We've started a very busy summer here at the Eastham Library. We have over 160 children participating in the library's summer reading program. The Tuesday evening programs for families at the Council on Aging have been drawing crowds of over 100 people. Adult programs include Stories in the Pines, local author presentations, and an exhibit and demonstration by local textile artist Susan Pellowe. Her weaving, felting, and handmade paper creations are on display for the month of July. All sales benefit the Library Building Fund.

We hope to wrap up schematic design with our architects this summer so soon we will have at least a layout of the new building to share with you.

Hope you are enjoying these beautiful days of summer. Cheryl

We've now had two reviews with the architects and MBLC Building consultant Lauren Stara and plans for the new building are coming together nicely.
The Library Trustees have cancelled the public presentation planned for June 12 so they can first meet with the Capital Projects Committee and Board of Selectmen with the plans to date.
We will let you know as soon as possible when the public meeting has been rescheduled.

Eastham Library Recieves Grant Funding

We have now signed a contract with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) for the release of grant funding amounting to $4.3 over a period of five years. The first Payment is due before the end of June this year and we can file for the second payment after July 1 this year when the MBLC has approved our plans.
The photo above shows back row: Director Cheryl Bryan, Board President David Payor, and MBLC Consultant Lauren Stara and Front row:Architects Conrad Ello and Mathew Oudens reviewing the new schematic design for the building.

The excitement is building!
Cheryl

Beginning work with our new architects

On Monday , February 25 the Board of Trustees and I met with our new architects to review the new Building Program. The excitement is building now that we have begun work on the schematic design of the new building. We expect the new building to include more seating, more windows overlooking the pond, small and a large meeting room, a children's activity room, an expanded archive area, a modest coffee service, more seating with access to electricity for laptop and tablet users among other things.

If you have not yet attended any our Saturday winter music programs this is your invitation to join in the fun. The music begins on Saturdays at 1pm and continues through the afternoon.

Thanks to Stephanie Foster for sharing her Dune Experience photographs with us for the month of February!

Cheryl

I'm reading Bill Bryson's At Home and Tracy Chevalier's Last Runaway

Fear Not the New Gadget

If you can not attend the Library EBooks on Your Kindle, Ipad, Iphone or Andoid session at the library January 22, at 6:30 here are some tips that may prove useful.

You may have just gotten comfortable with the current models of e-readers and tablets that you got last year and brought to the library to learning how to use them, only to realize that you are now faced with a whole new set of problems and questions this year because every company is offering a newer, prettier, faster device for the Christmas buying season. Fear not! The basics you struggled to learn last year still hold true! Knowing some basics will help you navigate each device, no matter the maker.

Home Screen Every device has a home screen and some degree of personalization options. The e-ink readers usually have options to sort the titles on the screen by most recent, title or author. The color devices often have a multi-screen home page (designated by a series of small dots at the top or bottom of the screen) or a favorite’s shelf. Books can be added to the home page or placed in the library for later use. Typically, holding your finger on the book icon will open a menu for making changes on where to place the title. Some Color devices also allow for you to personalize the background of the home screen with wallpaper. The wallpaper menus are usually found in the settings menu or by pressing and holding a finger on a blank area of the home screen.

General Settings Every device has a list of settings. Settings usually include lists of options for setting up Wi-Fi, brightness, volume, display, date and time, security, and parental controls. They may also include options for connecting to social media, setting up the home screen, shopping for new material, and adjusting the keyboard to personal tastes. To find the settings menu on a device look for something that looks like a cog. The symbol styles vary slightly in look, but most devices have some version of a cog to tap to open the settings menu.

Menu Menus allow you to select various options. Sometimes the settings options will be opened first through a menu. On e-readers the menu might be opened by a button. On touch devices the menu will look like a piece of paper with lines on it or bullets and lines.

Reading Settings When reading books on digital devices, there are several settings that can be adjusted to make the reading experience more comfortable for the reader. The print settings are found by tapping the icon with two A’s. The typical adjustments include the font size, the margins, the line spacing, the color settings, and the font settings.

Device Storage Each device will store a number of books. Many devices will allow you to add newspapers, magazines, music, videos, and apps. If these items are not visible on the home screen they will be found under the menu by the name of the material you are searching, in your device library, or media shelf. Most companies also offer archived storage. This allows the user to remove a purchased item from the device to free up space. The content will live on the user’s account associated with the device. The content can be downloaded to the device again at any time.

Wi-Fi Nearly all mobile devices have the ability to connect to the Internet. If you have wireless Internet at home, a local restaurant, a motel, or your Public Library you will have to connect your device to the network. Be aware that some hotels charge for this service and it will be added to your bill at check-out. Look for the Wi-Fi symbol on the screen. If you do not see it or it looks empty, with no lines showing connectivity, then you are not connected to the Internet. Go to the settings menu to turn on the wireless and connect to the local Wi-Fi.

3G and 4G Some devices can be purchased with 3G and 4G connectivity. These devices will connect to the Internet over cell phone connections. This type of connection is generally slower than a Wi-Fi connection; however you can access the Internet from more places. The cape does, but many areas of the country do not yet offer 4G cell connections and some still do not offer 3G.

Battery Mobile devices run on rechargeable battery power. A single charge will expend at varying rates depending on the activity being done with the device. Reading takes less power than surfing the Internet. Watching videos takes even more power. A symbol on your screen that looks like a standard battery will show you how much power is remaining. The center of the symbol will change color as your battery discharges. If the battery goes completely flat, the device will not turn on until it has been plugged in for up to 30 minutes.

Shop/Store New purchases can be made right from the device. Most devices will use the words “shop” or “store” and/or an icon with a shopping bag to indicate how to access their available online content. Depending on the type of device the content available may include books, magazines, newspapers, apps, videos, and music. The device will have to be connected to the Internet in order to shop or purchase content. Many books and apps are free and the stores usually allow the user to search for content by key words like “free.” CLAMS has it's own app and the Overdrive app (to borrow ebooks from CLAMS) is free for users to download on color devices and allows the user to borrow books from their local library.

At this point I think the only thing we can really count on is that change will continue and we will be attempting to keep up with it. Cheryl Bryan

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas/Hanukkah and the time of winter solstice at the Eastham Library. Deb Abbot and Judy Sebastian from the Friends of the Library created the holiday tree above from books from the Friends Booksale. You might want to try this at home!
We have been very busy this past month updating the Library's Building Program for our new architects. The Building program submitted with our grant proposal was based on data from 2004, and we have added quite a few books and other media to our collection since then. This also gives the Board an opportunity to look again, with fresh eyes at the decisions that were made about what will be in Eastham's new library.
I had an opportunity to attend this month's Chamber of commerce meeting, show some slides of the current conditions in the library and some examples of the new ideas we'd like to include in the new library like a 125 person meeting room for our popular library programs, and displays by local artists and artisans, and better outdoor seating for those who use our wifi when the library isn't open. Time for me to prepare for our community carol sing on Saturday, December 15 at 2pm. Meeting room or not, we still hold programs between the adult stacks

Here's hoping the Holiday season brings us all peace, hope, and the pleasures of friends and family, Cheryl Bryan

EPL Building Commmittee Moving Forward

The Eastham Library Board met with our new architects and Project Manager to review the conceptual plans that were submitted with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC) grant, the engineering studies that have been conducted regarding water storage and required set backs from the adjacent pond, and the list of comments from the MBLC grant review committee and MBLC staff.

Board and community members at the meeting stressed that we plan to retain the "cozy" feel of the library and it's present open airy atmosphere. The architects along with their record for planning energy efficient libraries expressed an interest in blending in a community center feeling in the new library with easily accessible meeting rooms for both library and general community use. It was agreed that we will revise and update the Board's building program and resume work in the new year.