Monterey Public Library was the recipient of a Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award in the Education category, presented at the Chamber’s 24^th annual event on July 29.  In recognizing the Library the Chamber took into consideration six factors: 1) Long and short-term goals; 2) Performance / Product Excellence; 3) Employee Satisfaction; 4) Sustainability; 5) Chamber and Community Involvement; and 6) Success Factor.  Every one of these areas of excellence is a tribute to the Library staff at all levels, the Library Board, the Friends of the Library, and the City of Monterey which provides funding for Library services.  

This honor comes at a very important time as many public services are threatened by economic uncertainty and Library staff is working harder with fewer resources to provide the best possible service to meet our vision to “Inspire, Delight, and Educate All.”  It is a powerful reminder that the Library is valued by business and civic organizations for the contribution it makes to the stability and well-being of our entire community.

Thank you, Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, for your vote of confidence!

With a nod to to Charles Dickens, at the Monterey Public Library we are once again celebrating wonderful events and opportunities - and preparing for the loss of services that our community has enjoyed for decades.

Today was the last Sunday that the lights and computers were switched on, the books were straightened and shelved, the doors were unlocked and welcoming staff helped hundreds of customers during four open hours.  Seven-day-a-week service has been a tradition at Monterey Public Library for over thirty years, and we very much regret closing this day for our community (an average of 500 visits made per Sunday).

Due to the loss of one-time funding from the City (which kept Sunday hours open last fiscal year), and pending layoffs of three valued library staff members, the Library will be operating with reduced open hours beginning August 1.

Our new schedule will be closed Sundays, open Monday through Wednesday 12 noon to 8 p.m. and open Thursday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Storytimes will move to Thursday mornings, and Saturday open hours will be increased from four to eight.  

We hope the added hours on Saturday will help those who can only visit the Library on the weekend.  We know there are many of you - and we especially realized that during the Library's Summer Reading Program that just ended last week.

What a summer it was! Over 11,000 (yes, that's right - over eleven thousand!) books were read by Monterey Public Library's young readers; over 350 children, teens and adults celebrated at a high-spirited beach party for the End of Summer Reading last Wednesday.

And supporting all those young readers are the tireless Friends of the Monterey Public Library, who were out in full-force at this past weekend's Author's Event at the Barnyard to help raise money for the Monterey, Carmel, Pacific Grove and County libraries.  There were over 40 authors, colorful books, warm personalities and local celebrities in attendance - along with hundreds of booklovers.  

Their efforts have already raised hundreds and hundreds of dollars this month - at the City's 4th of July Lawn Party, monthly book sale, through a Borders Express benefit shopping weekend - and all the proceeds go to buy more books and materials.  Three cheers for our Friends!

So, although it was with sadness that I left the Library at 5 p.m. closing tonight - along with the energetic Sunday staff team - Dina, Inga, Joslyn, Mariann, Elliot, Jodee (look for a blog post from these folks soon), it was also with hope - that we can wait out these difficult times together, keep seeking innovative ways of delivering services to our community, raising funds and revenues - and maybe, someday, opening the doors on Sunday once again.

Shades and Stories of Monterey, a documentary film produced by the Library about life in Monterey during the mid-20th century, based on individual stories told on-camera by longtime residents and filled with photos collected from the albums of local families, now available on DVD.  Buy from Library Store $10, or call 831.646.3949. 

A reminder that because of budget and staff cuts for the fiscal year that began July 1, the Library will be reducing operating hours. Effective August 1, the Library will be closed on Sundays, and open Monday through Wednesday 12 noon - 8 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.  

Our staff will do our best to provide good service to you, but there may be longer waits for service.  We appreciate your support and patience. 

The City of Monterey is looking for volunteers to assist with presenting, interpreting and preserving Monterey history. A meeting for prospective volunteers will be held on Wednesday, July 7, from 7 - 8:30 p.m., in the City of Monterey's Emergency Operations Center.  The presentation will include an introduction to Monterey history and an orientation to the duties and responsibilities of volunteering at the Presidio of Monterey Museum, Colton Hall Museum and California History Room in the Monterey Public Library. Following this meeting, interested volunteers may sign up for three training sessions, which will be held on July 14, 21 and 28.  More detail

The Monterey Public Library Board responded to budget and staff cuts for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, by approving a reduced schedule of Library operating hours.  Effective August 1, the Library will be closed on Sundays, and the schedule for the remaining days of the week will be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 12 noon - 8 p.m., and Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

The decision to eliminate Sunday hours was based on library use patterns and a customer and public survey taken in Spring 2009.  Even though Sunday was cited as the least popular day among survey respondents, 600 people come into the Library on an average Sunday, so this was a decision that was made with regret. 

Are you one of the many Library customers learning a new language? If so, prepare to take some notes. As of July 1st, our subscription to Mango Languages, a subscription product that allowed our customers to access self-paced online courses in a great number of languages, ceased. We have switched to a new subscription product, Powerspeak, that provides more content such as videos, stories, and interactive graphics, but a more limited selection of languages.

For all of you studying Afrikaans or Greek (among others), you'll want to take a look at our recently updated Language-Learning Subject Guide. This page has tons of links to free web-based language sites, providing everything from phrase guides and video courses to podcasts and interactive games. If you want more, browse movies in the Library's collection that are dubbed or have subtitles in the language you are studying, or watch our video on translating Library magazine articles into the language of your choice.