Welcome to the Neighborhoods: The Beginning

I started researching picture book neighborhoods in 2012-2013, presented my ideas to staff and, with much input and discussion, completed the bulk of the work by the end of 2014. As I worked on this project through 2014, I saw picture book circulation increase by 4,885, reaching a total of 27,214.

The Neighborhood project went through a lot of evolution. I drew heavily on the ideas of Kathleen Larson at Bloomer (and a big thank you to her for being so kind and sending me all her information), the process at Darien in CT and several other libraries who have done similar projects.

My evaluation of the first three years was positive - neutral. The few patrons who were frustrated by not being able to find the book they wanted by just looking for it alphabetically were the minority - usually teachers outside our service area or folks who didn't use the library regularly. Those who wanted specific titles quickly got into the habit of placing them on hold. Prior to creating the neighborhoods, I had far more requests and complaints from patrons who wanted subjects (tractors, dinosaurs, potty-training, etc.). I also found it to make collection development easier as I could look at the sections both physically and data-wise and see which ones need more materials and which need to be weeded or aren't circulating. Around this time I also had a big jump in remote collections/teacher requests and this arrangement made it possible to handle that increase.

After the initial surge in circulation, the numbers fell back a bit; This was due, in my opinion, first to the shelves being extremely crowded - I was not allowed to weed in any significant way at this time but added almost 2,000 more books to the area in three years, making it seriously overcrowded. I also found there were issues with some of the categories being confusing. Sometimes a lot of staff input isn't helpful.

The major problem area was the titles which were not relabeled and were left by author. These included "favorite authors" like Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle, and Fancy Nancy, but also a plethora of books that did not fit into any of the current categories or which I did not want to relabel since they needed to be weeded. There were also some smaller sections that needed to be adjusted - we ended up with all the planet books in Things That Go/Space and math books in Fun/Create (there were some people who strongly disagreed with this (-:)

In 2017, while my associate updated and created new signage, pictured above, I updated the area to include several new subcategories and weeded or sent to be recataloged and relabeled everything in the general favorite authors section that was not a specific character or favorite author. I wasn't completely satisfied with the update - I didn't like having Pets and Farm in community, there were issues with the arrangement of the Ourselves section, and I need a separate Tales section for folktales and fairy tales. 

So, if you are thinking about doing Neighborhoods, a couple things I'd suggest thinking about. First, it's a LOT of work. I did a lot of the re-cataloging myself, but our processor had a lot of work to do relabeling everything. It took over a year and was at times very frustrating and stressful. My original signage was not the best; it was greatly improved when my associate took over and handled it. Get your signage organized first. I think the process would have been simplified and improved if I'd done small sections one at a time. That wasn't possible for me, but it may be for you. I also made a Youtube video, which was put on Facebook, and that helped people understand the process a lot better too.

Over the years, I've learned that the collection needs to be fluid too. Things change in the way people look for things, the language they use, the books that are available, and in what is popular.

Stay tuned for the next updates to the Neighborhoods!

This week at the library

Me and one of my staff at MakerFest

Programs

• Itty Bitty Bopping Bakers
• Paws to Read
• Family Storytime
• Preschool Fun: Reading around the world

Outreach

• MakerFest

Self-Directed Activities

• Construction Hangout
• Homeschool Hangout
• Open Storyroom
• What's in your body? Scavenger hunt

Meetings, Hosted events, etc.

• 4-H meeting
• Daycare visit
• Managers' meeting

Notes

• This week was rather exhausting. I am playing around with some different options for tracking patron flows and spent a somewhat tortuous hour or so with our security cameras. I think I've come up with a better way of estimating usage, but it will involve getting daily door counts. On Tuesday we hosted the Preschool Fun night. We had a good turnout for it being an evening in February, with a winter storm predicted the next day and school already called off, but we always wonder if we're coming out even in the equation of effort and funds put into the program vs. attendance.
• We knew we were probably going to close early on Wednesday, but I drove in for a couple hours to get a chunk of my neighborhoods project done. When I went home I went through some orders, double-checked expenses, and wrote up a number of things for future discussion. I also had a little walk in the snow.
• Thursday morning I had to borrow the microwaveable heat pack from the inside of my stuffed manatee to get my ignition de-iced so the key would turn. Mr. Manatee to the rescue! Very thoughtful gift from a colleague last December! I was worried that our managers' meeting would run over, since I had 2 kids signed up for a sewing class from 3-5. However, they ended up not being able to come, which was just as well since the meeting ran until nearly 4. I've already had to cancel the next planned sewing workshop in March, due to needing to cover the desk, and I'm feeling really burned out and blah about programming. Hopefully after we get through the grant process and several other things hanging fire at the moment, I'll take all my usage statistics, the additional staff hours that are going to appear from nowhere, and magically design a series of programs that will be fully staffed and attended. I left early to drop off the last load of misc. stuff from the library basement for donation.
• Friday I only worked a half-day. There was no school. I had an "oh wombats I'm old" moment when a middle school volunteer came in and the last time I saw her she was three with pigtails. She very kindly cleaned the gerbil cage. I started on the last phase of the neighborhood updates.
• Saturday was MakerFest. I (and my staff) have participated in this since before the pandemic and last year it was just... too much. The nature of the event has changed a lot and I'm no longer trying to advertise and draw people to programs (I mean, I still am, but this isn't the right venue for it). Plus, it's a whole day and it's a LOT. Also, last year somebody was giving out whistles. WHISTLES. Thankfully, my school colleague let us horn in on her table and we even managed to get her to take a break while we ran her very fun Lego tests with the kids.

This week at the library

Little zebra at storytime

Programs

• Paws to Read
• Family Storytime
• Youth D&D
• Family Storytime
• Teen engagement

Outreach

• After school outreach
• 4K/daycare outreach
• 1st grade outreach
• OPtions outreach (family night)

Self-Directed Activities

• Pokemon Hangout

Meetings, Hosted events, etc.

• Girl Scouts
• Library system meeting
• Book vendor meeting
• Homeschool group

Projects (You can sign up to receive these here)

• January new book spotlight
• Early literacy activity calendars
• STEAM activity calendars

Notes

• Super adorable guinea pig at Paws to Read - she was adopted a few days later! We are working on some new closing procedures. I don't think anyone else has the problem that I and my closing partner do - we forget to watch the time because we're absorbed in our work and have a tendency to, um, close a little late.
• The after school outreach currently is using our marble runs and I took outreach books there earlier (or rather my staff did) so I only took the stuff I was doing that day. I read them There are no ants in this book which they were very interested in and Don't think of tigers. I brought hula hoops and the more, um, energetic kids made it almost half an hour before they got banned from playing with them lol. I also took suction cups, beading string, and beads and the kids were very fascinated by this craft.
• I had absolutely no plan for D&D besides a pack of mini resin mushrooms. I warned the kids ahead of time, and I was glad I had the mushrooms to bribe them, otherwise it would have been maybe not the worst, but definitely pretty blah of the games I've (unwillingly) run.
• I ended Thursday early with a set of class visits and then a dentist visit. This year's 1st graders are amazing chill! They sat still for There are no ants in this book, Be Quiet! by Ryan Higgins, The Rattlin' Bog (and an explanation of what a bog is), My Awesome summer by P. Mantis, and Squash the Cat. This carefully curated selection was what I grabbed off the random piles on my desk.

January 2025: This month in the collection

January is the month when I primarily focus on purchasing replacements and ordering/requesting Paw Prints prebinds. Also, in the interest of complete frankness, I have spent most of the month reading romantic fantasy manga and old British mysteries, so I haven't reviewed much.

Library Pinterest - new materials
*purchased for or added to the library collection
**not yet purchased, but it's on a list!

Picture Books

• *Seven little ducklings by Annette LeBlanc Cate
• I always get new books by this author!
• **Who took my lollipop? by Doug Cenko
• Very funny!
• *A moving story by Beth Ferry
• **I was by Katherine Hocker
• *Rocket puppies by William Joyce
• Turns out everyone adores this book and thinks it's cute.
• *A little like magic by Sarah Kurpiel
• LOVE this one.
• *How to draw a tiger by Alex Latimer
• Requested for purchase by one of my staff after I brought it in to look at.
• *I love you little horse by Gianna Marino
• I love her art.
• *There are no ants in this book by Rosemary Mosco
• Finally purchased!
• *Heartfelt by Elaine Vickers
• I really like her books for use in holidays and all year.
• **Whirligigs: The wondrous windmills of Vollis Simpson's Imagination by Carole Boston Weatherford
• My associate really liked this one and is using it in school visits. It ties in nicely to activities.

Early Readers and Transitional Chapters

• *Snarky Shark by Rebecca Baines
• I actually bought this last year, but I've been waiting for a reading level on it from a teacher who helps me out.
• *Bunny Hop by Sarah Hwang
• *Green Eggs and Ham by James Kochalka
• Young patron has been waiting eagerly for this sequel.
• *Pizza and Taco: Coolest club ever! by Shaskan
• Purchased two copies - a very popular series.

Beginning Chapter Books

• *Secret of the lost gold by Rebecca Elliott
• Unicorn Diaries sequel
• *Ava Lin, best friend by Vicky Fang

Juvenile Fiction

• *The mystery of Mystic Mountain by Janet S. Fox
• *Zeroes to Heroes by Doogie Horner
• 2nd book in Invisible Boy graphic novel series - kids have been requesting this via teachers.
• *Wolf called fire by Rosanne Parry
• Companion to Wolf called wander.

Juvenile Nonfiction

• *Virus Hunters by Amy Cherrix
• *Why we went extinct by Tadaaki Imaizumi
• I gambled and bought this without reading it first - very funny and I think kids will like it. I want to read it at some point!
• *Spirit Sleuths by Gail Jarrow
• *How to be a color wizard by Jason Logan
• This was snapped up right away by the folks I had in mind for it.
• *The big book of barf by Vicky Lorencen
• For my medical display.
• Call the bee doctor by Sandra Markle
• This was fascinating - I don't know when I'll be able to purchase it though, as Millbrook titles are expensive. I alternate years of purchasing nonfiction direct from publishers and I probably won't have funds for Lerner this year.
• Lost at Windy River by Trina Rathberger
• Another one that was a fascinating read, but is out of my budget.
• *They are here by Roland Smith
• Purchased from Amazon. I've been wanting this for a while.
• *Frozen in time by Carmella Van Vleet
• Waited to purchase this in paperback.
• *Spices and Spuds by Andy Warner
• Awesome new nonfiction graphic novel

This week at the library

Family storytime resumed in the Storyroom
with my school colleague

Programs

• Teen Homeschool Hangout
• Paws to Read
• Family Storytime (two sessions)
• Teen engagement (volunteers)

Outreach

• Lakeland School school visit

Self-Directed Activities

• Construction Hangout
• Homeschool Hangout

Meetings, Hosted events, etc.

• Youth Services Meeting
• Managers' Meeting
• iRead/Reading Dragons webinar

Notes

• Last week we were recovering from Land of Stories; I took a couple days off and next year I will make my staff do the same. Something is going around and several staff are out sick now. The debut of Construction Hangout went very well, although I think I'll adapt the set-up a little next time.
• I am getting very close to finishing my giant weed/update of the picture book neighborhoods!

In short, I am busy: Land of Stories

 I ran Life-Size Candyland for three years, then we took a long break over the pandemic, then revived it in 2023. Later that year, I decided I wanted to change things up, to avoid what had happened with the original program, where people got bored and stopped attending. For that to work, I felt we needed a more flexible format that would allow us to make changes each year so as to make the program feel "new" without recreating it from scratch. I decided to go with a Land of Stories theme, incorporating parts of Candyland into a more general fantasy setting.

 We'd also started loaning out our materials regularly to other libraries and my associate came up with the genius idea of creating the gingerbread house out of pvc pipe, so we could easily break it down and recreate it each year. We'd also be able to expand with more houses! We prepared for 2024 and... the weather did not cooperate. We had everything set up on Friday... and had to close Saturday for a blizzard. We did get about 80 people on Monday though.

This year, we had a longer time-period to work on preparing in January, especially since we were able to hold special storytimes in our community room and the weather cooperated. We also had a smaller number of volunteers than in any previous year. We ran the program for much longer periods and we had a slow but constant run of people. It didn't feel like huge crowds, although the turnout was decent, because everyone was spread out. We ended up with just under 100 people on Saturday and a little less, about 90, on Monday. We ran the game 9-2 on Saturday and 9-3 on Monday.

We made several changes in 2025; We kept the game to the first floor only, had a station in the lobby, and started the game path immediately inside the library. It ended with the dragon's lair in the Storyroom, instead of upstairs in the audio room. I also worked on having fewer "prize" items and more hands-on activities. The slower pace and more spaced out, smaller groups mean that there's time and space for them to stop to make things. My associate also made a careful inventory this year, to make it easier to lend out to other libraries - we have some local schools interested as well. 

We're looking forward to next year. The library is undergoing some renovations, so we may or may not be able to run it, but we have quite a few exciting ideas for new things to add and change. One is having a small Candyland game in our community center and making the big game in the library more complex, to reach different ages. We'll see what happens!

This link includes the overviews for 2024-2025, future plans, inventory of materials, set-up photos, and a very wobbly video of the path.

Finally got enough sticks for us to make magic
wands with them! Nobody was injured. Much.

In short, I am busy: Life-Size Candyland

Getting started -
Grandma Nutt has aged very well lol

The History

  Christmas is a big "thing" in our town and it's not a hill I'm going to die on. I had run a "Santa's Kitchen" program with cookies and crafts and decided it was time for something new, especially since attendance was slowing down. 

  Candyland was a big collaboration. It took the combined efforts of myself, my two teen aides, my two part-time associates, multiple adult volunteers, two tween volunteers, and teen volunteers on the day of the program. I started planning it back in August (and yes, this was really short notice - most planning processes for a program of this scale start at least a year in advance!). I cancelled several large programs we usually do in the fall and a lot of outreach because we was working on this.

  I looked at many, many resources online. Pinterest boards for ideas, other libraries who had done the program, and asked staff for ideas as well. These are some of the best resources I found:

• https://www.pinterest.com/mslola/life-size-candy-land/?lp=true
• http://www.programminglibrarian.org/programs/life-sized-candy-land
• http://lalalalibrary.blogspot.com/2015/03/life-sized-candyland.html

  In 2017 I had teen volunteers, dressed up more or less, at each station. In 2018 I was contacted by a new company, Fairytale Birthday Company, and the characters came from free. I hired them in 2019. 

All of the pictures and the instructions, 2017-2019 and 2023 are included here. 2023 especially has super detailed, step-by-step planning.

First year: 2017

• Our attendance was between 280 and 300. Set-up took 3-4 hours the night before with myself and a second staff member. The program ran from 9am to around 12:30 with the last teams finishing at 1pm. We had approximately 7 teen volunteers running stations. It took about an hour just to shove everything back in the Storyroom, post pictures, and vacuum. We still had to dismantle and put everything away on Monday.
• The main feedback was that I needed to feed more people through the game - they had to wait too long for their turns to play and I needed more spinners.
• The cardboard cut-outs were made by an adult volunteer and we used construction paper for the game board, taping it down with packing tape. I do not recommend this as even if you are in good shape; it's awful on your back and knees.
• We had candy at every station and I spent about $150, plus we got a lot donated. I also had donated toothbrushes!

Second year: 2018

• Our attendance this second year was very close to the first, between 250 and 300. Most of the props were still good from the previous year, although we did need to make a new gingerbread house and touch some things up. 
• I had more staff helping with the set-up on Friday, but it still took about 4 hours. Most of that was laying the path - we taped it in long continuous lines, instead of individually, which helped but not much.
• I had organized the game layout a little differently this year and gotten more spinners, which worked well, but it was still a crush and I lost my voice trying to yell for the teams!

Third year: 2019

• Ironically, this year when I paid for the princesses we had a big drop in attendance, down to about 150. Most people said they had already seen/played it last year, so did something else this year - a live nativity at a church was mentioned frequently. 
• We once again had to build the house from scratch, but everything else was able to be touched up in a week or so and I spent a lot of time organizing the game.
• I alternated the candy with stickers (all the candy was donated).
• The biggest change this year was a wonderful library volunteered SEWED a path for us in sections and started attaching velcro to them. They didn't all get velcro but I got some carpet sticky shrink wrap stuff that went over them nicely. She has promised to finish velcro'ing them and trim them all with pinking shears to cut down on fraying.

After seeing the big drop in attendance in 2019, I tentatively planned to do something different the next year. Well, we all know what that something different was... When we next resumed this program, holding it in January 2023, there were some major changes.

• I changed the program to a self-run, play at your own pace. I didn't think we'd ever have close to 300 people again, so it would work fine for people to walk through on their own without waiting to be called.
• The second big change was that I moved the program to January, holding it on the Saturday and Monday of MLK day, when there's no school.
• This year, anticipating a smaller group, I moved the crafts to the Storyroom and started the game in the teen area. I did keep the Community center available if we needed to move crafts there, but we didn't end up needing to do that.
• We had approximately 200 people on Saturday and around 80 on Monday.

First weeks of 2025

Kids playing on the obstacle course at Let off STEAM

Programs

• Let off STEAM (Tues/Thurs storytimes)
• Teen engagement (volunteers)
• Preschool Fun: Science with Scott
• Youth D&D
• LAND OF STORIES

Self-Directed Activities

• Craft-o-Rama (Dec. 31)

Meetings, Hosted events, etc.

• Managers' meetings
• Land of Stories planning meetings
• Rotary presentation
• Homeschool program
• Girl Scouts

Notes

• Land of Stories is one of a handful of big events we do each year. We hold it over the weekend and Monday of MLK Jr. Day, since there is no school. Last year was our first trial of the new model, switching from Candyland to Land of Stories and the two-day event and, of course, we got snowed out. Anyways, this year, because of how the dates fell and to focus on my goal of scheduling storytime as regularly as possible, we had two weeks of storytime but not in the Storyroom, which was closed for Land of Stories prep. Instead, we held them in our community center which involved a lot of negotiation with some regular groups who meet in there.
• We also had a lot of sessions of teen volunteers helping my associate work on all the decorations and I took over most of her desk shifts so she could focus on that. My other associate handled two of the storytimes and then was off a lot so she could be available for the Land of Stories program itself.
• I'm also still hard at work on updating the neighborhoods as well as all the other new year projects, reports, book requests, and more.
• I will be posting detailed info about Land of Stories and the updated Neighborhoods eventually!

December 2024: This month in the collection

New feature! I am planning to run this monthly, more or less, as a round-up of reviews and books I've read. This is pretty short as I don't purchase much in December, but I do go through a lot of my review books cleaning out backlog at the end of the year.

Library Pinterest - new materials
*purchased for or added to the library collection

**not yet purchased, but it's on a list!

Board Books

• **Play games with me by Kat Chen

Picture Books

• *Bounce! by Sarah Albee
• Elementary read-aloud
• *Brandon and the totally troublesome time machine by Seth Fishman
• Elementary read-aloud.
• **Brave Miss Muffet by Dori Graham
• Storytime pick!
• *Down the hole by Scott Slater
• Elementary read-aloud.
• *Dot! Scribble! Go! by Herve Tullet
• Storytime pick!
• *How to catch a groundhog by Alice Walstead
• Popular pick (two copies)
• *A little like magic by Sarah Kurpiel
• Storytime pick!
• *The oboe goes boom! boom! boom! by Colleen af Venable
• Replacement. Elementary read-aloud
• **There are no ants in this book by Rosemary Mosco
• Elementary read-aloud.
• *This is how we play by Jessica Slice
• Storytime pick!
• *Winter magic by Robert Burleigh
• Popular pick
• *You are not sleepy by Mark Teague
• Storytime pick!

Early Readers and Transitional Chapters

• **Lone wolf goes to school and Lone wolf gets a pet by Kiah Thomas
• Personal favorite!

Beginning Chapter Books

• **Bitsy & Boozle tell a story by Sara Goetter and Natalie Riess
• Graphic novel
• **Detective Beans and the case of the missing hat by Li Chen
• Graphic novel
• **Seashell Key by Lourdes Heuer
• New series
• *Willie's clutch catch and the Big bling blitz by David Kelly
• These are one of the few books I purchase from Amazon as they are not available through Baker and Taylor. Kelly did a virtual visit with third graders at one of our school and while his books were already popular that solidified him as a must-have for my library.

Juvenile Fiction

• *Bite risk by S. J. Wills
• Best for middle school.
• *Diary of a wimpy kid: Hot mess
• Popular pick - 3 copies, Pawprints prebound (I bought one copy in regular hardcover when it was originally released)
• *Maid for it by Jamie Sumner

Juvenile Nonfiction

• *Become a chess champion by James Canty
• Popular pick - chess is very big for us right now, especially in middle school.
• *Dragon atlas by Anna Claybourne
• Popular pick
• *Spirit Sleuths by Gail Jarrow
• **Virus Hunters by Amy Cherrix

Other

• *A lot of silly by Joy Cowley
• Storytime pick!
• *Tinkering workshop by Ryan Jenkins
• Purchased for juvenile nonfiction, but will use professionally for an outreach project I'm planning.
• Minecraft unofficial gamer guide by Zelda Wagner from Lerner
• 5 titles in this set - purchased in paperback, mostly from Amazon b/c of issues with Baker & Taylor. They're technically nonfiction, but they are cataloged in my JPOP section.

This week at the library; Goodbye 2024

The gerbils made it through another Christmas!
They have extra stuff b/c the furnace went out
and I was worried they'd be cold.

Self-Directed Activities

• Craftorama
• Nose scavenger hunt

Notes

• And we're done! I worked Monday night, we were closed Tues-Wed, I worked Thursday night, and then all Friday on the YS desk. I'm not much for holidays and I got a lot of work done. Some other folks had specific things they wanted to do this year, so it all worked out well.
• We said goodbye to the fish - the staff member who cared for them is leaving and so are the fish - and moved the gerbils to a new home.

I am officially writing all my reviews (excepting No Flying No Tights of course) on my second blog, Flying off my bookshelf. I'll be posting more features, round-ups, and library information here. Coming next year, an in-depth look at our picture book neighborhoods.

Library Collections: Board Books Core Collection

 Core Collection

  I am not a huge fan of "must-have" lists, but this is what I consider the core collection of my board books - these are things that I will regularly replace if damaged or lost or continually purchase new titles as the older ones go out of print or are weeded. They're all series, so it's generally easy to choose a selection of titles.

  The two genres I didn't include here is board books with baby faces - there are a lot of different options for those and they are a must-have of course, with how many you have depending on the size of your collection (My own favorites including photographs of babies and children are the Michel Blake titles from Candlewick, alas now long out of print) and High-Contrast titles. Agnese Baruzzi has done some nice ones and you can also find them by searching high contrast and "Montessori" together.

• Annie Kubler
• Kubler's board books with Child's Play primarily include nursery rhymes and simple action books. The art is pastels, which is not always the most popular choice, but at least a few of these are necessary storytime board books.
• Drive the... by Dave Mottram
• These are books shaped like a steering wheel. Sadly, the race car title is out of print, but the fire engine book is still available.
• Emma Garcia
• Garcia has written a number of picture books, several of which have been made into board books. They're published by Boxer Books Ltd. and generally cover different vehicles and sounds. Titles include "Toot Toot Beep Beep" and "Tip Tip Dig Dig." The short text and colorful art make these a must-have.
• Hello, World by Jill McDonald
• How it works by Amelia Hepworth
• Karen Katz
• Katz' work is instantly recognizable with round, smiling faces. Her books frequently have somewhat flimsy lift-the-flaps, but they're inexpensive to replace. These are perennial favorites with parents and kids.
• 
  Katrine Crow
• I recently discovered these are available as paperbacks, but the board books are the best. You should at least have Butts.
• Leo by Anna McQuinn
• Llama Llama by Anna Dewdney
• Not my personal favorite, but this is still a staple series and the concept board books aren't too bad.
• Make Tracks by Johnny Dyrander
• While the vehicle versions of this book will probably remain the most popular, Nosy Crow is debuting a version with animals (and a different author) that should be fun as well, starting with Let's Go Home Baby Bunny.
• National Geographic by various authors
• Little Kids First Board Books
• Look and Learn
• Our World by various authors (Barefoot Books)
• I suggest purchasing a selection of titles including cultures represented in your community and some that are not, to introduce kids to new places.
• Sandra Boynton
• There are a lot of classic titles to choose from; you can also pick up boxed sets of some of the most popular.
• Stanley by William Bee
• The titles I originally reviewed, and most of the other older titles, are out of print, but there are still some titles available in this series. I hope that someday Peachtree will reprint them - they have reissued the original picture books in different formats.
• Storytelling Math by Grace Lin
• As well as the picture books, there is a series of board book spin-offs introducing very early math concepts. They tie in to popular subjects like seasons and are available in bilingual (Spanish) versions. I recommend having at least a couple of these.
• That's not my... by Fiona Watt
• This series was originally published by Usborne but it is now available on a much wider market, including Baker & Taylor. It's a touchy-feely series and although the bindings are not very sturdy, it's worth purchasing new titles as they are released as it is perennially popular.
• Very Hungry Caterpillar etc. by Eric Carle
• There are both original and spin-off board books with Eric Carle's illustrations.
• Whatever the weather by Carol Thompson
• There are several other series from Thompson, some with other illustrators, but this set has a special place in my heart. It's notable for including toddlers with visible disabilities.
• Where's the...? by Ingela P. Arrhenius

Titles particular to my library

• Barn in... by Chambrae Griffith
• Farm books always are very popular in my quasi-rural area.
• Lake life with you by Cindy Jin
• We have a lot of lakes.
• Let's find Momo by Andrew Knapp
• A parent requested these via inter-library loan and they turned out to be wildly popular. Be aware that the picture book featuring Momo is about the dog dying, it is not a cute seek-and-find like the board books.
• Raccoon Rambles by Jo Byatt
• A new addition from Child's Play.
• Wiggles by Claire Zucchelli-Romer
• I just really like this one!

This week at the library; Last week of programs

Patrons watching the annual
Christmas parade a few weeks ago.

Programs

• We Explore (storytime)
• Teen Advisory Board
• We Explore (storytime)

Self-Directed Activities

• Open Storyroom
• Letters to Santa
• Nose scavenger hunt

Meetings, Hosted events, etc.

• Managers' meeting
• Friends General Meeting (our TAB president presented)
• City Christmas Party

Notes

• My car continued to have issues, but thankfully I was able to get it to my usual mechanics and they fixed everything (for those interested, there were issues with one of the new axles they installed a few months ago.) Thanks to that, people being sick, on vacation, etc. the schedule was wonky but we were fairly busy. I ended the week with a day off and some nice snow.

Library Collections: Board Books

The latest update to our board book collection was a complete reorganization. The board books were moved into bin shelving (repurposed from the adult dvd collection), relabeled to put the call number on the cover, and the genre stickers simplified. I also got a grant for a lot of replacements and new titles in 2024.

Purchasing board books is, for me, a balance between collecting books that are developmentally appropriate, sturdy and long-lasting, and picking up more ephemeral titles that have a short shelf-life or are of more interest to adults than kids. The collection was the largest in 2019, with almost 800 titles (although I might have had another collection included in with it back then...) and the collection has mildly fluctuated since then, but I try to keep it between 550 and 650 total titles. Pre-pandemic, the average monthly circulation for the collection was around 400. With the most recent changes and updates, our monthly circulation in 2024 has fluctuated between 400 and 500!

Collection description: This collection is based on format. Board books are more sturdy in order for small children to touch, taste, and handle them.

Recommendations: Infants and younger toddlers do best with high-contrast illustrations, photographs, and simple words. Older toddlers will enjoy more narrative and interaction with the books.

Audience: Infants to age 3

Resources
New Board Books

Processing and Stickers

• Call number stickers are on the cover, top left corner with up to ONE additional sticker to the right of the label.
• Tags are on the outside of the back cover.
• Toy sticker - book has lift the flaps, moving parts, touchy-feely aspects (Sticker shows a bee and says "
  
• Genre stickers - Holiday, Faith (updated)
  
• If the call number is BBZ instead of BB, it belongs in the last section which holds oversized board books (board books that do not fit in this section are shelved in the picture books)