Library Chat: A few small purchases going over well with public
By Medicine Hat News on November 30, 2018.
I have previously mentioned financial issues and described the library’s finances as not catastrophic but a little bit tight. That description still holds true but with an organization the size of the library, a few hundred dollars here or there will not make or break the budget. The library is making a few purchases in that price range that are going to be really useful and fun for staff and patrons. Some of the signage inside our building is pretty tired and we’re getting a thing called a cutting printer to update it. This device can cut text, images and other designs out of materials such as vinyl sheets. We will use it to redo the labels on our shelving and maybe put some decorative quotations on our walls. It should end up costing less than contracting the job out to a designer and as a bonus, we will get to keep the machine at the end. We will also use this cutter to refill our cardmaking kits. These kits are already available at the library — they are great if you want to handmake a personalized card that still looks professional (and if you want to avoid the cost of the store-bought item). Cutting machines are popular with scrapbookers and other crafters. Library patrons will have access to our cutter as soon as we can get it set up for public use. It will be connected to a computer that will also have high-end Adobe graphic design software, so the setup should be pretty capable. We have had Nintendo Wii gaming consoles for a long time now, and the technology is getting a little long in the tooth. It doesn’t impress the teens any more. We have purchased the new thing which is the Nintendo Switch. We are getting three of these along with the cool game of the moment called Super Smash Brothers. I’m told that we can hook this up with some of our older technology to hold epic multiplayer battles in our theatre during our teen nights. I personally understand nothing of this but I can see the enthusiasm in the eyes of library staff when they imagine the kids getting their hands on this technology. Not all the good stuff is electronic. Our TIC-TAC teen advisory group has asked for card games of various sorts that I have never heard of, so we’re getting some of those. They have also asked for chess sets. It’s nice to hear that some of the classic old stuff is still of interest to kids growing up in the digital age. Ken Feser is chief librarian at the Medicine Hat Public Library. 8-7
