Author: Keri Bradeen

Adult Book Club Books

Adult Book Clubs will return in September. Studio 64 is an RPL book group, and Fact or Fiction is patron-facilitated but we help them with getting books and promotion.

At Andrea’s direction, these will be displayed for patrons on the pedestals in front of the Borrower Services desk, next to other reader advisory items and Friends Speaker Series titles.

Please point patrons to this area, or send them to Reference if they have questions.

Thank you!

Newspaper Box by Printers

With the arrival of the new Library of Things storage, a few of us noticed that the newspaper and magazine bins for patrons were blocking easy access for people who use wheels to move around the library. We have moved one of the boxes in between the shelves for holds and turned the other one around so it doesn’t stick out so much. Please do not move the one between the shelves back!

Aspen vs. Evergreen

You’ve probably heard about our new public catalog interface, Aspen, which is in “soft launch” right now, and will go live in September.  In a nutshell, it is a software layer that sits on top of our Evergreen database.  Staff searching and other functions in Evergreen are not affected, it’s strictly on the public-facing (OPAC) side.

The benefits to the patrons are:

  1. better and more flexible searching
  2. the ability to search and checkout Libby and Hoopla items without leaving the catalog
  3. it’s much prettier!

Put it through its paces and let me know what you find–feel free to try and break it so we can report back to NOBLE! The list-making function is not enabled yet, but otherwise it should be fully operational.

RPL Catalog

What to do with your great program photos

If you take photos at your programs that can be used in future social media, newsletter, or for other promotion – you can upload them to a dedicated folder on our shared staff drive! The trail is: Reading Public Library Staff>Photos & Graphics for PR…

Folders are set up by year and month. When you upload your photos please label them with the program name. You can create a folder within the month to drop them in as well – that helps keep things organized. For example, in June’s folder Lucy set up a folder for Summer Sizzler photos (thank you!). It doesn’t matter if it’s a big program like Sizzlers, feel free to use this spot for just a few photos as well.

You’ll also see a folder called Staff & Museum Photos – if you’re out and about enjoying a museum pass and you’d like to share the experience – add the photos there (please label them). These can be used that’s for Librarians in the Wild posts or in the newsletter.

Any questions, suggestions? Let me know.

 

Communication Working Group: RPL Style Guide

A new RPL Style Guide is now available – linked under the Instructions tab>Communications. If you create print materials to promote our events, services, and operations please take some time to become familiar with it.

The Guide is a tool to help make our external (and internal) communication clear, concise, and accessible. You’ll find tips on

  • logo use: RPL and external organizations
  • accessbility: font, reading level, color contrast
  • tone
  • current social media post sizes/formats

Plus a handy A to Z list of recommended RPL-specific terms.

Thanks very much to staff on the Communications Working Group who worked on this: Keri, Kath, Meghan M., Rebecca, and Michelle. We’ll review the guide twice a year to keep it up-to-date and welcome suggestions for additions and questions.

Happy Communicating!

Last day of school and 25-26 School Calendar

Last Day of School & 2025–2026 School Year Calendar: The Reading School Committee officially voted to set the last day of school as Monday, June 16, 2025 as this will be the 180th day of school, as required by DESE. Looking ahead? In case you missed it, the 2025–2026 school calendar is now available on the district website—be sure to check it out here.