Rapides Pa r i sh

L ib ra ry

Inside this issue:

News From the Side

Lines

2

Health Tips 2

Surviving Martin

Library Re-carpeting

3

Finding Their Roots 3

Librarians Change

Lives

4

Kudos to the Refer-

ence Department

4

EBooks for Children & 5

And much more!

Volume 26, Issue 5 May 2012

We are advancing steadily with

our plans for the transition to the new

Martin Luther King, Jr., Branch. I just

heard from Dr. Bill Morrison from the

School Board with news that he is com-

fortable with our plan to have an exit

from our drive through lane into the

school’s adjacent parking lot. This will

enable customers to pick up items or

use the book drop from their vehicle,

and then exit through the lot. We’ll

have to put down a lot less concrete,

thanks to that. We have decided on

4,800 sq. ft. for the new King, a bit

bigger than Hineston or McDonald, to

accommodate a larger population in

the service area. So far as I know, the

survey of the property is the only step

that has to be taken before we go

back to the School Board to finalize

the deal.

As you may know, the Police Jury,

not the Library, actually owns all Li-

brary property: land, buildings, vehi-

cles, etc. For that reason, we have

turned over the sale of the current

King Branch building to them. We

hear that there are actually some po-

tential buyers.

From the Top

Yolanda Skinner was se-

lected as our new forty-

hour Preschool Outreach

Program (POP) Manager

at Westside Regional. She

began her new duties on

Monday, Apr i l 22 .

Yolanda brings five years

of POP experience to this

position. She was hired as

a POP Clerk in October

of 2007.

Way to go, Yolanda!

Ripple Page 2

News from the Side Lines by Laura-Ellen Ayres

really helped me get my

brain back – reading,

even when it is very slow

reading (which is where I

was that day) seems to

help your brain to find its

way back. Tammy V.

brought me another bag

in the rehab hospital, and

Jan made a home deliv-

ery!

I hope by the time you

read this that I will be

spending at least some

part of each workday in

my office acting like I’m

Usually, I have an arti-

cle in Ripple, but, due to

the heart surgery that

made me feel like I got

stomped, I guess I am

skipping this month!

However, I have so

many of you to thank. I

know I will forget some-

one; please don’t feel

offended – my brain also

got fried. Apparently,

people came to visit in the

hospital and I have NO

RECOLLECTION of it at

all!

Anyway, I asked Jana

to send a picture out of

the beautiful roses the

Staff Association sent.

They were so amazing!

They had what looked

like a design of ribbons

that went all the way

through the petals. Every-

one commented on them.

Thank you to all of

you who came and vis-

ited. I really appreciated

seeing your faces! Wes

and Tammy V. brought

me a bag of books, which

More than 36% of workers report that they’re typically “stressed out” during their work-

day, based on the 2011 “Stress in the Workplace” survey of 1,546 workers by the American

Psychological Association. For most workers, it’s the everyday, annoying hassles that make up

the bulk of work stress – communication failures, poor teamwork, delays, and numerous other

obstacles that interfere with work.

Other stressors are harder to control. Frequent changes in technology, job insecurity and

an unpredictable economy produce confusion and worry. Above all, we’re required to per-

form responsibly and effectively. That includes learning to tolerate stressors big and small.

“Everyday,

annoying hassles

make up the

bulk of work

stress.”

Health Tips by Steve Rogge

normal. I lastly want to say that I

have been very aware of the

prayers and best wishes that

everyone has sent my way. Thank

you so much!

These steps may help:

1. Talk with colleagues or friends you trust about the work issues you’re fac-

ing. They may provide insights or offer ideas for coping.

2. Stay flexible. Frequent change in the workplace is normal and potentially

positive.

3. Be vigilant about your health. Get regular exercise and plenty of sleep,

and eat a healthy diet. When you feel strong, you’ll cope better.

4. Believe in yourself. When you feel uncertain about the future, recalling

past achievements can help restore your confidence, hope and sense of

control.

5. Keep your perspective. Ask yourself, “Is this thing worth stressing about?”

In most cases, it won’t be. When you see the difference, you can control

the stress rather than let it control you.

(from the TopHealth newsletter)

Please take the quiz associated with this article (Health Tips Quiz #4) by

Wednesday, May 22, 2013.

Page 3 Volume 26, Issue 5

Surviving Martin Library Re-carpeting by Donna LeBlanc

Martin Library staff and customers recently had the experience of a life-

time. (I’ll call it that for now.) PLAN A: The committee gathered in early Febru-

ary and made arrangements for a 2 day closure to re-carpet the building

later that month. We were greatly surprised to learn that what was planned

as a 2 day closure would increase to a 4 day plan and eventually work into a

3 week completion before we re-opened again March15th.

Plans were made for Pam and JoAnne to work at other branches while we

were closed. Press releases went to the newspaper and TV stations. We be-

gan alerting customers of our closure, and kept reminding them daily that we

would be closed for 4 days…until…asbestos was found in the main part of

the library and we went to PLAN B! Team Wes and Lisa, Team Les, Jason and

James, and Martin staff were alerted as to how this change would be accom-

plished. Remember the saying “the best laid plans of mice and men often go

astray”? Well, the plans did just that, but gradually this enormous task was put into action. Lisa asked for inmates to help us pack

books and move furniture. Our maintenance crew worked daily to move boxes and furniture. I watched the organization of these

people in amazement. I realize now why Wes and Lisa are called into action with every move. They are phenomenal in organizing

all the books which needed to be boxed and labeled.

I was given permission to stay in the building during the asbestos removal. The hazmat group ar-

rived once the free-standing bookshelves and furniture had been moved. A team of three men and

two ladies covered all other books with ceiling to floor drapes. Once that task was completed the

main area was blocked off so the asbestos removal could begin. I could watch through a screen to see

how this process moved along over several days. There was even a shower set up in this room for the

hazmat team to clean up and get out of their suits each day. Les took some great photos of the work

the hazmat team did.

I unboxed crates daily and drove our request items to Main so the staff could call our customers for

their reserve materials. It seemed rather eerie in the library at times and was cold once I could no

longer adjust the thermostat. The enormous task of returning furniture and books to the shelves was

daunting! However, WE SURVIVED and reopened as planned on March 15th to the delight of both

customers and staff. I’m not sure I’d opt to do this again anytime soon but the experience was certainly

“exciting” at times!

Finding Their Roots by Jana Fryday

Kenneth Cloud (sunglasses) and Oddist Lambrecht (to

Kenneth’s left) drove all the way from Oakdale to the

Boyce Branch Library to attend a genealogy class taught

by David Manning (blue striped shirt) on Friday, April 19,

2013.

Mr. Manning’s class was part of the Boyce Library Fair

and Used Book Sale. Also pictured are Venita Boothroyd,

Betty DeWitt, Brenda Manning, Deborah Rachal, Alice

Pharris, and Brenda Tillman.

“After asbestos

was found in the

main part of the

library, we went

to PLAN B!”

Kudos to Reference Department by Jimmy Holsomback

me expressing his thanks

for the assistance that he

got from RPL.

Congratulations and

kudos to all of those in our

reference department

who did the research on

this.

Attorney F. Jean Pharis

called me last week and

asked if we had present/

future values of money

indexes. Our reference

staff at Main (Brenda

Rodriguez, Jonathan

Westbrook and Steve

Ledet) got their heads

together and started re-

searching the subject.

Mr. Pharis had al-

ready searched the inter-

net for the information

and was unable to find

the data, but our staff

was able to provide ex-

actly what he was looking

for! He sent an email to

Ripple Page 4

Librarians Change Lives by Amanda Patterson

mom’s half-sister’s name. I then

took to the internet, searching

the white pages in the Stan-

dish, Michigan area, and by

11:30 my mom was united with

her biological father’s daugh-

ter, her half sister Janet A.,

over the telephone.

Aunt Janet is 70 and

my mom, Loleta, is 46. I have

forever changed the lives of

these two women. My mom is

glad she asked again and my

Time has passed since my

mother, Loleta B., asked me to

help her search for her biologi-

cal father. I had searched for

him in the past and came up

empty handed, but that was

before I had five years of li-

brarian skills under my belt. On

Feb. 21, 2013, she had seen

people were posting picture of

themselves holding In-search of

posters for their relatives on

Facebook. In hopes that this

time it might work, she gathered

all the information she had been

given by her half-brothers and

sisters, which wasn’t much. She

only knew his name was

Sherman A. and the cities

where he had run a hardware

store (Sterling, Michigan) and

lived (Standish, Michigan) 46

years ago.

With this information, I set

out searching on Ancestry.com. I

found a man with this name and

city of residence on the 1940

Census. I took the information:

his approximate age (now

101), his wife’s name, and the

name of one child in hopes to

find his other children or grand-

children. I then created a page

with this information, posted the

information on other Facebook

pages, the newspaper in that

area, and the news channel as

well as a Standish, Michigan

group page.

That Saturday, Feb. 23,

2013, on the Standish, Michi-

gan group page, I had a hit

from a 3rd cousin named Karen.

Then my mom and she went

through some history details to

confirm we were on the right

track. She was able to get my

“I have forever

changed the

lives of these

two women.”

aunt Janet is thrilled that she’s

not the only girl. She is also

grateful that their father’s red

hair wasn’t wasted on just the

two boys. We keep in contact

via Facebook, and this July we

will attend the Allen Family

Reunion.

Bouquets of Thanks

To: Brenda Rodriguez

From: Linda

Thanks for always being

willing to do absolutely any-

thing you ask of her with a

smile.

To: Donna Crawford

From: Steve

Thanks for her good sugges-

tion for short customer com-

ments in Ripple.

To: Donna LeBlanc

From: Steve

Thanks for dealing with

someone on the sexual of-

fenders registry.

To: Karla

From: Jana

Thanks so much for printing

all those annual reports for

me!

To: Les and James

From: Amanda P.

Thanks, you guys, for coming

to the rescue with the bolt

cutters since I locked my keys

in my locker.

To: Mary Murry

From: Steve

Thanks for having grace

under pressure.

To: Pam Martin

From: Steve

Thanks for taking on the in-

terim job at Westside while

still helping out with Gunter.

To: Starla and Lakeisha

From: Steve

Thanks for your insights into

the new branch design.

Page 5 Volume 26, Issue 5

EBooks for Children and Teens by Tammy DiBartolo

EBooks have become extremely popular with our adult readers. Many of our “senior” custom-

ers have invested in a Nook or Kindle. They comment that they love the ease of not having to

leave home to check out or return a book.

When eBooks first came out, there were not a lot of books that teens or children would be

interested in. However, recently that has changed, particularly in the area of non-fiction books.

The library has recently purchased several non-fiction eBooks for children and teens. There are

several benefits to the eBook version versus the print version of these books. These eBooks are

available 24/7; they can be read from a Smartphone, computer or tablet; and multiple customers

can access the same title at the same time. Many of the titles have an interactive component com-

plete with movement, audio and photos. All the books have audio so that the child can “read with

his ears” too.

While I was researching eBook use by children and teens, I ran across a report in Teens and

Technology 2013, which was done by the Pew Research Center at Harvard University.

These were the current findings by the group:

93 % of teens have a computer or access to one.

23% of teens have a tablet computer.

37% of teens have a Smartphone, up from 23% in

2011.

One in four teens are “cell-mostly” internet users.

There are other advantages of eBooks. There is no need to

buy multiple copies of a title. They don’t take up shelf space, and

they don’t require staff time to prep them before check out.

It is a constant challenge to stay current with the latest technology

but we will continue to do our best. The purchase of eBooks is a

step in the right direction.

We will send everyone information regarding the access and use of the eBooks in the very

near future. Stay tuned!

“The purchase of

eBooks is a step

in the right

direction.”

Thinking of Others by Faith Johnson

In one of our monthly meetings, TAG members discussed sending some of

our members to visit the hospital as one the group’s volunteer projects.

On March 28, 2013, this project came into fruition. A few of the Tween

Advisory Group members along with a Teen Advisory Board representative

went to Rapides Regional Medical Center Women’s and Children’s Hospital

pediatric floor to spread a little cheer.

The tweens and teens took Easter boxes filled with toys, coloring books,

crayons, stickers, and more to sick children. The smiles on the children’s faces

when they opened their Easter boxes were priceless.

The children and their family members thanked TAG members for think-

ing about them. We also left extra boxes behind just in case they received

more patients on the floor during the Easter holiday.

The children had to admit it did not take much time to spread cheer, and

we all left feeling good about giving to others.

Ripple Page 6

Obesity in Children by Margie Mealer

teresting, but as soon as Dr.

Boles started her presentation,

they got interested. Perhaps

the image of the 1,377 lb. man

had something to do with it.

Perhaps it was the startling

statistics about diabetes in

Louisiana. Whatever it was,

they got involved, and I could

not have been more proud of

them. They asked questions,

made comments and even

As part of our Library Fair

and Book Sale, Dr. Velva Boles

came to speak about how obe-

sity, especially childhood obe-

sity, can affect African Ameri-

can communities. We put out

flyers and talked it up, and I

thought we would have a good

turnout. Once again the Boyce

community scared me. Five min-

utes before we were supposed

to start, no one was here, ex-

cept for my speaker and Mr.

Brian Coleman, who was here

to report on the event for the

Alexandria News Weekly news-

paper.

I called a few people to

remind them, and someone said

they thought Stephan Fontenot,

the Boyce Recreation Director,

was going to bring some of the

children from the Activity Cen-

ter. Five minutes later, Stephan

comes in with not just a few, but

22 youth from the town. He

told them it was important for

them to know what not being

active could lead to, and that

we were fortunate to have a

speaker like Dr. Boles come to

our community. He told them

that they did not have to come,

but he was closing the gym for

the hour of the program.

Most of them did not seem

to think it was going to be in-

“Perhaps the

image of the

1,377 lb. man

caught the

teens’ attention.”

cheered her college mascot

(the Wolf Pack) at the end.

Was this the audience I

expected? No, but I think this

was probably the best way of

getting the discussion about

obesity and diabetes going in

this community.

Dr. Velva Boles teaches teens at the Boyce Library.

TAG members show off the Easter boxes for children at

Rapides Regional Medical Center.

Page 7 Volume 26, Issue 5

National Library Week: April 14-20 by Joy Luttrell

We here at Westside appreciate our customers. From the wee preschoolers to our retired

customers, there is an atmosphere of community here at the library.

This morning the children’s tower rang out with the kids singing “If You’re Happy and You

Know It,” one of my favorites. (My other favorite is “I Like Being a Kid.”) It looks like rain, so

folks are coming in to stock up on books and movies. Tax season is almost over, and we have had

a rush for forms—thank you irs.gov—and online filing. Our study rooms are used by students of

all ages and by writers, doctors, and moms who home school. They are perfect for when you

need a quiet place to meet and/or study.

The eBook revolution hasn’t stopped our customers from stopping in for the latest James Pat-

terson, or for a book on how to plant your spring garden. Audio books are very popular with the

traveling crowd. I get a lot of stories from people who are traveling out of town and want a

good book to listen to. It makes the trip go by, and the miles are

more enjoyable.

The customers who make me smile the most are the ones who

ask me if I can recommend a good book. It is one of the reasons I

come to work . . . that good book or great author that I can rec-

ommend. It’s the afternoon, and parents and children come in,

often greeting their neighbors and relatives. Teachers greet their

students from days gone by.

The library is a reflection of our community; there is no doubt

in my mind. It is a place to learn, and a place to rest and gather

your thoughts. It is a place where you can get your business done,

and then grab a book for entertainment. It is a place where you

can meet and share your favorite book with your child (for in-

stance, Duck on a Bike).

“The library is a

reflection of our

community.” Shelley Atwood checks out books at

Westside Regional.

At the Library . . . ACQUISITIONS

ADULT

AUDIO BOOK

BOOK

BOOK CLUB

BOOKMOBILE

CATALOG

CHECK IN

CHECK OUT

CHILDREN

CIRCULATION

COMPUTER

CUSTOMER

DEWEY DECIMAL

SYSTEM

EBOOK

FINES

HARDBACK

INTERLIBRARY LOAN

LATEF EES

LIBRARY

MAGAZINE

M P THREE

OUTREACH

OVERDRIVE

OVERDUE

PAPERBACK

PROGRAMMING

REFERENCE

RESEARCH

RESERVE

STORYTIME

SUMMER READING

PROGRAM

TECHNICAL SERVICES

VOLUNTEERS

YOUNG ADULT

Beautiful Libraries (From wikipedia.com and beautiful-libraries.com)

411 Washington Street

Alexandria, LA 71301

Rap ides Par i sh L ibr ar y

www.rpl.org/staffsite

YOUR BUSINESS TAG LINE HERE.

Phone: 318-445-2411

Mobile: 555-555-5555

Fax: 318-445-6196

Email: jana@rpl.org

May 2013 Birthdays

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

Mary

4

5 6 7 8

Steve R.

Vickie

9 10

Lisa

11

12

13 14 15 16 17 18

19

Rebecca

20 21 22 23 24

Jane

25

26 27 28 29 30 31

The Library at Melk Abbey, Austria The Bodleian Library, Oxford

University, England

The Long Room, Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland

The Artis Library, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands The Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève, Paris,

France Vilnius University Library, Lithuania

Service Years:

Candace Hamilton—5 Years

Melissa Guild—5 Years