Sources of Inspiration

I just finished reading this NY Times article about reading and thought it might be worthy of some discussion here. I know our resident children’s librarians will probably let go with a hearty “Hell, Yeah!” when they read this. I know I did.

Reading involves more than a firing of synapses. For dyed-in-the-wool readers, it’s a tactile as well as a cerebral experience. It’s the turning of pages, it’s feeling the smoothness of paper and marveling over the vibrant colors in a new picture book, it hearing that slight thpffft as a book is opened for the first time…you know what I mean.

I admit, my Kindle is my best friend these days, but I’ve had it long enough now to have noticed that I go through periods where I load it up with all sorts of goodies, from Dickens to Libba Bray to James Rollins, then carry it with me wherever I go and read whenever I can. But then I start to miss the feel of a book in my hands, and suddenly find myself among the stacks in the library, adding book after book to a pile that I then lug home and read, curled up in a corner of the living room.

I’ve also noticed other differences in how I read a book versus an e-book. I find that I remember the books, long after I’ve forgotten the stories on the Kindle. I’m not associating memories with the e-reader the same way I do with the book. For example, last summer I spent a lot of time at our family cottage on Black Lake in northern NY. When I’m there, I read. A lot. Usually camped out in a comfy chair on the deck overlooking the lake. Last summer, I clearly remember reading The Historian there in book form. I remember the weight of the book and the heat of the sun. And I remember the story. And if you’re a Dracula/vampire fan and you haven’t read The Historian, go get it right now. It’s fantastic. But I digress.

I also read a ton of e-books last summer. Sitting in the same spot, on the same lake, under the same sun. But I can’t tell you the title of a single one of them. Not. A. Single. One. Sure, I can go back and look on my Kindle and see what titles are there and probably jog my memory enough to know which ones I read last summer. But isn’t it strange that the two experiences are so different.

I’m sure there are cognitive experts out there who could provide some explanation for this, but it makes me wonder what the long-term ramifications are of our culture becoming more and more e-immersed. Are our brains wired to absorb and assimilate information differently based on how we ingest it?

Heavy thinking for a Sunday, I know. But here’s something else to chew on. Do you think  libraries fit into the tactile experience of reading? I do. Using libraries is part of the whole reading experience for many people. I’ve known many library users who have a whole routine — they keep track of everything they read and everything they want to read in little moleskin diaries that they tote everywhere. They routinely clip little blurbs about new books from newspapers & magazines, or frantically scribble titles and authors in those notebooks whenever they come across a new author or interesting title.  Then they log on to the library website as soon as they get home and start trolling for their new treasures. They know how to use the catalog better than we do. They place holds as easily as they pour their next cup of coffee. And when they come to the library, it’s a little like coming home.

These are the people who continue to make libraries an important part of our culture.

Anyway, I’d love to hear your reactions to the NY Times story…

Patty

This is what $24 million will get you in Darien CT — http://allaboutdarien.com/2009/01/the-new-darien-library-its-for-me/

There are some things about the new Darien library that can easily be applied without the added bonus of $24 million and a new building — such as the “dewey translations” mentioned in the post. We did something like this at Ogden and it was very well-received by patrons, and I know Greece recently restructured how they shelve picture books into subject categories like Dinosaurs, Trucks, etc. What things are you doing to make life easier for your users?

Patty

A colleague introduced me to someone the other day as “an expert.” Truthfully, that made me uncomfortable. I don’t consider myself an “expert” on anything. I do possess some expertise in various areas, but an expert? I think not.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that there is always someone out there who knows more than I do about a subject. That’s as it should be. That’s how we continue to learn. I can’t help but think that when you become an expert on anything, you lose the ability to learn and, more importantly, you lose the ability to listen because, hey, you’re the expert. You know everything there is to know, so no one else can possibly teach you anything. We’ve all known people like that. Have they helped you become a better leader, listener, or person?

Are there people in the library world these days who many consider “experts” but who haven’t really impressed you with their expertise? I used to feel this way about an LIS “expert” from Syracuse, now retired in Florida, and now think a certain person who spoke at our last Imagine.Create. Innovate. conference has begun to believe all his hype a little too much. The one thing that I find missing in the rhetoric of library experts is a connection to the real job. Someone telling us to get rid of our reference desks who has not worked at one in years, if at all, doesn’t really carry much weight with me. Show me someone who has the expertise at working a reference desk and I’ll be more likely to listen to what they have to say. Too often we make decisions based on what we perceive, without data, and without input from the very people doing the job we’re considering changing.

Some would argue that the people doing the job aren’t willing to consider new ways to deliver the service. How do we know that? Has anyone given them the opportunity to re-imagine their job or the service they provide? Maybe we should and see what shakes out.

Patty

A few weeks ago, I happened upon a blog entry from Brian Herzog, the Swiss Army Librarian about how he had to work on a project on a public workstation, and what he learned from the experience. He suggests that every once in awhile we ought to “work like a patron” for a day, just to see the library operations from the other side.

I think that’s a brilliant idea.

How many times have we been faced with users who simply do not understand why we do certain things, or who can’t believe we really didn’t know that the automatic door openers have been broken for months, or that the Enter key sticks on computer 82.

Herzog suggests that library staff do the following things:

• Enter and leave by the public entrances.
• Use the public restrooms.
• Use the public computers to do your daily work.
• Reserve public meeting rooms for your meetings.
• Follow all library policies.

Think you could do it? I spent a day this week doing just what he suggested and here is what I experienced:

Public entrances – Maintenance staff did a good job yesterday morning keeping the entrance walks clear of snow and ice. However, the landscaping and sidewalks in front of the Rundel Building are disgraceful. The gardener in me wants to get in those beds and rip all that ivy right out of there, trim the trees, and mulch. The sidewalks, well, there’s not much I can do about them right now. The city is well aware of the condition of the walks, but apparently nothing can be done until the infrastructure work is completed underneath the building and the terraces. My other pet peeve is that the Rundel Building looks so dirty — I really wish we could get the outer shell of the building cleaned, but I have been told the cleaning process necessary for the safety and integrity of the stone is very costly. On a brighter note, the new banners on the front of Rundel look fabulous! And walking into the Rundel lobby always makes me feel like I’m entering someplace really special. However, the condition of the brass relief on the elevator doors is desperately in need of preservation and cleaning.

Public Restrooms – only one word can describe this experience — Ewwwww! The BLB restrooms are getting new stalls this year, but really, the whole of the restroom needs an overhaul. I don’t even want to know what the men’s room looks like! Rundel restrooms are not so bad. In fact, the public restrooms in Rundel are actually a little nicer than the staff restroom on the 3rd floor.

I didn’t get past these two activities yesterday, but plan on trying the public computers on Friday. As for reserving the rooms and following policies, I do those two things anyway.

This exercise really gives you an idea of what our patrons experience every day. Try it, and tell me what you see.

Patty