Monday, July 16, 2012
The Library of the Chathams wants to know which of these bookmarks is your favorite.
This year, children who participate in the Summer Reading Club at the Library of the Chathams created original bookmarks promoting reading. The bookmarks are now on display at the library in the main foyer, and members of the public are invited to vote on their favorite one. "People are really getting into it," Library Director Diane O'Brien said. "I didn't think they'd take it so seriously." The bookmarks have a unique label, and people who visit the library can submit secret ballots for their favorite bookmark in each age group. Voting remains open until Saturday, July 21.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Plan will look at library's needs over next 5 years.
The Library of the Chathams will begin putting together a strategic plan that takes a look at the intended use and goals of the library up to five years down the line. Library Director Diane O’Brien said during Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting the New Jersey State Library has charged each library to come up with these plans. “A lot of things like this are worked on and put in a file and nobody ever looks at it again,” O’Brien said. “But it helps us to strategize and think about how we see the library in the next several years.” Although she has already begun the process, using plans from other libraries – including Princeton and Morristown – she asked the trustees whether they would like to assist in the drafting process or if they have…
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The Library of the Chathams
214 Main St, Chatham, NJ
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011
O'Brien expresses her concerns over space, timing issues.
The director of the Library of the Chathams discussed the various concerns she has about the ceiling and lighting construction project set to take place in the building in the near future. A portion of the library stacks where approximately 70,000 older books are kept will be off-limits to the public for two weeks while renovations are made to that area to improve the lighting and replace the current tiles that are falling apart. During Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, Diane O’Brien said one of the major concerns is space utilization, especially finding a place to store books that had been taken out before the construction and can’t be placed back in the stacks. To alleviate this problem, she said the staff will probably take over the …
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The Library of the Chathams
214 Main St, Chatham, NJ
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Friday, August 19, 2011
The Kiwanis Club of the Chathams, Women's Club of the Chathams and the Friends of the Library made the picnic possible.
Chatham children, parents and community volunteers gathered in Memorial Park Thursday to celebrate the end of the Library of the Chathams' Summer Reading Club. This year's theme was "One World, Many Stories." Seven teams, each named after one of the world's continents, competed to see who could read the most books. Each book was worth between two and 20 points, based on how long it was and how many questions the children could answer about them. To get an invitation to the party, children had to accumulate 40 points. According to Laura Weinbaum, the head of the Children's Department in the library, 126 volunteers donated 1,388 hours. Participating children read a total of 10,251 books, with the team Australia winning the competition with 1…
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The Library of the Chathams
214 Main St, Chatham, NJ
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The bids for the construction are due Aug. 3, and the work will begin about a month and a half later.
Four contractors attended Tuesday morning's pre-bid conference to inquire about renovations that need to be made at the Library of the Chathams. The companies will decide if they wish to take on the work that needs to be done to the ceiling in the stack area and submit bids within the next week. The bids will be opened on Aug. 3 and the work will be awarded to the lowest bidder. "The specifications (of the bids) were available on (July) 18," said Library Director Diane O'Brien. "This is where they ask questions, clarify anything they don't understand and have a chance to look at the site. The ones that decide to bid will come back next week with the bid." If none of the companies, which will remain anonymous until the bids are opened, …
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The Library of the Chathams
214 Main St, Chatham, NJ
/articles/library-prepares-for-renovation-work
83299
/locations/4943595
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Director Diane O'Brien hopes the new site will be up by the end of the year, but the technology specialist thinks it may take longer.
The wheels are in motion fo the The Library of the Chathams to get a new website. “I would love to see it done by the end of the year, but I’m not sure that’s going to happen,” said Diane O’Brien, the library director, but she said that right now there is no set date for the the new website to go live. Tom Gray, the library’s technology specialist since 2008, gave a presentation at the library's Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday evening where he unveiled the prototype for the new website. The home page has six drop-down menu categories – Community, Events, General Information, Library Catalog, Research and Services. The drawing of the library building which exists on the current site is still present on the prototype, in addition to a …
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The Library of the Chathams
214 Main St, Chatham, NJ
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The bidding process will begin on Aug. 3.
Public bids will appear in local newspapers on Friday for work on a portion of the Library of the Chathams. “There’s a ceiling in the stack area where the older books are, it’s been there since 1981 and the tiles are old and falling apart,” Library Director Diane O’Brien said. “There’s a 1,000-square foot addition at the end that’s beautifully lit. This part is old and it’s hard to see the bottom shelves when you’re in there. The lighting is really bad. The ceiling tiles and the lights will change.” On July 18, potential bidders can go to the architect’s office to look at what work needs to be done. The library will hold a pre-bid conference where interested parties can ask questions about the job on July 26, and the following day is the …
40.740261
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The Library of the Chathams
214 Main St, Chatham, NJ
/articles/roofing-improvements-needed-at-chatham-library
83299
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Cindy Caporaso
7:09 pm on Thursday, June 30, 2011
Good luck, Diane! I know it will be great and I look forward to an updated website! more ›