We'd like to announce that on Monday September 9th in honor of the 102nd anniversary of the opening of the Rye Public Library, we'll be converting our online catalog to the latest version available. I'm sure no one browsing the original 1911 acquisitions list (come see a historic acquisitions ledger at RPL) or filing through a later card catalog ever envisioned the type of searching we'd be capable of today.

Just as the earlier systems did, modern technology continues to advance, and we're happy to provide you with the latest, most powerful version of our catalog. While things will look a bit different, the powerful search and discovery capabilities you're used to will still be there- better than ever! Also, mobile users will find a much more friendly interface with the new catalog.

You'll find a changing display of new titles on the first page, providing a revolving view of books and DVDs acquired in the last 6 months. Enter an author or title you'd like, and discover the many ways to break down your search: by book or DVD, large print, or other formats. You'll also be able to single out various collections: fiction, large print, mystery, etc.

For those who have been using, or are interested in using, our downloadable e-book collection (yet another unimaginable concept a century ago) you'll find a seamless interface to the content of the New Hampshire Downloadable Books Consortium catalog within the new version of our catalog. That way, titles available as e-book downloads will show up in a regular catalog search along with our other formats. You'll see the status and availability right from your search results. You can initiate a download, or place a hold right from there!

As always, if you need a little help, we'll be happy to assist you in  navigating the new look. Just call anytime, or remember we've got a class on using the catalog scheduled for Tuesday September 10th at 6:00pm, and have regular weekly instruction sessions on Mondays and Fridays that let you sign up for 20 min. Q&A sessions with our Technology Librarian.

Enjoy a new and better catalog experience at RPL! 

Walking the stacks in a library, dragging your fingers across the spines-its hard not to feel the presence of sleeping spirits.

                    Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

                                         Robin Sloan

One of the many aspects of libraries I've always been attracted to is the serendipity of the shelves, or the happenstance discoveries of authors, titles, and subjects you might make while browsing--simply through the proximity of books in the stacks. The alphabet is a powerful and unyielding organizational tool, but even within this static structure one can find fleeting touches of grace. The photo above, for example, illustrates two books (May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes, and The Forgiving Life by Robert Enright) located side-by-side on our hold shelves on one particular day recently. The two individuals that requested the books happened to have surnames that followed one another in alphabetical order, but otherwise, there is no connection as to who ordered them, why they were requested, or where we acquired them for the patrons. Yet, the chance interaction of their titles on the shelf, and their joint references to forgiveness (though one is a novel and the other non-fiction) offer a prime example of my fascination with the mysteries of the library shelves.  

The organization of information into easily accessible systems is a key function of all libraries. Often, this structure is dictated by the alphabet. Otherwise, either the Dewey decimal, or Library of Congress classification systems usually rule. (Though, many libraries are abandoning these standardized systems for BISAC--a more contemporary, bookstore-inspired, topical organization)

It is the magic that can happen even within these formalized classifications that amazes me, though. How often have you happened across an author you had read about recently-but couldn't quite remember a name-- as you searched for another writer, simply because the new author happened to fall close by in the alphabet? In my book selling days, I was convinced that publishers created pen names for read-alike authors in matching genres that would land the new books beside established writers on the store shelves, attempting to absorb some of their selling power. A new legal thriller author named "Grishman", would end up co-located with John Grisham, or an emerging comic-mystery writer named "Evanovitz", would land side-by-side with best-selling Janet Evanovich.  

But in library land, I am happy to pleasurably appreciate the occasional synchronicity without suspicion. Sometimes it's just the coincidence of two authors you are interested in landing side-by-side on the shelves. Or, maybe you're browsing the tail end of the 500's in the Dewey classifications (598.1594: vocalization--birds, to be exact) and your gaze strays along the shelf to 602 (Technology: miscellany) where you find a book on how to Tweet... At any rate, the random possibilities are endless, and the frequency of coincidence is surprisingly regular.  

I do fear, though, that some impediment of these chance encounters may be an unforeseen consequence of the influx of digital search. I'm no Luddite, and can't stress how revolutionary the advent of searchable text has been in the field of librarianship. It's just that browsing exact results in a digital library catalog somehow fails to engender the kind of chance experience I so enjoy. Accuracy at the expense of happenstance may be a significant, but important, digital trade off. (I also fear for the future of book cover art. This is another aspect of books I have always loved, and wonder if publishers will continue to justify their investment in brilliant cover design when most user reference will be to thumbnail images in digital e-book catalogs.)