Monday, November 1, 2010

Cats and Dogs Living Together

As a librarian in a small library, I have to maintain control over “stuff” all day long, so as not to accumulate too much of it. There just isn’t enough room in my 3,000 square feet of library nirvana to have more than one copy of every book in the collection. If it’s checked out, you will have to add your name to the list of readers anxiously waiting to find out why the girl got the dragon tattoo in the first place. Or we can order your coveted title from another library whose square footage vastly exceeds mine and which is capable of housing more than one copy of “Sh#t My Dad Says”.

Stuff is everywhere and a library is no exception. Being a librarian, it is inherent for me to organize stuff, categorize it, clean it, fluff it, label it, file it, and shelve it. But occasionally, I seek to borrow stuff from my patrons to display in our vintage oak display case next to the circulation desk for the sheer entertainment value other people’s stuff brings to this rural library.

It started with a conversation in the library one day recently—“does anybody have anything they collect that could be displayed here at the library?” People threw out ideas about things they collect—matches, pitchers, mugs, quilts, baseball cards, cats. Wait, cats? You collect cats? What kind of cats? And thus our monthly display of people’s collections was born. The first display was a collection of cats—porcelain, wood, fabric, brightly painted cats, waving cats, Christmas cats, pictures of cats, calico cats and the piece de resistance, the crazy cat-lady action figure!

As my patrons started visiting the library during the cat display, conversations flourished about how patrons felt about cats, dogs, how much stuff or collections they have in their own homes. You get the idea. I made a point of saying that I did not think I had enough of any one item in my own home to constitute a collection, except perhaps books. This all created discussion, camaraderie, rivalry from dog people--I witnessed a weird new form of community right there in the library.

And that is really what this library is for, to create a community of readers who can look past the differences of others and connect on the cat level, or the dog level, or whatever collection level my patrons may enjoy sharing with others. I look forward to the dog collection in November and know that the cat people will be there, nodding patiently as exuberant dog lovers discuss man’s best friend and all the while, knowing above all else, cats rule. (Posted Nov. 1, 2010)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

In the Buffer Zone

The State of Illinois budget is billions of dollars in debt and the ripple effect on our rural public library is starting to surface. Our patrons have expressed their concerns that our little library may close or will have to reduce hours in line with Springfield's two branches, West and Southeast. As a result of the Springfield city budget effective this month, those two branches have had to close down completely. Whether they ever open again is uncertain but it is clear that monies trickling down from the State of Illinois to public libraries will certainly be diluted.

The Illinois Public Library Per Capita Grant that our library has received faithfully over the past two years has already been reduced this fiscal year. We plan to use those reduced funds to increase our technology services for our patrons by upgrading our public computers, fax machine and copier. Since we are not tied to a city, township or village budget like Springfield, we are able to maintain our current services based on tax assessment funding provided by our patron taxpayers. This proves every day to be an astute choice for our district taxpayers when they voted to set up the library district. It will prove to be our lifeline during the unpredictable days ahead for Illinois libraries that depend on state dollars for support. In other words, we are not closing.

Some of our patrons who work in Springfield but live in our library district have used Lincoln Library's services regularly. Since the Springfield branches have closed in recent weeks, patrons are beginning to shift either back to their home library here in New Berlin or use other community libraries like Chatham. This has a direct effect on interlibrary loan usage. Our patrons can pick up those materials anywhere in our Rolling Prairie Library system. It’s the patron’s choice, based on convenience, where they work, whatever library has easier access for them. Some of our patrons are coming back to New Berlin instead of Springfield for pick-up since the branches are now closed. We pay a fee to belong to this library system and this flexibility of interlibrary loans is one of its many benefits.

This shift in usage can be a benefit or a burden on smaller libraries like ours that don't have the staff to handle some of these changes. One fact our patrons can rely on in these woeful financial times is that our small public library is still open and plans to remain open. We are not closing, I repeat. We will not cut library hours or staff. Despite the changes swirling around us, we’re happy to say we are always ready and happy to serve you as usual. (Posted March 10, 2010)