Reference Gems # 1

This is the first in an occasional series on Reference Gems.  We have all these marvelous books in our Reference collection that don’t get much use, probably because our patrons don’t notice them over in Reference (and sometimes, truth to tell,  we staff forget to use them).  So I’m going to pull some of them out, shine them up a bit and show them off.

Today’s Gem is the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009.  This is the go-to-reference, complements of the U.S. Census Bureau, for all kinds of data regarding the U.S., it’s people, cities, towns, government bodies, economy and on and on.  If you’re writing a school paper,  a business plan, a letter to the editor, doing strategic planning for an organization, or just curious, this is the book you want to curl up with.  You’ll find out everything you want to know about U.S. population (age, sex, race, states, metropolitan areas, cities, mobility, immigration, ancestry, language, marital status, religion),  births, deaths, marriages and divorces, health, employment,  educational attainment, crime rates, government finances, national security, the labor force, income, poverty, wealth, prices, business, agriculture, utilities, transportation, etc., etc., etc., etc.  Lots and lots of stats that together form a remarkably useful portrait of our country and the factual basis you need for the argument you’re making.

We also have a copy of State and Metropolitan Area Data Book: 2006, the latest issue available.  This brings some of the data down to Ohio and the Cleveland-Metropolitan-Akron statistical area (and others around the country).  For both books, the data is drawn from a wide variety of public and private sources and some data is more recent than other data.  All of it is the most recent as of publication.

A limited set  of this data at the American Factfinder website.  The Avon Lake page is here.  Unfortunately, the information at this level is from 2000.

The Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009 and the State and Metropolitan Area Data Book are found in our Reference collection at R317.3.   You’re welcome to look through the collection yourself, or ask any librarian at the Reference desk for assistance.  We’re here to help you find the information you need!

Where Did My Favorite Magazine Go ??????

Each year, after careful assessment of circulation and within budget constraints, we order approximately 230 titles for Avon Lake Public Library’s magazine collection. This includes magazines of interest to children, young adults, and our adult readers. Multiple subscriptions are ordered of very popular titles such as PEOPLE and CLEVELAND MAGAZINE, so that our patrons can access the most recent issue on a timely basis. The average circulation for magazines in any given month of the year is 1,500 issues!

If you have noticed that one of your favorite magazines has been missing from our shelves, it might be because it is no longer being published. Since the beginning of 2009 this tough economic environment has also taken its toll on the magazine publishing business, and 14 of our 2009 subscriptions have ceased publication. These notices continue to arrive at the library regularly.

According to a recent article in The New York Times, declining advertising revenue is one of the reasons. Publishers had been able to keep subscription prices low and even lost money doing so, assuming that the real money came from ads. Subscription revenue was gravy! Publishing prices have risen as ink, paper and shipping costs continue to escalate.

Publishers are now realizing that they must raise subscription prices if they want to continue a quality product. The cover price of PEOPLE has risen 21% in the past four years. VANITY FAIR raised its cover price from $4.50 to $4.95 with the April issue. REAL SIMPLE has raised subscription prices 17% in the last four years. How price-sensitive are the readers going to be before they quit purchasing a particular magazine and it ceases publication?

ENJOY YOUR FAVORITE MAGAZINES WITH NO

OUT-OF-POCKET COST TO YOU!

CHECK OUT AN ISSUE THE NEXT TIME YOU ARE IN THE LIBRARY!

Take Avon Lake’s Weather With You

Did you know Avon Lake PL has a weather station?

We’ve had one for years.  We just got a new one (thank you to Avon/Avon Lake Rotary and Avon Lake Kiwanis for donating it….)

Now, you can see our weather conditions on the web — LIVE and HISTORICAL DATA, too (back to March, at least)…

Go here to Weather Underground to find us, or enter www.wunderground.com into your browser and type in our zip code, 44012.

National Library Week at ALPL

We have been celebrating this special week in many ways:

1. all overdue materials are FINE FREE!  Return them before Sunday and PAY NO FINES.

2. get a Thank-You mint at our circulation desk when you check out.

3. we’ve been hosting Special Guest Librarians all week who’ve been kind enough to help us check out your materials.  Who?

a. K.C.Zuber, Mayor of Avon Lake

b. Bob Scott, Avon Lake Schools Superintendant

c. Matt Lundy, Ohio State Representative

d. David Owad, Avon Lake Chief Of Police

and

e. Holly Kowalski, President of Avon Lake Public Library Board of Trustees

(pictured below, r, with director Mary Crehore)