Playaways
Nature seems to be really struggling with a chilly spring this year, but most of us are eager to spend time outdoors anyway. Pulling last year’s debris out of gardens is not my favorite chore, but it does go a little better when I’m listening to a book. If you read my column, you probably already know about my fond relationship with my mp3 player, but I’ve recently found a new love. The Cedar Falls Public Library experimented with Playaways awhile back, and found that people really like them.
A Playaway is like an mp3 player—a little electronic gadget about the size of a Zippo lighter that plays an audio version of a book. You listen to the book by plugging in your earphones and pressing the buttons. The Playaway makes it a little easier for those of us who might struggle with the skills or time required downloading books—one book is already on each device. So you checkout a Playaway (battery included), plug in your earphones (you can buy them at the Library if you don’t have your own), and you’re ready to listen. We recently purchased 100 Playaways. You can find them on our catalog with the keyword “playaway,” or come in and browse the collection. I can pull weeds all summer (like that’s going to happen) and never run out of listening material.
The Playaways were purchased with a generous gift given to the library from the estate of Ken and Maureen Lauterbach. The new library levy has done marvelous things to our materials budget, but gifts in memory and in honor of others really enhance the collection. For example, a group of women who refer to themselves as “Old Neighbors on Panther Lane” regularly donate money for library materials that would otherwise buy birthday gifts for each other. The result—great books about the Midwest, women and art are in our collection. Donations in memory of Karen Kelso-McMurrin have added great selections to the youth department. I hesitate to even start naming names, as there are so many, and they’ve all added so much. Library materials are a great way to give to the community.
Latitude
Latitude. One of those words that seems to have a simple definition, yet actually has a lot of depth. What came to your mind? Was it the distance from some specified point; or how about the freedom of action given to people who may otherwise be governed by a set of rules. Exploration is another one. Do you travel for adventure or discovery, or do you investigate, study and analyze as your way of exploring?
Both words are pertinent to the public library. We encourage exploration, we try to encourage a lot more latitude in exploration methods than printed matter has allowed until our generation. Print is still my favorite, maybe yours too. I run across books from time to time that remind me of returning to textbooks in the fall, or I have a book in hand that allows me to close my eyes and return to the youth department of Waterloo’s old east side Carnegie library. And occasionally I pick up a new book that I absolutely cannot put down (“Three Cups of Tea” this week). But to envelope other formats and methods only increases the richness of our exploration for new experiences. We live in an incredibly busy society, and to fight for a share of your time takes strategy. It takes particular skills to select the books that will tempt you to take them home, and it takes particular skills to select a program that will tempt you to leave your home, or other responsibilities. The key is to give staff latitude, and they present some great venues for the rest of us to explore.
The Cedar Falls Public Library will host guest presenter Sue Doody on Thursday, May 15 at 7 pm for “Give Me a Little Latitude.” Sue has explored countries that many of us have only read about, and has agreed to share those trips in a way that’s much more interesting than any geography lesson (sorry—geography was not my favorite class). I hope to see you there. By the way, we recently explored what would happen if we gave you the latitude to bring in food in lieu of fine money, and our community raised five and a half barrels of food for the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. Thank you for helping make National Library Week a success.
National Library Week 2008
During April 13-19 of 2008, we will celebrate National Library Week. Your local public libraries will have special celebrations for you, but I thought it would be a good time to reflect on something we provide year round, something many people take for granted. Not among library staff, however. What we provide and protect is the freedom of information, and your right to privacy, no matter what your age is. If you check out a book on divorce, sex, homosexuality, abortion, incest or bomb building you may not want your interests to be widely known. Laws are in place to protect your privacy, and while the Privacy Act now provides law enforcement some privilege in this area, by and large your right to privacy is protected, no matter who you are.
The social networking phenomena seem to fly in the face of this need for privacy. For example, Facebook and MySpace participants are willing to provide fairly private information to the cyberworld at large. It interested me to read that some young adults don’t want to accept their parents as “friends” on internet sites that might reveal too much about their personal lives, when it appears to me that posting on the internet appears to strip privacy right out of our lives. I felt very exposed when I began to provide boxes on my blog that reveals what I am reading and viewing, but I don’t know if that’s my generation speaking, or my librarianship.
Whether freedom of information, and the privacy that protects your access appeals to you or not, be sure and stop at the Waterloo and Cedar Falls Public Libraries during National Library Week. In Cedar Falls, bring a non-perishable food item (or two) in to have your old or new library fines zapped. These donations benefit the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, and your library account. You can also enter drawings for prizes and enjoy cookies, provided by the Cedar Falls Friends of the Library. Waterloo will feature “Curbside to Go.” Call the library between 9 am and 4 pm Monday-Thursday, April 14-17, and tell staff what you would like to check out. We’ll have them ready to run out to your car between 4 pm to 6 pm, and you won’t even have to get out of the car. And don’t forget to check my blog (available from the library’s website) to see what I’m reading!
Friends of the Library
Who could survive without their friends? We probably could, but life wouldn’t be as fulfilling. The public libraries could survive on tax dollars, but they wouldn’t be as rich. Many public libraries are fortunate enough to have Friends organizations. Friends groups are separate entities from the library itself, and operate solely to support the library. They raise money through membership dues, and other fund raising efforts. They advocate for the library throughout the community. They also donate many hours of volunteer time in support of the library. Volunteers nationwide are honored during National Volunteer Week, April 27-May 3.
Without the Friends, we wouldn’t have puppets, puppet theatres and bulletin boards in the youth department. We wouldn’t have crafts and prizes for summer library programs. We wouldn’t have refreshments and prizes during National Library Week, April 13-19 for this year. We are able to have eye-catching and interesting display of materials because of the Friends. The Friends pay for special library programs for adults, like author visits, computer classes, antiques appraisal, wine and chocolate tasting, and so many more. They pay for the popcorn at the afternoon movies, and sponsor book discussion groups. They are our strong allies in promoting literacy. The citizens of the Cedar Valley are very generous in supporting the public libraries with their tax dollars, but the Friends put the icing on the cake.
Society seems to have a harder edge than it did twenty years ago, maybe because tragedy and violence are the items that catch our attention. From what I see around the library, caring and giving still abound. For a very reasonable amount, your dollars and time will pool to make your library a greater place. And if you aren’t a Friends member—you can join at any time!
Privacy on the Net
I was recently surveyed about my views as a library director regarding privacy perceptions on the Internet. It appears from this research that librarians worry about privacy alot more than the people whose privacy we protect. So that I have a better understanding of Web 2.0, I've set up accounts on Facebook, GoodReads, and Second Life. I balked about putting in my email password, but when I did, I found other people that I know on GoodReads. Facebook was ready for me--as I setup my account, Facebook was eager to provide a list of my friends who already reside there. Flickr lets me see my family's photos, and also their friends. Not only photos, but comments. This all is new to me. We have staff members who do not wish to wear nametags with their last names--yet we have people posting all kinds of personal stuff all over the web. We protect our identity out of fear, I believe, in "real" life. Yet, we are posting more and more about our private lives for the entire world to see. Takes some getting used to.
Widgets & GoodReads
Thanks to my daughter for setting the bar so high! I've been envious of the GoodReads link in my 3-month-old grandson's blog that shows me what the grown-ups in the house are reading and viewing. So, I took advantage of the blizzard conditions that are keeping me inside to figure it out. I didn't have to call for help! I can now show the world what I'm reading by this little widget in my blog. Now, if only I can remember to maintain it.....
Films at the CFPL
I’m usually way behind in my movie watching, so I was really excited this year to learn that I’ve actually seen two of the Academy Award nominees for best picture. No Country for Old Men kept me at the edge of my seat, although I understand Tommy Lee Jones’ character should have had more screen time to be true to Cormac McCarthy’s novel. I appreciated that Atonement was true to the print version, right down to the kick in the gut at the end. I love going to the theater for the big screen and the popcorn, but when that’s not possible, I like to check out the library’s DVD collection.
The Cedar Falls Library buys both educational and recreational DVDs. Night at the Museum, The Pursuit of Happyness, Happy Feet and The Astronaut Farmer are all available for your own personal movie night. I’ve seen all four, and recommend them. The reward of hard work and perseverance sprinkled with a little humor comes through in each story. I haven’t seen The Queen, and am looking forward to this peek inside the House of Windsor in the days following Princess Diana’s death.
I haven’t seen Fast Food Nation either, but I’ve read the book. On one level, it’s about what goes into the food we eagerly line up to buy. On another, it’s about the complacency in what we allow as a society. And it will be interesting to see how this nonfiction expose translates into film. This DVD is definitely on my list to see.
My travel budget right now centers on visiting grandsons, so I plan to do some armchair travels. Lost in the Grand Canyon delves into John Wesley Powell’s great exploration. Desperate Crossing, the Untold Story of the Mayflower received Emmy nominations, and sounds great. If you’re interested in nature, you might check out Living with Wolves. The Dutchers actually lived with a wolf colony to learn their social structure. If you don’t need your penguins to sing and dance, take a look at Emperors of the Ice, a National Geographic film that explores the lives of emperor penguins and the effect global warming is having on their habitat.
Take advantage of these great films. Thanks for using the library, and a special thanks to Dr. Judy Beckman for suggesting this topic.
Customer Service in 2008
I have a few librarian jokes (define “joke” kindly, please). How many librarians does it take to screw in a light bulb? Two. One to screw it in, and one to SHHHHHH!!!!!! her. I suppose it’s funny if you’re my generation of librarian. Younger people won’t get it. They’re used to noise level that many of us can’t tolerate. And where was the librarian when the lights went out? In the dark. Things have changed dramatically in public libraries over the last twenty years, due to the choice to install computers and make Internet available for public access. If we hadn’t, I’m afraid we’d be in the dark now.
Across the United States, 68% of library users enter libraries to use technology. This is a significant change in what people desire in their public libraries. They’re still reading, but often it’s on a screen now. Sometimes that’s hard in the public library setting, especially when a small group needs to use a computer. We need to accommodate this somehow, in buildings that were designed for SHHHH! Public access computers, wireless computers, and gaming stations grow in use, even though more and more people seem to have computers in the home. National trends are frequently true for almost every library. However, your two local libraries would like local input on our customer service. Both libraries will now have electronic surveys available on our websites. Please let us know what you’re thinking, so we’re not left in the dark once we get that light bulb screwed in.
One thing we do know for 2008—you still need tax forms. The Waterloo and Cedar Falls Public Libraries are proud to present the basic forms, including the rent rebate form, free for your taking. Other forms can be printed on (you guessed it) the public computers for a small charge. Some patrons even use those computers to file taxes, as they clip along at the speed of light. Both libraries will have special book displays for Black History month, and are always looking for community groups that would like to use the display cases to promote their purpose. UNI currently has a great display at the Cedar Falls Library. Downloadable television shows and movies, available from the library’s website, continue to be available, with travel a hot topic right now. And treat yourself to the time it takes to read a book. New titles still fly off the shelf, so we know good old-fashioned reading is not dead yet.
