Roger Charles, librarian for Peabody Township Library, has announced that work has begun on digitizing older copies of the Peabody Gazette-Bulletin. The issues from July 2004 through December 2009 have been shipped to the company doing the work. They will be returned to the library in January of next year.
“Our web page should then have a link to this data,” Charles said. “We will be asking for help from library patrons and community donors to get the rest of the papers taken care of. The cost of the conversion for 2010 and 2011 will be $195.36 and the 53 microfilm rolls of the much earlier papers will cost $75 each to digitize.
“But once converted, anyone should be able to access the complete history of Peabody as contained in the pages of the Gazette-Bulletin,” he added.
Charles said there also will be changes to the library’s magazine subscriptions.
“We got word from Newsweek that after Jan. 1, the magazine will not be available in a printed format. It will only be able to be viewed electronically,” he said. “The library will no longer subscribe Newsweek.”
He said that decision led the board to look at other subscriptions and their use by library patrons.
“After consideration of their lack of activity, we decided to eliminate Good Housekeeping, House Beautiful, National Geographic, and Treasures. They will be replaced with Outdoor Life, Forbes, Parents, Horse Illustrated, Family Circle, and Newsmax,” he said. “We are losing five magazines, but gaining six. We hope this will be a gain for the library.”
Library board member Norma Patton said the library plans to put up an “Angel Tree” before the holidays with ornaments that indicate a variety of gifts the library needs.
“The gift ideas will include a suggested dollar amount that will purchase that gift for the library. Anyone interested in buying a Christmas gift to help the library is invited to look over the ornaments and select one that will help everyone enjoy the library and its services a little more in the coming years,” she said.
The price range of the gift items begin at a few dollars for a single book to $20,000 for a new furnace unit for the basement.
For more information about the library, its needs, and coming changes, contact Charles at (620) 983-2502 or Patton at (620) 983-2798.