Cryptic farewell

It has been nearly a year since I've posted anything to this blog and now it is time for farewell. Retirement is only days away.

Finding these two dimes taped to a scrap of paper among this evening's book drop retrieval prompted this rumination about communication. From the library's view point, two dimes on a slip of paper lack one key element -- who left them? The coins and paper are only part of the intended message.

I'm afraid my attempts to communicate the value of public library service to our community are something like those two coins. What else needed to be present to make the communication complete?

Free public libraries are American inventions. Other democratic societies have found them to be vital parts of the public fabric. Public libraries best serve those who have initiative, curiosity, and an urge for self-betterment.

The best days in my library career have been those when things clicked -- when local history information enabled long disconnected family members to re-connect -- when information gathered at the library made the difference that enabled a business dream to be realized -- or something more tangible like a comment from many decades ago when a library user beamed, "this tax form you supplied will save me $400.00 on this year's return."

Representative Government

Folks put themselves forward offering to attend to our mutual business -- we elect some and they find themselves serving as City Council members, County Commissioners, School Board members, Mayors, Governors, state and national Senators, members of the House of Representatives, etc. That's all basic civics.
One of their toughest jobs is allocating resources because even in "good times" there are always more ideas put forward than there are funds to pay for all of them. Although locally our public finances are not in such dire straits as elsewhere in the state and nation, this year's budget setting process is likely to involve a fair number of "sorry, but no" decisions.
So if you have a strong interest in seeing some project accomplished or service continue, now is the time to make your case to those who will decide.
For York and York County, Nebraska the decision makers include the members of these bodies: York County Board, York City Council, York Public Schools Board of Education, Heartland Community Schools Board of Education

Missing in Action

It is a chore for people to learn new tasks especially when they don't see the purpose.
The Library's meeting rooms were busy today but that was not reflected in the Event calendar because it takes time to add listings to that schedule and few people ever look at it.
I had the pleasure of sharing snippets of Kilgore Memorial Library's online efforts (these sporadic blog posts, Facebook entries, the thrust of the library's FLICKR account, etc.) with our newest colleague.
Individually they may seem pretty diverse. But at their core, they endeavor to bring parts of the wide world to our community, and share our community with the wide world. (If anyone takes the time to look.)
The thrust of a short essay length blog post from the New York Review of Books is that libraries are valued by those that take the time to browse and explore.
Take time to visit the library, browse & be open to the unexpected. The experience can be life-changing.

Cackle Fruit

"EGG CENTER OF THE NATION" was York's motto for a few years in the mid 20th Century. An enterprising historian could ferret out what led to the rapid increase in local poultry flocks, and the equally rapid decline in that facet of ag production.

A careful observer can still find farm buildings of that period designed to house large flocks of chickens, and other physical manifestations.
The other lasting reminder is in telephone book and newspaper advertisements of the period, and other "ephemera."
Kilgore Memorial Library's FLICKR account has images of a few of these. In addition to the window decal shown here, outside and inside views of an egg-shaped "community facts" brochure, mention in a 1950 Chamber of Commerce booklet, and the motto's appearance on the back cover of a local cookbook date from the "EGG CENTER OF THE NATION" era of York's history.

Story Telling Time

Some are habitual library users; others may turn to the library only due to special circumstances.

Whatever your reason for using or valuing the library --

if you have a good library story please share it. We intend to produce a "print on demand" commemorative volume that will be available at 2011 Yorkfest.

The first foundation chapter will highlight a hundred years of library service from the "Ladies' Library" (1885-1902) and the York Public Library "Woods Building" (1902-1986).
Perhaps your library story includes that time as well.

My first serious attempt to use libraries might be deemed a bust. A high school teacher wanted us to learn by researching and reporting. Since this was a Nebraska village school district and the class was "shop," I decided to find out how those massive long concrete girders destined for Platte River bridges on Interstate 80 worked. The High School library was a study hall with some book shelves on a couple of walls -- nothing there. World Book Encyclopedia -- nothing there. Public library in our "shopping town" -- nothing. Public library in the "big city" - nothing up to date or directly on target. I knew nothing of professional technical publications, indexes to such publications, etc., and was too timid to ask for assistance. I imagined the answers could be found at the University, but had no idea where to even start looking there. I finally did work up enough courage to talk to people at the company making the girders, and they shared a couple of brochures about their products.


I acquired a Bachelor's Degree and somehow got to the end of a Masters degree program before taking a course on how to use a library ... the very course I should have experienced nearly a decade earlier! I can't imagine how much different my formal education could have been if I'd known how to use the library to best advantage through all those years of schooling.

So my library story is a cautionary tale. Ask library staff for assistance. Visit with staff how to best use the library's resources -- often those conversations can be learning experiences for both parties.

Snoopy

Years ago we had a "squeak toy" SNOOPY (the Charles Schulz character).
We consider being snoopy an undesirable personality trait. Definitely not the same as being curious. Or dogged in pursuit of truth. Or inquisitive.
Libraries exist to support that role in society, and in our individual lives.
For those of us fortunate enough to have access to all the variety of web content, our curiosity can quickly lead us down any of a myriad of electronic pathways, and unless we've schooled ourselves to include consulting resources in such routines, we can go a long ways without overtly considering a library.
But even so we might be more closely linked to the library community than we imagine. If history is our bent, many of those online resources came out of some library or another. Or some library may be supporting the service and making it available.
On March 8th, Kilgore Memorial Library's "2nd Tuesday" noon brown-bag program will explore the uses of the "America's Newspapers" service from Newsbank. You can find out how the "outside world" sees our home town, or research in our local paper back to the first articles produced electronically in March 2002.

Building For The Future

People who think of Kilgore Memorial Library as the "new library" might be surprised if reminded it is twenty-five years old. It has served the community well. High-use areas of the building are showing their age. Functions like internet access that did not exist when the building was designed and constructed are now in high demand.

With all those things in mind, the Library Board employed a consulting firm to review the building and library operations to provide recommendations on what to do to keep the building serviceable for the future. The consultants used surveys and public forums to gather community input.

After weighing comments from the surveys and public forums and drawing on their expertise, the library consultants have issued their report and recommendations. Overall they concluded the Kilgore Memorial Library building is adequate for the foreseeable future, with some alterations, and continued attention to building maintenance.

Their recommended structural alterations entail building a combination family / ADA restroom / accessible storm shelter in a portion of the staff work area.

Their space utilization recommendations include adding lounge type seating in the lobby area, major rearrangement of collection areas and study and computer seating, removing the partion dividing off the north-most "study room" to incorporate that space into the open area, and the use of flat cable wiring beneath carpet tile flooring to get electrical power widely distributed in seating areas. This will make it easier to use computers in all the seating areas in the public portion of the building.

In addition to the consultant's recommendations, the Library Board and staff recognize issues with area lighting, drafty doors, and single-pane glass which should also be addressed.

Although the total cost of all these items has not been determined, they will be more than can reasonably be expected to be absorbed in normal ongoing operating budgets. So the question arises how to pay for them.

Here's one opinion.

York has never had a concerted capital fund drive or bond issue for its public library. The "Woods Library" at 306 E. 7th was built in 1902 with the proceeds of a single bequest. A 1931 addition to that building and 1967 remodelling of the interior were accomplished without a bond issue or capital fund raising effort. Dr. Wm. Sherwood Kilgore's bequest paid the entire cost of construction and furnishing Kilgore Memorial Library, including land acquisition.

So how about a "thanks, Doc" fund to get these recommendations accomplished? The Kilgore Memorial Library Foundation exists to hold and distribute funds of this nature. A couple of years ago, the community raised funds to place a life-scale bronze sculpture on the library grounds in less than a year. We can surely do the same to keep our library building in good condition, and updated to meet current service needs.