I've been reviewing some of our sources for the history of our library, and I know that some of it was recorded on previous versions of our Web page. In order not to duplicate effort, I would like to post some of those archived links for access to this information:

http://web.archive.org/web/20001030181523/hplsck.org/libhist.htm

(This first link includes the story about the woman who supposedly became our "ghost.")

http://web.archive.org/web/20000311091004/hplsck.org/guide.htm

(Guide to Reno County Historic Resources)

http://web.archive.org/web/20040803181350/www.hutchpl.org/communityindex.htm

(This last one may be difficult to use, but it has some newer history than the first link and a description of the mural on the front of our building.)

We would like to present this link to our patrons for consideration as you surf the Web. Remember, there are often more sources available than one can retrieve with a single search.

http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/research-beyond-google

Last week, on November 2, we had a "Smorgasbord of Services" event. We encouraged our patrons to visit different places in the library where we had samples of food and staff who would share information about our resources. Our new director, Gregg Wamsley, was also there to meet and greet. Here's a copy of the flyer we handed out to direct our visitors (minus some formatting). I've always had a "punny" sense of humor, but I REALLY had to stretch to make this one work!

Welcome to the Smorgasbord of Services @Hutchinson Public Library!

The sample of services is:

A beverage of information about circulation and patron services on the first floor

A look at the fruit of youth in the Young Adult area (located on the south side of the first floor)

An appetizing demonstration in the Computer Lab (located in the northeast corner on the second floor)

A quiche introduction to resources in the Reference area (located on the east side of the balcony on the second floor)

A bready discussion of history and genealogy in the Kansas Room (located on the west side of the balcony on the second floor)

A veggie insightful look at art in the Auditorium (located off the hallway on the second floor)

A beary fun time in the Children's Department (south side of the building)

A popping display of suggestions for taking care of library materials (compliments of the Processing Center in the basement)

AND

The Friends of the Library Bounty of Books Sale in the basement (for members and persons who would like to join and preview the selection of items)

I finally have found time to highlight the new OCLC WorldCat service. We encourage our patrons to use this link to search for library materials worldwide.

Our mission is to meet our citizens' needs for reading, learning, and information. In keeping with our commitment to literacy and lifelong learning, we would like to bring to your attention this latest offering:

http://www.google.com/literacy/

This announcement from the IRS about refunds for the telephone tax has come at the same time as our order for next year's tax forms. There is no place on the form to order the special 1040EZ-T, so I don't know if those will automatically be sent to libraries, but I will request some and see what happens. I'm sure the form will be available on the IRS site.

For information on literacy and English as a Second Language (ESL), or for free orientation and training for tutoring, check out the Verizon Literacy Campus:

http://www.vluonline.org/course/index.asp

For more information about Hutchinson Public Library's programs, call or come see Sandra in the Reference Department.

The new edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook recently arrived in paper. It is in the Reference collection on the second floor of the library. There is also a Web site for it that we'd like to share with our patrons:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm

We've probably all heard of the "no-call" lists that help deter telemarketing calls. Well, we had a question today that reminded the Reference staff about the procedure to remove names from mailing lists, as well. Using information we had gathered several years ago, we found a current link to the Direct Marketing Association, where this process is outlined.

http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist

There is a display case in the Reference Department which we use to highlight research materials. We currently have some government documents reporting on the investigations into responses to Hurricane Katrina. In September we plan to display materials commemorating the 5th anniversary of September 11. In October we will have materials on World War II, coinciding with other events taking place at the library. There are also two display cases on the first floor by the Information Desk that generally contain some very interesting items! This month the items being displayed are cow creamers. We invite all of our patrons to stop by and look at these various displays as they take advantage of our other services.