Look who's live!

It is so exciting to see our branches coming live on SILS - as of now, your patrons can choose from the following pickup locations that are live on SILS!  Some of these branches are automating for the first time ever, so please give a big round of [virtual] applause to these pioneering staff!

HQ SILS training - a success

Just a note to say that Headquarters staff had their SILS circulation trianing today and found it well done.  They acted as the guinea pigs and had some good suggestions for improvement which will be incorporated in the training for the next group.  We are very fortunate in having Yumi Hwang doing the training - her approach is clear and organized.

When branch staff leave the training, they will take with them four things:

- a SILS manual to use for reference and in training other branch staff
- branch business cards, for patrons receiving automated phone calls who then want to talk to a live person
- the new Chinook SILS patron cards (do not open until your branch goes live!)
- some generic SILS patron cards, for use when out-of-region patrons want to register

Meanwhile, Jesse is working hard to ensure new computers are rolled out around the region. I know there are many blips and hiccups to work out when doing this, but Jesse always seems to have a smile.  Larry from HQ has been helping out, and this is also very much appreciated.

We look forward to seeing our branch librarians at  HQ over the next six weeks!

mixed media - a video game made of paper

This is such a neat concept - read more about it here

amish romances and NPR's top 100 thrillers

Yes - the world is catching on to what Chinook patrons have been reading for years - inspirational fiction.  This USA Today article talks about the growing interest and lists a few upcoming titles...

And, if your readers prefer perspirational literature to inspirational, there's NPR's list of the top 100 thrillers. Jaws is number 25 - can you guess which book ranked at number 1? Check out the article to find out...

Vancouver Public Library cites ebooks as a reason for upsurge in new cards

Ebooks taking off at Vancouver Public Library...

All winter long, she borrowed quilting books...

CRL Board Executive member Laurie Glenn popped by yesterday to let us know that, yes, something came from all those quilting books she borrowed over the winter.  This photo doesn't really do it justice, but the quilt is quite lovely and soft.  Great to see one of the many tangible products of library use!

ebooks and audiobooks - sneak preview starts on August 2

 For early adopters - those tech savvy patrons and staff who can cope with being the first to try a new service and help us work out the kinks, a sneak preview of our new downloading service will begin on August 2. This sneak preview is part of an array of new products and services we'll be launching as part of our regional revitalization over the next few months.

A province-wide collection of electronic books can be accessed at:
http://www.library2go.sk.ca - remember though, your Chinook card won't be working until the 2nd of August.  Anyone who has technical questions can contact our support staff at chinook.overdrive [at] gmail.com

I had a great time selecting some items to supplement the existing provincial collection, and imagine my delight when I discovered that fourteen of the titles I chose were borrowed in less than 24 hours!  Here's what was snapped up within hours:

1.	The Help		Kathryn Stockett
2.	A Kiss at Midnight		Eloisa James
3.	The Lion, the Witch and the...		C. S. Lewis
4.	Devil in Winter		Lisa Kleypas
5.	The Girl with the Dragon Ta...		Stieg Larsson
6.	A Dangerous Love		Sabrina Jeffries
7.	About That Man		Sherryl Woods
8.	Bad Luck and Trouble		Lee Child
9.	Blood Hunt		Ian Rankin
10.	Again the Magic		Lisa Kleypas
11.	The Girl Who Played with Fi...		Stieg Larsson
12.	The Hunger Games (unabridge...		Suzanne Collins
13.	One False Note (unabridged)		Gordon Korman
14.	Infamous		Suzanne Brockmann

I hope some of your patrons will get excited about this 'sneak preview' of a fantastic new service.  A full launch with publicity will occur in conjunction with our migration to SILS.