Changes are Afoot

With the move of the genealogy collection from the Harrington Library to the Haggard Library comes changes to how Genealogy Friends will be able to operate. This is a summary of notes taken at meetings in April and June, 2007, with David Hardin, Genealogy Librarian, and Karen Risser, Library Operations Manager:

• No word yet on when the move will take place. Bids on furniture and construction have been received and opened, the next step is approval by the Plano City Council.
• Hours for the genealogy area at opening and the first few months will be:
• Monday 1:00 - 5:00
• Tuesday 10:00 - 5:00
• Wednesday 10:00 - 7:00
• Thursday 10:00 - 7:00
• Friday 1:00 - 5:00
• Saturday 10:00 - 5:00
• Sunday closed
• The hours may be adjusted later depending on usage.
• The earlier closings will be a problem for GenFriends members who work late.
• Normal library hours are Monday thru Thursday 10:00 - 9:00, Friday and Saturday 10:00 - 6:00, and Sunday 1:00 - 5:00.
• There will be 3 full-time staffers. After a few months, usage will be evaluated and this may change.
• The genealogy area will be exclusively for genealogy research.
• One of the main concerns is the time Genealogy Friends is using the library that is outside the normal operating hours, since this creates problems with staff overtime. Saturday Seminars will be limited to starting no earlier than 10:00 am (when the library opens) instead of the current room set-up starting around 9:00 am. This would push the ending to 1:00 pm instead of noon. An option is to make it an afternoon meeting.
• Lockins will have to end at the time the library closes. It might be possible to occasionally hold lockins during the time the genealogy area is normally closed until the library closes (5:00 - 9:00 pm).
• We won't be able to ask for a donation to attend events at the library, such as lockins or workshops. This will seriously impede our ability to raise funds to buy materials to donate to the library. We will be able to keep the "fishbowl" for donations and continue selling books and t-shirts. Research is ongoing on how other libraries handle events that have donation for admission. It is also possible that the library might partner with GenFriends and help finance a workshop with a national speaker. Another option is looking for another site to hold workshops and be able to have an admission charge to cover the costs of the event and a donation to the library.
• The library's budget for the genealogy section has been increased substantially.
• The program room on the first floor of Haggard is comparable to the Harrington program room. Haggard also has a conference room on the second floor available for use. There will be a meeting room in the basement by the genealogy area that will be reserved for use by genealogy groups and classes.
• Haggard doesn't have a computer lab like Harrington, but there is a possibility laptops and wi-fi might be available for classes.