News from Metheringham Library Winter 2011

All is going well with the self-service in the library and most people have been very positive about the changes. Things are now at a stage where customers are more confident about using the machines, but others still need my help so I don't feel redundant. Most people are impressed with the way the machine 'knows' the titles of all of the books even when several are put in together. The fear that the library would become impersonal hasn't happened and there has been lots of laughter over various incidents. One lady was feeling very proud that she had issued the books with no problem, picked up her library card and receipt but then was about to leave without her books, which were still in the machine.

We had another good book sale at Metheringham Feast where we dressed up as characters from Red Riding Hood and Lizzy Mason, the Fairy Queen artist, held story times in the library. I was dressed as Grandma in a grey wig with bun and a mob cap but I think my one and 3 year-old grandchildren were not particularly impressed until I became their normal looking grandma again.

After a break over the summer, Lincoln College have restarted courses in the library, the current one being a digital photography course during November. The main change is that courses are to be held on Monday mornings instead of Thursday afternoons. If you are interested in finding out about other courses you should contact the college direct. The 4 courses they run at the library, depending on demand, are Internet Email & Word Processing, Presentations & Microsoft Publisher, Spreadsheets & Databases and an Introduction to Digital Photography. They have introduced a charge but their publicity states that concessions do apply, so, for further information on the courses, please contact the Community Team on 01522 876258 or e-mail communityeducation@lincolncollege.ac.uk

As regular readers will know, we used to have story time for pre-school children which at one time was very well attended. Then, as that group of children went to school, we got to a stage where, despite appeals for more parents and carers to come, we could only rely on one child turning up so we reluctantly had to abandon the sessions. Since then, we have had several enquiries, so if people would commit to coming regularly we could restart story times. Please let us know if you are interested. On Tues 20 Dec (10.30-11.30) we will be holding a Christmas Craft and Seasonal Stories - 60p per child.
Looking forward to the festive season, we would like to invite you to our Christmas coffeemorning, with mince pies, which will be held on Friday 23 December from 10.30am to 12 noon.

Pauline Ventress