WiFi Returns to the WPL!

Waterloo Public Library WiFi Internet access has been erratic over the past few months due to problems with our ISP. Friday evening that access was upgraded to from a residential quality broadband connection to a 100 MB fiber connection.

Initial testing shows that the system works and is much faster than the old one. However, we won't be able to judge reliability until we've run it for a few days. If you have connection problems, please contact the Reference Desk. Or, login to one of our PACs and send an email to dargan@wplwloo.lib.ia.us.

Thank-you for your patience; the improvement should be worth the wait.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Opposing Viewpoints

Waterloo Public Library patrons wanting to research controversial issues now have an extremely powerful resource: The Thomson-Gale Opposing Viewpoints database.

Patrons using Opposing Viewpoints from within the library may access it directly; from outside of the library a card number will be required.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Security Cameras come to the WPL

Security cameras are now watching the comings and goings of Waterloo Public Library patrons and staff. Hawkeye Alarm's installation of a Pelco video monitoring system allows us to record activity at all library entrances.

The recordings won't be saved indefinitely, but may be used to help us to identify people of interest.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Severe Weather Policy

With active weather upon us, now is a good time to review the Waterloo Public Library's severe weather procedures. Upon activation of the Black Hawk County Early Warning Sirens, staff members will advise library to patrons to either proceed to the basement hallway or to leave the building.

The public entrance will be locked and a management person stationed at the staff entrance will allow patrons to leave the building or will let people into the building with the proviso that they will proceed to the basement hallway.

Staff will monitor situation and as soon as the weather warning expires will notify patrons and allow them to return to normal activity.

The Waterloo Public Library is housed in a very sturdy building, but also has many large windows. If we were to be hit by even a moderate tornado, flying glass and other debris would create a very hazardous situation. Sitting out a warning in the basement isn't much fun, but we want you to be safe.

If you have any questions or comments, leave them on the blog or email me at dargan@wplwloo.lib.ia.us.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

My Waterloo Days

The sun decided to shine on the Waterloo Public Library's entry in the annual My Waterloo Days parade last Saturday morning. The float promotes the theme of the library youth department's summer reading program: "Egyptian Expedition."

For more parade pictures may be seen at our parade web album.


c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Why are the Shelves Empty?

For about a year now, librarians have been carefully weeding the non-fiction collection of the Waterloo Public Library. An analysis of the the collection's circulation shows that the turnover rate for last year was quite low and has been trending lower for several years. One of the reasons for the is decline is the accumulation of materials that, while of interest when purchased, are no longer desired by our patrons.

With the shelves filled with outdated books, patrons have difficulty finding the newer items that they desire. The library is taking several steps to address this issue. First, we're aggressively weeding the collection for the first time in several years. Librarians use a feature of our LMS (Library Management System) to generate lists of items that have not been checked out for several years.

With the list in hand, they then work their way through the stacks looking for those unused items. Sometimes the items are lost or stolen. Usually, however, the item is on the shelf waiting for attention. The librarian looks at the item and decides whether to keep or "weed," the book.

If the item is "MUST"y (i.e., Misleading, Ugly, Superseded, or Trivial), out it goes. Sometimes, an ugly or superseded item may be replaced, but usually the book's time has past and it must be discarded to make room for newer items. A good example of obsolete books includes our collection of books on the Savings & Loan collapse. The S&L failures happened in the 1980s with the solution coming in the early 1990s. Patrons no longer wish to read to read out a settled issue. There's no good reason to devote shelf space to discussions of the S&Ls: they no longer exist!

When we get caught up with our weeding, we plan to shift much of the non-fiction collection towards the north east corner of the second floor. The room created by the shift will be used for a teen area and a biography browser. We also expect to have room for the AV collection (e.g., movies, music, audio-books) which is currently housed on the first floor.

Thus far, we're still trying to visualize the final result. However, one thing we know for sure: books which haven't been used for years gradually deteriorate and detract from the quality of the collection. We'll continue to weed vigorously as we make plans for a more current, vibrant collection that our patrons will want to use.

If you have questions or comments about what we're up to, leave a comment on the blog or contact me at dargan@wplwloo.lib.ia.us. If you find that a favorite book is no longer on the shelf, ask us to acquire it by inter-library loan, or maybe we'll even buy a replacement copy!

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Friends' Book Sale!

The Friends' Book and White Elephant sale continues today until 3:00 p.m. and resumes tomorrow (Saturday June 2) morning at 9:00. This year's sale coincides with the annual My Waterloo Days festivities. Buy some books, watch the parade, listen to the music and maybe visit the food vendors. There's plenty for everyone to see and do in downtown Waterloo!

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Community Organizations Directory

The Waterloo Public Library web site took a step forward this morning when staff transferred the Community Organizations Directory--a joint effort of the library and the Greater Cedar Valley Chambers of Commerce--from an Adobe Portable Document File (i.e., PDF) to a Google Documents spreadsheet. The new format is easier for patrons to use and much more efficient for staff members to update.

The old format required editing of a Word document, conversion to PDF format, followed by transmission to a webmaster would then FTP it to the website. The use of a Google documents spreadsheet allows the staff member in charge of the directory to make changes in real time from any Internet capable computer.

As time goes on, look for us to move more library generated content to web documents that can be edited online. It's faster, cheaper, and provides better service to you, our patrons.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Public Access Computer Behavior

All patrons of the Waterloo Public Library are entitled to use library assets so long as their activities are not disruptive. Recently, we have seen some violations of our Public Access Computer Use Policy, which states that no more than two patrons may use a computer at any one time.

Library employees will be especially watchful for violations of this policy. When we observe more than two patrons at a computer, a warning will be given. If the behavior recurs, the session of the patron logged into the computer will be terminated.

If you are using a library computer and are bothered by groups of patrons gathering around a computer, and a staff member does not intervene, please ask for assistance at the desk. If you prefer to do so anonymously, use the "Library Help" utility on the upper-right hand portion of the Reference Department home-page. Ask for help, and if the virtual reference stations is active, you should get a quick response.

To report problems or make suggestions, please email me, Mike Dargan, at dargan@wplwloo.lib.ia.us.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Motorized Cart

With 60,000 square feet (about 1.3 acres) of floor space, getting from one end of the Waterloo Public Library to the other can be quite a hike. For those of us who find walking to be a challenge, yet still wish to browse the stacks, the library provides a motorized cart. If you wish to use the cart, go to the Welcome Desk and ask.

Once you've acknowledged having heard the instructions by signing a form, you'll get the key and off you go.

If you're a caretaker and would like some help getting your charge into the building, we have a wheelchair that can be used to bring someone in from the parking lot.


c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

It's a New Photocopier!

Photocopying at the Waterloo Public Library made a great leap forward last week with the arrival of a new Ikon copier equipped with an excellent coin box.

The new coin box accepts dollar bills (I can't remember when the last one did so), and the new photocopier has a very easy-to-use duplexor. The copier enlarges, reduces, and is capable of making large format copies.

The price per copy remains the same at 15 cents, but the new machine is much faster and capable of better quality. This improvement is yet another example of the great work done by the WPL Friends!

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Just For Fun

Enjoy this cartoon by staff member Tim K.!

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Social Networking: MySpace.com!

Everyone's talking about the social networking phenomenon and www.myspace.com, the fifth most popular site on the Web, virtually defines the term.

Participate in a free Waterloo Public Library workshop over the next few days and you'll be able to hold up your end of the conversation! For more information, visit our website. To reserve a seat, call 291 4496.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

On Line Catalog Enhancements

The Waterloo Public Library WebOPACs (library jargon for On Line Catalog) have recently undergone significant hardware and software upgrades. The City of Waterloo recently provided the library with about a dozen surplus computers that are much faster than the old WebOPACs. As library MIS staff swapped out the old hardware for new, we also greatly expanded the resources available.

Traditionally, WebOPACs have only allowed access to materials in the library collection. Access to other Internet resources was limited to avoid having the machines tied up by other uses when a patron wished to lookup a book title. All of the catalog functionality remains, but users may now use the WebOPAC to access other selected online resources.

Examples include our EbscoHost (search and retrieval of full-text periodicals), Reference USA (phone numbers and addresses), Heritage Quest (genealogy), as well as our online newspapers. The WebOPACs also include links to other local and selected major libraries.

Other enhancements are on the way. We expect to add access to printing in the near future and will enable a link to our Virtual Reference service.




c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Free Computer Classes

Are you looking for a job? Tired of squinting at the classified job ads? Looking for a place to post your resume? If so, look no farther than the "Internet Job Searching" classes offered by the Waterloo Public Library the week of April 1-7.

Veteran computer classroom trainer Kim Van Deest will be conducting the workshops Monday at 1:30 p.m., Thursday 6:00 p.m., and Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. Seating is limited: Reserve a place now by calling 319 291 4496.

For details of future class offerings visit our webpage, www.waterloopubliclibrary.org and follow the "Patron Classes" link.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Suckow's Celebrate Anniversary at the WPL

Amber Suckow and her husband Matt--a local man serving as a soldier in Iraq--celebrated their wedding anniversary today via an ICN session courtesy of The Freedom Calls - ICN Operation Hometown Link. The two-way video conference was arranged by KWWL-TV and was conducted in the Waterloo Public Library ICN classroom.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Search WorldCat

Ever hear of WorldCat? Until recently, this OCLC product was known primarily to librarians and used mostly by catalogers. Recently, however, access to WorldCat's holdings--more than 82 million records held by some 56,000 libraries--has been opened up to anyone with a web browser.

If you want to try your hand at WorldCat searching, a link can be found on the Waterloo Public Library website under the "Resources" tab.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Teen Advisory Group Meeting

The Waterloo Public Library Teen Advisory Group meets later this week, March 15, at 7:00 p.m., in the Teen Area. Agenda items include April Poetry Events and Summer Programming.

Snacks and drinks will be provided. For more information, call the Waterloo Public Library at 319 291 4496 and ask for either Kristi or Deb.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

A Night with Laura Ingalls Wilder!

Fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder are in for a treat: an evening of slides and stories about Laura's life and times!

Join us at 7:00 p.m., April 18, 2007 in meeting rooms A and B as Sarah Uthoff--reference librarian by day, Ingalls Wilder channeler by night--does her spell-binding presentation on the creator of the Little House series!

This event is made possible by grants from the Humanities Iowa board and the Friends of the Waterloo Public Library.

Stay tuned for further details!

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library

Schools are closed, but we're not!

Area schools, including Hawkeye Community College, are closed today. The Waterloo Public Library, however, is open for business as usual.

The phones are ringing off the hook and students on snow-holiday are queuing up for time on our Public Access Computers. Morning has been busy and we'll probably have an even bigger crowd after lunch.

We'll be open until 9:00 p.m. this evening and barring on any new weather developments will reopen Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

c 2007 Waterloo Public Library