Assistant Director's Forum:

The Fall Assistant Directors' Forum took place on November 6 at Burlington Public Library. It's always intriguing to see the topics that people decide to discuss. This time it was library parking issues, managing video and DVD collections, staff training, and custodial help. The group began discussion of staff professional development plans. This led into an agenda topic for the Winter meeting - performance reviews. We will also discuss teens in the library. Plan to join us next time on February 5, from 12:00 - 2:00 PM, at Memorial Hall Library, Andover. Thank you to Susanne Sullivan for hosting the November meeting.

The Assistant Directors' Forum goes on the road to the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference in Seattle on February 26, 2004. Nanci Milone Hill (Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield) and Carol Gray (Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester) will help facilitate a table talk discussion based on the meetings held in the NMRLS region. The idea to create a setting for assistant directors to meet together originated with Carol in response to a NMRLS continuing education survey.

Upcoming Events for Special Libraries:

A meeting for members and non-members interested in sharing information about PastPerfect software is scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, at the Topsfield Historical Society's Gould Barn, 1 Howlett Street, Topsfield. Please join us at this gathering of PastPerfect users to discuss projects in your library. We are hoping that this group becomes a support and advisory network for PastPerfect customers in the NMRLS communities. Please RSVP to Mary Behrle at 978-762-4433, or mary@nmrls.org.

The next Special Libraries meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 10, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM, at American Textile History Museum, 491 Dutton Street, Lowell.

Directions to both these events are at: http://www.nmrls.org/ce/direct/index.shtml