Hooray! It's almost here!

June 3 - THIS FRIDAY - is the HPL Summer Celebration.  Our big kick-off for the summer reading program for children.  Sign up and get your passport for "One World, Many Stories".  For each book completed or for each hour of reading, registered children get a stamp in their passport.  Collect 10 stamps and receive a prize.  This program allows children to travel around the world or even into another world through reading.  There are programs available for all age groups, including adults!

OK, now I'm just angry

[/rant]

I read a Los Angeles Times article earlier in the week about the treatment of Los Angeles public school librarians and was by turns sad, angry, and ever more firm in my conviction that the United States is so far off the rails, it might just be irreversible.  The issue is that the LA school district wants to fire all the librarians because in the district's view they are, in a nutshell, superfluous.  To add insult to injury, the librarians were grilled by attorneys in a make-shift courtroom, made to defend their worth because the choice was either lose your job, or prove that you could be transferred into a classroom.  Disgraceful.  Where were the court appearances for the greedy folks that leveraged us in to this mess?

Our leaders no longer even attempt to look at what they are doing because the pressures from the "no tax could ever be good" folks have blinded them to the point that they can't see what tools are necessary to achieve even their own (the politician's) stated goals!  Just looking at the federal level, how do you build a strong STEM education if students don't learn to research a topic?  Ask any college instructor today and they will tell you that the multitudes of HS graduates coming to them are ill prepared for advanced study.

I can tell you that my experiences with school libraries all the way back to early elementary grades were the only things that kept me interested in learning.  I got the chance to go to this place, once per week, that was filled with new avenues and I could choose which one I took.  In fact, there was this person there who, over time, learned what I seemed to like and would suggest other similar books.  Sometimes she would suggest things that were just OK, but sometimes she would suggest a book or author that would (as I have found to date) stick with me forever.

Children in Los Angeles, in other states, in Kansas, and potentially even in Hutchinson will miss this guidance because of a glaring ignorance regarding the importance of not the collections of information but the people who know what is there.  School librarians are being fired everywhere.  They have taken big hits in Kansas as school districts cope with drastic budget cuts.  I know, times are tough.  They were made tough by rampant greed and you and I and our kids and grandkids are apparently expected to suffer for that greed.

Back to my original point, the political leaders need to make up their minds.  They can't have it both ways - funding cuts and no revenue increases.  As a parent, I am for any education-related tax increase needed to adequately staff our schools.  I am not oblivious to the fact that I am in a minority here.  But I want the United States to regain an even keel.  I want a nation full of opportunity and competitive spirit.  And I know there are 2 things that will get us there - ingenuity and education.  I am convinced that librarians play a crucial role in the education and development of children and that cutting them out of schools further cripples an already overburdened educational system.

[/end rant]

2011 Summer Reading at HPL

Sign-up for our Summer Reading Program begins May 27th!  It is hard to believe that we're already on the cusp of another hectic summer season.  I am really excited about the programs this year.  We have a few interesting twists on the usual read-something-get-a-reward format for these kinds of events.  One of those is a weekly trivia contest on we will be conducting on Facebook.  Friend HPL and then check in each week starting June 6 for a new question.  The winner will receive a tasty treat from the Bru Crue Coffee Bar!

The YA (young adult) summer reading theme is "Greek to me".  Sign up for this program also begins on May 27th.  All young adults from ages 12-17 are eligible to participate in the YA activities and reading program.  There will be prizes and fun throughout June and July!

Of course, the summer would not be complete without a summer reading program designed for children.  This year's theme is "One World, Many Stories".  Children can sign up for their passport on May 27th with the goal of reading 10 books or for 10 hours.  After each book, the child will receive a stamp in her or his passport.  When the goal is reached, the child can redeem the passport for a prize.

Finally, don't miss the big kick-off Summer Celebration on June 3rd from 9-11:30am.  There will be games, food, and all sorts of fun celebrating our one world and our many stories.

This is the challenge...

In reference to what "book" sellers want to shoot for, specifically Barnes & Noble's probable new owners, Liberty Media Group:

"You don't want the old-fashioned bookstore customer who goes in and sits and reads a book for two hours. You want people going in there who are hungry for experience," said Richard Hastings, a consumer strategist with Global Hunter Securities.

Given this strategy, what is a library to do? Are we to cater to the "old-fashioned" customer?  The article from which that quote came goes on to say that paper books still out-sell ebooks 5-to-1.  But the publishing industry is banking on ebooks as the future which leaves libraries in an awkward position.  What about the people who want the "experience", whatever that is?

We in libraries are still tied to paper because our users are not just the "1" in the 5-to-1 ratio.  We are also saddled with a lack of viable ebook lending systems.  OverDrive, a big player in downloadable audio books cut a deal with Amazon to allow Kindle books to be borrowed through libraries.  But OverDrive has really expensive "access" fees that they charge libraries simply to get to their collections of ebooks and audio books.  Plus Kindle access will not be available until fall of 2011.  Likewise, Recorded Books, sort of the "gold standard" company among audio book producers, has been aggressive in attracting libraries by providing an alternative platform to the OverDrive juggernaut.  But they too have very small collections of ebooks for loaning through libraries and currently no access to Amazon's proprietary format for Kindle users.

How noisy is it?  WHO CARES - we'd be printing our own books!

HPL will continue to purchase paper for the time being, but just as LP, 8 track, and cassette collections fell prey to the evolution of formats and players, so too may the paper book.  What does that mean for people who can't afford to buy every book they read, let a lone purchase the reader?  As publishers limit their print offerings, it means less variety.  Libraries will step in and fill that gap easily though.  Libraries can purchase and circulate the  readers themselves, if they want.  Or libraries can become paper "book ATMs" if you will, by purchasing systems such as the Espresso Book Machine.  Then, we could continue to provide items to our patrons who either can't afford or don't want to purchase every single book they read or don't want or have an ebook reader.

An interesting challenge - a potentially dangerous one - but interesting indeed.

Future-proofing libraries?

I don't think I want my library "future-proofed".  I think instead I want my library to join and be a vital part of the future.  Yes, I know that's not what they meant.  They mean we (library workers) should be working to make libraries adapt.  But I think that we do that - adapt, I mean.  And I think that we are.  What we need is a goal and a better PR campaign.  Seth Godin wrote what some call a "controversial" blog post about this topic just yesterday.  I think he largely hits the nail on the head.  What libraries are about is not the stacks and stacks of paper, but the information and more importantly, THE PEOPLE.  The librarians, the library users, and ultimately society as a whole are what libraries are about.  The goal should be that libraries create the future - and that future should be primarily focused on the community that each library serves.  Libraries should be a place of creation - not warehousing.  Libraries should foster and provide the tools, space, and interaction needed to create new businesses and promote the growth and success of new intellectuals.  We (librarians) have and can provide tools for this creativity and interaction.  We largely lack the PR skills to get the attention...IMHO.

Grab Bag

Catch-all, whatever you might call it - this is that type of post.

First off, a few building updates.  We started off this spring with a flurry of activity aimed at restoring the Quiet Reading Room.  This was a space in the original 1950 portion of the building designated for contemplative study away from the hub-bub of the rest of the bustling library.  It had been gone for a long time and is sorely needed again.  As I said though, we started with a flurry of activity, but have ground to a halt waiting on furniture orders.  Never fear though, because we will announce a grand re-opening in the next few weeks.

Second, I read an article from the Guardian (UK) newspaper about the "secret" life of libraries.  I wouldn't call this an article so much as a reminiscence.  However, it ended with a couple of passages which I'd like to quote here because they hit home with me regarding what libraries are worth to a society:

"The pace of life is different now, and people expect art to happen to them. Music and film do that, a CD will do that, but you have to make a book happen to you. It's between you and it. People can be changed by books, and that's scary. When I was working in the school library, I'd sometimes put a book in a kid's hands and I'd feel excited for them, because I knew that it might be the book that changed their life. And once in a while, you'd see that happen, you'd see a kind of light come on behind their eyes. Even if it's something like 0.4% of the population that that ever happens to, it's got to be worth it, hasn't it?"

The libraries' most powerful asset is the conversation they provide – between books and readers, between children and parents, between individuals and the collective world. Take them away and those voices turn inwards or vanish. Turns out that libraries have nothing at all to do with silence.

Third, I'd like to point out ANOTHER awesome collection of information posted on the Kansas Government Information (KGI) blog.  It's about one of my favorite political figures from the recent past, Senator Bob Dole.  Browse through a trove of Dole-related links here.

So there you have it.  A grab bag befitting my little collection of odd bits and extraneous information that I have posted here over the past 2-ish years!

Read to Rover - Get a Reward!

We're trying something new to go along with our long-standing monthly Read to Rover program.  Starting this month, we will hand out punch cards to children who participate.  If a child brings the card to 3 sessions of Read to Rover, he or she will receive a FREE book!

Read to Rover is held on the 2nd Thursday of each month.  So the next session will be May 12th.  We start at 6 pm, so that there is plenty of time to read.

A little background for those of you who might not be familiar with this concept:  "Reading With Rover" or "Read to Rover" is a program that has been used in schools and libraries all across the country to help foster literacy skill and reading confidence in children.  The dogs used in the programs are the perfect audience for children who may have difficulty reading or who find it intimidating to read to people.  Therapy dogs are patient and very good at listening and seem to get as much out of being read to as the children.  No matter the child's skill level though, it's fun to read a story and spend some quality time with a new furry friend.  Here are some sites for programs around the nation - links here and here.

If you have children who would like to participate - please come and join us!