Training exercises help local libraries

Storey County is one step closer to opening the door to its new library — while Carson City and Churchill County library staff are more efficient at their jobs — thanks to a Nevada Library Co-operative training.

“I feel a bit like we are the winners of a lottery, and I didn’t even know we had purchased a ticket,” said Erik Schoen, executive director of Community Chest, which is sponsoring the Storey County library. “Your efforts are the fruition of years of trying to find a way forward for a modern library in a modern community. The timing could not have been better.”

Community Chest completed fundraising for phase two of a new facility and began construction in November to what will become home to a new library, a tech center, an arts/recreation space, a kitchen and office spaces. Completion is expected in March.

Taking advantage of the temporary closure of the Carson City Library for an interior refresh, staff members took part of the multiple daylong workshops over more than two weeks where they cataloged more than 120 boxes of stored books belonging to Storey County Community Library.

“Staff from the Carson City Library and Churchill County Library learned new skills and became more efficient with the Integrated Library System, saving time to get new items on the shelves at their respective libraries,” said Sena Loyd, director of the Carson City Library.

The Lyon County Library system has stored the boxes at the Silver Springs Library for more than three years, and Lyon County librarians having added nearly 400 records. Combined with previous efforts, the Storey County Community Library now has more than 2,000 records cataloged in their collection, making it shelf ready.

“I am so impressed with this project,” said Nancy Cummings-Schmidt, chairwoman of the Nevada State Council on Libraries and Literacy. “You’ve all come together in such creative and innovative ways and have reached out to lend a helping hand to the Storey County Library, now their collections will be available to their public.”

The training concluded with an awards ceremony on the loading dock of the Nevada State Library and Archives. Recognized Carson City staffers were: Amy Lauder, Rachel March, Ermal Reinhart, Maria Klesta, Elisa Seiler, Haley Swift and Joy Holt; and from the Churchill County Library Joe Salsman for more than 100 hours of work.

Jeff Kintop, Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records Administrator, said it was a fitting location for the ceremony.

“One of the reasons we are having this on the loading dock is because the first Nevada library cooperative used to catalog library books was in a warehouse near the airport across town on Arrowhead Drive,” he said. “This is what the librarians would see, and that’s what has happened here over the last three weeks. It was a perfect line of circumstances, and all of us have benefited.”