Build A Better World display

Summer reading is in full swing! This year's theme is "Build a Better World." Here is a phenomenal display put together by some of my staff. We invited patrons to write how they would "build a better world" on our bulletin boards. People left some very inspiring and heart-warming messages!

"Perfectly good"

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about library donations. Mainly, about how very often, the very things you want the most... are not what is actually donated. Of course, everyone knows this about book donations. Librarians would gladly welcome a box full of new NYT bestsellers, or a bag full of the latest season of popular TV shows on DVD. Instead what we usually get is a dusty, musty box from someone's garage - plenty of items that are yellowed, torn covers, missing pages, but still "perfectly good." In book resale parlance, these are called "reading copies" - still readable, but in terrible shape and basically with a very low to nonexistent monetary value. There are a few gems, to be sure, but mainly we take these donations for the "feel good" factor. Many patrons will become incensed if you refuse a donation! What is wrong with you? These books are "perfectly good!" You're a library, aren't you? Why aren't you hopping up and down with excitement over my box of dusty, mildewed books? So, to save a fight, we just take everything that's offered. Rightly, or wrongly, the patron walks away feeling happy that they've accomplished a "good deed" and we fish out a few nice items and (quietly) recycle the rest.

Now that I'm the branch manager of a large suburban public library, I've been coming across donations of a different sort. Our library is located on a beautiful set of grounds - admittedly, not terribly well-cared for, but there is a reading garden, a small wooded area, and a meditation maze walking path, along with an outdoor story circle and several benches dotted about. Overall, it's a lovely space, and I'm very lucky to work here. We get a lot of "offers" for donations for the park! In the past year, people have offered up:

• More benches
• Evergreen bushes
• A new garden installation
• Fresh bulb plantings
• Several truck loads of wood chips
• Even more benches
• More public art sculptures
• A mural
• A climbing playground structure
• Grass re-seeding
• Recycled tires
• Rosebushes
• Yet more benches
• Pinwheels and other yard decor for the lawn
• More recycled tires
• A Little Free Library box

Most of the things on this list are not our top priority, but we have accepted a few of them. Yes, to the rosebushes and the bulbs! (Even though they died out soon after being planted.) Yes, to the wood chips. (Even though it was, perhaps, one truckload more wood chips than we really would have preferred.) 

But, I find myself saying, "no" to a lot of our garden donations. No to the public art (too large for our space), no to the evergreens (too expensive to install, no way to upkeep them), no to the benches (we already have 27,) no to the playground structure (too expensive to install, possible safety liability.) No to the load of tires (we already have more than enough), no to the Little Free Library (competes with our used bookstore sales, and sadly, people tend to fill up LFL's with junk anyway.)

Wow, if I thought patrons got huffy over books being turned away, I had no idea that people would get so upset over our refusal to take their garden offerings. "Well, what am I supposed to do with all these old tires??" Uh, I dunno. Not make them our problem?

I'm walking a fine line between having an involved, engaged community, who are contributing to make our shared space wonderful, but at the same time, not being the place where unwanted garbage is dumped (while people pretend it's a wonderful gift.) Happily, most patrons eventually see sense with a little talking to. 

At first blush, the idea of having our lawn full of pinwheels sounded whimsical and fun. However, when the patron hedged that the pinwheels were coming from their garden, and they were a little worn out, but still "perfectly good," I decided to follow-up with a gentle reference interview. 

"So why are you taking the pinwheels out of your garden?"

"Well, they are a little worn out."

"Do you think I could see a few of them, before you move ahead with installing them?"

And here, the patron brought me a box of the most tattered pinwheels I've ever seen, torn-up, sunburnt and covered in dust. My initial reaction was pure Simon Cowell, "It's a no from me, I'm afraid." But, out of politeness, I continued to gently lead the patron to the logical conclusion.

"Are they all in this condition?"

(somewhat defensively) "These are pretty good."

"What inspired you to want to donate them here? Do you think these would look better on the lawn here than at your house?"

"Um... they look okay."

"Do you think it would make people happy to see them?"

"Maybe?"

"Why don't you recycle or throw them out? Then purchase new ones, which we'd be happy to install."

"I can't afford to do that!"

"This one is torn. This one doesn't spin anymore."

"So you don't want them?"

"No."

"All right."

Election 2016!

In general, I try to avoid getting political in my blog... but I have to say, our library is serving as an Early Voting site and as a polling place on Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 8, and the lines are the longest that I have seen. I've noticed long lines every day! Voter turnout has been truly stupendous. I do think that's great - when everyone votes, the winner is truly the will of the people.

Political circus aside, I know our patrons have been upset by the loss of our meeting room. A lot of our regularly scheduled programs have had to be moved or cancelled in order to accommodate the election. In truth, it is a bit of a hassle, but I don't mind it! It's only once every 4 years, after all!

I know a lot of our staff are getting frustrated by this election as well. It can be tiring to feel like a broken record, answering the same questions over and over again, about voting dates and times and places, about voter registration status and so on as the phone rings off the hook all day. Personally, this is another one that I am not bothered by at all. I'm always glad to help people, and there's nothing more satisfying than answering the phone and immediately being able to spout out the correct answer! (Because it's the 10th person who asked today!)

I've been asked if I enjoy helping people register to vote and in a kidding-not-kidding tone, been asked if I am more eager to help citizens in the "correct" party. Not at all! I pride myself on staying neutral and truly helping everyone. I might inwardly grimace when a rabid supporter of a party I don't care for successfully registers to vote, but you would never guess it from my professional demeanor!

Just a few days more, and this will all be behind us.

Do you still do summer reading?

I was at a dinner party recently, and one of the guests, upon hearing that I am a librarian, innocently asked, "Oh! Yes! The library! Do you still do summer reading?"

I am still so gobsmacked by this question. I just don't even know where to begin. Yes! We are totally doing summer reading. My life is dominated by summer reading! We do summer reading for kids, and for teens, and now for adults, too. We do programs, and displays, and we offer so many prizes, and we do so much outreach to promote it. This is a monumental effort. Summer reading feels like the raison d'etre of our library lives. We literally start planning next summer's reading program as the current summer is ending. Yeah. We still do summer reading.

It really got me thinking... on one hand, this is exactly the same kind of question that falls in the category of, "Do you still use the Dewey Decimal system?" (Answer: yes) or, "Do you still use those card catalogs with the drawers?" (Answer: no) Probably people mean it as a harmless, light conversation starter. But, my number one takeaway when I hear something like this is that, this is a person who has not been to a library since they were a child. And this is the kind of person who imagines that if they are not at the library... then probably nobody is in the library. And they just don't know. They don't know how busy we are. They are nonplussed when they get to the library and they have to wait in line... not to check out a book, or get a computer, or ask a staff member a question or for anything. Because how could that dusty, quiet place be so bustling? It doesn't make sense to them. The same way that, "Do you still do summer reading?" doesn't make sense to me.

I know there's a segment of the population that we don't always reach - working adults in their 30's and 40's don't come to the library as often. They are too busy. Even when we offer evening or weekend hours they may not make it in. Our core users are retirees, stay at home moms, and economically disadvantaged. Still, it's worrying when I hear reactions like these - there's a whole universe that they are missing out on!

No Foolin'!

I thought we'd have a little fun at the library this April Fool's and had planned on putting out this "joke" self-check out. But, much like Google's April Fool's mic drop flop, it was not to be. Our real self-check out machine chose that day to go on the fritz - and a little joke like this might be funny, when you can point to the self-check just behind the patron and say, "Just kidding, it's right there," is NOT funny at all, when you've got to deal with troubleshooting a computer that's down. Rats. Maybe next year.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign.

I hate signs. I hate signs in the library.

There, I've said it.

Well, that's not exactly true. I do like decent wayfinding. When I see a shiny new library, with large, easy to read signs and good traffic flow patterns, that is nice. Several years ago, I did a sign renovation project at my library, replacing ragged, ratty, wordy signs with simple and inviting messages. That was so satisfying! I can't stand most handmade signs, tacked up by frustrated staff who are tired of constantly dealing with a problem. No one reads them. Can I tell you how many times I've had a patron ask me a question while standing directly in front of the sign that contains the info they are asking about? It happens a lot.

Here is a whole collection of signs of the sort that I mean: Pinterest library signs.

Does your library have signs like these?
"Please do not reshelve library materials."
"No food or drink."
"This area is a quiet zone."
"Please keep an eye on your materials, thefts are not uncommon."
"Do not bathe, shave or sleep in the bathroom."

Whenever possible, I try to avoid having these kinds of signs as they all come across negative, with a passive-aggressive quality. Putting signs up like these doesn't solve a problem, it just creates visual clutter. Oh! And bonus points for signs printed in red. With underlining. And italics. Or all caps. And exclamation points. And bars sinister. Those kind of signs are the worst!

Instead of a sign that says, "Please do not reshelve library materials," how about a sign that says, "Please, leave books here."

"No food or drink" is a tricky one. If you don't have the staff to (kindly) enforce this, then I don't see the point in putting up a sign that everyone ignores. It only reinforces how toothless that policy is. Ha!

"This area is a quiet zone." Here is another sign that really doesn't need to be around. Much better to have enough staff routinely perambulate through the library and to (gently) remind patrons if they get too rowdy.

"Please keep an eye on your materials, thefts are not uncommon." This is one of the few signs that I don't mind so much. I have seen some clever signs to this effect - and there are some studies that show a picture of an eye, or an authority figure is sometimes enough to deter theft all on its own! Don't overdo it though.

"Do not bathe, shave or sleep in the bathroom." Oh man. Here is another example of the kind of sign that I feel does no good. It makes the library feel sleazy and trashy to any casual user. And the kind of patron (probably homeless) who is in such desperate straits as to try to take a bath in a public library restroom sink isn't going to be deterred by a sign. You don't need a sign to make a policy stick, either. One shouldn't need to post signs for every possible infraction. Sure, when you have to approach a patron who is breaking this rule, it's awkward, and yes, that individual may grasp for a bit of dignity by sputtering at you, "Well! I don't see a SIGN, prohibiting bathing!" That doesn't matter. You do not need a sign. Putting up a sign is not the answer.

One of those bloggers...

Agh! How did it happen? How did I become one of those bloggers. You know the sort. The kind of person who posts apologies for not posting more... followed by weeks or even months of silence and more posts promising to pick up the posting again soon.

All I can say is that the end of my maternity leave, I created plenty of posts, all set to auto-publish. Gradually... I've run out of material. Well, I've run out of things that are ready to go, I guess I should say. I still have plenty of ideas percolating. At least a few times a week, I think to myself, "I should write a blog post about that."

This little lady is keeping me very busy. And, I'm at a new job! Altogether, I find myself looking at my list of "rough draft" posts of book reviews that are looking increasingly dated and wondering if I just want to abandon my goals of posting so regularly for now. In years past, I've posted 3 times a week, and for one year, I even took up the challenge of posting something every single day. Looking ahead, I do have some good posts I'd like to share. But, I think I'm aiming for quality, not quantity, and so, I hope my blog readers will forgive me if those posts don't come like clockwork the way they used to.

Circulating Ideas

I recently did an interview with Elizabeth Keathley from Atlanta Metadata Authority for Steve Thomas' library podcast, "Circulating Ideas." We had a lot of fun, chatting about reader's advisory, weeding, censorship, blogging, book clubs and other such matters.

Check out the podcast on Steve's site: Episode 68: Madigan McGillicuddy

Thanks for listening!

Nesting at the library

With the recent arrival of my new daughter, I thought I'd share a funny story...

My last few weeks of pregnancy, I'd catch myself looking around the house, thinking of all the things I had left to do to prepare for the new baby, and wondering, "When does this famed nesting instinct kick in?" I just felt too tired after a long day at work, much of it on my feet (although I did start dragging a chair out to the circulation counter, towards the end) to get much cleaning or organizing around my house accomplished.

Wednesday, February 25, the branch library was closed due to a potential ice storm. Thursday, the library was opening late... I found myself hoping for another snow day, due to the low fever I was running, and finally decided to call in sick that day and rest up. Friday, I returned to work, as normal. On Saturday, the library is generally very busy. I got to work that day, and even though I'd been meaning to go easy on myself, I found that I really could not stand how backlogged we were. 

For folks who like to imagine that librarians lead lives of leisure, idly flipping through the pages of the latest novels as we sit, bored, at the circulation/reference desk, you could not be more dead wrong. There were so many carts of returned books to be shelved, and simply not enough staff to get it all done. I shelved like a madwoman all day!  That is a workout that any fitness instructor would be proud of... lots of lifting (boxes of books are heavy!) squatting, scootching, stretching, kneeling and lifting, getting everything back into its proper place. 

Sunday I had the day off, and spent the day visiting with family. And early Monday morning, on March 2, I went into labor, nearly three weeks early! Oh gosh, what a surprise. Everyone in my family typically goes way overdue, needs to be induced and delivers 10-pound babies. That was what I had been expecting. I was a little mad at myself - if I hadn't exerted myself at work, would I have gone into labor so early? My mother-in-law (who is also a librarian) and several of my librarian friends immediately said, "Aha! That was your nesting instinct!" 

Oh, my gosh... they're right! That was it - I can't believe I finally felt like nesting and I used it all up at work! I could have been, oh, I don't know, mopping my kitchen floor, or obsessively organizing and re-organizing baby clothes, you know? Ah, well... I hope our patrons appreciate it. I'm on maternity leave now, and won't be doing any shelving for several more weeks. ;)

Vacation

Hey all,

I'm on vacation... catching up on reading is sooo nice. Look for plenty of reviews when I return!

Three Kinds of Library Fines Patrons

Library fines are just a part of my everyday business as a librarian. Why do libraries have them in the first place? Really, the main reason is to give library patrons a gentle nudge to bring their books back. Without that pesky little fee, I think a lot of our patrons would honestly mean to bring back a book, "soon" and somehow, with one thing and another and everyone's busy schedules, "soon" would somehow never come. Ultimately, we want the library materials back so that other members can use and enjoy them. Even I've been known to rack up the occasional late fee. The few times a year that it happens, I usually sigh with annoyance at myself and then I'll just matter-of-factly pay it. When you use the library a lot, it's bound to happen now and then, even if you're careful.

That being said, I've noticed that when it comes to fines, there are three kinds of patrons. Here they are:

1) The Good-Hearted, Yet Guilty Patron
Generally, this patron will approach the circulation desk, sweating bullets and looking nervous. They may whisper dramatically, and will let you know that they have a serious confession to make. It's a Big Deal... They owe a fine! Looking up his or her record, I announce, "Okay, Ma'am/Sir, it looks like you owe... THIRTY-FIVE CENTS!" The patron will gasp with alarm, and throw a few quarters your way, perhaps even encouraging you to keep the change as a donation, as they quietly slink out of the library in utter shame. These folks always crack me up. They take their library fines very seriously!

I promise never to bring back anything late ever again!

2) The "I Know My Rights" Patron
This is an interesting phenomenon, and I don't really fully understand the psychology behind it. Let's say that your library system will block someone's card, not allowing them to check out more books, or reserve an item, etc. etc. once they owe more than $10.00. This kind of patron will generally owe about $9.95 at all times. They may even owe $9.99! They are very cautious about keeping their library card in good standing. If they return something a little bit late, they may argue very hard with the librarian to try and get their fine removed, or they may pay juuuust exactly enough so that they can check out items again. Frequently, they'll pay with a twenty dollar bill, but if I ask if they'd like to pay down the whole amount, they'll look horrified. "No way!" They'd only like to pay a dollar (or however much to keep it under ten bucks) and that's it. It's obvious that they are of the opinion that paying off your library fine in full is for chumps! They've got a "right" to have a certain amount of fees racked up without any consequences, and they plan to keep it that way!

I like those fines, just the way they are.

3) The Carefree Debtor
This is the kind of patron that haunts librarians' nightmares. This patron will stroll up to the check-out counter, just as casual as you please, and hand you their card. "Oh, I'm sorry," you'll say. "It looks like you owe $257.85! There are quite a few late fees on here, as well as a number of books you checked out about two years ago, but never returned, so the computer wants to charge you to replace them." This patron will deny everything. They'll deny that they owe money. They'll deny that they've ever checked out anything in the past. Or perhaps, they'll fix you with a blank quizzical look as if to say, "So, I owe more than $250.00 So what? I wanna check out these DVD's right now." These folks amaze me - how can you rack up these kind of library fines without even caring?

I'll never pay up! NEVER!

So, dear readers, are you guilty as charged? What kind of library fines do you rack up? Do you pay them? Let me know in the comments.

My latest project: audiobook makeover

My latest project has been re-housing kids audiobooks.

Here's the before picture:

The main issue with these is that the plastic jewel cases crack easily. The discs fall out or get scratched. Also, most of our audiobooks are in larger cases, so these slim little numbers get lost or mis-shelved on our library shelves easily.

I re-housed all of these in larger, sturdier "clam cases."  This also puts the CD's in fabric and plastic pockets, instead of those snap-in plastic buttons. Much less chance of cracking or breaking this way. 

I designed this template myself. The other thing that's nice - for the staff I put a large reminder of how many discs to look for. When audiobooks get returned at the library, the first thing we have to do is quickly check and make sure all the discs are there - it's surprisingly common for people to leave the last CD in their car player!

Hurrah! I've been seeing these audiobooks circulate more already!

Mental efficiency

I found these three books at a library booksale and knew I had to have them. Originally, they were part of a 10 volume set. I only found these three, but I like this grouping - gosh, 10 books on mental efficiency might be a bit too much to take, you know?

Here they are on my fireplace mantel.

Goldilocks sign

As I've mentioned before, I'm making an effort to improve some of the signs in my library.
I also recently had the chance to upgrade the children's furniture. We had some old beanbags that were well past their prime, and everyone was glad to see them finally retired. I love these little chairs!
 

Although, I have to say, the last thing I expected was for so many grown-ups try to sit on these tiny little chairs. They really are designed for toddlers! I wanted to come up with a sign asking adult patrons not to sit on them, that still retained a "friendly" vibe. Here's the result.

The full text says, "Grown-ups! Don't be a Goldilocks. These chairs are for little kids. Thanks for your cooperation."

An Owed to the Spelling Checker

This week I helped a kid on one of our library PC's, by showing her how to automatically spell check on a paper she was working on for school. She must have been in 3rd grade or so. Her eyes boggled, and she exclaimed, "It's like I'm cheating!" She was hesitant to check the rest of her document, but I assured her that her teacher, and most adults really, use spellcheck all the time. Of course, there are times when the spell checker is of little use... such as the following poem.

An Owed to the Spelling Checker
by Jerrold H. Zar

Eye have a spelling chequer.
It came with my Pea Sea.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

Eye strike the quays and type a whirred
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am write oar wrong
It tells me straight a weigh.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your shore real glad two no.
Its vary polished in its weigh.
My chequer tolled me sew.

A chequer is a bless thing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right all stiles of righting,
And aides me when eye rime.

Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed too bee a joule.
The chequer pours o'er every word
Two cheque sum spelling rule.

Spring Cleaning!

The library where I'm working at now has been without a children's librarian for some time. One of the first things I noticed was how neglected the children's area seemed. I've been doing some spring cleaning... the first thing to tackle is signs!

Here's what used to serve as signage for the children's corner.

Here's my replacement.

What a difference, no?

Bookish

How much of a book-nerd am I? This much:

Yay! So glad my new plate is finally here!

Saying No

In the Library with the Lead Pipe recently posted an entry about how to say no. It's a timely piece I think. With budgets growing tighter and workloads increasing it does seem impossible to say no these days.

In my case, my problem is that I so greatly enjoy what I'm doing, it's easy for me to end up taking on too much. Opening our new branch has actually worn me out a bit more than I anticipated. I'm doing a weekly storytime, a weekly craft project for older kids, visiting schools and hosting school visits, computer classes for grade schoolers, writing professional book reviews. I'm also selecting new books to purchase, and soliciting book donations to try and keep our shelves from looking so empty. There's nothing on my list of things to do that I'd want to eliminate, it's simply that there aren't enough hours in the day!

I recently found out that I haven't been selected for any committees in ALA this year. On one hand, I'm bummed. But, perhaps it is a blessing in disguise. Right now, I'm working at max capacity. My only fear is that my current numbers will be seen as some kind of "baseline" that should be increased. As tired as I am, the idea of doing still more is tempting. If I could, I'd add a second weekly storytime, so I could do one exclusively for babies, and another for toddlers. I'd add a monthly book club for 3rd through 5th graders. I'd review even more books than I already am and I'd blog more. I worry though, about conserving my energy for the long haul. If training for marathons has taught me anything, it's the wisdom of pacing oneself. For now, I'm sticking with my current already-busy schedule.

By the end of the day, with shortened hours of daylight, it's already dark out and I find myself ready to just hibernate. Consequently, I've been doing a lot of reading and not as much blogging this past week. There's nothing that passes a winter evening so well, as reading in a comfy chair, in front of a crackling fire. I've raced through the whole Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray. Read the entire Babymouse series (why did I put this off? They are so wonderful!) Read Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman, Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon, Ever and Blue Moon by Alyson Noel and Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. Friday after work, I was feeling completely wiped, but after a weekend of solid R&R I'm feeling ready to (cautiously) jump back in the fray.

What a week

What a couple of weeks, actually!

Our new branch is open, and fully operational. It's been busy, and wonderful.

We hosted a huge event with the mayor and other city officials on Monday morning, followed by an "Open House" the next Saturday, hosted by our Friends of the Library group.

I've been meaning to post this for what seems like ages (but is only a few days, I suppose) breaks at work are pretty much nonexistent right now, and the shortened hours of daylight have left me feeling ready to hibernate like a bear by the time I get home from work.

I've got a few photos of our opening day to share.

Mayor Villaraigosa, Councilmember Eric Garcetti, and City Librarian Martín Gómez cut the ribbon.

Students from St. Teresa of Avila School Chorus sing at the opening event.

Mayor Villaraigosa and City Librarian Martín Gómez listen to the chorus.

Silver Lake Branch Opening

These past few weeks I've been working at a new branch. A brand new branch! I am beyond excited about it. The Silver Lake branch will be the 72nd branch in the Los Angeles Public Library system.

Curbed LA has had some great photos and on-going speculation on their site.

Back in March 2008, they put up some early photos of the construction site, steel framework going up in April. More construction happening in July, 2008. Work on the stone facing in January '09. The (nearly) finished building in July, 2009.

I've got a few photos of my own to add.

Here are the boxes of books that arrived in September. Opening all these up was as exciting as Christmas morning, let me tell you!

Here's the children's DVD section. When we received our CD's of kids music, they came all boxed up, and alphabetized. By the artists first name. D'oh! Luckily, our crackerjack team of library professionals had them re-alphabetized in record time.

The branch will be opening on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 10 am. The date seems simultaneously so close, but still so far away. I feel like a racehorse, chomping at the bit. It's going to be so exciting, opening our doors to the public and getting into the routine of helping people again. In the meantime, there's still so much to do... books to add to the catalog, donations to process, programs to plan.