Happy New Year & Some Questions

Happy New Year! In the spirit of making resolutions, Jud would like to hear from you regarding the following:

1.    What is your feeling about the job you are doing?

2.       Could anything be changed in the way job duties are assigned, or in the way the library is organized, that would make you more effective?

3.    Are there other factors—additional resources or training—that would enable improved service? Please answer this question for your own job and for the library as a whole.

He’s just wanting some voluntary feedback, so only answer if you want to. Please send your answer to judbarry@bristol-library.org. Make sure that your input is from an address that will allow him to reply back to you, if necessary, for followup.

Mysterious Christmas

From Jeanne:  I was the lucky recipient of a nice present from "Santa Paws" and a kitty neck wrap from a person or persons unknown.I want to send out my thanks to those responsible.  I really appreciate it!

Have a Happy & Safe New Year!

   

Merry Christmas from Jud

A Message from Jud

"Merry Christmas to all BPL staff! Thanks so much for my beautiful cheese cutting board! This year I decided to make my annual gift-on-behalf-of-the-library to Wikipedia. It's a very worthy cause and is moreover extremely valuable to our own public service."

From Wikipedia:

Dear Jud,

Thank you for donating to the Wikimedia Foundation. You are wonderful!

It's easy to ignore our fundraising banners, and I'm really glad you didn't. This is how Wikipedia pays its bills --- people like you giving us money, so we can keep the site freely available for everyone around the world.

People tell me they donate to Wikipedia because they find it useful, and they trust it because even though it's not perfect, they know it's written for them. Wikipedia isn't meant to advance somebody's PR agenda or push a particular ideology, or to persuade you to believe something that's not true. We aim to tell the truth, and we can do that because of you. The fact that you fund the site keeps us independent and able to deliver what you need and want from Wikipedia. Exactly as it should be.

You should know: your donation isn't just covering your own costs. The average donor is paying for his or her own use of Wikipedia, plus the costs of hundreds of other people. Your donation keeps Wikipedia available for an ambitious kid in Bangalore who's teaching herself computer programming. A middle-aged homemaker in Vienna who's just been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. A novelist researching 1850s Britain. A 10-year-old in San Salvador who's just discovered Carl Sagan.

On behalf of those people, and the half-billion other readers of Wikipedia and its sister sites and projects, I thank you for joining us in our effort to make the sum of all human knowledge available for everyone. Your donation makes the world a better place. Thank you.

Most people don't know Wikipedia's run by a non-profit. Please consider sharing this e-mail with a few of your friends to encourage them to donate too. And if you're interested, you should try adding some new information to Wikipedia. If you see a typo or other small mistake, please fix it, and if you find something missing, please add it. There are resources that can help you get started. Don't worry about making a mistake: that's normal when people first start editing and if it happens, other Wikipedians will be happy to fix it for you.

I appreciate your trust in us, and I promise you we'll use your money well.

Thanks,
Sue

Sue Gardner
Executive Director,
Wikimedia Foundation
https://donate.wikimedia.org

From Jeanne:  Speaking for the Reference Staff, I'm thrilled to know that we're helping to keep a valuable resource like Wikipedia available not only for us for for all our patrons and even those far from us. Providing information is one of the most important functions we perform as a library, and Wikipedia helps us to carry out our mission. Thank you, Jud!

New Year's Eve

The library will be closed on Monday, Dec. 31.

 Happy New Year, everyone!

Happy Birthday

Selena    December 29

 

 

 

Holidays, Aflac & Happy Birthday, Harrison!

The holidays are fast approaching!  As most of you know, we will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, December 24 & 25.  We will also be closed on New Year's Day, January 1.  City offices will be closed on New Year's Eve, December 31; if the Library Board approves, we will follow suit.  Otherwise, we will be open until 5 pm that day.

Christmas Posts

Already up:  Nicki's Swedish Christmas, Doris on The Story of the Other Wise Man, and Jeanne's Christmas song picks.  Check every day this week for a new holiday post!

http://bristol-library-bookblog.blogspot.com/ 

Aflac!

The Aflac representative will be here on Thursday, starting at 10 am.  There are some appointments already scheduled, but if you want to talk to a rep you may have a chance then.

Happy Birthday!

Harrison Gilley  December 17

 

Christmas Favorites Wanted

Many thanks to Michelle for hosting the Staff Christmas party!  A grand time was had by all as you can see from the wonderful photos posted outside Janice's office.Thank you, Michelle!

The bookblog is going to have a festive air beginning this week. I thought it might be fun to post staff (and friends, of course!) favorite Christmas books, TV shows, songs, and movies as chosen by the staff.  If you have favorites, please let Jeanne know.  You can drop by and tell me, leave me a note or email the reference department. I'd especially like favorite Christmas books or just recommended Christmas books since I've gotten fewer book recommendations than anything else.

Staff Party news & More!

 Thanks to Michelle for hosting our annual Christmas party!  It will be on Saturday, December 8, at Michelle's house.  We'll meet at 6 pm and eat at 6:30.  There is a sign up sheet in the Staff Lounge so we'll know what everyone is bringing.  Janice is worried someone may bring kidney beans and she wants a chance to nip that notion in the bud. See Michelle or Janice for further information.

Happy Birthday

"Granny" Sue Morrell (Avoca)   December 2

 Welcome, Nancy!

Nancy Turner has joined the staff at Avoca! Stop by and say hello!

 

Some of you may remember Gail Rose, a long time Circulation staff member.  Gail's father passed away last week.  You can read the obituary and post a message here.

City Christmas Party & Turkey Trot

City Christmas Party

 Are you ready for the big Bristol Virginia Christmas party?  They want to be ready for you, so they need a count of the number of people attending.  Please let Brenda know ASAP!!  Remember, the party will be at the Holiday Inn at Exit 7 on Friday, December 7, starting at 6:00 pm.

Congratulations, Joyce!

Joyce not only completed her 5K race, she came in at #72 out of 125 finishers! 

City Christmas Party, Joyce Trots, and Laurie Celebrates!

City of Bristol Virginia Christmas Party

Just an FYI to “save the date” of Friday evening, December 7^th, for our Annual City Christmas Party.

 

It will be at the Holiday Inn at Exit 7, and will start at 6:00 p.m.  This year the doors will not open until 6:00 p.m. and will be City worker and spouse only.

  

Happy Birthday!

 
Laurie W.   November 13

GO, JOYCE!

Our own Joyce will be running in this year's 5K Turkey Trot sponsored by the Bristol YWCA!  If she finishes in the top 100, she'll have her name listed online.  Look for her making a lap down Anderson Street this Saturday morning.  You go, girl! 

 Great Programs!

 We had a very good turnout for Chuck Todd.  Congratulations, Anita and Sarah! We continue to hear compliments about what a great program that was.

Also,  King College's Buechner Institute presented Leonard Pitts, Jr. at a program in the J. Henry Kegley Meeting Room Monday night.  It was standing room only.  

It was very nice to see the library represented at both, as well as so many of our regular patrons.