Tara Samul, a librarian from the Public Library of New London shares to us some insights about her library. Find out just how good their customer service is in this interview. She also shares some of their most popular classes people are clamouring to be repeated every year. Here is a link to her library to find out more: www.plnl.org
Where is your library and how can I access your website?
New London, CT;www.plnl.org
What sets your library apart from others?
We strive for excellent customer service and I think we go above and beyond for our patrons! We also have quite a bit of New London resources that other libraries don't (i.e. complete run of The Day on microfilm, city directories, family histories). We do more than books, too. Every Tuesday night we put out the chess boards, each Wednesday evening we have Scrabble games, and every Thursday morning our Community Knitters meet.
I know you’ve seen hundreds of books this year, Tara. What are the most noteworthy books you have read recently?
Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka was a beautifully written fictional account of mail order Japanese brides coming to pre-WW II California. I also love true crime books and am fascinated by D.B. Cooper (the man who made off with $200,000 and jumped out of a plane in November 1971 and hasn't been seen since!). Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper by Geoffrey Gray had a new twist and theories on an old unsolved mystery.
With so many things you can do at your library, which ones seem to be the most popular?
Our notary services is very popular and it's free! We get a lot of people in asking to have their documents notarized. Our classes (New London History, Yoga, Tai Chi, Art for Beginners) are very popular and asked to be repeated every year.
Do you book speakers via Skype? If so, how would someone interested in speaking, reach out to you?
We have never used Skype with authors before.
There are organizations that are promoting independent authors’ books, are you open to displaying these in your library Tara?
We do have independent authors who come in promoting their books. We're not opposed to it at all but we usually don't purchase them, instead we ask for them to be donated (most times they do!)
How many books would you say you purchase in your library every year?
About 1500 to 2000 titles each year. (This is just adult fiction and nonfiction)
Where do you buy your books? Ingram? Amazon? Overdrive?
We mostly use Baker and Taylor, but sometimes use Amazon.
What type of books are you searching for?
We use Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal to select the most popular fiction and nonfiction. Due to our limited budget we really have to choose titles and subjects that our patrons are looking for.
What kind of books do you wish publishers would make more available?
Thrillers...we can't keep them on the shelves!
Tara, do you think there is a need for more works in both English and Español to serve the Latin market? If so, in which genre?
Yes, we have seen an increase in the number of Spanish speaking patrons come through our doors! We have a Spanish speaking staff member who has done an outstanding job getting a core collection started of popular fiction titles and study guides. I'd like to see more medical and test prep books in Spanish.
What are you doing personally to entice the younger generation to read more?
Our Spanish speaking staff member has taken over the teen market and has done a great job reaching out to them via Facebook and Twitter and has a monthly book to movie night that is becoming popular.
Do you offer eBooks at your library? Who supplies you with them?
We do through the LION consortium (our consortium of 22 public libraries in southeastern CT--New London county into Middlesex and New Haven counties). OverDrive is the company we partner with.
The book industry was shaken by the economy. How was your library affected?
We still ordering titles put out by the big publishers so we're not seeing much of a difference. OverDrive is doing very well as more and more of our patrons are looking to download audio and eBooks.
With so much distracting people today, and with the affects of the recession, Tara, how do you get more and more people to come into the library instead of staying home playing video games?
We're offering more programs that aren't just about books and reading. We offer a six-week New London History series with the city historian each fall and spring. We've also offered art classes, Yoga and Tai Chi.