Kansas Library Express - Coming This Week!

On July 1, HPL will become a stop on the Kansas Library Express (KLE) courier system.  I know, "What the heck does that mean?" is surely what you are thinking.  The KLE is a system set up to rapidly exchange library materials between Kansas libraries.  A sort of turbo-charged inter-library loan (ILL) system.  There are about 240 of the 600+ Kansas libraries on the fledgling system so far.  HPL will be able to send and receive books and other material from those libraries with a much faster turn around than by using USPS book rate delivery.

What does that mean for the patrons of the library?  It means that if we can borrow something from a participating library, once ordered through the ILL system, that "something" will arrive within a day or two.  For staff, it means (hopefully) an easier way to ship library material back and forth.  From my point of view, I hope both of those things happen plus I hope HPL saves a little money on postage.  Time will tell for all those things, so please bear with us as we test out the new system.

Sun-baked brain

I have recently returned from a vacation - a much needed vacation.  In fact, since I did not really start to unwind until a couple of days into the vacation, I would have gladly taken another 2 days off at the end.  Alas, duty called and I returned to work instead.  One of the onerous modern-day chores of "getting back to work" is going through all the figuratively piled up email, Google Reader feeds, etc.  As I did this, I came across an interesting blog post at In the Library with the Lead Pipe.   Basically, it is a musing about what librarians really are these days.  The best point made, I think, is that we seem to know more what we aren't rather than what we are.  This is quite true, in my opinion.  Librarians have worked feverishly to shed the stereotype of the uptight, bun-wearing, bespectacled keeper of quiet.  But we have yet to come up with an distinct new  identity.  And in the meantime, though we are still masters of navigating what is now a torrent of information, we seem to have lost the acknowledgment of that authority and skill by the general public.

Somewhat related to that article, but not entirely:  Right now we are making transformations on many fronts at HPL.  Most of them are not showy.  A few of them will be visible, but not in the "Hey look at that shiny new ______ that wasn't there before!"  Many of them have to do with the changing role of the library and the job of "librarian".  One of the visible ones is the changing "Information Desk" area.  Over the next weeks and months, this area and the function of the librarians staffing it will be changing.  We are focusing more on assisting patrons where they are, rather than making them come to a desk and feel as if they are interrupting our "work".  In fact, our work at the Information Desk has always been to be the spot to get a quick answer.  We have had varying degrees of success with that, so we are trying something different.

What's a summer time post without pictures from Summer Reading programs?  Nothing, I say!  Here's a picture of me reading Roger, the Jolly Pirate as part of this week's pirate-themed story time:

Book Review

I just finished reading Matthew Crawford's Shop Class as Soulcraft and I have to say that despite an affinity for casting about fancy words, Mr. Crawford makes tremendous sense.  In fact, I wish all those who are in positions of influencing education policy would read it.  The gist of Shop Class as Soulcraft is that we have, as a society, gone too far down the path of separating thinking from doing.  In the rush to accommodate the "Information Age", shop programs and the like were gutted from public schools.  This was a huge mistake in the sense that it virtually eliminated any alternate paths to what we think of as a satisfying or successful career and life.  It will make you want to read up on Aristotle and his ideas of a stochastic art or techne.

I invite you to take a look at this book and think about the implications for our society.  There is merit in Mr. Crawford's argument that should be seriously considered.

Make a Splash!

We made one.  Some of us did so literally!  I think I went in the tank at least 20 times.  A big thank you to all our hard-working staff members.  The Hutchinson Public Library has the best staff in the world!  Also, a big thank you to the wonderful group of volunteers who helped make all the fun possible.

I hope that everyone who attended had a great time.  I saw a lot of smiles from my rather unstable perch in the dunk tank.  A special thanks to Chris Orwoll from the Kansas Cosmosphere for coming over and helping us out - he's a good sport!

I didn't get to see much of what went on today outside my little cage, but photos are coming in so I thought I'd put a few up here.  I'll post more of them as they become available.  (Thank you Michelle for this batch of pictures!)

This is the Overdrive Digital Bookmobile.  They rolled in and demonstrated all the cool things you can download from their service.  HPL subscribes to OverDrive - all you need is a library card and you can download audiobooks to your heart's content!

I have no idea what is going on here, except it looks like fun!

Hutchinson Fire Department rocks!  They brought the big ladder truck.  I love the ladder truck.

Book Review

Having just finished The eerie silence: renewing our search for alien intelligence by Paul Davies, I thought I would share my opinion.  Davies is a professor at Arizona State University.  In a nutshell, this book, as many of Davies' books are, was both entertaining and thought-provoking.  I am not one to easily grasp advanced scientific concepts, and I always find Professor Davies' books easy to read and understand.  Basically, Davies lays out the case for expanding what we should be looking for if we ever expect to "make contact" with an alien intelligence (think SETI).  Rather than simply searching the universe for radio waves we might want to look beyond what we, as a peculiar species might do (and expect) to establish communications.  I won't bother to go into great detail, but Davies provides chapter after chapter filled with ideas not only for us to use to try to establish contact but for us to look for where someone else might already have tried to contact us.  I would encourage taking a look at this book if for no other reason than it forces one to confront the real challenges and opportunities surrounding, and the deep, deep questions raised by, the fact that there seems to be such an eerie silence out there.

Facebook, privacy, and MORE!!!!!!

An extravaganza!  OK, maybe not.  I think I have mentioned in the past that librarians are a privacy-minded lot.  On the whole, we have taken the idea that what information you access and exchange is your business alone.  I suppose with the one caveat that you "do no harm" to others.  Hmm...does that make us weak libertarians?  People often accuse librarians of being liberal and prone to protecting the rights of criminals and perverts (you know, those folks who try to browse the naughty Internet sites on the public computers).

The truth is, from a certain perspective that's partly true, but with a very good reason.  Don't get me wrong, none of us (librarians) like criminals or perverts.  It is just that now more than ever before, the line between "acceptable" and "unacceptable" in societal terms, has been horribly blurred.  So librarians, as a group, tend to stick to our tried-and-true method of finding the best that we can provide and letting you, the individual, decide what is best for you and your dependents.

For me, it all boils down to an interaction I had with a friend of mine many years ago.  This friend holds many beliefs and opinions that are completely antithetical to mine.  However, we always got along well because we agreed to disagree in some cases.  A statement he made to me one time during a discussion about book banning types and their motivations exemplified what I mean.  Despite his very conservative values, he said to me that he could "never support pulling books from public libraries regardless of how I feel about some of them because that opened the door to someone else removing the books I want, and want others, to be exposed to."

So, how can librarians help patrons with their private pursuits?  With an open mind and good tools.  So where does the Facebook part come in?  This is a great tool to help protect your private information on Facebook.  Bear in mind that the ReclaimPrivacy.org tool is a free tool and provided "as-is".  That said, if you use Facebook, follow the instructions and run the scanner to see what you have out there available to all.  I made some changes to my account based on the results.  Here is an article with more information.

Summer Celebration - with a special guest

Summer is nearly upon us and we are busily preparing for the summer reading program.  This year, the theme is "Make a Splash" so rather predictably, we have a number of fun water-related games and activities in the works for the annual big kick-off.  Among your choices for water-based mayhem will be a chance to soak me in the dunk tank.  I'll bet you all have lousy aim!  (A friendly taunt :-P )

Another nifty activity that day will be a visit from the OverDrive Digital Bookmobile.  The Hutchinson Public Library contracts with the OverDrive company to provide downloadable audiobooks and (so far) a few epub ebooks.  The Digital Bookmobile provides a unique opportunity to try out various electronic gadgets and learn about the wealth of literary entertainment available through the service.

You can check up on the latest information about these programs at HPL's Facebook page.  There are FREE programs scheduled throughout June and July, including our popular craft Wednesdays in July.

I wonder how many books will be read during the various summer reading programs?  Last year we had nearly 1,100 children, young adults and adults sign up for the programs.  The children's program required the reader to read 10 books to complete it and just shy of 40% reached that goal.  The young adults and adults averaged about 5 books per person entered.  Checkouts overall were up 5% last summer over the previous year.  I hope this year they are up even more and I'd love to see us break the 50% mark for children reaching the reading goal!