What Have I Read?

At the Ridgefield Library Circulation Desk, it’s pretty common for us to hear, “Can you tell me if I took this item out before?”  Unfortunately, we have to say that we don’t have that information, as our Integrated Library System does not maintain details of older transactions.  The good news is that you can now keep track of this information yourself, and the details are private and not accessible to anyone else, even Library staff.

Each patron can keep track of previously checked out items and items that they have previously put on hold.  Simply log into your account online at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org, go to the Account Preferences Tab, click on Search and History Preferences and check the little box after Keep History of Checked Out Items and/or Keep History of Holds.  Then click the Save button, and you are done.

You can access this information at any time by clicking on the Items Checked Out tab and then clicking on the Check Out History tab or clicking on the Holds tab and then the Holds History tab.  The information is at your fingertips.  It’s as simple as that.

If you have any questions, come to the Circulation Desk and we will be happy to work with you one-on-one.

Contributed by Circulation Clerk Mary Louise Cardosa

Sampling Spring @ the Ridgefield Library

Winter is finally over, and spring activities are busting out all over!  Don’t forget to stop at the Library for books and other resources to help you enjoy the many occasions and opportunities coming this month and next.  To make it easy for you to find what you need, our staff has put together a number of browsing displays located at numerous locations in the building.

April is National Poetry Month, and you can explore verse both classic and contemporary in the Lodewick Children’s Library and in the Goldstone and Ruggles special collection rooms on the Upper Level, where you will also find materials spotlighting National Jazz Appreciation Month. You can sample the Best Books of 2014 and this year’s crop of Nutmeg Award nominees.  Spring will be the subject in all departments, with a special focus on home and garden in the Bossidy Commons.  We’ll commemorate Autism Awareness Month and Earth Day in April and move on to Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and Older Americans Month in May.

We invite you to take advantage of these displays to sample the wide range of topics you can discover at the Library.  

Students Vote for State Book Award at Ridgefield Library

It’s April, and that means it is time for the children of Connecticut to vote for the Nutmeg Book Award winners! The Nutmeg Book Award encourages children in grades 2-12 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of nominated titles.  The nominees are chosen by committees of public and school librarians from across the state. There are now four divisions: Elementary for grades 2-4 (new this year and the only division that includes nonfiction), Intermediate for grades 4-6, Teen for grades 7-8, and High School for grades 9-12. It is Connecticut’s own book award.  To help make voting easy, the Ridgefield Library has put Nutmeg Book Award ballots online. You can see a link to them if you stop by our Facebook page, or if you follow us on Twitter, or on the Library’s website. Students who are not voting at school are encouraged to vote online using our ballot. Please only vote once, either at school OR online. The winning books will be announced on May 15, and the new list of nominees will come out at that time as well. Spring is Nutmeg Book Award time!

Contributed by Teen Services Librarian Geri Diorio