"Every Child Ready to Read" Workshops to Be Offered

Extensive research has documented how young children acquire the skills necessary to become successful readers. A program developed by the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Services for Children reinforces the message that “what you do helps your child get ready to read.” What better place to learn how you can encourage pre-reading skills in your child than at the Ridgefield Library? Many parents already turn to us for picture books, children’s videos, multi-media learning software and age-appropriate storytimes. We work hard to stay abreast of the latest thinking on early childhood development and to incorporate this into our collections, programs and other services. So it is only natural that we now offer Ridgefield parents the opportunity to make “Every Child Ready to Read.”

Three workshops for parents and caregivers will be offered in May, focusing on how you can help your child master six key pre-reading skills. Workshops will be Thursday, May 20th, 10:30 – 11:30 AM (skills for infants); Wednesday, May 26th, 1:00 – 2:00 PM (skills for children ages 4 and 5); and Thursday, May 27th, 10:30 – 11:30 AM (skills for children ages 2 and 3). Registration is required ; call 203-438-2282 x 1024 or visit the “Tips for Parents” page at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org for more information.

Loan Period Changes Effective 5/3

Effective May 3rd, we will be instituting changes to some of the loan periods for items borrowed from the Ridgefield Library.
• New adult books will continue to circulate for 14 days, with one renewal. New books over 500 pages may be kept for 21 days (plus renewal).
• Most DVDs and videos (and also videogames) will remain 7-day loans but automatic renewals will no longer be possible; ask staff for assistance in renewing these items. Series DVDs packaged together will circulate for 14 days.
• Museum passes will continue to be loaned for three days.
• All other items will circulate for 21 days, with one renewal allowed.

These changes are part of an effort to simplify and standardize policies and procedures across the libraries in Bibliomation, the resource sharing network to which the Ridgefield Library belongs. The changes will ensure more consistency, resulting in borrowing rules that are easier to understand and remember. The shift to a 21-day loan for most items will also allow us to move through waiting lists faster and return items more rapidly to the shelves for your browsing convenience.

Please note: Inter-Library Loan items obtained from outside Bibliomation may still have different loan periods, set by the owning library.

Celebrating in April @ your Library

What can you do at the Ridgefield Library during April?

• Celebrate National Library Week. We saw many of you at Sarah’s Wine Bar for our fundraiser with Cellar XV on the 14th, but there is plenty more going on all month. Sign up on our website for our email newsletter to make sure you hear about all of it.
• Celebrate National Volunteer Week. Hundreds of volunteers assist with our Summer Reading Program, with the Friends Book Sales and with many, many more activities throughout the year. Check out our display celebrating their generosity and talents.
• Celebrate National Poetry Month. Join our monthly Poetry Discussion group on the 16th, or check our website for poetry-related links for every day of the month.
• Celebrate National Jazz Appreciation Month by checking out our extensive collection of music CDs in the Fiction Room on the 2nd floor.
• Celebrate the school vacation with special programs for kids and teens April 19-23. Check our website at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org for details.

New Loan Period & Packaging for Series DVDs

Good news for fans of DVD series! We know that it has been frustrating to try to reserve the individual episodes of “Lost” or “Mad Men” in proper order, since our public catalog interface does not allow patrons to place a hold on a single volume of a series. From now on, all the individual DVDs in one mini-series or one season of a television show will be packaged together and lent as one item. To allow you time to view them all, we have extended the loan period on these special packages to 14 days, with one renewal if there is no waiting list (regular DVDs still circulate for 7 days). So now you can enjoy these popular items in proper sequence, without having to juggle multiple reserve requests that inevitably appear in the wrong order. Just find the item you want in the catalog and place one simple request - or ask library staff to do it for you if you prefer.

Series DVDs are shelved in a separate section (indicated as such in the catalog), which we are moving to the near end of the DVD aisle, where it will be even easier to find what you want.