Florida author Tim Dorsey to visit Beach Library on Halloween
Activities This Week
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 10:30 a.m. Preschool Story Hour in Kid’s Place multi-purpose area
Thursday, Oct. 15, Going Further with Your iPad/iPhone, 10:30 a.m. Pre-register.
Friday, Oct. 16, Getting Started with eBooks, 10:30 a.m.
Monday, Oct. 19, Basic Computers, 1:30 p.m. Pre-register.
Tuesday, Oct. 20, Book Discussion, 10:30 a.m.
Activity Details
A lot is happening regarding social media and computers. See classes on Oct. 15, 16 and 19.
Book Discussion on Oct 20 will be discussing The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens. For regulars, Bonnie will be facilitating the discussion. Newcomers are welcome.
Upcoming
Saturday, Oct. 31 marks the welcome of author Tim Dorsey. We will celebrate Tim Dorsey Day on that Saturday and look forward to his visit. A talk/presentation is scheduled for 1 p.m. that day.
Crime Fiction
A nationwide materials survey confirms that crime fiction remains one of the biggest areas of interest for readers, with the genre dominating both print and eBook formats. We find this interest is part of our library readership too. Just type “crime fiction” in the catalog and you’ll get a long list to consider for your discoveries.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, there was a general belief among publishers that the espionage novel was over. But that evaluation was too simplistic in that the modern espionage fiction has expanded beyond the merely political sphere. Russia isn’t merely the MVD, the Middle East isn’t just terrorist groups and China the Communist Party. There are jihadists in China, industrial espionage in the Middle East and spheres where there is no visible power structure. Consider looking at the works of Ben Coes, Ted Bell and Charles McCarry to get started on this expanding trend.
Bookstore
Are you among those who have noticed the many added titles occupying attention in Beachcombers Books? Carts of titles are heading to the Friend’s Bookstore to not only fill the shelves of fiction and mystery but also adding new treasures not there earlier.
Print Magazines
We find that magazines in the Living Room on the second floor remain in constant demand. Even though magazines are available in a digital format, we find that print magazines remain a vital part of a multilayered, interconnected media reader market. The new magazines launched in 2014 gave proof of the value of the print page. 190 magazines were launched in 2014, compared to 185 in 2013 (using figures from mediafinder). Last year also saw 99 ceasing publication compared to 56 in 2013. The report notes that many closures were special interest magazines and the bankruptcy of three craft magazine publishers all owned by the same family.
The Magazine Publishers of America publishes an annual report on the state of magazines and reports a 10 percent increase in gross audience for magazines from 2013 to 2014.
Magazines are listed by subject area in the Living Room. We appreciate that you return magazines to their exact shelf location when you are finished reading. It is helpful when one can find specific magazines quickly and easily.
Added
We added 91 new books and 20 magazine issues to the collection this week.
Check-Out
If you locate titles, DVDs and audios on the first book, please check them out on the floor before going to another floor. The same is true for the second floor. All titles are to be checked out on the floor they are on before leaving the area. Thanks.
Making It Easier
Score another plus for the subject transition in non-fiction. We continue to layout groups of books by subject rather than number, using signs to highlight contemporary, popular categories, and display some of the titles by their covers. We find that this system does what libraries have as goal: encourage people to read more books.
Staff have completed the transition for titles in Relationships. This area covers culture, relationships and social science. When we have 20 or more titles in a given sub-subject, then that section is added to the major areas.
Budget
The Board of Directors has lowered the millage for the current fiscal year which started October 1. We reduced the amount of tax collected by 14.6 percent and consider this a major achievement.
We are able to achieve this savings by staff and patrons caring about the library and its collections. Every dollar that is saved works toward sharing more resources in the community. Thank you for your continued assistance.
Hours
A recorder at 765-8162 gives the hours we are open if you call in when we are closed. Open hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday 9 to 7; and Saturday 9 to 1. We look forward to seeing you.