Millennium File Review

The year 2000 - the end of the millennium? The beginning? Either way, it's a good time for us to see if we have the books and equipment we think we have, and if things are where we think they are. So we have been reviewing all our computerized reader files, and anyone who has not borrowed a book in the last 13 months has received a Reminder Letter.

As most of you know, the Federal rule is that a reader must borrow something from this library service at least once each year in order to continue borrowing the playing equipment.

Some readers have responded to the reminder letter by returning books and borrowing others; some have called to explain a problem (and usually we could fix it), and some have not responded at all. We will continue to try to reach this last group.

We've also been reviewing for Overdue Books. Our loan period is three months, counted from the date on the book's address card. Sometimes books get forgotten; sometimes they get put aside for a more convenient time; and sometimes they do go astray in the mail. Some people do not realize that books need to be returned in order for us to send more books. If you get a yellow Overdue card, please do call and talk to us! If a book is gone, we need to know so that we can borrow copies for other readers instead of keeping them waiting. After all, some time that "other reader" could be you.

If you receive a yellow Overdue reminder, would you please do two things -
Look for the book
Call us

Our telephone number is written on every card. If you can't find the book, we'll clean your file so you won't get a second card, and the missing book won't delay service. If you're holding a book for a special reason, please tell us about it.

With your help we'll be better able to see where we must fill in gaps in our collection, and better able to plan our shelf space to allow for future growth.

Thank you!

Service Problems? Not Satisfied? Call Us!

Although we haven't completed the tabulation of our biennial survey, we can see that some readers are not happy. We want to fix that! If your machine is giving you problems, if you're getting books you don't enjoy, if you aren't getting enough books or you're getting too many, please call us! We want you to be satisfied, and we want to clear up any misunderstandings that may exist. You'll find that we are really nice people, always willing to do all that we can to make you library service everything you'd like it to be. Our toll-free number is 1-800-491-4200. You won't find it in the white pages of your telephone directory, but you will find it just in front of the A's, in the Community Service Numbers section under Handicap Services.

Coping with Macular Degeneration?

You can hear recorded information on age-related macular degeneration by calling the Macular Degeneration Partnership's free telephone line at 1-888-430-9898.

Mary's Getting Better!

Not every reader knows that Mary fell in late February and broke her right shoulder. She has had a new ball put in the joint to replace the shattered one, and she is coming along well. Perhaps she'll be back at work here about the time you receive this newsletter. We'll be glad to see her again!

Last year when Eileen fell and broke her wrist, she was not allowed back full-time until May. A shoulder is a much more serious break, so we can only wait for Mary's doctor to decide.

Update - Mary is back full time, except for therapy and visits to her doctor.

Pam's Picks

RC 37350 - Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle.

If you enjoyed (or are waiting to read) "Angela's Ashes" and "'Tis", try this! It's a look at poor Dubliners in the 1960s through the eyes of a 10 year old boy. Winner of the 1993 Booker Prize.

RC 45630 - Club Dumas

RC 41515 - The Flanders Panel both by Arturo Perez-Revert.

Two novels offering an inside look at the world of rare books and art restoration - and they're Excellent mysteries as well!

RC 42938 - Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God by Joe Coomer.

Three women, living on an ocean yacht off the NH coast, share life stories and experiences. True adventure!

RC 30542 - The Arctic Grail by Pierre Burton.

Covers the trail of Arctic explorers/adventurere as they sought first the Northwest Passage and later the Pole, 1818 - 1909.

RC 45956 - Scott of the Antarctic by Elspeth Huxley.

The suspenseful, tragic tale of the doomed 1911 British expedition in search of the South Pole.

RC 38663 - Bird Artist by Howard Norman.

Love, arranged marriages, betrayal and murder take place in 1900 Newfoundland.

RC 29371 - Further Adventures of Slugger McBatt stories by W. P. Kinsella.

Baseball is at the heart of this story collection combining myth, fantasy, irony, parody and a strong sense of character. (Some strong language and some descriptions of sex.)