“Grover” Streamlines Library Operations

Meet Grover.  Actually, the official designation is Bibliotheca SmartSort 100 5-Bin AMH001072-000-US, but we think the moniker of the Sesame Street monster is an apt nickname for our new automated materials handling system – a little intimidating at first glance but ultimately helpful and lovable!  This new technology allows all library materials to be checked in and sorted for re-shelving automatically, without staff having to handle each item. Special sensors read Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags inside each item as it travels down a conveyor belt – no more finding and scanning elusive barcodes. Digital signals then direct each item into one of several bins destined for different areas of the Library.

To gain the maximum accuracy, productivity and efficiency benefits from our investment, we ask that all borrowers follow these simple guidelines when returning items:  

• Return all borrowed items of all kinds in the special return slots in the lobby or on the outside of the building near the parking lot entrance.
• Insert one item at a time, bottom edge first.
• Wait for the green light before inserting the next item.
• The curious can then watch Grover at work through the windows to the right of the slot.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Look for LeapPads @ the Library

The Ridgefield Library has introduced a new way to amuse and educate our younger patrons! Thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library, a number of LeapPad2 handheld computers have been purchased and may be borrowed from the Children’s Services desk for an hour at time. Children ages 3 to 9 will enjoy exploring all they have to offer, from taking baby’s photo with the camera feature to listening to the educational music. Young budding artists may dabble with the art studio or create their own pet with the PetPad. And, yes, we did manage to make sure there was a fun game to play as well! The LeapFrog company takes pride in producing educational toys with kid-proof durability. In the future, we will be buying some additional cartridges to enhance the enjoyment and educational value.

If you haven’t been able to visit the Lodewick Children’s Library yet, we would like you to know that it also has a wonderful selection of puzzles, blocks and wooden toys on wheels (like a giraffe and a fire truck), encouraging learning and creativity through tactile as well as digital tools. We look forward to seeing you and your family soon!

Contributed by Kathy Cherniavsky, Acting Head of Children's Services

Digital Media Survey Underway

Do you use the Library's OverDrive downloadable audiobook and eBook service?  Have you come to one of our Tech Topics sessions on e-readers?  Do you stream music or video you find on the Internet? The environment for content creators and consumers is in a constant state of change, with new delivery systems and devices coming on the market almost daily. Here’s an opportunity for you to help shape the future of digital content at the Ridgefield Library.

We are fortunate to have been chosen as the site for a research project on digital media use in libraries, undertaken by graduate student Dawn Zimmerer, who is completing her Masters in Library Science at Southern Connecticut State University.  We invite you to participate in the brief survey she has put together and look forward to learning the responses of our patrons on this very timely topic.

Thank you for considering this request.  To participate, you may pick up a paper copy of the survey at the Library or take the survey online at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org. Average completion time is less than 15 minutes. The deadline is June 18th, so do it today. Thank you for your input.