What a difference a day makes.
With my "let's do the best with what we've got" attitude firmly in place, I've started doing small projects that will help improve the look of the library. First up, trying to make the chairs look better, starting with the ones in the children's area. They've suffered 35+ years of butts doing damage to them, so they were really scratched up on the seat, with some on the back support as well. So out comes the Old English Scratch Cover for Light Wood.
Here's a comparison of a chair that's been treated versus one that hasn't yet:
The chair on top of this picture had repeated applications of oil yesterday, then sat overnight to soak it all in. If you look closely, you can still see it's scratched up, but not to the nearly bare wood look of the other chair. This isn't a permanent fix, but more scratch cover can be done later to keep it looking better.
I'm working on the other two chairs today, waaaaaay in the back of the building, outside of the library proper, but I can still see when people come in if I happen to be back there. I thought it easiest to do it back there so we don't have the chemical smell (which isn't bad, really), or the risk kids getting hold of the bottle of oil and/or sitting in an oily chair. Even though I would have put them out of public view, there still would have to be someone who would try to get to them because reasons. There's always one.
The next plan is to do the two adult-sized versions of these chairs, which aren't in nearly as bad shape, and the wood of our front desk counter both public facing and on our side. I'm hoping some poor soul needs to do community service and can work on that stuff. If we can, we've also got a table in our workroom that we might do some work on. It was "inherited" from the bank that used to be where the library started out (they donated the space to the library when they moved to a new building in the late 1960s). We have no idea how old it is, but it's at least 50 years old and with a good refinishing it would be gorgeous.
In related news, the people who are going to be putting in our lights have ordered all the parts, and when they get them, they'll call us to schedule a date. It's going to take two or three days, and I've already notified the Mayor that we'll be shut down to the public, but I'll be on call if the electricians need me for anything. we're hoping install will be Wednesday - Friday, and if we have time after they're done on Friday, we can come in and do a good cleaning. There's going to be insulation, bits of ceiling tile, and who knows what else on our shelves and floor when they're done.
I'm also supposed to do a conference call this afternoon with a grant writer who's trying to get us funding for what's essentially an iPad vending machine. It requires not only that you have a library card in good standing, but a credit card, so if you disappear out of the library with it or damage it, your card will be charged. Not sure how it will all work out, but the idea is to sell it as a way for people to fill out forms online for job searches, possibly with our local Workforce Commission doing a workshop on their online resources. The "bookless library" down in Bexar County used the job search capability as one of it's points to get funding, so there's a precedent.
Here's a comparison of a chair that's been treated versus one that hasn't yet:
The chair on top of this picture had repeated applications of oil yesterday, then sat overnight to soak it all in. If you look closely, you can still see it's scratched up, but not to the nearly bare wood look of the other chair. This isn't a permanent fix, but more scratch cover can be done later to keep it looking better.
I'm working on the other two chairs today, waaaaaay in the back of the building, outside of the library proper, but I can still see when people come in if I happen to be back there. I thought it easiest to do it back there so we don't have the chemical smell (which isn't bad, really), or the risk kids getting hold of the bottle of oil and/or sitting in an oily chair. Even though I would have put them out of public view, there still would have to be someone who would try to get to them because reasons. There's always one.
The next plan is to do the two adult-sized versions of these chairs, which aren't in nearly as bad shape, and the wood of our front desk counter both public facing and on our side. I'm hoping some poor soul needs to do community service and can work on that stuff. If we can, we've also got a table in our workroom that we might do some work on. It was "inherited" from the bank that used to be where the library started out (they donated the space to the library when they moved to a new building in the late 1960s). We have no idea how old it is, but it's at least 50 years old and with a good refinishing it would be gorgeous.
In related news, the people who are going to be putting in our lights have ordered all the parts, and when they get them, they'll call us to schedule a date. It's going to take two or three days, and I've already notified the Mayor that we'll be shut down to the public, but I'll be on call if the electricians need me for anything. we're hoping install will be Wednesday - Friday, and if we have time after they're done on Friday, we can come in and do a good cleaning. There's going to be insulation, bits of ceiling tile, and who knows what else on our shelves and floor when they're done.
I'm also supposed to do a conference call this afternoon with a grant writer who's trying to get us funding for what's essentially an iPad vending machine. It requires not only that you have a library card in good standing, but a credit card, so if you disappear out of the library with it or damage it, your card will be charged. Not sure how it will all work out, but the idea is to sell it as a way for people to fill out forms online for job searches, possibly with our local Workforce Commission doing a workshop on their online resources. The "bookless library" down in Bexar County used the job search capability as one of it's points to get funding, so there's a precedent.