop trying to reassure staff who are not comfortable with change (or not the frequency of change in my department) by telling them this will be the last change, or I'm not going to change anything again or trying to justify, defend, or cajole. I'm going to practice saying "yes, I'm trying a new program. I think it will be really popular with the parents and kids for X reasons and not too difficult for the staff to pick up, especially since you're all so awesome!" (and I really don't mean that sarcastically - we do have a great staff who have dealt with a lot of difficult changes well)
• I'm really tired and am now trying to figure out how to set up a schedule for my new employee that won't change every week, will still allow me to train them, and will also take into account the vacation I already put in for in February. It's really hard for me to take vacation, so I usually take long weekends.

Programs

• Playgroup with Pattie
• Toddlers 'n' Books (2 sessions) (Pattie)
• We Explore Nature: Snow
• Books 'n' Babies (Pattie)
• Messy Art Club: Feel it with Felt
• January Outreach: Under the snow (6 sessions)
• Stealth: 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
• Stealth: Paws to Read (winter reading program)
• Stealth: I Spy Aquarium
• Stealth: Birdwatching station
• Stealth: Take home storytime: Let it snow

What the kids are reading

• Showed a parent the truck movies. We did not have the specific one she wanted, but there were plenty of others.
• Spirited Away - new copies coming soon
• Parent wanting books to help talk about sex/puberty with an 11 year old girl.
• ATV books - I think I only have one. Need to update the sports section of race cars etc.
• Found the missing Ira Sleeps Over for a parent needing it for homeschooling curriculum. Discussed why a grade school reader would/should be assigned picture books.

Griffin's Castle by Jenny Nimmo

Eleven-year old Dinah isn't very hopeful about her feckless mother's newest venture; moving them into an abandoned and condemned old house at the behest of her newest boyfriend, Gomer. However, she slowly becomes invested in the vast, ancient house, especially when she discovers the animals along the wall come to life and protect her.

Or are they holding her prisoner? As the year wanes and Christmas approaches, Dinah sinks deeper and deeper into her fantasy world, trying to create the happy family she desperately wants but deep inside knows is impossible. In the end, not even her new friends can save her; only Dinah's determination and spirit give her a chance to break away from the past and find a family for herself.

I always feel that Nimmo's work is somehow under-plotted - like there is a whole extra storyline I'm missing out on. However, her books are nonetheless enjoyable for all that. This is pure neglected-child-wish-fulfillment fantasy. Be sure to pull out the tissues as Dinah desperately tries to create a Christmas for a family that exists only in her imagination. There's just enough magic to add the spooky touch that Nimmo's work always has, and, of course, bits of history and Welsh culture sprinkled throughout as well. The ending is satisfying, if a little abrupt.

Verdict: This is out of print and, honestly, it's not so amazing that I'd take the trouble to track it down, but if you already have a copy in your library or run across one in a donation pile, be sure to recommend it to kids looking for a tear-jerker, holiday fantasy with a happy ending.

ISBN: 9780439025546; Published 2007 by Orchard/Scholastic; I think I bought it at Half-Price Books? Donated to the library

Read, Read, Read said the Baby: Big Girl Panties by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Valeria Petrone

[This review was previously posted. It has been edited.]

An enthusiastic little girl delights in her panties - all colors, patterns, and decorations. Only big girls can wear panties and she's definitely a big girl, no more diapers for her! Just like moms, grandmas, and aunties, she loves to wear her big girl panties.

Petrone's pictures are simple and cheerful, just right for a board book. Each spread focuses on the little girl of the cover with her Pippi-like hair, waltzing about in her red shirt and a marvelous variety of panties.

This isn't really a potty training book, just a cheerful paean to the joy of fancy underwear and being a big girl. Some parents might be a little concerned about how freely the girl shows off her new acquisitions.

Verdict: Cute, brightly colored, and cheerful. Not a necessary purchase, but a fun addition to the board book collection. Ours was so popular it fell apart and I had to replace it!

ISBN: 9780307931528; Published 2012 by Robin Corey Books/Random House; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library (later purchased a replacement)

Nonfiction Monday: The Iridescence of Birds: A book about Henri Matisse by Patricia Maclachlan, illustrated by Hadley Hooper

Was it an anniversary of Matisse recently? It feels like I've seen a lot of Matisse books coming out. So, normally I am not a fan of any picture book biographies, at all, ever. However, the art looked pretty and I knew staff, if not patrons, would want to see any book by Patricia MacLachlan.

The story is told a little differently than the usual picture book biography. It starts out "If you were a boy named Henry Matisse who lived in a deary town in northern France..." and then talks about how you would long for color and light, love the art that your mother created and shared with you, and eventually begin to experiment with art yourself and grow up to be a great artist; Henri Matisse.

Notes from the author and illustrator talk about how they came to create the text, where artists' ideas come from, and how the illustrator created the illustrations which suggest Matisse's paintings. There is also a brief list of books for reading more about Matisse.

I really wanted to like this one. MacLachlan's text is, as always, beautiful and Hooper's illustrations show a fun new talent (I believe this is her first picture book). Instead, I found myself becoming increasingly annoyed throughout the book. The only picture book biographies that, in my opinion, work well are those which can be easily read as a picture book to a child with no previous knowledge of or interest in the subject. This one almost, almost works that way. It would be a great book to introduce a young child to the beautiful colors, shapes, and art in the world around you. Until you get to the final pages which mimic some of Matisse's famous artwork, including La Danse, carefully edited to cut off the upper bodies facing the viewer and only show their backs.

Verdict: This book won't introduce a young child to the actual art of Matisse, since it does not include any of his actual art. Parents are likely to be annoyed by having to explain why all the dancing ladies are naked. Without the context of knowing who Matisse is (or understanding the concept of "famous artist" the story doesn't hold together well. Older kids, assuming you can find any willing to read a picture book or interested in Matisse, will turn up their nose at the "cute" illustrations, obviously aimed at younger readers. There's no audience for this at my library and I wish these two had collaborated on a picture book actually intended for children.

ISBN: 9781596439481; Published 2014 by Roaring Brook; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Budget Numbers, Circulation Numbers, Programming Numbers, I Haz Them ALL (part 3)

The Statistics Octopus
It's a Thing

In the past, I've used the circulation numbers to divide up the money for the coming year. This year is going to be...different. I am spending a big chunk on replacements, as the final part of the Neighborhoods project. I will be spending a lot on easy readers and nonfiction, as those areas are next on the list. I gave a larger chunk to our cataloger, who purchases YA (partly because I messed up the budget last year and she lost money). Juvenile will be mainly keeping up with series.

I also have some additional numbers this year, since I decided to track size of collection, as well as circulation, to see how weeding was affecting the collection size. As far as I have been able to figure out, the library's collection was not weeded in its first 100 years of existence, prior to major budget issues, and a big staff turnover. We have a lot of back weeding to do now and I have been weeding diligently over the past 6 years. However, we also have to maintain collection size. I'm a slash and burn weeder (-:) and need to make sure I don't get out of hand. So, these numbers will help me see which areas are getting low.

(if you are anal enough to check my math, total circulation won't match the numbers because it includes holds from other libraries)

Total Circulation: 120,934
Increase from 2013: 3,787

Circulation by area

• Juvenile audiobooks: 582
• Increase of 58. I requested additional funds to purchase more audiobooks this year.
• Book + CD (easy): 208
• Increase of 26. I purchased a chunk of these at the end of the year and not all are cataloged yet, as we're waiting for the bags they go in.
• Juvenile Blu-Ray: 1283
• Increase of 467. I still don't think these are popular enough to devote a significant amount of budget. I try to get the feature films in the double packs, which we separate.
• Board Books: 4513
• Increase of 443. I would like to do a major overhaul of this section and replace all the tired and worn books, but I think that will have to be a project for 2016.
• Juvenile CDs: 412
• I would actually estimate this circulation at about 800. In June, our cataloger set up a separate location for the CDs. Until then, their circulation was included in with dvds. We had hoped that would separate out the historic stats as well, but it didn't. So this is starting from June.
• Children's (DVDs): 27,474
• Increase of 350. Are dvds a thing of the past or have we just reached maximum circ? I would guess the latter.
• Easy (readers): 9700
• Increase of 790. My next project in collection development is to sort out the nonfiction in the easy readers, give them to my poor, long-suffering cataloger to recatalog and relabel, and fill in series. I'm also planning to replace a lot of very, very grungy-looking titles. However, my purchasing here is finite since the easy reader shelves are almost full.
• Juvenile Fiction: 14120
• This section is confusing because this year I combined juvenile graphics and a large portion of the series into juvenile fiction and then made a separate location for new juvenile. Last year the combined juvenile sections circulated a total of 20,989. The combined total this year was 19,114. So this section was actually down 1875. It took a while for people to find where the series and graphic novels had moved to, the series especially are no longer right out in front by the easy readers. I added better signage during the summer and that helped, but it will just take people a while to find things I think. I tried magnetic labels on shelves, but they keep falling off - I think maybe laminated characters and sticking them to the shelves might be better. I also bought less in this area due to spending on replacements and Neighborhoods and that's not going to change next year so this section may just move a little slower for a while. I have to remind myself that it's ok if circulation drops in one area for a while, since it's up overall. You can't give everything an absolutely optimal spot.
• New Juvenile Fiction: 2100
• Juvenile Series: 2894
• Juvenile Holiday: 1491
• Increase of 228
• Juvenile Magazines: 224
• Dropped 127. The circulation time for magazines was changed to one week and I think this had a negative impact on circ. However, I had nothing to do with that change. Out of my hands!
• Juvenile Nonfiction: 8990
• Down by 225. Not unexpected as I did not buy a lot here and moved a lot of very popular titles to the picture book neighborhoods.
• Oversized: 62
• Up by 8. I'm still getting rid of this collection - it's really just the Star Wars books.
• Parenting: 191
• Down by 198. That's because I moved all the potty training books to the neighborhoods.
• Picture Books: 27,214
• Increase of 4885. A portion of that is the concept books that were moved in (about 1,000 in circ) and the easy nonfiction added. A small portion is also the number that were checked out to the youth services card during the process. I'd say that at least 3,000 is increase though!
• Spanish: 237
• Down by 165. There's no real way to predict this collection - just depends what family is teaching their kids Spanish or if kids happen upon it or....something.
• Circulating Toys: 639
• Increased by 257. I added a lot of new toys and it paid off.
• Video Games: 2975
• Increased by 463. I added PS3 and XBOX360 this year. We're running out of space for this collection - might want to increase the limit to 4 or 5, at least for Wii games, but that could be confusing.
• Young Adult Magazines: 272
• Up by 9. Meh. This is really a browsing, not a circulating collection.
• Young Adult Graphic Novels: 1925
• This was down by 587, very disappointing. However, I got behind in a lot of manga series and I think this is something you have to buy pretty constantly - the teens don't re-read manga as much as some other collections, especially if you have a small collection. Moving the teen area downstairs may have affected this as well - it brought more readers to check out fiction, but I think a lot of the teens who browsed manga are gone. This year I'm going to preorder all the new releases in the popular series.
• Young Adult Fiction: 5714
• Increase of 572. Our cataloger took over this collection this year and she made some good choices, also moving it downstairs meant more adults found the collection.

Collection size
Overall, our collection increased by 1,136 to a total collection size of 22,817

Picture books increased by 405 for a total collection of 4,491. This is really amazing, considering how many I weeded due to condition for which the replacements have not yet arrived. I also pulled a lot over from the nonfiction section and purchased heavily in this area as well. I plan to use these numbers to justify the two shelves of books I want to discard as I finish Neighborhoods.

Easy readers are slated to be next on the weeding/replacement list. They increased by 119 for a total collection of 1,165 which is almost at full capacity for our shelves.

Board books increased by 74 for a collection of 566. I'm very proud of my board book collection, which parents love, but it needs refreshing.

Juvenile fiction is confusing because of the way the collections were moved around. Series dropped 524 to a total of 597, the graphic novel location was completely removed and a new juvenile fiction section added, which currently has 182 but fluctuates since this collection is added to the general juvenile fiction location. This location increased by 572 to a total of 3843, which is basically adding the juvenile series. I also weeded the juvenile fiction. So, total juvenile fiction collections are at 4,622 which is an increase of 230.

Juvenile nonfiction dropped 121 to only 5,459. I did not buy much in this area this year and moved several hundred titles to the Neighborhoods. I plan to buy extensively here, possibly this year, but more likely next year.

Media: I was surprised that our juvenile dvds were down 14 for a total collection of 1,837. We've been having some space issues and I bought a ton but I also deleted second copies and I guess we lost more than I thought due to theft/damage. We added 13 more bluray for a total collection of 92, but most patrons don't have bluray players and I only buy them for feature films. I only added 5 juvenile audiobooks, bringing the collection up to 230. I'd like to add more but we have a space issue. I did purchase more book & cd combos, but the numbers only show us going up 4 to 59 because we are waiting for the bags to put them in. I added the separate location for juvenile music cds this year, so I don't have previous numbers to compare. We have 219 and no more space!

I added 7 toys to increase the collection to 54. I thought I'd added more than that, but then remembered that I'd weeded some of the really ancient stuff that predated me.

The video game collection increased by 76 to 213. This was hugely popular when we started it and still circulates well, but I am indecisive now as to whether I should start buying the (very expensive) new game formats, increase the checkout limits from 2 or...?

Young adult graphics only increased by 84 to a total collection of 718, which is probably why the circulation dropped, among other reasons.

Our holiday collection dropped by 4 to 645, which is about right - I would like to add a few more Valentines, Halloween and Thanksgiving books but 700 is the limit for what I can store on the holiday shelves I think.

Oversized dropped 32 to 71 - I am in the process of getting rid of this collection completely.

I was surprised parenting only dropped 1, to 109, even though I moved all the potty books. But I added a handful as well. I plan to increase this collection but it's not a high priority.

I added 3 Spanish books and we have 251 now. This whole collection needs to be relabeled but it's a low priority.