JKPL eyes improved services for community

The Joeten Kiyu Public Library is gearing up to enhance, improve, and expand its services to the community.

Rosalyn Ajoste, JKPL’s technical services librarian, said that their efforts will focus on circulation, collection development, advocacy efforts, and cataloguing.

A new “Pacific Collection” archives will be opened possibly in six months to a year after they are done cataloguing. The archives will have over 25,000 local documents, both historical and current, as well as the Nancy Weil Collection of archives.

Ajoste is also asking for volunteers who speak Korean, Japanese, and Chinese to help them with the translation of book titles, authors, publications, summaries, and subject analysis of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese books.

The Information Technology Center has added four new computers to the 16 that are already available

Ajoste said that an Online Public Access Catalog would soon be available for all of JKPL’s books in the CNMI and worldwide.

Reference books such as almanacs will be updated each year.

Other improvements being eyed are possibly a weekly Saturday book sale and garage sale in the parking lot and vendors and outdoor book reading for customers at the library’s front. The back side of the library is now undergoing an expansion.

“People don’t realize the importance of a library until there is no library, which is why we’re reaching out to the community.” Ajoste said.

Highlights

JKPL programs highlight the library’s growing involvement with the community.

That includes Saturday programs, such as the Children’s Read Aloud at 10:30am, family movie days at 1pm, and the Bookmobile that goes to certain villages or centers from 11:30am to 2:30pm.

There are ukulele classes on Tuesdays from 3:30pm to 4:30pm and Thursdays from 4:45pm to 5:45pm, which is taught by Larry Lee.

Bookmobile Routes focus on schools, during which JKPL goes to five schools to encourage reading among schoolchildren.

AV2 Books are one of the featured highlights of the Children Center at JKPL, where a young reader logs in with the book’s code and finds related activities and reading materials that they will enjoy for their age.

The library also makes book donations to the adult prison and Juvenile Detention Center in Kagman, Guma Esparanza, youth centers in Tanapag, Koblerville, and Gualo Rai, and the Salvation Army.

Ajoste noted that JKPL would partner with the Division of Public Health and Department of Community and Cultural Affairs for a showdown on April 13-19, 2014, at the Garapan Roundhouse, followed by the Kick-Butts Rally.

Another event this April is Library Month, which will kick off in late March.

“Google can bring you back one million answers, but a librarian can bring you the correct one,” Ajoste said.