Category: libraries

Our library had a table at the local business fair yesterday. We focused on the message “the value of a library card” and had visuals explaining that libraries circulate more books than Fedex does packages and library card holders outnumber Amazon.com customers by 5 to 1, that sort of thing. Other things that seemed to go well were:

• skunk puppet who told jokes, good for kids who are not normally people who enjoy business fairs
• free books for kids out of Friends of the Library booksale stock
• free pencils with our URL on them
• ability to sign people up for library cards right then and there
• laptop with slide show of library pictures cycling, there was no wifi but we had a couple of stock slide shows if people wanted to see them
• “this is when my books are due” magnets
• most importantly: someone to talk to.

I had people coming up to me telling me about their divorces, their bowel surgery, the last book they read, some weird thing that happened to them at the library, their home book collection, their early memories of the library and they had questions questions questions. I always sort of dread the business fair beforehand, and I always wind up having a much better time than I expect to.

I don’t really know what to make of this news article, except that a lot of people sent it to me. In Seattle it was easier to deal with patrons who smelled because there was a place where homeless people could take showers right up the road. You could refer people there if they had odors that bothered others. I think this quote is the telling one.

A strict code of conduct, officials argue, is needed to ensure one patron’s right to use a public library doesn’t infringe on the rights of another.

Maybe it’s just me, but after reading this article, doesn’t this seem like what they meant to say:

A strict code of conduct, officials argue, is needed to ensure one normal patron’s right to use a public library doesn’t infringe on the rights of another not-normal patron. [emphasis mine, of course]

I have this to say about smelliness. I was in a bad car accident a few years ago and was taken to the hospital. I had been on my way back from camping and was neither looking nor smelling my best. I was not planning on getting in an accident. When I was released [and I was fine, thanks for asking] I got my records from the hospital and they noted my appearance as “tattooed, unshaven, smelly.” Not “unwashed” but “smelly.” I can’t help thinking, as I did then, whether this observation affected the quality of my care.

One of the high points of ALA Midwinter was meeting Rick Prelinger who I had been swapping email with for a while. He runs one of my favorite quirky archives/libraries in San Francisco. Eli dropped by for a visit this week and discusses what she saw there.

Okay, you should sit down now. Take a few deep breaths. Have a bit of vinegar handy to wave in front of your nose. Ready? There’s no catalog. There’s no call number system of classification. There’s not even rigorously enforced alphabetization of titles (or authors) within sections. It’s deliberate and there’s a philosophy behind it.

I’m not sure if I would call Dear Abby “the best opinions in the universe” but she’s right on when she says that the reference librarian has no obligation to assist a patron who wouldn’t get off his cell phone to talk with her. We have many patrons with cell phones in our library and a fairly loose policy that states that if your cell phone is disturbing other patrons you may be asked to take it outside into the lobby. I’m becoming the master of saying “Hi, if you’re going to be a while, would you mind taking your conversation out to the lobby? Thank you!” and it’s worked fine for me, but I know other staffers are more timid about approaching patrons who are being noisy on their phones. In our library, it’s just an extension of the “please don’t be noisy” policy which we have most places except the children’s area and upstairs in the classroom. LISNews folks discuss the issue a bit more.

A long but worthwhile article on where libraries are going with some reflections on where they’ve been.