December Saturday Seminar will be at Haggard!

Our Saturday Seminar on December 15th will be at the Haggard Library! It will be in the program room - as you enter the outer front doors, make an immediate right and the doors to the room are in front of you. Please note that the times will change as well - the doors will open at 10:00 a.m. and we will be done by 12:30.

The program is our annual "Show and Tell" - bring a project or research you have done in 2007 and share it with us! The genealogy area won't be finished by then but if you want to do some research after the seminar, you may use the library computers in the other areas to research on Ancestry, Footnote, or other websites.

The Haggard library is located on Coit Rd., between Parker and Park. Here is more information on finding the library from the City of Plano's website - W.O. Haggard, Jr. Library.

Annual Meeting This Sunday

This is a reminder of Genfriend's Annual Meeting next Sunday (Dec. 2, 2007). It is a luncheon meeting and will be held at 1:00pm in Mexi-Go Restaurant, Spring Creek and Coit in Plano. We will be reporting on this past year's Financial results, and recapping the events of our 10th year. We will also be electing Directors for the next year using the ballot previously sent out. You may print it out and bring to the meeting, or mail it in as instructed in the email. If you have not renewed your membership, you may do so at the meeting. Additional copies of the Ballot will be available at the meeting. Please RSVP if you are planning to attend. There will be a Board meeting immediately following the close of the Annual Meeting for the purpose of electing officer(s).

Sneak peak at the new genealogy area

Here are a few photos of the new genealogy area at Haggard Library. While boxes are empty and books are on the shelves, there is still more work to be done (and furniture to arrive) before it is ready to open.

November Saturday Seminar is at Harrington

The November Saturday Seminar will be at Harrington library as usual - doors open 9:10 am, seminar from 9:30 to noon.

We'll let you know when a decision on the location for the December Saturday Seminar is made.

A bit messy right now, but it will be great!

The books and microfilm are all at Haggard Library, but there are still many boxes to be unpacked. It will take some time to get the collection organized on the shelves and in the drawers. There is some construction being done, along with equipment being installed.

A messy place right now, but it will be great when finished!!

The move has begun!

After a long while of waiting, it happened suddenly. The microfilm has been packed up and the books are in the process of being moved onto carts for the trip to Haggard. The collection will not be accessible for about a month as the basement of Haggard is finished and the materials are organized. We'll keep you updated on changes and any information of the grand opening (probably sometime in December or January).

In the meantime, the genealogy databases (Ancestry Library Edition, Footnote.com, etc.) are still available from any Plano library. And you can still access the TexShare databases from home!

Message from Brenda

The message below was sent this morning, July 27, 2007 to Adam Rosenfield reporter with The Plano Star Courier. He is covering the council agreement to accept the dollar figure proposed by the library. The figure asked for the construction of the genealogy department is $461,200. It is a shame they don't have enough staff to support the new genealogy area when the new section is completed!

SEE BELOW:

The purpose of this note is to advise of significant changes taking place within the Plano Public Library System and specifically the Genealogy Section.

As most of you know the Genealogy collection will be moving to a dedicated facility at Haggard Library from its current location at Harrington; the current target for the move is October. Many of you also know that a Supervisor for the Genealogy Section has been hired (David Hardin) and he has been hard at work for some time expanding the Collection as well as preparing for this move. The Genealogy facility will have its own dedicated staff, which was announced this week: David, and long time Genealogy Friends supporters Cheryl Smith and Tom Turner. They will report to Karen Risser, Asst Library Director.

The move and it's impact on Genealogy Friends' operations has been an ongoing item of discussion for some time. Certain decisions were made recently by Library management, and were revealed at a meeting on June 14 with some members of the GF Board.

A summary of the meeting may be found on the Genfriends Blog at:
http://genfriends.blogspot.com/ under the title "Changes are Afoot".
You will find links to other City of Plano governing bodies activities and minutes of meetings (Library Advisory Board, City Council) on the page as well. You may sign up to post comments on the Blog if you wish, just follow the instructions under "Getting Started".

The principal changes are:

• No events at Haggard can extend beyond the normal Library operating hours. This translates into no more Lock-ins in their current form after the one currrently scheduled on July 13. Saturday Seminars, if held at Haggard, cannot start until after 10:00AM. We have been advised that they may continue as in the past if held at Harrington; however, a long term reservation at that location cannot be guaranteed.


• Due to the limited Staff, the operating hours of the Genealogy facility will be limited to 40 hours per week, as follows: Normal Library System Hours are in ():



Monday: 1:00- 5:00 (10:00 - 9:00)
Tuesday: 10:00 - 5:00 (10:00 - 9:00)
Wednesday: 10:00 - 7:00 (10:00 - 9:00)
Thursday: 10:00 - 7:00 (10:00 - 9:00)
Friday: 1:00 - 5:00 (10:00 - 6:00)
Saturday: 10:00 - 5:00 (10:00 - 6:00)
Sunday: Closed (1:00 - 5:00)



• These hours may be revised if the Genealogy traffic volume warrants. You will note the dramatic reduction in available Genealogy Research time (from 64 to 40 hours). The major issue here is that genealogists who work will have only the 7 hours on Saturday to research.


• Note: Traffic activity is being measured by 'book pulls': If you remove a book or film from the shelf for research, you DO NOT reshelve it yourself, the librarians will count it and reshelve it.


• Our practice of requesting donations for paid speakers and other fund raisers for the ultimate benefit of the library is no longer allowed, at least until further notice. This subject is being reviewed with neighboring library systems that do allow paid events.


• These and related subjects will be discussed at the next GF Board meeting on July 17, 7-9 pm at Haggard Library. Members are welcome.

Links of Interest

Here are some links to help keep you informed:

City of Plano website

The Plano Library Advisory Board

• Agendas
• Minutes

The Plano City Council

• Agendas
• Minutes

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.

Getting started

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