Check it out: Library enhancements include more days, more best-sellers

Library service restored

o Battle Ground: Monday restored. Schedule 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat., beginning May 1.

o Cascade Park: Monday restored. Schedule 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri-Sat., beginning May 1.

o Goldendale: Monday restored. Schedule 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat., beginning May 1.

o Stevenson: Monday restored. Schedule 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.; 9 a.m-8 p.m. Tue.-Wed.; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., beginning May 1.

o Three Creeks: Monday restored. Schedule 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat., beginning May 1.

o Vancouver (main): Sunday restored. Schedule 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sun., beginning mid-July with opening of new branch downtown.

o Vancouver Mall: Hours added over week. Schedule 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun., beginning May 1.

There’s a due date for major improvements in the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District: May 1.

That’s when Monday services will be restored at five library branches, while the popular Vancouver Mall outlet will regain 10 hours of operation each week, all lost to budget cuts imposed in February 2009.

What’s more, FVRL will begin purchasing significantly more book titles, audio books and other items, starting in May.

Top priority will be popular, high-demand titles, with a new “Lucky Day” approach designed to help walk-in customers snare the latest hot read.

The district also will build a collection of downloadable e-books, so patrons can read entire texts on personal computers and portable devices.

The changes were adopted by the FVRL board of trustees this week.

They follow narrow voter approval in August of a property tax measure that raised per-thousand-dollar-value tax rates about 8 cents. That gives the district a one-time, $2.7 million boost.

The new tax revenue won’t be available to FVRL until April, which mostly explains the May target.

Officials have negotiated with employee groups to pin down staff changes. To provide the needed additional staff time, the district will fill 40 new full- and part-time positions and increase hours for 11 current positions.

Job applications for new positions will open in March. FVRL now has 221 employee positions, not including substitutes.

The flagship Vancouver Community Library will regain a complete seven-day schedule, with Sundays restored, but not until mid-July, when its new, four-story home in downtown Vancouver is due to open.

The library system has pledged to enhance service, besides simply restoring hours to 2008 levels.

Foremost is the additional purchase of popular titles, including the most highly sought audio books.

“Our goal is to reduce the length of time patrons have to wait” for best-sellers and other items, said Bruce Ziegman, FVRL executive director.

FVRL already lets patrons place an item on hold, either online or in person, on a first-reserved, first-served basis.

Now, it will add a “Lucky Day” collection in each branch, exempt from holds, to keep hot items on hand for regular walk-ins “hoping to ‘get lucky’ and find that title they’ve been wanting to read,” Ziegman said.

Most new items will not be assigned to one branch, but freely circulate. As usual, all the items may be returned at any branch.

The district also will obtain more research databases for handy access by its 240,000 cardholders.

Among current Web-based subscription services are Chilton’s Auto Repair manuals, the Reference USA business database, Heritage Quest genealogy database, Morningstar Investment Research Center and Powerspeak Languages.

FVRL plans by May to add the online version of World Book Encyclopedia and other language-learning services.

The Web-based subscription upgrades will include the new e-books.

Howard Buck: 360-735-4515 or howard.buck@columbian.com.