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Few changes planned

Despite big changes in the background, most of the policies and programs at the Grand Canyon-Tusayan Community Library will stay the same, at least for the time being.

"This is the year I wouldn't want to make a lot of radical changes," said Flagstaff Library Director Kay Whitaker. "We want to wait and hear from the community. We're going to go slow at first and see what we want to do."

There has been a small change in hours and the addition of Interlibrary Loan.

The library opens 30 minutes earlier. Hours are 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays. Librarian Mindy Karlsberger said they expect to offer extended summer hours as they did last year.

Under Interlibrary Loan, members can request any book and if it is available in one of thousands of participating libraries nationwide, it can be shipped here. With many university and specialized libraries on board, Karlsberger said even very technical or obscure titles are accessible.

The community library did offer the service briefly about 18 months ago through a partnership with the Park Library, which is part of the ILL network, but that stopped when park librarian Susan Eubank left.

The summer reading program will continue. Karlsberger said that even in the past, Flagstaff has supported the program.

"Even though we weren't an official branch, Flagstaff has been a good partner to me," she said.

Thursday morning storytime for preschoolers will also continue. It is held from 11-11:30 p.m.

The library will continue to require a $15 deposit for a library card.

"It's a unique situation here. We have a transient population," Karlsberger said. "The deposit is a great incentive for people to remember to return their materials."

One service still being discussed is allowing patrons to borrow books in Flagstaff and return them here. Without a regular courier service, books would have to be mailed back to Flagstaff.

"If it happened a lot, we'd take a hit on our postage," Whitaker said.

She said they are also working with Coconino Community College under a grant for library services planning, strengthening their partnership with the school and ensuring needed books are available locally.

"The East Flagstaff branch is in the Coconino College building on Fourth Street," she said. "We lease space and it works out well. We'd like to build on that partnership and take it to the rest of the libraries in the county."

One change Karlsberger said she would like to see is more usage. She notes that the waiting list for new releases is shorter or non-existent here, compared to Flagstaff.

"There are people who have lived in this community for years, readers, who don't come here," she said. "They go to Flagstaff. I don't know what they think is in here, maybe a bunch of goofy paperbacks or what. Whatever they want, we could order it and get it as part of our collection or borrow it through Interlibrary Loan."

For more information about the library or if you are interested in being a part of a Friends of the Library or similar group, contact Karlsberger at 638-2718.


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