Geneva Public Library Update

What things are most important to you and your family? If I were to ask ten people, I would get all kinds of answers. But for many, I bet their answer would focus on their job or their children. This month, I want to focus on these two areas because the library has so many valuable resources on these topics that can be an aid to you and your family.

Occupational help is available in many forms, whether one is looking for a job or thinking about career choices. Our Internet and Microsoft Word equipped computers allow one to search for a job, write a résumé or submit an online job application. For those trying to determine what kind of job they might like, we offer the electronic resources “Career Library” and “Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center”. These tools lead the user through assessments and job descriptions with the goal of matching up interests and skills to a particular occupation.

Do your kids have homework questions you can’t answer? Point them to Tutor.com. This is accessed though the “Kid Homework Help” page of the Geneva Public Library Web site. From 4 to 10 p.m., live tutors can interact with students to guide them through a subject answer, not just give them the answer. Other sites are available to help students with their research.

In these and other ways, the library lends assistance in the areas that are important to you.

Matt Teske is the director of the Geneva Public Library District.

This article first appeared in the January 2010 issue of eGeneva Magazine.

New Print Management System has Arrived at the Library!

There’s a new way to use your library card! At the end of January of this year, the procedure for public printing and copying changed at the Geneva Public Library. The PC Reservation software installed to manage public Internet use now also manages public printing and copying. Under the new system, users may add value to their Geneva Public Library card and use their card to pay for prints and copies. As an added convenience, a new printer has been installed in the Adult Internet area, much closer to the computer users work area.

The first step to print is to send your print job to the printer. Next the user will walk to a dedicated print command PC in the Adult Internet area where they will be informed exactly what their print job will cost. They will then be given the option to either delete their request or pay for the print job.

A card vending machine also allows any user to purchase and add value to a print and copy vending card that can be used with the printers and copiers in the building. Geneva cardholders are able to use the machine to add value to their library card. Geneva Library and vending cards will also be an option to use with public copiers in addition to coins or bills.

Eventually this new system will also allow users to send print jobs to the Library via our Web site. The sent print command will reside on the system for a limited time, and users would come into the Library and conduct the print transaction as outlined above.

We hope you will enjoy the convenience of this new system, which is widely used and has been well received by many of the state’s public libraries. Besides being convenient, the new system will save the Library (and taxpayers) money by cutting down on paper and toner usage.

Matt Teske is the Director of the Geneva Public Library District.

This article first appeared in the March 2009 issue of eGeneva Magazine.

Happy Birthday, Geneva Library

September 21, 2008
2:30 am	to	2:30 pm

I hope you all noticed the banners throughout Geneva proclaiming “100 Years at Second and James.” The oldest part of our building is indeed 100 years old and opened while Teddy Roosevelt was president of the United States!

The Geneva Public Library has existed since 1894 in various locations throughout Geneva. Construction began on a permanent home for the library in 1896, but it took a donation from Andrew Carnegie in 1907 to finish the current building. On September 22, 1908, the Geneva Public Library opened at Second and James.

Today, the library offers services that would not have been dreamed of in 1908. The Internet allows us to serve patrons any time of the day or night. They can renew a CD, put a book on hold or ask a question of a live librarian via our AskAway service. The library has become a modern gateway to literacy, offering online resources and readers’ advisory services to all age levels.

In 2108, what will the library offer? No doubt things as unimaginable to us now as the Internet would have been in 1908. I do know, however, that the library will always be an important part of Geneva.

Join us September 21 from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm in the Meeting Room for a birthday celebration. Click here for more information.

This article first appeared in the September 2008 issue of eGeneva Magazine.

Changes, Changes

If you have been in the Geneva Library in the last few months, you probably noticed the buckling floor in the checkout desk area. Although building damage is never welcome, this trouble gave us the opportunity to finally put in a new floor surface to reduce noise in that area. Those who have heard carts clacking along the floor there know just how jarring they can sound! The Library Board selected an eco-friendly cork surface that will be soft and durable and will provide a smoother and quieter path.

This summer, you’ll be noticing more changes we’re making. The public adult Internet computers are moving just north of the current computer room to make a new work area for the adult services staff. The area previously used for adult services will be used by the assistant director, graphics personnel and the adult services outreach coordinator, whose old room will be converted into a conference room for public and staff use.

The substantial community growth over the last 20 years requires us to make some changes to youth services as well. This fall, we will be swapping the workroom and the program room functions to provide both a more efficient staff workspace and a welcoming environment for youth services program participants.

“We are doing all we can to maximize the space we have and provide the best library environment we can for the community.”

Ultimately, Geneva needs a new library building, built on a site with adequate parking, that will provide for the community’s present and future needs. In the meantime, however, we are doing all we can to maximize the space we have and provide the best library environment we can for the community. Stop in to join a book discussion, hear a poetry reading or pick up some summer reads!

This article first appeared in the July 2008 issue of eGeneva Magazine.