Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Library Support Groups Schedule Events

Our two library support organizations have events during October.

Friends of the Library Author Dinner featuring John Ed Bradley takes place on Tuesday, October 14th at the Petroleum Club. Visit the Friends' site for more information. The Friends hold book sales twice a year. They support many library programs and activities each year with the proceeds from the book sales.





The Lafayette Public Library Foundation's Annual Trolley Tales fundraiser will take place on Sunday, October 19th. Trolley Tours of Historic Lafayette will happen at 1:30 and 3:00. This is a family oriented event and will feature Children's entertainer/musician Johnette Downing, Creole Folklorist and Storyteller Rebecca Henry, and Cajun Storyteller "Nonc Allain". Visit the Foundation's website for details.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Hurricane Ike - Reopening

UPDATED 3:00 Saturday Posted By Sona


CLOSINGS: All Lafayette Public Library locations remain CLOSED on Saturday, September 13th.

REOPENINGS FOR SUNDAY: The Main Library and the Southside Branch Library in Time Plaza will be OPEN for regular hours on Sunday, September 14th. These locations will open at 1:00 pm and close at 5:00 pm. North Regional Library in Carencro will remain closed this Sunday only.

FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY BOOK SALE EXTENDED: The Friends of the Library will hold over their book sale for one day. The sale will be open from 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday, September 14th. The sale is open to the public and is located in the Main Library meeting room at 301 W. Congress St. See the Friends site for updated information. Paperback books are 50 cents per inch and hardbacks are $1 per inch. Choice books are those that are published in the last two years or those that are considered special. These books, and Old and Unusual Books (those published more than 50 years ago) are twice the price - $1 for paperbacks and $2 for hardbacks. DVD’s are $3.50 each, CD’s $2 and cassettes are 25 cents. There are still many bargains to be had for Acadiana's bibliophiles.

REOPENINGS - MONDAY: All Library locations will reopen at their regular time on Monday, September 15th.

EMPLOYEES: All employees scheduled to work on Sunday, September 14th at Main and Southside should report for work as scheduled. All employees are to report for their regular shift on Monday, September 15th.

LIBRARY PATRONS: All items due during the days we closed are now due September 15th. Items on hold waiting for pickup have been extended to September 16th.




Friday, September 12, 2008

Hurricane Ike Closings

UPDATED 9:30 AM Friday Posted By Sona


CLOSED - FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: Lafayette Public Library - all locations - will be CLOSED due to Hurricane Ike all day Friday, September 12th and Saturday, September 13th.
Essential personnel (maintenance, IT, managers) should be on standby concerning Friday, Saturday, Sunday.


CANCELLED: Regrettably the Friends of the Library book sale is CANCELLED for Friday and Saturday. Author's Alley set for Saturday afternoon is also cancelled and will be rescheduled as soon as possible.


REOPENING PLANS: We tentatively plan to reopen the Main Library and Southside Libraries ONLY on Sunday from 1:00 - 5:00 should our facilities have power/Internet/no damage.


EMPLOYEES: Non-essential Library employees are officially on Civil Leave - at this time for Friday only (see the LCG website or the Library Blog for details) and are expected to check in with their supervisor regarding their scheduled Sunday or Monday shifts.



LIBRARY PATRONS: please hold your library materials until we reopen. All items due during this time are now due September 15th. Items on hold waiting for pickup have been extended to September 16th.


ACCESS TO ONLINE: We are leaving up our web page and our online catalog. However, if the Library loses power, these systems will not be available until power is restored and we can safely restart them.


Staff and Public: please monitor Library Director's blog and the LCG website for updates during Ike.



We apologize for this necessary inconvenience.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Thursday, Sept 11 - 7 pm UPDATE

The Lafayette Public Library - all locations - will be closed due to Hurricane Ike all day Friday, September 12th and Saturday, September 13th. With the anticipated high winds - possibly sustained, there is a strong potential for road hazards - trees/power lines, etc.

The Friends of the Library book sale is cancelled for Friday and Saturday.

We tentatively plan to reopen the Main Library and Southside Libraries ONLY on Sunday from 1:00 - 5:00 should our facilities have power/Internet/no damage.

Non-essential Library employees are officially on Civil Leave - at this time for Friday Only (see below) and are expected to check in with their supervisor regarding their scheduled Sunday or Monday shifts.

Patrons - please hold your library materials until we reopen. We will announce it through this site, as well as in the media. Items waiting to be picked up will have hold dates extended once we reopen.

We will be bringing down our servers, including our web page and our online catalog, by Friday morning. Those services will be unavailable until at least Sunday. Note that we will be redirecting traffic from our web page to this blog site.

We apologize for this necessary inconvenience.


From City/Parish President Joey Durel:

Title
Civil Leave Declared for LCG Employees
Date/Time
9/11/2008 6:25:00 PM
Details
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2008

"Civil Leave Declared on Friday September 12 for LCG Employees
LAFAYETTE – Civil Leave has been declared by City-Parish President Joey Durel for Lafayette Consolidated Government employees for Friday, September 12 and LCG will be closed for routine business.

Thurs - Sept 11th: 3:50 pm Notice to Library Employees Regarding Ike

Posted by Sona - on Thursday late afternoon. All Library Employees should monitor tv stations, be in contact with their supervisors, and check this and the LCG website for any updates concerning potential library closings and/or civil leave.

Here is the latest message from City/Parish President Durel to all employees of the government (including the library employees).

Title
Hurricane Ike Message to LCG Employees
Date/Time
9/11/2008 3:50:00 PM
Details
Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 4:00 p.m.
Hurricane Ike Message to LCG Employees
As it pertains to Hurricane Ike, a decision will be made following the 5:00 p.m. briefing at the EOC as to whether or not Lafayette Consolidated Government Employees will be on Civil Leave tomorrow, Friday September 12, 2008. Please watch the news, check the LCG website, and stay in touch with your supervisor regarding the decision.

Sincerely,

L.J. "Joey" Durel, Jr.

Monday, September 08, 2008

September 8th

A new week. A new storm. We are watching Ike and taking necessary advance precautions.

Meanwhile, Library Life goes on. This week, the Friends of the Library booksale and all other library events are currently scheduled to happen as planned.

-Sona.

Friday, September 05, 2008

Library Status

All Lafayette Public Library locations have reopened with our regular hours.

Public Access computers for checking email or using the internet are available at all locations. If you are a Lafayette Parish resident (including any of the cities and towns in Lafayette Parish), you can reserve a computer with your library card. Anyone from other areas can use our computers as visitors. Please ask a Library Info Desk staff member for assistance.

The Friends of the Library Book Sale will take place as planned next week. Friends Members' Preview Night is Wednesday, September 10th. The sale is open to the public on Thursday (Sept 11th), Friday (Sept 12th), and Saturday (Sept 13th). Please visit the Friends' website for additional information.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Thursday September 4th - 11 am

Welcome back to staff and public.

All Library locations are open and computers are operational. Butler Branch will reopen at 3 this afternoon when the King Rec Center opens.

All locations will close by 6 p.m. today but will reopen for a regular schedule on Friday.

Internet and online catalog are up. However, Lafayette Utilities is about to change out a utility pole at the corner and there is a chance the Main Library may lose power for up to an hour. If this happens, none of our automated services (web page, catalog, or public Internet access) will work until power is restored. We apologize in advance for this necessary inconvenience.

-Sona.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Wednesday, September 3rd - 5 p.m. Update

Ok, so Gustav decided he liked the food in Louisiana. He stuck around for another day, dropping some heavy rains, including in Lafayette Parish. This hampered cleanup efforts a bit, but thanks to Larry, Donald, Mark, Chuck, Danny, Teresa (and Sam), Adam, and Elizabeth - we will be ready to open in the morning.

ALL STAFF SHOULD REPORT TO THEIR REGULAR LIBRARY FACILITY AT THE SCHEDULED TIME UNLESS YOU HEAR OTHERWISE FROM YOUR SUPERVISOR OR TERESA. JEANS MAY BE WORN TO WORK FOR THE REST OF THIS WEEK (THROUGH THE WEEKEND).

LAFAYETTE PARISH PUBLIC WORKS AND LUS CREWS HAVE BEEN DILIGENTLY WORKING TO CLEAR THE STREETS AND RESTORE POWER. MOST OF OUR FACILITIES NOW HAVE POWER AND ARE ACCESSIBLE.

REOPENINGS:

Most locations of the Lafayette Public Library will be open on Thursday,
September 4th
beginning at the regular opening time. Some locations will
have early closings due to staffing issues. Here are our Thursday hours:

Main Library - open at 8:30 a.m. ; closing at 6 p.m. Computers and
internet are up and running

North Regional Library in Carencro - open at 9 a.m. ; closing at 6 p.m.
Computers and internet are up and running.


Southside Library in Time Plaza
- open at 9 a.m. ; closing at 6 p.m. We expect computers and the internet to be up by opening time.

Youngsville, Broussard, Milton - open regular hours - we expect computers and the internet to be up by noon at the latest.

Chenier Center Library - expected to open at 9 a.m. ; closing at 6 p.m. We expect computers and the internet to be up by opening time.

Scott Branch, Duson Branch, and Butler Branch (King Center) Libraries - please call the Branch on Thursday or call the main library director's office at 261-5781 after 10 a.m. on Thursday to check on the status of these facilities.


All due dates have been extended until Sunday, September 7th and all holds ready to be picked up this week will be kept until Monday, September 8th.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Update - Tuesday Sept 2nd - 4 p.m.

We bid a good-riddance to Hurricane Gustav.

Staff is currently getting the libraries back in order and we plan to reopen on Thursday at most facilities.


The library catalog is up as of today, Tuesday afternoon. A link to it on the right of this blog page. Our web page is currently redirected to this blog. We expect to revise on Thursday.

The Library System will remain CLOSED on Tuesday and Wednesday, but is expected to REOPEN on Thursday. Individual locations may be unable to reopen but the Main Library and Southside WILL reopen on Thursday morning at the normal time. See below for status of individual facilities.

Book returns at the Main Library and North Regional are open. Southside's book return will be open tomorrow afternoon. Other book drops remain locked. We urge you to keep your library materials until we reopen on Thursday. Due dates have been extended until Sunday, September 7th.

All staff are due to report back for their scheduled shift on Thursday, September 4th. Unless otherwise notified, they should report to their regular library facility. Internet access will be available for anyone in Lafayette or other Parishes. Special visitor computers will be designated at our locations as needed.

Status of facilities:

Main Library - a few tree limbs downed. Power is up. Internet is up. All servers and systems up and running. Wi-fi is running. Book returns are open. Key staff to report Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. to ready the interior for Thursday's reopening at 8:30 a.m.

North Regional Library - a few trees down. Power IS DOWN. Book return is open. Status remains uncertain for Thursday, depending on power restoration. Please check back tomorrow for an update.

Southside Library - no damage to interior. Power is up. Book return will reopen Wednesday afternoon. Staff will be restoring computer and internet access on Wednesday in preparation for a reopening Thursday morning.

Reports on the other facilities unavailable at this time. Please check back tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 2nd - 11 am

We hope everyone made it safely thru Gustav. We are still assessing the status of our libraries and will update as soon as possible.

Facility Status -

North Regional Library: building fine, some trees and debris. No electricity.

For Library Patrons - all our facilities remain CLOSED on Tuesday Sept 2nd and Wednesday Sept 3rd. Please check back to see if which Library Facilities are open on Thursday Sept 4th. Our book returns remain locked at this time. If possible, we will reopen them, but please keep your materials until Thursday. All due dates for items due this week were changed to next week.

For Library Employees -

Message to LCG Employees from Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel:

Lafayette Consolidated Government Employees should report to work at the start of their shift Thursday morning September 4, 2008.


From Sona to Employees -

We hope to reopen on Thursday morning at the regular time. You will need to report for work at your regular shift unless notified differently. If your facility is still out of power, you may be reassigned to a different library facility.


From Sona to first responder Employees -

Please monitor this for an update. Currently I anticipate calling you in for a work day tomorrow at the main library beginning at 9 am. Please plan on this unless you hear otherwise. I will update this site if anything changes.