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.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
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
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
Friday, June 5, 2009
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
