Reading Visits Beverly

Allison Sloan DaSilva visited the Beverly Public Library through the Me and My Shadow Program, coordinated in Reading by Susan Beauregard: I met with the Head of Technical Services, Laurie Formichella. We toured the library, which was renovated in 1993 with a large multi-story addition. The Technical Services Department is now on the 4^th floor.

I met the Technical Services staff and talked about work process and work flow, and the differences between our two libraries. We discussed ordering of audiobooks. After the visit I emailed Laurie a copy of the Excel document I designed that lists all the audio vendors Reading Library works with, and includes information on discounts and
replacement policies.

Next I talked to Theresa, the Interlibrary Loan/Reference Librarian. We shared database information and discussed processes and problem solving. We discovered many similarities, but noted that the volume of requests handled in Reading exceeds the ILL inquiries in Beverly.

At the end of the visit I talked to Anna Langstaff, the Assistant Director who coordinates the Shadow program for Beverly Library. It was very interesting to see the space usage of the larger library, e.g. the availability of space for silent study rooms and a beautifully designed teen area.

It was a wonderful opportunity to network, meet librarians and paralibrarians who do comparable jobs to bring back some new ideas to improve my productivity.



Allison Sloan daSilva
Senior Library Associate
Reading Public Library