REMNANTS
by Marylaine Block
Think of this week's issue as a remnant sale -- a whole bunch of ideas I've been toying with, none of which amount to an entire column all by themselves.
LIBRARY POSTCARDS: How about making up postcards you can sell in your coffee/gift shop? I can see several ways you could use them. If you're in the middle of a building campaign, how about using a picture of what the new library will look like? Or even an ongoing series of pictures of the new building at different phases of construction? Or how about this (an idea I borrowed from the World Book Day web site): a pre-printed message saying, "I just have to tell you about the wonderful book I just read: Author _____ Title ______ (space for description) and maybe even, "I got it at the ____ Library!" And maybe add a picture of your library while you're at it.
PROOF OF VALUE BOOKMARKS: I think this came from a letter to the editor of Library Journal: Why not use either bookmarks or the check-out receipts themselves to tell people the value of the material they just checked out? Not in specifics, perhaps, but ranges: 1-3 books at an average price of ____ = $____: the value of your library checkout today.
END-PANEL DISPLAYS: For some time I've urged libraries to use more displays to show off material; in fact, displays can do a better job than signage to tell people what purposes an area of the library serves. Carry this to the logical conclusion, and instead of just putting up a sign on the end panels telling people the range of Dewey or LC numbers included in each stack, display some of the more interesting books (or book jackets)within that range on racks on the end panels. As part of the Trading Spaces project of the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, the Mount Laurel Public Library actually did this. Get an online tour of the redesigned library at http://www.sjrlc.org/tradingspaces/ .
ZONING: We all know that different user groups have different, and often conflicting, needs, not to mention entrenched ideas of what libraries are supposed to be. The need for collaborative social space -- meeting rooms and youth services -- conflicts with the need for quiet individual study space. These conflicting needs are often served with separate rooms, indicated by signage and maps. But how much of the open spaces of the library do people have to walk through before they find and arrive at their preferred zone? And how easy is it in fact to find that zone? I wonder how many libraries handle the problem with design as well as signage?
Look at the pictures of the Cerritos Public Library <http://www.ci.cerritos.ca.us/library/photos/library.html> to see how elegantly they do it. People enter the building through a large social space, a perfect place for people to meet and chat, with lots of interesting things to look at and comment on while they're waiting (I'm a firm believer in what I call "flirtation space," where young men and women can accidentally on purpose find congenial new acquaintances). The Old World Reading Room shows by design that it's the place for quiet research and reflection -- it's a 19th century style book-filled study. By design alone you'll know instantly where the children are supposed to go -- a room whose archway is made up of enormous brightly colored books. Design well enough, and people can find their own zones before they ever run into each other.
FORUM FOR CIVIC DIALOGUE: Otis White, who writes the Urban Notebook column for Governing <http://governing.com/> noted that some cities have offered a series of programs in which one city department manager after another explains to citizens what that department does, how it does it, and how much it costs to do it. I suspect most citizens would be unable offhand to identify more than 5 city services (emergency services, police, roads, garbage pick-up, and library), so this is a terrific idea for citizens and city government alike. And what better place to host such a series than the public library?
Similarly, if there are important local issues that need to be addressed, the library could use its standing as a respected neutral party to host forums where the issue can be explored from a variety of perspectives, with a moderator to enforce library-established ground rules about civility.
EMERGENT LITERACY: Several libraries across the country are taking part in a Public Library Association program called Grow Up Reading, which shows parents how they can give their children the basic building blocks of literacy and prepare them to succeed in school. To my mind, the most interesting of these demonstration projects is the one at West Bloomfield Township (MI) Library <http://www.growupreading.org/>. Wendy Wilcox created a wonderful collection of materials, including a Countdown to Kindergarten calendar which offers for each day one short reading activity a mother or father can do with a child. Libraries need to be understood as partners in the goals that matter most to their communities, and this program addresses a major concern for parents: their children's success in school.
STAFF TALKING POINTS: Whenever I travel, I always check out the local library. Since I don't usually have a lot of time, I often go to the reference desk, introduce myself, and ask the librarians what are the most interesting things about their library, the things they're proudest of: any special collections, exhibits, architectural features, outstanding community support, programs, whatever. I'm always surprised how many librarians are kind of flummoxed by the question. It seems to me that librarians should prepare a list of talking points about their library, and perhaps print them on a brochure, bookmark, and/or web page. Then every member of the staff should commit those points to memory.
Maybe some of you are already doing some or all of these things, and maybe some of you are doing wonderful interesting things that haven't occurred to me. In that case, I want to hear from you; you can help me with the book I'm in the process of writing.
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COOL QUOTE:
The sorry proclamation: I didn't have a choice is abdication from imagination. Kenneth Clark understood that when he said of Leonardo DaVinci, "He would not take yes for an answer."
That's a wonderful idea: Yes can be as dead an end as No. That's why a good designer keeps looking for improvement even after all the constraints have been satisfied.
John Lienhard, No. 1989: "I Didn't Have a Choice." Engines of our Ingenuity, http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1989.htm
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