Touch Base @ your library

There are some big changes in store for our library in the coming months. One of the most monumental changes will be the replacement of Jean Holste. Yes, our beloved children’s librarian has announced her impending retirement. Jean is just barely older than I. I had my fingers crossed that she wouldn’t leave until I did. Alas, she seems to think that there is some fun to be had in leisure activities and wants to give it a shot. If the library were a private enterprise and not taxpayer supported, I would give her a huge retention bonus and beg her to stay a few more years.

Now we are looking for just the right person to fill the position. No one will ever fill her shoes. It’s a full time, year round position for the person with just the right combination of education and experience. To add insult to injury, Jean’s assistant, Martha Schmidt, has announced that she would rather work as an occasional library substitute than a regular part-timer. That leaves another hole in our schedule and our hearts.

Another change that may have a bigger impact on the staff than on patrons is a new ILS will be coming before the end of the year. That stands for integrated library system. That’s the computer system that organizes our card catalog and our book cataloging and our check-out system. The new system is not something that our library could have afforded on its own. We have formed a consortium of public libraries and school libraries in northern Iowa to make it affordable. The new system will be called Beacon. We want that to be an acronym and have each letter stand for something, but we haven’t made it work out just yet. You will be able to use your Beacon card at any participating library. You will be able to see the card catalog of all participating libraries on our website. It will offer lots of advantages and flexibility that we don’t have now.


Before we dump all our library records into the new system, we want to make sure that they are as accurate as we can make them. We have more than 6,000 patrons in our system. That‘s more than the population of Humboldt and I’m pretty proud of that. It would be nice if we had up to date information for each of you. We decided the best way to get you to update your library card info would be to hold a contest. Come into the library, fill out a simple form and deposit it in the large container. The little form will serve as your entry in our summer drawing.

I’m calling this project Touch Base @ your Library. All we are asking for is your name, address & phone number. You can give us your cell phone and email address if you like. Our new system will allow us to notify you by email. That will save staff time when we want to remind you that your books or movies are overdue, or if we have a special book on hold for you. So, if you are the sort of person who checks his/her email daily, that might be the most efficient contact method.

Prizes for this contest are many and varied. We have some nifty new “green” bags with our library logo on them. Actually, they are wildcat blue, but since they are reusable, they are environmentally healthy. We also have some Chamber Bucks for you to spend at any participating business in Humboldt or Dakota City and my all-time favorite library prize: an all-expense paid trip to the Caribbean! The coffee house, not the islands.

Please stop by, say hello to our enthusiastic staff, update your library card and Touch Base @ your Library!