Nahant Library staff readies online database

NAHANT – One might think copying catalogue information for 30,000 individual books would be a daunting and tedious task, but for Nahant Library Chief Assistant Irene Purdy, it?s relaxing.For Purdy, putting her hands on each book to place a shiny new bar code on its cracked spine reminds her of why she makes her living surrounded by books. “My ?have to read? list keeps getting longer,” said Purdy as she put another book into the system. “I find it really peaceful.”Purdy and the rest of the library?s staff have been working since last November inputting book titles and authors into the new online cataloguing system that Director Jen Inglis brought to Nahant and “brought it into the 21st century” when she was hired a year ago but, according to Inglis, the endless work has only raised the staff?s spirits.?It?s becoming a reality,” said Inglis. “There?s a light at the end of the tunnel.”Even as other libraries fight to keep a status in their communities as an important resource, Inglis said Nahant has extra pressure because it is 30 years behind, being without an online database for cataloguing for so long. Inglis hopes Nahant will have a piece of the online database by the end of 2013 and definitely before next summer.?Jen?s made a big difference since she got here a year ago,” said Children?s Librarian Kim Carmody-Hosker. “She hit the ground running.”For Inglis, it might as well be fall as her mind is already on the five-year plan she will submit to the state in a few months that will allow the Nahant Library to be eligible for more grants.?There?s lots of areas we can grow,” said Inglis. “We have top-of-the-line systems for 1895, but we need to do some work.”One of the things on Inglis? wish list includes some performance space for speakers, but with a building as old as the Nahant Library?s, there is a lot to do. Recently it took $600 to fix a doorknob, and a $30,000 grant from the Community Preservation Act went to three specific things: to fix the windows, the crumbling tile issues and replace the skylight on the roof.?If you want the library to be a growing institution ? it?s a lot of little teeny tiny things that add up,” said Inglis.In the meantime, the library is gearing up for summer programing, with 20 programs happening at the library over the next six weeks. In addition to registering 55 children for the traditional summer reading program, the library will feature an adult and teen program for the first time in years, according to Carmody-Hosker, all with an archaeology and “underneath the surface” theme.Carmody-Hosker said the surge in attendance is encouraging, since the ultimate goal for the online database is to be more patron-friendly. Inglis and Carmody-Hosker will soon be conducting interviews in town trying to find out what programs patrons are interested in.?What we want is for people to just know that we have programs,” said Inglis.To find out more about the library?s programs, check out the library?s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NahantPublicLibrary.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].