Volunteering at the office: cataloging books

Now that we have our cozy office and our computer, volunteers are welcome to come and find out for themselves at first hand how we operate. One of the regular tasks is simply entering all the titles we own into our online catalog at LibraryThing. This is a very good way to become familiar with our offerings!

For those of you inclined to get more involved with the nuts and bolts of library operation, we have a list of JTEL office chores and tasks that you can do. Chief among them is familiarizing yourself with the library's organization  and policies, history, building plans, grant applications, minutes, fundraisers, and so forth. It's important that our members and particularly our volunteers understand the library they are a part of!

The next item on the list is cataloging books and movies that have been donated to the Ester library. We started our online catalog in January 2008, and two or three volunteers have so far catalogued a total of 1,320 titles over the last three years. All the books that are on the shelves in the library itself have cards and card pockets and are ready for members to borrow them, but most of them are uncatalogued—which means that really, neither the board nor the members knows what we have.

So cataloging our collection is quite important. If you'd like to help with this task, Deirdre Helfferich (JTEL board president and chief cataloger) can show you how to do it (call 451-0636 or e-mail info@esterlibrary.org). There is also a how-to guide on the office computer. An alias on the computer desktop, LibraryThing how-to.pages, will open up a step-by-step guide to LibraryThing and the cataloging process.

We have an office coffeepot, so you are welcome to make yourself a cup of coffee or tea and spend an hour or two entering titles, reading up on the library, or just reading one of the many books here on our bookshelves. Enjoy!

Capital Campaign Committee meeting Jan. 26

The next meeting of the Capital Campaign Committee for the Ester library is this week, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 6 pm at the JTEL office (studio #8 at the Annex gallery, 2922 Parks Highway).

We'll be discussing the community survey, logos, the lallapalooza, the FY 2012 appropriations request, and more. Library members are encouraged to come!

Looking for librarypalooza volunteers!

The 7th annual Library Lallapalooza and Book Bash is coming up on Sunday, February 27, from 2 to 5 pm at the Annex. As usual, this fundraiser has several aspects.

• the music: Monique Musick and Bob Huebert are rounding up volunteers to perform at the librarypalooza. We'll have live background music throughout the afternoon.
• the Pastapalooza: Ken Bluhm is organizing the lasagne feed. If you would like to help him with this or want to take a spell serving pasta to the public, contact him at 978-8089.
• the auctions: this year, there will be an outcry auction as well as the four silent auctions. If you'd like to donate an item for the auction, or help close tables or work the payment booth, contact Trey Simmons at pacotrey@gmail.com or call Jeff Rogers at 474-1694.
• the fashion show: Amy Cameron is once again curating a fashion show, and needs runway models and fabric artists to convert library t-shirts into pret-a-porter items or one-of-a-kind fashion statements. Contact her at badwhitedog@gmail.com or 388-9183 if you'd like to join the JTEL Sewing Consortium or walk the library strut at the 'Palooza.
• not last and not least, the desserts: We'll be featuring fabulous desserts during the outcry auction. If you'd like to contribute a dessert, please contact Melinda Harris at 378-6744.

Passive House library

At the Construction Committee meeting on Sunday, there was considerable discussion about the Passive House standard as a guide for the design of the new library. Passive House is a rigorous energy performance standard that originated in Germany in the 1990s. Here's the basics:

Performance Characteristics

• Airtight building shell ≤ 0.6 ACH @ 50 pascal pressure, measured by blower-door test.

• Annual heat requirement ≤ 15 kWh/m2/year (4.75 kBtu/sf/yr)

• Primary Energy ≤ 120 kWh/m2/year (38.1 kBtu/sf/yr)

In addition, the following are recommendations, varying with climate:

• Window u-value ≤ 0.8 W/m2/K

• Ventilation system with heat recovery with ≥ 75% efficiency with low electric consumption @ 0.45 Wh/m3

• Thermal Bridge Free Construction ≤ 0.01 W/mK

This kind of construction is so energy-efficient, the buildings don't need a furnace! The JTEL board and the construction committee are leaning toward this design standard because it will keep operating costs for the building very, very low. Passive House is a performance standard only, however; unlike the LEED standard, the greeness of the materials or whether they are of local manufacture is not a consideration. For more information on the Passive House standard, check out these links:

• detailed information on what makes a building a Passive House
• Passive House Institute of the US
• Swiss Passive House equivalent: the Minergie standard
• Wikipedia entry on Passive House

Upcoming library meetings

The Fundraising & Capital Campaign Committee meets this Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 6 pm at the JTEL office. On the agenda are library logos, a community survey, Librarypalooza planning, and the marketing plan. The Capital Campaign Committee's meetings are open to any library members who wish to help with fundraising.

The Construction Committee is tentatively meeting on Sunday, January 9, 4 pm at the Golden Eagle.

The JTEL board meeting is the week after, on Thursday, Jan. 13, at 7 pm at the JTEL office. Board meetings are open to any library member. The final review of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit application will be held at this meeting. For more information, please see the agenda.

2011 Library Lallapalooza needs help!

The 7th annual John Trigg Ester Library Lallapalooza & Book Bash is coming up! This fundraiser for the Ester library will be held Sunday Feb. 27 from 2-5 PM at The Annex, and features a silent auction (2-5PM), lasagne feed (3 PM), and outcry auction (4 PM), and, of course, fabulous entertainment and fashion!

If you are interested in performing at the Librarypalooza, please contact Monique Musick at 388-4784. Spots are limited, so please contact us early!

Details on the dessert auction will be posted here soon. Melinda Harris is coordinating this event, and may be reached at 378-6744.

Donations for the outcry and silent auctions are needed! If you're interested in donating or volunteering, contact organizers Nancy Burnham (the__annex@hotmail.com, 457-6668) or Trey Simmons (pacotrey@gmail.com, 452-0518).