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.
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.
posted by SGroskurth at 6:12 AM
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