Poor Choices

Humboldt Reads! is the name of the book club we started a few years ago at the library. The library purchases several copies of the chosen book. Library patrons check them in and out for a month or two and then we meet for dinner at a local restaurant to discuss the book.
My book choices started off on shaky ground, but the group hung in there with me and I developed a better eye for what would make for good book talk. Recently, however, I have hit a real slump. The last two choices haven’t been very good at all.
The December book was This House of Sky by Ivan Doig. It was a memoir and it moved like molasses flowing uphill. I read about 25 pages and gave up. When it came time for the book discussion, it was the night of that awful, blowing blizzard in early December. It was cold and miserable outside. Not a good night to leave the house, but I did, anyway. Just one other person showed up. I’m not sure if it was the weather or the boring book that kept them away. The person who came was very enthusiastic about the book, so maybe I didn’t get it enough of a chance.
Tonight is our discussion of Say You’re One of Them. It was an Oprah book club selection, so I expected it to be good. Most of the books she chooses have mass appeal. Even I usually like them. This one is a group of small novellas together in one book. I’ve read about one and a half of the stories. A library patron who teaches high school English told me she started the book and said to herself “What’s the point of this?” It might be power of suggestion, but that is exactly the way I’m feeling about it, too.
So, before all the other Humboldt Reads! members abandon me and my very poor book club selections, I’m going to try something new. I’ve ordered a dozen or so books that were highlighted in Reading Group Choices 2009: Selections for Lively Book Discussions. We already owned several other books that were recommended. All of the books that are in the running will have a bright yellow band that says Humboldt Reads! Inside each will be a short questionnaire. Anyone is welcome to read one of these and fill in the questions concerning the book. The ones that are the most highly recommended will be used for book club.
Some of the choices are:
The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson …….”a terrifying and memorable work of psychological suspense.” I’ve read this one. I’m not sure January days are long enough for it. You sure wouldn’t want to read it after dark.
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo…..”a novel of great warmth, charm and intimacy.” This is one of my favorite books from the last few years.
Church of the Dog by Kaya McLaren.....”a lovely, uplifting book.”
Escape by Carolyn Jessop…. She was the third wife of the FLDS ringleader who was 32 years older than Carolyn. She eventually chose freedom.
Hannah’s Dream by Diane Hammond. …For 41 years Samson Brown has been the zoo’s elephant keeper. He won’t retire until someone equally devoted is hired to take his place.
Heart in the Right Place by Carolyn Jourdan….. This one is the memoir of Capitol Hill attorney Jourdan who returns to Tennessee to help in her father’s medical practice when her mother suffers a heart attack.
Ok; I admit I messed up badly with my last few choices. Be a good sport. Check one of these out and give me some help in starting off 2010 on a better foot.
You will find them all @ your library.

A couple of months ago, a library patron was in looking for candy recipes for the holidays. She seemed to feel that her candy repertoire could use some spice, so to speak. A couple of the books we own were checked out at the moment. I put them “on hold” for her, but then I got to thinking that we could use a few more. Anyone brave enough to try candy making shouldn’t have to wait on a library book being returned.
I ordered several. Candy Making for Dummies has been checked out continually since it arrived in early November. Who Wants Candy? By Jane Sharrock has come and gone several times since we bought it.
Thinking about candy making put me in the mood to dig out my family recipes. My kids will all be home this year. I don’t think they will all be here at the same time, thank Goodness. My house and my kitchen table are awfully small and my four babies have grown to adult size and acquired spouses. We would be a tight fit. Between them, they own my six grandpuppies, including the newest. Casey is some sort of Mastiff. She’s a year old and 100 pounds. The dogs always add to the festivities.
I pulled out my recipe box. Right away I found my favorite microwave fudge recipe. It almost always worked perfectly until the mixing bowl I used for that recipe disappeared. I have no idea what tragedy befell it, but it no longer resides on my topmost kitchen shelf. After a little searching, I found an older crock bowl that seems to work just as well.
I also made a batch of peanut brittle. The recipe was given to me by my aunt Mae Finney. She’s a treasure and so is this recipe. I’ve never know it to fail. Even tastier with cashews.
The candy I really wanted to make this year is Aunt Bill’s Brown Candy. I have my mother’s recipe and my sister tells me it isn’t all that difficult. I’ve always been afraid to try it. I remember that Mother was the envy of the neighborhood because her Aunt Bill’s turned out perfectly while most everyone else’s failed to set.
I’d always wondered about Aunt Bill. I was fairly sure she wasn’t a “real” relative, but had no idea who she was or where the recipe came from. A little “googling” produced some information. The recipe first appeared in a cooking column in the Daily Oklahoman newspaper in 1932. There was no mention of Bill’s true identity. Due to popular demand, the recipe has been printed each November for the past 77 years. The magazine Bon Appétit ran an article last year with the history of this original Oklahoma candy and a new version of the recipe. For those unfortunate ones of you who do not have roots in Oklahoma’s red clay, Aunt Bill’s is fudge-like in texture and consistency, but has a caramelized sugar color and flavor.
I tried it. I cooked and stirred and stirred for two hours. My stirring hand and arm still ache two days later. It worked! It’s perfect--truly just like Mother used to make. When I paged through Who Wants Candy? I discovered that the cookbook was compiled by a northern Oklahoman and, of course, includes the Aunt Bill’s recipe. It’s located under the heading Heirloom Recipes. The skill level rating for this recipe is EXPERT.
Wow! I’m an expert at something, at last! Copies of recipes mentioned in this article are available @your library.

I Goofed!

I know that you will be shocked to read this, but every once in awhile, I goof. My daughter Anne and I have argued about this for years. She is of the opinion that I never admit that I am wrong. Well, she’s in error, of course. I much prefer the word mistaken. It’s more genteel. Men are wrong. A lady is only, very occasionally, mistaken.
My most recent transgression involved an incidence of mistaken author identity. I read a very complimentary book review in Library Journal. I ordered the book. It arrived, Demi cataloged it, Kathy checked it out to an unsuspecting patron. It was the ninth book in a series by Charlaine Harris. We don’t own books one through eight. I was thinking of another author…Carolyn Hart. We already have lots of her books.
Can you guess what happened next? That library patron and all her friends asked to have the first eight books borrowed via interlibrary loan. We haven’t found a satisfactory method of keeping track of just how many times we have borrowed a particular book from another library. We process 50 or more of these loans each month. When we do notice that we have borrowed something more than once, we usually decide to buy a copy for our own library. These eight little books are paperbacks. With our library discount, they set us back about $4.39 apiece. If we borrow one via interlibrary loan from Eagle Grove or Fort Dodge, for example, it costs the lending library a couple of books and a trip to the post office to send it. When our Humboldt reader is through with the book, we ship it back spending another couple of dollars.
Thus, is actually less expensive for us to buy the darn book. So, we did. These books are of the Susie Stackhouse series by Ms. Harris. Sookie and her boyfiend, Quinn are among the missing after an explosion at the vampire summit meeting. Not exactly my cup of tea, but apparently captivating reads.
This series (and the ones by Carolyn Hart, too) are cozy mysteries. I read this very clever definition of cozy mysteries on www.cozymystery.com :
“The crime-solver in a cozy mystery is usually a woman who is an amateur sleuth. Almost always, she has a college degree, whether she is using it or not. Her education and life’s experiences have provided her with certain skills that she will utilize in order to solve all the crimes that are “thrown her way.” The cozy mystery heroine is usually a very intuitive, bright woman. The occupations of the amateur sleuths are very diverse: caterer, bed and breakfast owner, quilter, cat fancier/owner, nun, gardener, librarian, book store owner, herbalist, florist, dog trainer, homemaker, teacher, needlepoint store owner, etc. These are just a few examples of what the amateur sleuth does…. When she’s not solving crimes, that is!
The cozy mystery usually takes place in a small town or village. The small size of the setting makes it believable that all the suspects know each other. The amateur sleuth is usually a very likeable person who is able to get the community members to talk freely (i.e. gossip) about each other. There is usually at least one very knowledgeable and nosy (and of course, very reliable!) character in the book who is able to fill in all of the blanks, thus enabling the amateur sleuth to solve the case.
Although the cozy mystery sleuth is usually not a medical examiner, detective, or police officer, a lot of times her best friend, husband, or significant other is. This makes a very convenient way for her to find out things that she would otherwise not have access to… Do you know any caterers or dog trainers who have access to autopsy reports? I don’t! (Unless you count some of my favorite cozy characters…)
At the same time, it is probably safe to say that the local police force doesn’t take the amateur sleuth very seriously. They dismiss her presence, almost as if she doesn’t exist. This of course, makes it convenient for her to “casually overhear” things at the scene of a crime. “
If a “cozy” is just what you are looking for, you’ll find these and many others @ your library.

Holiday Time, Again

It’s holiday time again. The beautiful magazine covers line our shelves. It’s holiday time again. Time for me to feel inadequate again. Most of the year I feel quite fortunate and accomplished. I have a job I love, four great kids who have made good choices (so far), a roof over my head and a dachshund to keep my toes warm at night. My life doesn’t lack for any of the really important things.
But, when the holiday magazines arrive, I begin to realize what my life doesn’t have. Michelle Obama graces the cover of Glamour this month. I accept the facts. I don’t have her toned, handsome biceps or her glittering jewelry or the elegant red satin dress. The part that really bothers me is that even if I did, I have no place to wear them. Winter holidays in Iowa don’t offer many opportunities to sport sleeveless apparel.
The cover of Good Housekeeping shows artfully decorated Christmas cookies. I’ve never been very good at sugar cookies. When my children were young they could eat them faster than I could mix, roll, cut, bake and decorate, so what’s the point? Good Housekeeping’s white frosted, blue bedazzled snowflake cookies are works of art. The magazine also offers six cookie recipes that are promised to be foolproof and fabulous. When I read through them, I decided my family wouldn’t thrill to a plate of whole-grain gingersnaps or figgy bars. The brownie bites do look yummy, but require 15 ingredients to produce 24 cookies.
The cover of Midwest Living features a Christmas tree bedecked with tons of ribbons. Not the package-wrapping kind, but prize-heifer-at-the-county-fair-type ribbons, a burning fireplace and a basket of blonde and black Labrador puppies. Charming.
Family Circle depicts face-less gingerbread cookies. That’s the kind I always serve, too. There is also an article, several pages in length, of how-to holiday hair-dos. It must apply to someone. Probably the same ladies who wear a red ball gown like Michelle’s.
Country Woman magazine has a photo of several elaborately decorated gingerbread houses and their smiley builder, Johanna. My self-esteem couldn’t handle it. I didn’t even open that one. Cooking Light magazine has an elegant cake plate filled with holiday yummies. The linzer cookie looks a whole lot like the one in Good Housekeeping. How would they take the calories out to make it qualify as “light?”
Country Living usually is more my style. Anything in this magazine, from recipes to decorating is usually a little less perfect, a little more homespun. Country Living uses lots of pinecones and bark and berries, a little less glamour and glitz. Some of their recipes even sound like something my family would eat.
Martha Stewart Living has a glowing Martha holding a lap-full of happily wrapped presents. Why is it that even a prison term didn’t wipe the smile from her smug face? I rarely open her magazine. I know that the wrappings on her presents cost more than the gifts I give, but they are charmingly well done.
Better Homes and Gardens, Taste of Home Simple and Delicious and Woman’s Day are all filled with more recipes and stocking stuffers and decorating ideas. But, if you have time on your hands, McCall’s Quilting magazine has a list of gift ideas for quilters and patterns for several holiday quilts.
Whatever inspiration you need to put you in a holiday mood, you can find it @your library.

Budget Woes

It’s library budget time again. Good things, like Christmas and Mothers’ Day seem to come around only once every two or three years. Things I don’t like (budgets and taxes) seem to happen at least twice as often.
You wouldn’t think preparing the library budget would be that complicated. I’ll bet you think that I dream up a really big number of dollars to buy new books and ask the city council to fork it over. Hah! Little do you know!
The first thing I consider is how old are the furnace, hot water tank, air conditioner, carpet, etc. How likely are they to make it through another year without major expense? The HVAC system never makes it without repair. That system has more motors, belts, pulleys, fans and gizmos than Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory. At any given moment, at least one item is waiting for repair or making suspicious noises. I think up an amount that I hope will be sufficient to cover repairs for a year.
I estimate how expensive the utility bills will be. I budget for capital expenditures-big ticket items like new computers. With 700 patrons using our computers each month, they need constant updating and replacement on a regular basis. At the moment we have 14 computers for public use: five regular, sit-down desk computers in the adult library, two more stand-up computers for people who just need to look something up quickly and two laptops that may be used if all the others are full. In the children’s library we have three internet computers and two more that aren’t internet, but have only games for kids.
In addition, we have one for the microfilm viewer and four that are used to search our card catalog. THEN, we have another handful that is for staff use. Computers get complicated; I budget.
I do budget for books, , but I also must factor in the costs of all the extras we have grown to expect such as dvds, books on cd, magazines, music cds, downloadable audio books, and databases. That is my current dilemma: databases and other online services. Currently we have EBSCO Host, NoveList and Tumblebooks and NEIBORS. All are available on our webpage (www.humboldtpubliclibrary.com). EBSCO Host is a database of magazines and newspapers and journals of all sorts. You can check Consumer Reports through EBSCO when you want to buy a new washing machine and you can look for the latest information on just about anything else that might have appeared in magazines, journals or newspapers.
NoveList is a database of fiction books. The library staff uses it regularly, but it is right on our webpage for anyone to use. You can look up your favorite authors to get a complete list of his/her work. You can find “read-alike” authors, too
Tumblebooks is a web service for kids. The most delightful voices read stories aloud while the pages of children’s books fly by. Give it a try. It’s fun even if you aren’t a kid, but I hope it doesn’t replace parents reading bedtime stories aloud. That was the very best part of being a kid and a parent…..cuddling up in warm footie pajamas with a new book.
NEIBORS is our downloadable audio books consortium. You can sign in at the NEIBORS site and load an audiobook into your computer, portable audio device like an Ipod or MP3 player or record the book on cds for listening at your convenience.
There are many other databases available. Would Humboldt library patrons use an auto repair reference center? A home improvement database? A genealogy site such as Heritage Quest? Let me know if there is something you would use. We’ll consider budgeting for it.
Our website is open 24/7 even when the library isn’t. Check us out! @ www.humboldtpubliclibrary.com.

Retiring Librarians

Recently there has been some buzz in the library world, in magazines and email list-servs, that we baby-boomer librarians should retire to provide job openings for younger ones. I’ve noticed that my sit-in, walk-out, love-in, protesting, bra-burning generation doesn’t take kindly to such suggestion. We want to do what we want to do in the manner and time of our choosing. You can imagine the uproar this is causing. None of us is about to gracefully fade away. No; we’ll have to be carried out of libraries all over the country kicking and screaming with arms full of unread books.
However, on dreary days, gray rainy days or cold, snowy ones, I envy those of you who can curl up with an afghan, a cup of tea and the latest bestseller in the middle of the afternoon. We working stiffs arrive home after dark this time of year to take the dog out, cook supper, and throw in a load of laundry before we can collapse in our easy chairs to read. On a good day, I have an hour or so before my eyes start fluttering closed.
Between my living room coffee table, my bedside table and a spot on the kitchen cabinet by the door, I have $191.75 worth of library books. I have three quilt books to leaf through during semi-interesting tv shows. I have the book I am currently reading, Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman. It is one of his Alex Delaware mysteries that are always so good. I have The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf checked out. I can’t remember why I wanted to read it. Some book review in Library Journal or a spectacular summary on the back cover must have attracted my attention. I have Nevada Barr’s latest book waiting for me, too. I always like her work. John Grisham’s newest, Ford Country, is also on my book stack.
Last, is a book called Confessions of Edward Day by Valerie Martin. I can’t remember what it is about or what made me want to read it. The only thing I do remember is that Jane Smiley gave it a terrific review. Smiley said Confessions of Edward Day is “such a lovely book.” I so admire Jane Smiley that I am just sure to love anything she recommends. She is the Pulitzer prize winning author of A Thousand Acres and Moo, both of which are based in Iowa. Smiley received a Ph.D. at the University of Iowa and taught several years at Iowa State, although I don’t think she’s native.
If I’m really lucky, maybe we’ll have a dreary weekend. Brady-the-dachshund loves gloomy weather, too. He knows I’ll sit down somewhere and read away the afternoon. He’s always willing to share the afghan with me.
Whatever your cup of tea, we have the right book to accompany it @your library.

Six Little Words

We have the most interesting little book in our teen library. It is called I Can’t Keep My Own Secrets: Six Word Memoirs By Teens Famous & Obscure. Edited by Smith Magazine.
Apparently, the thought that one could tell an entire story in just six words began with Ernest Hemmingway. Legend says that when he was challenged to write an entire novel in six words, he wrote: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
Smith magazine is an online publication (http://www.smithmag.net/). It is devoted to storytelling in all forms, but it seems to have hit on a real winner with the six word theme. On its website are various categories of six word memoirs. Under Momoirs I found: “Regained sanity is 18 years away” and “Screw cancer. Mom went to Paris,”
Under Food Life I read: “About that fire in the kitchen.” And “Are you going to eat that?”
In the Six Words for America category: “For every bomb, build a school.” And “We are one nation. red, blue.”
When Demi showed me the teen book, I was mesmerized for almost an afternoon…..”Dreams too big for this town.”, “Eccentricity is not an exact science.”, “Googled what he called me. Ouch.”For a few days I worried about the poor kids who wrote those quotes. When I read ”Follow your dreams. Not your parents”, I was sure my daughter Anne had written in.
What was the child thinking who wrote “The keys I have don’t fit”? What about “A time machine would be nice”? What was that poor kid suffering through when he/she wrote?
Demi put out a small notebook for our library teens to write their own memoirs. Some of my local favorites are “Five years, math homework still overdue.” And “I’m not short, I’m fun sized.”
Inspired, I wrote some of my own: “Growing old, better than the alternative.” “People my age are older than I.” “Life’s too short for ugly shoes.”
Come on in. Whether reading memoirs of other people or writing your own, you will find what you need @your library.

Last week was a mess. I had been out of the library for most of the previous week at a conference and meetings. The first week back in the office is always catch-up time. Make-up work kept me running in place, feeling as if I made no progress at all. That week was also “get ready for Humboldt Area Arts Council’s Art Encore” week. Lots of decorating takes place in the week before the event. I spent a whole rainy afternoon washing muddy pumpkins before they could be decorated for centerpieces.
Demi just stuck her head in my office door and declared “we can still see you”. I truly wasn’t trying to hide behind the piles of books on my desk; they just accumulate on every flat surface around here. By the time you read this, all should be back to normal at the library.
Those books on my desk were the new ones I hadn’t had a chance to look at while I was gone. I like to hold and touch every one before it goes on the shelf. I know that all the wisdom and information those books contain can’t be absorbed by osmosis, but, what do I have to lose?
The Way of Boys: Raising Healthy Boys in a Challenging and Complex World by Anthony Rao, Ph.D. Dr. Rao is a psychologist and expert on boyhood development. He has written a definitive handbook on what to look for and expect in normal growth. This book is a guide to what behavior is normal and what behavior might require a diagnosis and medication. He says “it’s time we stopped trying to ‘fix’ young boys” by understand the wide spectrum for normal boy development. Seems like a good plan to me.
Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder That Rocked New Orleans by Ethan Brown. Wow! Can’t believe I haven’t heard more about this book. Zackery and Addie were a hard-partying, high-spirited couple. The Iraq veteran and his artist girlfriend lived large in pre-Katrina New Orleans, but in October 2006, he leapt from the rooftop bar of a French Quarter hotel. A note in his pocket directed police to Addie’s body.
The Anatomy Murders: Being the True and Spectacular History of Edinburgh’s Notorious Burk and Hare and the Man of Science Who Abetted Them in the Commission of Their Most Heinous Crimes by Lisa Rosner. In the 1820’s William Burke and William Hare were suspects in the most atrocious murder spree of the century. I confess; I bought this one because my father’s name was William Hare. He was a very kind, engaging man, unlike any serial murderer I’ve ever read about, but could this Scottish William be a relative?
House of Cards: Love, Faith and Other Social Expressions by David Ellis Dickerson. This author landed his dream job as a greeting card writer for Hallmark Cards. He, however, found that as a fundamentalist-raised, twenty-six year old social eccentric, he was wholly unprepared to write the sentiments he was assigned. This story chronicles his bumpy journey to maturity.
In My Father’s Shadow: A Daughter Remembers Orson Welles by Chris Welles Feder. What would it be like to grow up the daughter of such a strange, intense man? Find out here!
Nothing Was The Same: A Memoir by Kay Refield Jamison. Ms Jamison is a psychologist who has battled manic-depressive illness. He husband, Richard, fought his own war against dyslexia to become one of the foremost experts on schizophrenia. This book is the story of their relationship, his death and her struggle with grief.
We Are Our Mother’s Daughters by Cokie Roberts. This book was donated by BPW in memory of Opal Christensen. The author is an Emmy-winning journalist and the daughter of Hale Boggs, a Democratic congressman from Louisiana and his wife, Lindy who replaced Hale in the House when he was killed in an airplane accident. This book reflects upon a number of female achievers who have attracted attention in the last decades including Laura Bush and Nancy Pelosi.
Beyond the Block by Crafty O’l Broads Linda K. Johnson and Jane K. Wells. This amazing book was given to the library by the Honeybee Quilt Guild in memory of member Linda Price. The quilts in this book are a joy to behold. Each is a small treasure, a work of art and a testament to the creativity of today’s quilters.
Whatever might catch your fancy, we’ll help you find it @your library.

October has begun and with it a new era for the Humboldt Public Library. We have survived a week since Jean Holste retired. So far, I haven’t had to call her even once to ask “do you remember where we put xyz?” or “who do I call when we need abc?’ She trained us well.

Every morning I peek through the window into the children’s office to make sure that Sarah, our new children’s librarian showed up for work. I’m always afraid she is going to realize just how much Jean actually accomplished every day. I’m afraid Sarah will throw her hands into the air and run screaming out of the building when it becomes clear that to do the job that Jean did would require at least two average human beings. But, Sarah isn’t average. She has survived early-out-Wednesdays, several school class visits and several trips to various daycare facilities. She is still coming into work each morning with a brave smile on her face. I think we have a keeper!

As we approach Halloween, the library begins its autumnal transition. Sherri Crowley has decorated our display case for the season. Demi has hung her “scary ancestor” in the teen area. It’s one of those innocent, antique-looking portraits until you glance at it a second time. The lovely person has become something altogether less charming. Kids and adults alike enjoy its appearance every year.
Pumpkins and fall leaves begin to decorate the shelves and we start to wonder where we stored those scarecrow mannequins. This year I found them right away. We have a dozen scarecrows, but for some reason, we now only have 11 heads. I’m a glass half-full type, so I choose to think that we have 12 scarecrows, one of whom is headless.

Once again this year we are going to check them out to anyone who would like to dress one up. When we get them all dressed in Halloween finery, we will display them in a downtown window. Anyone who wants can take a look and vote for a favorite. Last year’s contest may have been rigged by a middle school boy. There were an unusual number of votes for the scarecrow made by a particular middle school girl that appeared to have been written with the same ink pen in identical handwriting. She would have won anyway; I think he just wanted to make sure that the object of his desire had it in the bag.
Because we didn’t have room to have a dozen standing scarecrows in the library (to say nothing of how they might have frightened our custodian when she comes in early in the morning) ours are made to sit down. A skirt or a pair of trousers nicely camouflages his (or her) lower half. So give it some thought. Think up a good idea and decorate a scarecrow to share with the rest of Humboldt.
Check it out @your library.

I’ve been dreading this day, Jean Holste’s last day at the Humboldt Public Library. To me, and to all the children who have grown up in this town, Jean IS the library. Toddlers who encounter her at the grocery store are confused and surprised to learn that she even exists outside this building. They must think we close her up in here when we go home and night and she only comes alive when the first kiddies enter the building the next morning.

When my predecessor left, Jean jumped in and kept the library afloat until I was hired. She could have kept the director’s job, but her heart wasn’t in it. She knew that kids and stories and books were her calling, the right fit for her. She did, however, train me. She patiently answered each and every one of my questions without making me feel as if I were a preschooler asking why the sky is blue.

Jean’s programs for children are so successful that she routinely has had attendance of more than 5,000 per year. We both know that there are nowhere near 5,000 kids in Humboldt. She is so good at her job that each and every one of them comes many times per year. One summer she planned to hold a class on rock painting. What parent doesn’t have a rock painted smeary blue and red by a child in Bible school? I bit my tongue, but I thought it was a stupid idea. Kids and parents know that Jean’s programs are always fun; so many kids signed up to paint rocks that she had to hold a second session. With the help of some artsy community volunteers, Jean’s kids produced rocks that looked like VW Bugs, lady bugs, butterflies, daisies, turtles and a host of other creative ideas.

After that, I learned to trust her judgment. When it comes to kids, parents, songs, games, books and libraries, Jean really does know best. Co-worker Kathy Hensch summed up Jean’s library career with the following little story:



Once upon a time there was a very kind, very wise, and very clever lady. This lady loved children, and she loved books. She became a librarian so that she could share her love of books with children.

She read to them, taught them silly songs, and played games with them!
Teachers and parents loved her too, because she taught their children
to appreciate books and the importance of reading.

The librarian showed the children how to be creative, and use their imaginations. She planned day and night, so that she could make the books come alive for the children!

The librarian loved her books as much as she loved the children. She treated them with such care, keeping the books dusted and the shelves tidy. She bought new books to add to the shelves, and found homes for the
books that had been well read.

Others who worked at the library respected and loved her too, and were very sad when one day she told them it was time to begin a new chapter in her life. They were sad to see her go, but they were very happy for her too! They knew that she had many special plans for traveling, spending time with her family, tending her flower garden, and so many things she had dreamed of doing.

Her library family gave her hugs, shed some tears, and bid her a fond farewell. And so the very kind, very wise, very clever lady added many more wonderful chapters to her story, and lived happily ever after!


Jean, on behalf of every child whose life you have touched in your 23 years at the library, thank you.

Today’s topic will be music cds at the library. But, first, I want to provide an update on my very first painting. It was a birthday gift to my daughter. Before I bought the canvas, I checked the UPS website to make sure that my choice wouldn’t exceed their size requirements. The policy is very generous, so I bought a large one. It is probabl6y 30 x 36 inches. I boxed it up well with leftover cardboard scraps in several layers. I didn’t want a ski pole or pool cue that anyone else might ship to puncture it. Shoppers Supply accepts packages for UPS shipment, so I lugged the box there.
I almost hated to part with it, but it wouldn’t match my house anyway. It was carefully painted to match Anne’s Raleigh, North Carolina living room. Her birthday, from her BIRTH day, always falls on Labor Day weekend. I never let her forget it, either. She knew that I had shipped a surprise, so she ran home in the middle of the afternoon to see if it had arrived. I was in the car on my way to visit her brother and his wife in Columbia, Missouri, so we talked as she unwrapped layer after layer of cardboard. She was thrilled! She said that she had known all along that I could do it. I didn’t, but apparently she had faith in my artistic ability. She doesn’t even know Susan Witzel,
When I was back home again, we Skyped so that I could see how nice it looks above her mantel. Skype is the neatest thing! Technology lesson: my home laptop computer has a tiny little camera built in above the screen. Anne’s has one, too. When we both push all the right buttons, we can see one another on our computer s and talk via Skype. Not only was I able to see my painting, I walked outside to show her my morning glories blooming. My friendly backyard squirrel usually eats all the leaves off the plants. He sits atop a little fence, plucks those leaves, rolls them up like a green burrito and munches away until the plants all die.
Now, we are trying to figure out how to record a Skype session, so I can show Susan how nice our painting looks in its new home. There may still be openings in Susan’s class at Witz End. Call and check. You will be amazed at what you can produce with her help. Just think, Humboldt could become an artists’ colony with a gallery in every block and a bed-and-breakfast on every corner!
About music cds…..we never know what to choose. We ask people who check them out what they would like us to add. Almost never does someone make a suggestion. We usually ask Steve Bohan, our website guru, for advice. He will make suggestions from time to time. We’ve just added a Janis Joplin Woodstock album and one from the Jefferson Airplane. If you are of an age to remember Woodstock, you probably don’t remember much else about that summer, but these cds may bring some of it back. I recently saw Arlo Guthrie (of Alice’s Restaurant fame) on CNN. He has become a card carrying, Republican conservative! His father would roll over in his grave, if he had one. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was named for a famous Democratic president. Always known as Woody, his ashes were scattered at sea in 1967.
Music cds, like everything else at the library except movies, may be checked out for three weeks. Come on in, look over our collection and tell us what you’d like to see @your library.

Quilters

I like quilting. I like to look at quilts; I enjoy paging through new quilt books. I like dreaming my way through quilt shops. I like owning quilts that others have made. Once and awhile I even quilt a little myself. Quilting is number 11 of my list of interests and activities to explore more fully when I am retired. Numbers one through ten were the grandchildren I thought I would have. That isn’t looking too likely, so I should have lots of time to quilt.
I have made a few quilts myself, but mostly I enjoy quilting old quilt tops and blocks that the original maker never got around to finishing. Usually I find out just why she never finished. Often they are noticeably less than accurately constructed. Blocks may vary in size. Borders wider or narrower or nonexistent. Often there are atrocious flaws in workmanship. That’s ok. Anything I make has its share of flaws, too.
Just when I think that I’ve met every quilter in town someone tells me about another one. Right now we have the most cozy looking quilt hanging in the library. It is a scrap snowball quilt in yummy fall colors. Snowball describes the assembly of the quilt blocks, not a wintery appearance to the quilt. This one was made by Nancy Wickett. Come in to see it, you’ll be impressed.
Some newer quilt books at the library:
The Art of the Handmade Quilt by Nancy Brenan Daniel. This one is just plain charming. The quilts presented are both old favorites discovered in someone’s attic and brand new quilted wall hangings. A little history of each quilt is given plus patterns for quilt blocks and assembly instructions. The final chapters are instructions on proportion, balance and rhythm in quilts and some explanation of various pattern assembly and technique. The perfect book for choosing your first quilting project, your next quilting project or just to admire with a cup of tea on a lazy afternoon.
Encyclopedia of Classic Quilt Patterns: 101 All-Time Favorites. We bought this book for those talented barn quilt folk that needed some basic patterns. I was pleased to discover that they paint on large pieces of plywood which are then installed on the barn. I had worried about them up on tall ladders trying to paint a complicated quilt pattern in such a large size. This book is terrific for any quilter. It gives cutting, piecing and quilting directions for any number of quilts from a simple log cabin to a more complicated appliquéd Autumn Leaves quilt. Autumn leaves looks like a good way to use up all varieties of assorted fabric scraps. I panicked when I read the direction “cut 634 of leaf template in print fabrics.” I’m pretty sure that I would get bored and give up before I could cut that many. I know that I don’t have the patience to actually appliqué that many leaves onto the quilt top. It surely is pretty, ‘though.
Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts by Pam & Nicky Lintott. I suppose it’s because we subscribe at the library to a quilting magazine that we receive the occasional quilting supply catalog. I had seen such items for sale: layer cakes and jelly rolls. I hadn’t realized that each is a bundle of fabric cut into specific sizes. A jelly roll is a group of 40 coordinating fabric pieces, each two and a half inches wide. With this book and a jelly roll or layer cake (40 ten inch squares)you will have just what you need to begin to construct your own quilt. I think the whole idea is that you will have less wasted fabric if these specific cuts are just what you need. However, without any scraps, I wouldn’t have anything left to start my collection of 634 leaves.

Humboldt Reads! Again

Last week we held the dinner and discussion for our most recent Humboldt Reads! book. Humboldt Reads! is a loosely formed book discussion group. Actually, it isn’t formed at all. We don’t have officers, regularly scheduled meetings or anything else resembling the formal format of a club. The library buys several copies of a book. It circulates for some various period of time. Sometimes it’s six weeks sometimes two or three months. When that time is over, we meet at a local restaurant to share dinner and to discuss the book.

Usually almost everyone who attends has read the book, but it isn’t required. There have been a couple of them that even I couldn’t get through. Sometimes I ask the group at one meeting for suggestions about what they would like to read and discuss next time. Sometimes I come across a book that is just full of stuff, good or bad, to talk about and I choose it on my own. It usually ends up that about four or five days before we meet for discussion, I realize that it has been six months or a year since I read the book. Do I remember enough about it to discuss it sensibly? Usually not, so I read it again quickly before the dinner.

The book up for discussion last week was the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It is the story of the German occupation of the island of Guernsey during World War II. The whole book is comprised of letters written by several different residents. Oddly enough, after the first few letters, the format doesn’t seem at all unusual.

We have the audio version of the book on cd. I haven’t listened to it, but Demi says that the reader’s delightful accent adds to the whole feeling of experiencing a particular place at a particular time in history.

When my daughter and her friends argued about the pronunciation of the name of a character in the first Harry Potter book, none believed me that the correct pronunciation of Hermione is her-my-knee. After listening to couple of minutes of the audio version of the book, their opinion of my intelligence increased dramatically. Goodness knows, mothers aren’t thought to be very clever until the children reach their twenties. I’m rapidly approaching normal intelligence.

I find that I’m tired of reading books twice. I have chosen the next book for Humboldt Reads! based on a review in Library Journal. The title is The Cure for Grief by Nellie Hermann. I get to use my favorite library word again. This book is a bildungsroman, a coming of age novel. It is the story of a young girl, Ruby, and her fractured family and the tragedies that befall it. That’s about all I can say since I haven’t read it yet. We will meet on September 24 at 5:30 at Rustix to discuss it. Come on in, pick up a copy and join us for food, fun and a little book talk.

Previous Humboldt Reads! books in case you missed them!

Two Old Women Rocket Boys The Secret Life of Bees
Horizontal World Three Cups of Tea Light on Snow
The Glass Castle Out of the Dust Pay It Forward
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio Tortilla Flat Rope Walk
My Sister’s Keeper Range of Motion Splendid Solution

Dollars or Donuts

Some books I really love to buy for the library, and some I just hate to spend the money on. I don’t like to buy diet books. The library purchases every new fad diet book that comes along. If we don’t have it by the time it appears on Oprah or the Today show, people will start asking for it. We are active interlibrary loan participants, but it isn’t fair to expect the Algona or Eagle Grove or Fort Dodge library to supply us with diet books. I know that if we were to weigh the population of Humboldt on one giant scale, we aren’t a pound lighter than we were before we bought those diet books. They aren’t worth their weight in donuts.

Other s that I don’t like to buy are books that support parties or candidates I don’t agree with. I buy them anyway, I just don’t want to. I also hate to buy books about political candidates that will probably lose the next election. I bought a Sarah Palin biography last fall. She lost. The book doesn’t get much attention anymore. On the other hand, neither does Joe Biden’s biography.

I resent spending money on books written in a big hurry to capitalize on some current event. I hated buying The Final Years of Michael Jackson. I’ve been mad at him since he dangled that baby over the hotel balcony. When he died, I emailed my older to kids to ask if they remembered when we all learned to moonwalk together in the kitchen. Son number two replied that he still moonwalks in the kitchen (no doubt a thrill for his long-suffering wife), son number one answered that he remembers and “weren’t we cool!.” Daughter number one responded that she remembers that big brother number two was always the best moonwalker in the family. Daughter number two isn’t old enough to remember what Michael Jackson used to look like.

I bought Getting It Through My Thick Skull by Mary Jo Buttafuoco. She is the woman who was shot in the head by her husband’s teenage mistress. That part wasn’t Mary’s fault, but she forgave him and they spent many more years together while the girlfriend went to prison. I think they finally divorced and I gather from the title that she feels that she has at last wised up.

Another one I hated to buy, but did, is Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story by C. David Heymann. Aren’t there a few things that we would just rather NOT know? I couldn’t help flipping through the photos and reading the first chapter. Then I knew I didn’t want to know.

This next book may have some mothers angry with me: The Girls’ Guide to Rocking: How to Start a Band, Book Gigs and Rolling to Rock Stardom. This is everything a gal might need to know to start her own rock band. If your daughter reads it and takes it to heart, it truly isn’t all my fault. I just make the information available. Implementing it, or not, is the decision of the patron.

Some recent books I did want to buy:

-another copy of The Girls from Ames. It’s been very popular, so we added another copy to keep the waiting list short.
-Fire and Ice: A Beaumont and Brady Novel by J.A. Jance. She’s the author of two separate series. This one combines the two in the investigation of some mysterious and grisly homicides. Should be a real page turner.
-Undone by Karin Slaughter. She’s another of my favorite mystery authors. This one promises to be as good as the others.
-Jerico’s Fall by Stephen L. Carter. He wrote the novel s The Emperor of Ocean Park and New England Whte a few years ago. This time he has produced an espionage thriller. Not my usual cup of tea, but I like his other work so well, I’m going to give this one a try.
Whatever floats your boat, the water’s fine @your library.

Books and Their Movies

Recently we’ve been caught short-handed (short-shelved?) when a movie based on a book is released. It seems lots of people have a hyperactive conscience-they just CAN’T see the movie until they’ve read the book. My kind of people.

It happened with Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper. That’s the book based on the premise that a couple created a baby specifically to furnish spare parts for an ailing older sister. Just before the movie opened, we were flooded with requests for the book. At least ten people were waiting to read it. I didn’t want them to miss out on the movie or the book, so I made a quick trip to HyVee for a couple of paperback copies to add to our collection. We were able to get them out to patrons the same day. I haven’t seen the movie but I understand the ending was changed. The book’s ending was a real shocker; I can’t imagine how it could have been improved.

It is happening again with The Time Traveler’s Wife. It is the tale of a man who travels in and out of time, forward and back, and the little girl he visits when he travels. I was reading it several years ago when I drove 450 miles to visit my sister in southern Missouri. I checked out the book on cd, too. That way, when I stopped for a meal I could take up the book right where I left off the cd in the car. On the way home I was almost finished, so I stopped in Fort Dodge for a late evening meal and finished it up in Applebee’s. It’s that good.

Not wanting to be caught again, I studied up on what movies-based-on books were coming out soon. The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald was a non-fiction best seller in 2000. Shortly the movie will be released. It’s the story of a financial scandal at Archer Daniels Midland. Eichenwald covered the story for the New York Times. The reviews all say that it reads like a well-written whodunit with more twists and turns than a Grisham novel.

You may have seen the tv ads for this next one. Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell is a book with a new movie due out any minute. It is the mostly true story of the author cooking her way through Julia Child’s most famous cookbook. Powell does admit that some stuff she just made up. Like most people, I guess, her story just wasn’t interesting enough on its own without adding some fictional pizzazz. Personally, I’m having some trouble picturing Meryl Streep as Child. Amazing makeup job.

Some more recent book based movies:

Marley and Me by John Grogan
The Reader by Bernard Schlink
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Some older ones still worth seeing:
Giant by Edna Ferber
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Sounder by William Armstrong
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

All available, of course, @ your library.

Summer Sampler

We have a lovely small quilt hanging now in the library. It is called Summer Sampler. Jan Jaqua is its creator. It’s just the cutest combination of sunflowers, watermelon slices and wildflowers! Stop by to see it sometime soon. If you have a quilt you would like to share, just let us know. We enjoy them all-old quilts or new ones, large or small.

Another thing you might consider sharing with the library is your collections. Our display case has Jack Curran’s display of fishing jigs and flies in it right now. But when Jack takes them home, the case will be empty. Please let us know what you have to share. The library staff has displayed everything we can think of. We are out of ideas.What do you have that might be of interest? The display case is lighted and locked. Your treasures are safe with us.

Don’t forget to Touch Base @your library. We are asking everyone to update their contact information in our library database before we convert to a new system. If we don’t mention it to you, ask for the little form. Once you complete the form and return it to the library, you will be entered in our summer drawing. Remember, the grand prize is a trip to the Caribbean!

Just recently, I realized that we haven’t added any new books of house plans for several years. House plan books are like fancy, expensive, coffee table books. They are so much fun to take home and page through, wishing and dreaming of what I might do if I built a house. Knowing that I will never build a new home from scratch doesn’t take away the enjoyment of leafing through the books. New to the library are:

-Design Dream Homes: One-Story Home Plans
-Lowe’s 1-Story Home Plans
-The Bungalow Book: Floor plans and Photos of 112 Homes
-Universal Design Ideas for Style, Comfort and Safety
-A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias. This one is fiction, of course. It was inspired by the death of the author’s wife. It is the story of the first weeks and the final weeks of a thirty year marriage.
-A Princess Found: An American Family, An African Chiefdom and the Daughter Who Connected Them All by Sarah Culberson. Sarah was adopted at the age of one year. In 2004 she hired a private investigator to track down her biological father. This one is a true story!
-House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street by William Cohan. This is the true story, or at least Cohan’s take on the true story of the meltdown of the world financial markets (and my secure retirement).
The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand. From the cover, one would think that this is a frivolous, summertime beach read. But the review states that it is a page-turning story of passion and suspense when a young couple dies leaving their closest friends to cope with the loss and with their two small children.
The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri. A young woman flees to her ancestral hamlet in Ireland to reinvent herself.
The Game of Opposites by Norman Lebrecht. The story of Paul Miller who escapes from a labor camp during a world war. He collapses and is taken in and restored to health by Alice. When the war is over, Paul and Alice marry, but he is haunted by his earlier life.

All new and waiting for you @your library.

Touch Base @ your library

There are some big changes in store for our library in the coming months. One of the most monumental changes will be the replacement of Jean Holste. Yes, our beloved children’s librarian has announced her impending retirement. Jean is just barely older than I. I had my fingers crossed that she wouldn’t leave until I did. Alas, she seems to think that there is some fun to be had in leisure activities and wants to give it a shot. If the library were a private enterprise and not taxpayer supported, I would give her a huge retention bonus and beg her to stay a few more years.

Now we are looking for just the right person to fill the position. No one will ever fill her shoes. It’s a full time, year round position for the person with just the right combination of education and experience. To add insult to injury, Jean’s assistant, Martha Schmidt, has announced that she would rather work as an occasional library substitute than a regular part-timer. That leaves another hole in our schedule and our hearts.

Another change that may have a bigger impact on the staff than on patrons is a new ILS will be coming before the end of the year. That stands for integrated library system. That’s the computer system that organizes our card catalog and our book cataloging and our check-out system. The new system is not something that our library could have afforded on its own. We have formed a consortium of public libraries and school libraries in northern Iowa to make it affordable. The new system will be called Beacon. We want that to be an acronym and have each letter stand for something, but we haven’t made it work out just yet. You will be able to use your Beacon card at any participating library. You will be able to see the card catalog of all participating libraries on our website. It will offer lots of advantages and flexibility that we don’t have now.


Before we dump all our library records into the new system, we want to make sure that they are as accurate as we can make them. We have more than 6,000 patrons in our system. That‘s more than the population of Humboldt and I’m pretty proud of that. It would be nice if we had up to date information for each of you. We decided the best way to get you to update your library card info would be to hold a contest. Come into the library, fill out a simple form and deposit it in the large container. The little form will serve as your entry in our summer drawing.

I’m calling this project Touch Base @ your Library. All we are asking for is your name, address & phone number. You can give us your cell phone and email address if you like. Our new system will allow us to notify you by email. That will save staff time when we want to remind you that your books or movies are overdue, or if we have a special book on hold for you. So, if you are the sort of person who checks his/her email daily, that might be the most efficient contact method.

Prizes for this contest are many and varied. We have some nifty new “green” bags with our library logo on them. Actually, they are wildcat blue, but since they are reusable, they are environmentally healthy. We also have some Chamber Bucks for you to spend at any participating business in Humboldt or Dakota City and my all-time favorite library prize: an all-expense paid trip to the Caribbean! The coffee house, not the islands.

Please stop by, say hello to our enthusiastic staff, update your library card and Touch Base @ your Library!

I intended to write this in time to be printed in last week’s newspaper, but I’ve spent a week at home itching and scratching and whining with a miserable case of hives. I have a new-found respect for those who suffer from this peculiar allergy.
What I had intended to write is about one of the rights guaranteed to us by the First Amendment of our Constitution. Not only our right to speak freely, but our right to read and seek information freely. Because this right is so freely accepted in our society, we give it little thought. It never occurs to us to be grateful that we are entitled to read or seek information about whatever interests us.
Recently we had a small incident at the library that brought this right to mind. For generations libraries have had a system of “reserving” a particular item for a particular patron. If you wish to read a book, but it is checked out at the moment, we electronically flag that item When it is returned to the library, a little box pops up on the computer screen with your name and a message that you are waiting to read this book. We call you. You pick up the book. It is yours to read for three weeks.
This incident happened when we left a message that a couple of books were waiting for a particular adolescent reader. A parent called to ask what the items are that we are holding for the student. On this occasion the books were both popular, highly recommended teenage fare. Nothing the average kid or parent would think twice about.
However, we have a policy, supported by the American Library Association, of not sharing that information with anyone. Not even a parent. What if the books had been about child abuse? I wouldn’t know if the kid is writing a term paper or if he is trying to determine if he or his girl friend or best buddy is being abused. What would happen if I reported those types of titles to a parent? Every reader, regardless of age, is entitled to privacy in what he/reads and in what information is sought.
Earlier in my library career, I came in contact with a young mother, the wife of a prominent community member. She was slowly working her way toward a college degree in some sort of helping profession…nursing, counseling. I don’t remember. She interlibrary loaned, that is borrowed from other libraries, stacks of books about abuse, divorce and its aftermath and child custody. College paper or life help? A very public trial and a prison sentence answered my unasked questions several years later. That woman was entitled to privacy of her research while she got her ducks in a row. What if a librarian had left a voice mail that her husband had listened to? The outcome might have been different.
Another related issue also happens, especially with the parents of adolescent children. A parent may sometimes question librarians about the “suitability” of particular books or movies for children. Before I could tell you if a book is just right for your kid, I would have to have intimate knowledge of the morals and standards of your family. Do you have neighbors who set different standards for their children than you do? Of course you do. If you wish to impose your values on your children’s’ reading material, we have a library loop hole just for you. No child is allowed to have a library card and check out materials without written permission of a parent or guardian. You may deny your child access to a library card. Then, you may accompany your child to the library and supervise what they select and check those items out on your own card.
I don’t want you to think that we just run in a book store and buy large armloads of books to fill our shelves. Nor do we just open a publisher’s catalog and start ordering whatever is new. We all read book reviews in accepted library journals. Our books are chosen based on professional reviews. Movies selected for entertainment value are G or PG-13 rated, with very few exceptions. We apply the best of our professional abilities to select interesting, appropriate library materials for our community. Come on in, look over what we have in store for you. And don’t forget to take a moment to appreciate your right to access whatever information you choose.

Rural Livin'

Refresher course in email lingo: listserv=a mailing list of any number of people tied together by interest or profession. Listserv thread=the theme or topic of numerous emails shared by listserv members.

Last week on PUBLIB, my favorite national listserv for public librarians (as opposed to school, academic, government, or medical librarians) the thread was “You know you are a rural librarian when…..”
It started out fairly tame, and then became a little snarky when a gentleman in Los Angeles chimed in. I think said gentleman used to be a public librarian. Now he researches contract issues and labor laws for a pipe-fitters union. I suppose he should just keep quiet since he doesn’t work in a library. However, he has a wicked sense of humor, so no one has thrown him out.

The first entries were truisms about small towns…..all the things that make us glad we live in one.
You know you are a rural librarian
1. If the only time you lock your car is during zucchini season.
2. A freckled face kid hands you a box with a bird, a bug or a snake inside and says “can you tell me what kind this is?”
3. UPS delivers to your home when the library is closed. And vice versa.
4. A dog wanders in the library and you call its owner instead of animal control.
5. Your genealogy materials are rarely used because everyone knows each other and their family history.
6. You carry bits of paper in your pocket when going to the grocery store, etc. because someone will stop you to ask a question or to reserve or renew a library book.
7. If you ask a new library patron for his/her phone number and are only given the last four digits.
8. A patron offers a dozen eggs or a homemade pie to cover a library fine.

We definitely would erase a library fine for a home-baked pie. Or a plate of just-out-of-the-oven cookies. It was interesting how regional some of the entries were:
You know you are a rural librarian if
1. Oregon : You can’t open the library dumpster because a bear jumped on it and smashed in the lid.
2. North Carolina: All public buildings are required to provide hitching posts.
3. Missouri: A patron has to pay for books he accidentally shot while shooting at a possum in his living room.
4. Kansas: A person pays for a library book because it fell into the sheep dip.
5. Georgia: You have a waiting list of folk who want to harvest pecans from the library’s trees.

After awhile, with the assistance of the Los Angeles guy, things definitely took a turn toward the Beverly Hillbillies kind of humor. Someone finally shut him up and the thread turned toward urban libraries.
You know you are an urban librarian if:
1. You know the price of plate glass mirrors because the ones in the library bathrooms keep getting etched with gang graffiti.
2. Your library fire extinguishers keep getting stolen since any graffiti artist knows you can spray much farther if you put the paint into an extinguisher.
3. The security guard points out that the meeting being held in the library meeting room is a local gang.
4. No one writes in library books since no one knows what they are.

I was never more grateful to be a rural librarian. Come on in to see us. If we don’t know your name, we will the next time.

Library ROI

Our summer reading program has begun. The old building is teaming with kiddoes most hours of the day. I try to picture what Andrew Carnegie would think if he could see us now. In the portrait we have hanging in the east foyer, his eyes twinkle like Santa’s. That Andrew, I think, would be delighted to see the children so enthusiastic for books and learning. Most biographies of Carnegie portray him a little curmudgeonlier. (I wanted to use more curmudgeonly, but the spell check system on my computer disagreed.) Apparently he wasn’t all that pleasant, but very gruff and unbending. That Andrew probably wouldn’t like seeing his temple of knowledge defiled by the presence of children. Oh, well. Mr. Carnegie, we thank you for your $10,000 to get our library up and running. In the 101 years since your gift our library and the building that houses it have been molded and changed to fit the needs of our community and to provide the goods and services its citizens require.

Recently NBC’s Today Show aired a story about public libraries. The focus of that story was that in these troubled economic times people are flocking to libraries in record numbers. The Today story stated that 68% of Americans have a library card. That led me to wonder how we would compare to the national average. According to the last census the population of Humboldt is 4,452. The number of library cards held by folk within the city limits is 3,589---a whopping 80%. We always knew we were smarter than the average bear.

We do go through our patron files every couple of years to delete cards that haven’t been used recently. In Chicago there’s a saying that all the dead vote Democratic, but in Humboldt, those that die or move away don’t check out library books, so we don’t keep them in our records. We have another 900 patrons who live in rural Humboldt County, 542 in Dakota City, 29 with Algona addresses, 447 other public libraries who borrow from us through inter-library loan, one patron who lives in Ames, 125 from Fort Dodge and a bunch from other assorted communities. Our total number of current library card holders is 6651.

Check out the following website: http://www.maine.gov/msl/services/calculator.htm. It is a library usage calculator. You plug in the number of books you’ve checked out, the number of times your kids have attended a program, etc. and the calculator will tell you the dollar value of the services you have received from your library. I roughly calculated the value to the community of last year’s library usage. The cost would have been around $1,747,187.50. Believe me, taxpayers, you aren’t spending anywhere near 1.7 million dollars to keep the library afloat. So our return on investment is very high. If I figured correctly, for every $1 the city spends on the library, the community receives $8-10 worth of goods and services. Not a bad deal.

New on the library shelves:

Wedding Style: Hundreds of Tips and Secrets From the Professionals for Styling Your Own Big Day by Carole Hamilton

Green Wedding: Planning Your Eco-Friendly Celebration by Mireya Navarro

Wedding Chic: 1001 Ideas for Every Moment of Your Celebration by Colin Cowie

Shed Chic: Outdoor Buildings for Work, Rest and Play by Sally Coulthard

Grillin’ With Gas: 150 Mouthwatering Recipes for Great Grilled Food by Fred Thompson

A Shelter in the Garden: Playhouses, Treehouses, Gazebos, Sheds and Other Outdoor Structures by Pierre Nessmann

Outdoor Entertaining Idea Book by Natalie Ermann Russell

It's Progress

If you have tried to make it to the library in the last 10 days or so, you may have encountered an obstacle or two in your path. First Avenue North just outside the library has been removed and replaced. It has been pot-hole pocked for many years. Our valiant city street department patched it regularly, but as anyone knows who has ever patched the knees in the pants of a 10 year old boy, patches only hold for so long. Now, we are to have a bright, new, shiny street. Here’s hoping that it cures the drainage issues that have created curb-side ponds in the past.

Construction workers arrived to replace our front steps and railing on the very same day. Even if you could find a parking place within walking distance, you arrived at the front door to find it blocked off by jack hammers and wet cement. The front steps had also been patched more than once. Several times we called in professionals to do it and some years Vivien Hansen and I troweled in the patching compound. Neither held for very long.

All the construction slowed down traffic at the library. We received phone calls every day: “Is the library open?”, “Where should I park?”,”Could you meet me in the parking lot, my books are overdue?”. We all did the best we could under the circumstances. Although I will admit that the day the water was shut off was a difficult one for staff.

If you were unable to get into the library to return items, call us. We can renew them and remove any accumulated fines. If we call you to tell you a book you wanted is now available, just ask us. We can meet you at the curb or drop it off at your house. We’re flexible.

Soon, all the work will be completed and we will be rewarded for the inconvenience with a smooth, new street and perfect front steps.

Do you remember Reader’s Digest Condensed books? Published from 1950 until 1997, the anthology series graced the coffee tables of almost every home in the country. Those ubiquitous books are the bane of every library that accepts donations. Once in the building, they are impossible to get rid of. No one wants them. We can’t even give them away on our “free” shelf.

I, however, have found a use for them. I reckon I need about 200 hundred Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. Actually, any book about the same size would do. I just need to make stacks and stacks and stacks of books. If you have any that you would like to part with, drop them off at the library or give me a call. I can pick them up. I’ll post a photo of my creation when I’ve finished.

Summer Reading Programs have begun. Don’t let the construction zones keep you away. It’s not too late to sign up the kiddos. Come on in, we will be glad to see you.

Retiring Books

On a recent weekend I had spent the afternoon atop a ladder scraping loose paint from my house. Tired, dirty and hungry, I rummaged around my empty fridge for something for supper. Instead, I called in a pizza order. I hoped to make a quick run into the restaurant and make a fast getaway before anyone could see me in my disheveled state.

Such plans are rarely successful. Right in the parking lot I encountered two favorite library patrons. Readers can never just pass one another with a wave and a quick “hi.” We always stop to discuss what we are reading, what books we’ve just finished and what books we are planning to read next. This time one of the ladies talked about slogging her way through a book she truly wasn’t enjoying, but felt she should finish anyway.

I gave up that attitude at college graduation. No more reading books I didn’t enjoy. No more putting off reading what I really wanted to read because I had to finish something boring first. Since I’m reading for pleasure, why not? The only exception is when the information contained in the book is valuable in itself. Sometimes, knowledge is important regardless of how badly it is presented. Those types, like books about health issues or taxes or politics contain important information. I read those only when absolutely necessary.

Recently there has been a real buzz about a book called The Shack by William Young. We have two regular copies of the book, plus one in large print and one on audio cd. We can’t keep them on the shelves. Everyone who reads it tells all their friends who tell all their friends. From what I’ve been told, it sounds fascinating…..God comes into the book as a very large African American woman. I kind of like that image, so I’ve started the book two times. I never get past the snowstorm in the first few pages. Finally in talking to coworkers, I’ve decided that the book is a GSPW-a good story, poorly written. Life is too short for those, also. Someday someone will write it better. Then I’ll read it.

Otherwise, I enjoy everything I read. I don’t feel guilty stopping after a few pages or a few chapters. My “to read” list is already longer than I’ll live to finish. Don’t feel you have to finish every book you ever start. We have about 20,000 more of them at the library…..a few are surely bound to please.

New(ish) @ your library, a few of what are known in the children’s library as information books. These grownup books are just chock full of everything we might need to know about the retirement years.
Don’t Retire, Rewire by Jeri Sedlar and Rick Miners. In a study conducted by Merrill Lynch, more than 60% of Americans reported that they expected to continue working into retirement. Well, thanks to Merrill Lynch, et al, the other 40% of us will probably have no choice. This little book will help us mold our careers to fit our retirement pocketbooks.

Smart Women Don’t Retire-They Break Free by Gail Rentsch. The sub-title of this one is “from working full-time to living full-time.” What a prospect! Think of all the books I can read!

Retirement Without Borders by Barry Golson. How to retire abroad- I might give this one serious consideration. Let those selfish, far-flung, childless, grownup children of mine come see me for a change. Or, just give me grandchildren and I’ll stay here and be happy.

How to Care for Your Parents’ Money While Caring for Your Parents by Sharon Burns. A frightening thought, whether you are the child or the parent. This may be the most important book on my short list. Someone needs to understand how to stretch resources to cover a whole host of possible contingencies. This book is a well-recommended resource for planning for all eventualities.

Whatever your reading desires, be it business or pleasure, find it @ your library.

Express Yourself @ your library

Memorial Day has come and gone; most of us are back at work. Our kids are finishing up their last full week of school. Next Wednesday school gets out early and the summer fun begins at the library. We used to offer something special that first day of summer vacation…something special to entice the kids and the parents to come into the library to sign up for the summer reading program.

It became apparent that not only was a program or an event unnecessary, it got in the way! We don’t have room for a presenter or a display; the old building is rocking with kiddies, tots, parents, strollers and chaos. We add extra reinforcements to our scheduled staff, we all take our vitamins and prepare to go into the fray armed with books, movies, puppets, games and prizes to amaze and astound young readers. Even those who can’t read yet.

Last year 276 children registered for our summer reading program. Despite declining school enrollment, that number has remained fairly constant from year to year. In June and July last year the children’s library offered 25 separate programs. All together they were attended by 650 kids and parents. Where else would you find 25 FREE children’s activities? Anyone who knows Jean Holste knows that these weren’t just traditional library story hours. Every event is a performance. Last year’s theme was “Catch the Reading Bug”. The programs all revolved around creepy, crawly things.

This year the theme is Be Creative @ your library. Jean has her usual array of not-so-usual programs. Each participant will receive a reading log. This year it is shaped like an artist’s palette. ( I looked that up in the dictionary. Did you know that there are also separate definitions for palet and pallet and pallette?) For each 30 minutes the child reads or is read to, he/she colors in one paint splotch. When all the splotches are colored in, the kiddo receives a prize. Also happening will be Tot Time on Mondays, The Artsy-Smartsy Club (this one is my favorite) and six different Art Starts programs. Also happening are the every-popular Stories & More and Read-To-Me Club. Check with the children’s library for details.

Because kids eventually age-out of the children’s library, but not out of library/reading enthusiasm, we also have a program for tweens and teens. For the 6th-12th grade set, this year’s summer program is entitled Express Yourself @ your library. Every summer Sherri Crowley and I turn the teen corner into something befitting the program theme. In years past we created a haunted house and a castle. Last year’s theme was Metamorphosis. We created a gauzy, floaty-looking scene with lots of color and netting. Not sure what we had in mind at the time. This year, it’s an artist studio, complete with paint brushes and drop cloths. The corner is always adorned with artwork from our “library kids”, the ones who spend lots of time here. Now their artwork has become part of the whole stage set. Sherri and I start planning about February. We decorate and transform because we like to. That there is a summer program with a theme is a bonus for us. Gives us an excuse.

For this group we have one larger prize. No messing around with trinkets for our guys. For every 200 pages read, the kids get an entry for our drawing. The prize this year is a portable DVD player. There will be other assorted programs and activities throughout June and July.

We will also have some contests and activities for grownups. There will be a drawing for some of those reusable, recyclable library bags. They were so popular; I’ve ordered a new batch. We may come up with a large-ish adult prize, too.

Here is a creative endeavor for you to try now: go to www.jacksonpollock.org. Click on “Enter Jackson Pollock. Org. Every move of the mouse will draw. Each click will change the color you are drawing with. The longer you hold the mouse in one place, the bigger paint blob you will make. The faster you move the mouse, the thinner the line you draw. Warning: This website is hypnotizing and addictive!

If you have fun and like your creation, print it out in color and bring it in to the library. We will put it in a picture mat and hang it up. Every work of art from this website wins a prize @ your library.

We are in a library lull right now. Kids and their parents and teachers are working to wrap up the school year. Librarians are finishing up spring programs, getting ready for another summer reading program in June and July.
This week we will meet to discuss our latest Humboldt Reads! book , Pay It Forward. The next selection, nonfiction this time, is The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan. Evelyn Ryan’s story is told by her daughter, Terry. Somehow, just as the family budget would hit crisis point, Mrs. Ryan would write another prize-winning jingle and win just exactly the right prize to keep her family afloat a while longer. Books are available now at the library. Check one out and join us for a lively dinner and book discussion in June.
Since there isn’t much live action in the library these days (but JUST wait until school is out!), I have some new books to share with you:
Miss Julia Delivers the Goods by Ann B. Ross – There is a whole series of Miss Julia books. Each one is more delightful than the last. Miss Julia lost her husband at about retirement age. After his death she discovered he wasn’t quite the man she had thought. Once Julia got over the shock of it all, she sets out to do good works and live life to the fullest.
The Sisters Antipodes by Jane Alison- This is a memoir of just about the craziest sounding childhood I can imagine. Two Foreign Service families, each with two little girls, become friends while living in Australia. Eventually, friendly takes on a whole new meaning and both couples divorce, swap daddies, and remarry. This book is the struggle of the four girls caught in the middle. Oh, my!
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn- If you read Flynn’s Sharp Objects, you know that she is a master of the surprise ending. Look for nothing less in her newest book.
The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women & a Forty-Year Friendship by Jeffery Zaslow. This one has received quite a bit of attention here in Iowa. We women seem to hang on to our friends. It will be an interesting read to hear how these women have stayed friends through marriage, children, divorce, long distance moves, illness and even death.
Columbine by Dave Cullen – We all followed this story as it unfolded ten years ago. After years of interviews and research, Cullen tells the story of the brutality of this crime. This book has received quite a bit of early publicity. Here’s your chance to read it before everyone else is talking about it.
Southern Living Ideas for Great Kids’ Rooms – Someone donated this book to the library. The rooms are the cutest I’ve ever seen….built in beds, beds in lofts and tents, a dresser that incorporates a carousel horse, a choo choo train bed and a closet that resembles a castle. What more could you want?
Do Your Own Home Staging: Sell Your Home Faster, Sell It for More by Tina Parker – This one has a lot of good information for decluttering and depersonalizing your home when you put it on the market. There is a check list for each room in the house.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne – We all ought to read this before we see the movie. It’s the story of two little boys who make friends through the fence at a World War II concentration camp, one inside the camp, the other outside, the son of the camp’s commandant.
Spring brings lots of rainy days. Come on in and be prepared to curl up with a good book from your library.

I may seem to be on a wild tangent of complaints here, what with my recent writing about those who won't pull their pants up and/or shut off cell phone ringers, but I have one more. Someone, a very nice lady, recently returned a cookbook to the library. It was that famous red one that we all get/give for wedding presents. I'm still using my mother's copy with its ragged, food-spotted pages. The lemon meringue pie page and the page for snickerdoodle cookies are almost illegible after 60+ years of use.
This cook wanted to investigate some new pasta recipes. What she discovered when she got home was that someone had removed the whole pasta section. This particular cookbook edition is the three ring binder type. It was very simple for someone to open it up and take out all the desired pages. If the next few people who checked it out wanted Key West Fruit Salad or Kielbasa and Bean Soup (Easy), they might not have noticed that the pasta pages were missing. So, we have no way to figure out who stole them. Actually, it could have happened right in the library-just open up the rings and remove all the pasta!
The nerve! I had always thought people who cook were generous, caring people. After some searching, I discovered a different edition of the book that doesn't have the ring binding system. It's been ordered, so all you novice cooks rest easy. The thief wasn't even smart enough to steal lemon meringue pie. It's really, really yummy.
Whenever librarians get together in meetings or via electronic listservs, the subject of the most stolen library books comes up. Some things are just universal. The books that get stolen here are the same ones that get stolen everywhere.
Books about the occult such as witchcraft are often missing right after we put them on the shelf. I haven't heard about any new Humboldt covens popping up, so I wonder what happens to the books. Just who it is that needs them so badly? David Pelzer's books, including A Child Called It, often disappear. For awhile we kept them behind the desk. If you wanted to read about the poor, abused child Dave says he was, you would have to ask a librarian. I wonder if the thieves would like to hear that Pelzer's siblings say that none of what he writes is true, that he writes whatever he thinks will sell books. I also wonder why Pelzer would say those things about his parents if it wasn't true.
Another section that is susceptible to larceny is books about pregnancy and childbirth. Since most women who chose to become pregnant are excited and proud, I imagine the pregnancy book thieves are underage and ill prepared. I visualize them hiding behind the shrubbery at the library to look at the books where they can't be observed. Even sadder to think about is that baby name books are amongst the hardest to keep on the shelves. It just breaks my heart.
Please, folks, don't just help yourself to library materials. Bring it to the counter like a grownup. We won't judge you by your reading matter. Witchcraft and child abuse could be the topic of a research paper. The baby names book might be needed to name a new puppy for all I know. I don't care why you check out what you do. I won't ask, but, please check it out. Stealing from the library is a crime.

I keep reminding myself that libraries have changed. They aren’t those old formal places that one entered on tip toe, never speaking above a soft whisper. We’re friendly now. We’re noisy sometimes. Occasionally we’re even rowdy. That’s ok. Libraries are public property, publicly owned. The library should be exactly what the majority of its owners wants it to be. I even like them better this way. Aren’t we all more comfortable in our own homes than in more formal places like sanctuaries and courtrooms?

Some libraries even state that their mission is to be the community’s living room. How cozy! However much we want you to be comfortable in our library, some behavior that might seem ok in your own home is still not acceptable in public places. Not even in the library.

It all started a few years ago with the proliferation of personal cell phones. My problem with cell phones is that they ring. Someone speaking on a cell phone in the library is no more disturbing than a conversation between two who are actually present here together. However, that ring! It annoys everyone. If you can’t wait until you get outside to take a call, please set your phone so that it does not startle sleeping babies or set the dogs down the block howling.

Another odd thing about cell phone conversations is that it appears that some people think it has rendered them invisible and inaudible. I really don’t need your problems. Are you sure that you want me to know that you didn’t file an income tax return last year or that various portions of your anatomy don’t function as you’d like? I can hear you and so can most everyone else in the library.

Remember the “sandwich” letter that we learned to write in typing class? The letter that starts out with something pleasant, puts the unpleasantness in the middle and ends up with a complimentary paragraph. The first four paragraphs you just read were the introductory niceness. Now to the heart of the matter:

Using a library, with all its shelves high and low, all its chairs, stepstools and machines, requires bending, stooping and reaching. All this body movement can cause clothing to slip and move out of place. I realize that belting one’s trousers just under one’s chin went out of style a decade or two ago. Even I shop for clothes. I know today’s fashions are not designed to keep one’s person covered at all times.

HOWEVER, just as we would rather not hear about your anatomy, most of it we’d rather not see either. Recently as I walked behind a row of five computer users, three of the five exposed portions of their body that only a proctologist should ever see. Of these three, one was a 40-something “gentleman”, one a male teen and one a 30-ish female.
I am at a loss to know how to handle this. Thus far, I have not been able to force myself to bring this to the attention of the patrons. Don’t they feel a breeze on their nether regions? Don’t they care? Do they think that we find this fashion statement attractive?

Okay, public. This is your warning. Turn off that cell phone ringer and pull up your pants before entering the library. Aging librarians are prone to swooning into a faint at the sign of bare behinds.

It’s weeding time at the library. Library weeding is just like the garden variety. Pull out the undesirables to allow the really good ones to strut their stuff and to allow space to add whatever new comes along.

For many years a slim volume produced by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission has been the weeding “bible” of the library world. It is known as the Crew Method: Expanded Guidelines for Collection Evaluation and Weeding for Small and Medium-Sized Public Libraries. I’m not sure who appointed those guys master weeders, but they developed a simple method that most libraries use. The Crew manual states that depending on shelf space, we should choose a date three to five years ago and weed any adult fiction book that hasn’t been checked out since that date. We’re crowded, so we use the three year rule. If nobody has wanted to read it in the last three years, chances are no one ever will.

It just kills me. I read several book review journals every month. I only buy books that came well recommended and reviewed. How do all these dud slip by? Perhaps I am gullible, just a real sucker for a well written book review. It also works the other way around. Every once in awhile a good book slips by me. Sometimes I will read the review and think “who cares about religious intrigue in the art world? “ Six thousand people cared enough to buy The Da Vinci Code the first day it was published. Sixty million more copies have sold since. Maybe I just need more practice.

I’ve weeded like crazy this week. The shelves by the east door that hold our new books are getting crowded. Some of the least new ones need to move onto the regular shelves and I must make way for them. Thus, there are lots of free books for the taking. They are housed on the shelves on the stair landing. A sample of what is available:

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It was published in 1989. It’s 973 pages long. Demi tried for years to persuade me to read it. When Oprah recommended it, I read it. It’s very good. The hoopla has died down and we now have an extra copy.

Love with Noodles: An Amorous Widower’s Tale by Harry Freund. I haven’t read this one. The cover says that widower Dan remained faithful to his deceased wife until a string of tantalizing women entered his life.

The Sudoku Murder by Shelley Freydont. Apparently readers didn’t stay interested in this one any longer than I did in those stupid puzzles of the same name. I never did get one to work out right.

Ten Little New Yorkers by Kinky Friedman. He’s that wacky guy that keeps running (but not winning) for governor of Texas. The cover says he lives with his five dogs and one armadillo in a little green trailer in the Texas hill country. His books just aren’t very popular around here. I think we are probably too sensible to appreciate his humor.

Also available are assorted other rejects. Some John Grisham and Julie Garwood books have been read to pieces. They will probably make it through one more reading. If you read to the beat of a different drummer, we have a free book for you. If you follow the straight and narrow reading path, we have some well worn copies for you to take home to keep and enjoy. Stop by, check out what is available FOR FREE at your library.

When someone asks if I have read any good books lately, the answer is always “yes”. It’s always true, mostly because I read lots of books, but it also true because I don’t read any other kind. I start lots of bad books, but I don’t finish them. Since I read for pleasure, why bother with a book that is less than enjoyable?

Just this week I finished The Woman at the Washington Zoo: Writings on Politics, Family, and Fate by Marjorie Williams. Ms. Williams was a columnist for the Washington Post and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. The book is a compilation of her work. The longer pieces are mostly profiles of famous and not quite famous people. They range from Teddy Roosevelt’s grandson Archie to Barbara Bush. The second half of the book is shorter pieces, essays. These encompass her feelings about motherhood, politics and her battle with cancer. It was a good read. I have my name on the waiting list for her other book, Reputation: Portraits in Power. I’ve heard that it is even better.

Sometimes, I think that journalists make the best non-fiction authors. They don’t need to learn to write. They have already become accomplished at it. They know how to accept judicial editing. They just “get” how to tell a story well. Some other well loved books by journalists are:

-Tuesdays With Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson by sports writer Mitch Albom. This one has become a classic, almost everyone has read it. It’s the story of a grateful student paying homage to a dying teacher.
-Anything by Rick Bragg, the former newspaper columnist. His family biographies including Ava’s Man are his best work.
-Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by In America by magazine columnist Barbara Ehrenreich.
-The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Friedman, newspaper journalist.
-Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene, Chicago newspaper columnist. One of my all-time favorite books by a journalist. Greene may have been packed off in disgrace for crummy behavior, but he’s a terrific storyteller.
-Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer. A well written account of how a bar full of guys became substitute fathers and role models for a neighborhood kid.
-The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls. The story of the world’s most dysfunctional family. A must-read for anyone who still harbors a grudge against his/her own parents. I gave it to all my own kids for Christmas one year. I wanted them to realize that their childhood could have been worse.
-The Night of the Gun by David Carr. The story of a successful journalist’s fall into drugs and crime.

Whatever your reading tastes, stop by the library. We have a book for you.

The March 3, edition of Woman’s Day magazine has an article that will bring tears to the eyes of even the sternest, most stoic librarian. The title of the article is “The Library Made Me Healthier.” It is the story of four disparate library users in various parts of the country.

The first is the story of Elaine who lives in San Francisco. She was waiting in the hospital oncology ward for her husband to be scheduled for surgery. It was near Valentine’s Day. The hearts and cupids decorating the hospital hallway only served to further depress her. When a nurse told her to take a break to get away from the hospital for a bit, Elaine wandered into a nearby library. Upon entering she was met by a display of library books with a romantic theme. She skipped over Romeo and Juliet and Doctor Zhivago. She chose a small book of poetry by Mary Oliver.

In that little volume she read the poem “University Hospital, Boston”, about another woman in a similar situation. She hurried back to the hospital to read and re-read that poem aloud to her husband throughout the night. Her husband finally had the surgery and they shared a hospital Valentine’s Day dinner of vending machine snacks and ice chips.

Isn’t that the sweetest story? Sometimes things happen at just the right time. I wanted to read the whole poem so I typed in University Hospital, Boston/Mary Oliver into an internet search engine and easily found it. It is beautifully written, a comfort to those facing health issues of a beloved spouse.

There are three more similarly inspiring library stories in that Woman’s Day issue. One from a younger woman who finally gave birth to her first child after several disappointing years of hoping. She was confused and concerned at her post-partum state of mind. She turned to her local library to research her issues and found that she wasn’t alone in her desperation. Medical treatment was successful and she is now a happier mother of two.

The third story concerns a recent retiree to rural Colorado. When she was diagnosed with an illness she also turned to her local library for information. At the end of her story she thanked her doctor, family and friends and her little mountain library.

The last story is written by Linda Slayton from Des Moines. Diabetes robbed her of most of her vision. After a period of depression she contacted the Iowa Department for the Blind. They put her in touch with the Library of Congress. They send audio books directly to her home. Although hers isn’t the story of a cozy little community library, a library none-the-less made a big difference in her quality of life.

We’ve all been a little grumpy around here. We’ve lost our zip, our zest, our enthusiasm. I think it is seasonal. Will this interminable winter never end? This article was just what we needed to help us remember why we are librarians.

Most days we just match up the newest James Patterson novel with an eager reader. We check out a stack of dvds to a family who is once again facing a long weekend with a bunch of rowdy, housebound children. We tell 15 phone callers that our tax preparation appointments are all full, call earlier next year. We quiet noisy children. We try to offer a smile to someone who looks like he/she needs one.

But, every once in awhile, we have the opportunity to change lives.