Home and Another School Year Begins...

It's one of the last quiet weeks here at Coker, at least until the Christmas holiday. I'm wrapping up the last major project of the summer, accumulating the various statistics for the many electronic resources we have.

So far, the statistics are slightly higher than they were last year -- even though we had fewer number of students enrolled. Our book circulation numbers are pretty flat, unfortunately. It's difficult to get students to use and read books when the databases and open Internet available to them 24/7.

Next week, we'll have the traditional back to campus meetings and the students will begin filing in next weekend. It was yet another quick summer here at Coker!

As for home, all is well. Wyatt is beginning to pull up on furniture and move around. He still has the happy disposition, for the most part. Both boys have had mild fevers off and on this week, with Wyatt coming off of a pretty severe ear infection (requiring back to back doses of antibiotics).

Owen can be very difficult at times because he is very headstrong and stubborn. His personality has changed a lot in the last few months. I can't help but wonder if this has to do with the older kids at daycare over the summer or just a natural progression.

He still astounds me with his knowledge and intelligence almost daily. He will remember the most minute detail, like who gave him a t-shirt a year ago. Last night, he pieced together a pun in the story I read him: a mother comes home from work and calls her husband and son "dears" because they are pretending to wear antlers. Owen said "Reindeers have antlers, too!"

We may have the beginnings of sibling rivalry, too. Owen can't let Wyatt touch any of his toys without snatching it away from him. Wyatt adores Owen, too...following him around the house as quickly as possible.

Summer Projects at the Library

We had a splendid graduation on Saturday, with 180+ students earning diplomas. The weather cooperated for our outdoor ceremony, although it was hot with the black regalia!

I'll be starting my annual summer "catch up" projects soon. They will include:

• Statistics - we gather a multitude of statistics for a variety of professional and governmental agencies. I will be placing them in spreadsheets and deciphering what the individual surveys are actually looking for.
• LibGuides - we will be adding to our very slim collection of subject guides. We need to beef them up for a hard launch in the fall
• Revamping LIB101 - Alexa and I are retooling LIB101 from the ground up, and going without a textbook.
• Updating EzProxy - our proxy software is a couple of years old now, so it will need updating with the help of our crack IT staff. I probably won't do this until mid-July when Coker is not in session
• Prepping for my SCLA poster session - I am still working on a Kindle poster idea for this Fall's annual conference.

This is only the tip of the iceberg!