Phones and Library Etiquette

Needless to say, the cell phone is now a way of life.  Most people (including myself) have them and use them everywhere: the store, the restaurant, the park, and the library.  Yes, even the library, that temple of quiet and shushness has been impacted by the ringtones of Linkin Park and Taylor Swift, not to mention the conversations that follow.  Although I can understand the need to be reachable, what I can't understand is the rudeness that sometimes comes with cell phone use.

Rudeness Feature #1:  People talking loudly.

Alright.  You're waiting for an important phone call while you're in the library.  You finally get that call and take it, but what do you do?  You talk so loudly in the computer lab that you are disturbing others who are trying to work; you're oblivious to the people around you as well as the signs that ask you to turn off your cell phone.  Sometimes, I can clearly hear on the perch every word of a phone conversation taking place clear across the library.

Etiquette Fix--Please talk quietly or even better, take your phone call in an empty study room or outside the library so you do not disturb fellow patrons.

Rudeness Feature #2:  Talking on the phone when you're checking items in or out.

The other day, a patron comes in with a stack of DVDs to the perch.  She's talking on the phone.  She places the DVDs in front of me and waits (she's still talking on the phone).  I wait for her to pause her conversation and tell me what she wants me to do.  Finally, she tells me that she's returning the DVDs.  As I check the items back in, she continues her conversation while looking for more DVDs, and returns to the perch with a new stack.  Again, she puts the cases in front of me and doesn't miss a beat with her conversation.  I assume she wants me to check out the DVDs to her, and so I do just that.  She then takes the DVDs and leaves the library.  I can only wonder that if the roles were reversed and I was the one talking continuously over the phone while trying to help the patron, she would most likely be offended that I did not give her the courtesy of my undivided attention.

Etiquette Fix--When you're coming to me or anyone else at the perch for service, please refrain from talking on your phone.  We find it incredibly impolite and frustrating to work with distracted patrons.  Please give us the same courtesy you expect from us.  We do appreciate it.

Although cell phones are useful tools for functioning in today's world, please don't use them as an excuse for disrespect.  Let's all honor each other and keep the library a welcoming, quiet sanctuary for people to accomplish different things.

Just my 2 cents from the perch.

Libraries and Halloween: A Perfect Pair

There's a lot of buzz around the perch today since we're all getting ready for our Not-So-Scary Halloween Party tonight.  We're always excited about this event not only because it's our busiest night of the year, but also because it's loads of fun.  We enjoy getting ready for it, putting up the decorations, buying the treats, setting up the crafts, and organizing the games.  And we enjoy actually doing it, seeing the kids (and sometimes their parents!) in their cute costumes going all over the library and having a good time.

Libraries have always had various Halloween materials, such as books, movies, and music, but nowadays libraries are doing more traditional things like actual trick-or-treating.  With candy collecting door-to-door becoming less safe, Halloween programs at libraries are popular with parents and kids who can celebrate the holiday inside the safety and warmth of a building.

So if you're looking for a safe place to strut your stuff in your Halloween costume, get some candy and snacks, and party until the ghosts go home, check out your library for fun programs and activities.  You'll have a ghoulish good time!

Happy Halloween from the perch.

You Like Us! You Really Like Us!

Sadly, as a library on a U.S. Air Force Base, we were affected by the recent American government shutdown.  I and my colleagues were disheartened that the library was closed for about a week knowing that a number of our patrons who needed computers to apply for jobs or books for their classes wouldn't have access to our materials on which they rely.  It just didn't feel right being at home when I should have been working on the perch, assisting all my fans who stop by for help or simply to say hello.

On a more positive note, all of us on the library staff were happy to return to work, and it  encouraged us to hear that we were missed by many of you who told the Powers-That-Be that you valued the library and needed it to stay open.  You were glad to have us back, and we were glad to be back.

Of course, we know the worth of libraries and what they do in helping people enhance the quality of their lives.  If we didn't, we wouldn't be doing what we're doing.  But we're human, and sometimes it's nice to actually hear in words that we're appreciated and that we're making a difference to people.

So what I guess I'm trying to say in this post is thank you all for supporting our library, in good times and in bad.  Your support means a lot to us, and we want to support you and yours, whether it's toward school and career goals or just in finding something fun to do.  Take care and please be sure to stop in the library.  We're always happy to see you!

With warm wishes and gratitude from the perch.

Ban the Banned

This week is Banned Books Week, and like many other libraries across the United States, our library has a display of books that have been challenged by schools and individuals for various reasons.  Sometimes these books trigger raw reactions in patrons, as it did in one of our patrons who is also the mother of a 9-year old.

This mother took offense that these books were on display in the teen section where her daughter was able to see them.  I could empathize with her and understand her concern.  Every parent has the right to protect his or her child and monitor the materials the child is reading.   

And speaking of rights, just as everyone has the right not to read something, everyone has the right to read something.  That is the whole purpose of Banned Books Week--to emphasize everyone's freedom to information and to read items of his or her choosing.  Unlike other nations, such as North Korea and China, that censor materials their citizens can read, we live in a country in which we can freely access all kinds of information.

Naturally, everyone is different and has different levels of sensitivity to various subjects.  Every library will most likely have materials that may be unsettling to some individuals.  However, it is not the duty of a library to act as a censoring board.  An American library's first and foremost responsibility is to provide information to everyone who seeks it regardless of who is doing the seeking or the library staff member's personal feelings about the information.  An American library is obligated to follow the Library Bill of Rights as developed by the American Library Association.

So when you visit your library this week and see those displays of challenged books, please don't take offense.  Be reminded that we live in a nation in which we're fortunate to read whatever we want without anyone stopping us from doing so.  And remember--you have the freedom not to read whatever you want as well.

Just my take from the perch.

Bookless Libraries

Very recently, a "bookless" library opened in San Antonio.  In its 4,000 square-foot area there are no print books, magazines, or newspapers.  Instead, it has e-books, e-readers, computers, laptops, and iPads.  It's completely paperless, the wave of the future.

I had a chat with one of my co-workers the other day about the idea of a library without print books and materials.  The electronic age is undoubtedly here whether or not we like it.  We're becoming more dependent on the Internet and electronic devices for information, job searching, and communication.  Over two years ago in another post, I stated that I wasn't completely sold on e-readers and e-books, and I have to say that I'm still of the same opinion today.  I haven't been fully swayed to the electronic side.  Yet.

Call me old school, but I enjoy the visceral experience of a print book.  I like the weight of a book in my hand, the feel of the pages, the smell of the paper and the ink.  I like flipping the pages between my fingers.  When I go to a library or bookstore, I'm like a kid in the candy store looking at the colorful book cover designs, perusing the arrangement of the displays, and picking up those smooth rectangular gems of knowledge and storytelling.  Somehow, scrolling through a list of titles with small accompanying icons on a computer screen just doesn't do the same thing for me as walking through the stacks.

I imagine the growing emergence of e-books is akin to the debut of print books.  I wonder whether people (the few who were literate way back when) had a difficult time adapting to print books after scrolls were used for so long.  Did print books and scrolls exist side by side until print books became less expensive and more practical for use?  I wonder whether print books and e-books will exist side by side now for a time until e-readers become more universally compatible?

What do you think?  Do you want to have a choice between reading a print book or an e-book?  Or do you want to move forward and read e-books exclusively?

Very yours truly, having one hand on a book and another on the computer at the perch.

Library Programs--Come One Come All (I Hope!)

I've been spending a bit of time on the perch lately thinking about library programs, especially since we're getting ready for our new fiscal year that starts in October.  Pondering the programs we've had and whether they've been successful.  Wondering what new programs would be of interest to all my fans, I mean, patrons out there.  Researching the programs other libraries offer and how those programs are received.

This is what I've concluded--although our library may be small, we offer a lot of the same programs that the bigger libraries offer, yet for some reason that's beyond me, our attendance is sadly small. 

Now being the chipper perch librarian that I am, I'd like to see the glass as being half full.  We have great computer classes for both beginning and more advanced computer users.  We have interesting workshops that teach nifty things like genealogy, origami, and local travel sites.  And we have entertaining and ongoing programs like the Spin-a-Yarn (during which you can learn or work on a knitting or crochet project) as well as a book club that discusses various books that have been recently published.

Don't forget that the library is more than just books and even other items that can be borrowed.  It's also more than just storytime and school programs for kids.  The library is a place where you can take classes, learn fun things, and get to know the people in your community.  Be sure to make full use of your library and attend a program or two.  You won't regret it.

Hoping to spy some future library program participants from the perch.

Happy New School Year!

Parents may be looking forward to it and kids may be less than enthusiastic about it--the start of another school year.  It's almost time to say goodbye to those long, warm, carefree days of summer and say hello to going to class, doing homework, and taking part in after-school sports and activities.

So, what can you do to help your children get ready for school?  Whether or not your family has taken part in the summer reading program, there's nothing like reading to get everyone back in that school frame of mind.  Read whatever is interesting, from fiction novels to non-fiction books. 

If you have smaller kids who are apprehensive about starting school for the first time or returning to school, the library has plenty of books for children that can help relieve their school anxieties.  We also have books for parents that provide suggestions on how to make the first days of school easier for children (and parents).

Once the homework starts rolling in, the library has print and electronic resources to help your students in K through 12 as well as those in college.  In addition to books and print reference items, we have a number of electronic databases that can be useful in doing class projects and research papers.

For kids who aren't old enough to start school, we have library programs to introduce them to the practice of reading.  Our Storytime program at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays is directed toward preschool-aged children to get them in the habit of reading, and our Baby Steps program on Thursdays at 10:30 is geared to get children up to 24 months comfortable in the library setting with songs and activities.

No matter your age and where you're at in your education, the library has the resources, programs, and staff to help you on your way to school success!  Stop, call, or e-mail to find out what we can do for you!

With wishes for a good school year from the perch.