Libraries, Archives, and all things Bookish...

[apl68]

Some years ago I and two staff members thought for a moment that we were going to be on the receiving end of something like this.  We were in the cataloger's work area in the back of the building.  Out the window we saw a huge pickup truck (most trucks here are huge) jumping the curb of the parking lot in back, heading straight for us.  Before we could react, it reversed, backed back across the parking lot, and jumped the curb behind it.  Then it dropped back down onto the parking lot and came to rest. 

At that point one of the staff members there thought she recognized the vehicle.  She went out there and, sure enough, found one of our older patrons.  I think it was the last time he ever drove.  I know that that loss of independence is always sad, but not as sad as him plowing into the building and over the three of us would have been.

[mamselle]

Some angels know how to work the brake pedals, thankfully....

M.

[apl68]

I take a Friday and Saturday off from the library to get out of town to do Christmas shopping, and what do you think happens?  First thing this morning I learn that on Friday the police arrested two wanted fugitives right here in the building.  The staff had been telling me over the past two weeks about some weird characters who had suddenly shown up and been hanging around.  Mostly they were using library computers.  One tried to apply for a library card, but became very evasive when asked about things like his ID, address, etc.  The staff were worried about them, though they caused no actual problems for anybody.  One of them came in at least one day with leaves in her hair.

Friday the police came in and arrested two of them.  They did not resist or make a scene.  A third has disappeared.  I'm still trying to get details from the police.  Evidently they had stolen a vehicle and dealt drugs around the state capital, then fled out here into the boondocks when things got too hot for them in the big city.  There are several acres of woods behind the library.  They apparently were living there for some days, coming into the library each day we were open to use our computers for e-mail and social media.  Not sure who tipped the police off to their whereabouts.  It doesn't seem to have been anybody on the staff.

Now I have to figure out how to write up a report on this for the Board of Trustees.

[mamselle]

Any connection to the person reported for sitting outside in their car in the parking lot?

Clearly, libraries are more dramatic places than they're usually considered to be...!

M.

[apl68]

Any connection to the person reported for sitting outside in their car in the parking lot?

Clearly, libraries are more dramatic places than they're usually considered to be...!

M.

I'm now wondering whether there was a connection.  But maybe not.  Everybody on the staff agreed that last week was a weird week at work, even before the arrests happened.

I'm concerned about what the idea of vagrants living in the woods could do to staff morale.  Some years ago we had a Board member who kept getting a bee in his bonnet about people living in the woods behind the library.  I went there looking myself, and found no evidence of any such activity.  Now it has actually happened.  Maybe part of the problem is that I dropped my customary afternoon walks in the woods a couple of years ago.

[Harlow2]

Would you consider taking a buddy or pepper spray if you do resume those walks?  ( I walk alone all the time in the woods, but you might now have reason to take extra care). 

[apl68]

Honestly, I think this was a fluke that we're unlikely to see again any time soon.  Unfortunately it seems to have some of the staff scared.  I'm now getting requests to fence off the entire three acres of the library's lot.  It would cost thousands of dollars, look unsightly, and probably not do very much to improve security.  Unless we really fenced the whole thing off and controlled access.  But we're a public library, after all, and going that far with it would make us look very unfriendly.

[apl68]

Spoke with the police today about last week's arrest incident to get more details.  I asked them to search the woods to reassure the staff that there was nobody squatting out there.  They didn't find anything.  It turns out that our fugitives had been staying at a house in town, not squatting in the woods.  They may have slept out there a single night. 

Meanwhile we're still trying to find a way to get that trapped cat out of the staff member's vehicle.  Last week's weirdness at the library has reasserted itself.

[mamselle]

I opened my sister's Christmas card, thinking it was just a card.

Guess I should have saved it until Christmas.

Nestled inside was a gift card/order square for the British Library's online site...*

Draw me smiling....

M.

*This is only fair. She's a (now retired) librarian, and several of my gifts to her have come from their in-person shop, when that was possible. So...

[apl68]

Library poetry:


IF--

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are away on break and the place is packed;
If you can keep abreast of the lists of overdue
And get hold of IT when the internet's cracked;
If you can order on time all the top-selling authors,
Yet find some money for well-written stuff;
And stay well-stocked with what the public calls for,
Yet keep the collection from being total fluff:

If you can make the Staff follow reasonable rules,
And stay off Facebook when you're not around;
Remind them that telephones are business tools,
And books carelessly shelved just can't be found;
If you can squeeze some Budget from your Board
To hire real workers and not volunteer freaks;
Get the Powers-That-Be to dip into their hoard,
To contact a plumber and stop those leaks:

If you can lure in the Teens to do some real reading,
Not Game-Boys and videos and Gossip-Girl junk;
Have story-time without all your older folks bleating
About unruly children with way too much spunk;
If you can keep a mile-long To-Do List at bay,
And stay graceful when some clueless churl
Cracks wise about getting to read books all day—
Then you've become a real Librarian, my girl!

[mamselle]

;--}

I think I saw this earlier but was rushing to teach and couldn't comment at the time!

I sent it to my sister, a town librarian who can't seem to retire (they've hired folks who leave x 3 now, calling her back as interim...) and she absolutely agreed. She said, "Ouch, yes--but there were some good days, too"... (this was between call-back 2 and 3, though...I haven't asked if that's still true...)

;--}

____

In a different vein, just found this...which doesn't include all it might, but does a pretty good job of hitting several high spots.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhcPaCri0tg

M.

[Hibush]

How do libraries matter in times of war?


The Ukrainian Library Association is taking action by addressing the most modern form of warfare."We are at the forefront of the fight against fakes, misinformation, and cyber threats!"

They are asking global libraries to shut of access to their collections and remove Russian institutions from international databases.

They have also postponed their upcoming conference until "we have finished vanquishing our invaders".

[hmaria1609]

How do libraries matter in times of war?


The Ukrainian Library Association is taking action by addressing the most modern form of warfare."We are at the forefront of the fight against fakes, misinformation, and cyber threats!"

They are asking global libraries to shut of access to their collections and remove Russian institutions from international databases.

They have also postponed their upcoming conference until "we have finished vanquishing our invaders".

The American Library Assoc. (ALA) released a statement yesterday:
https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2022/03/ala-stands-ukrainian-library-community

[mamselle]

It's World Book Day:

   https://britishlibraryemails.bl.uk/5JXV-GV3N-C0B9A3B24156DF9E13LM50029CBBC879F39141/cr.aspx

It's also Women's History Month:

   https://www.nypl.org/

and

   https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/notable-women-notable-manuscripts-maria-weston-chapman/

Others?

M.

[apl68]

They have also postponed their upcoming conference until "we have finished vanquishing our invaders".

My brother sent me a copy of that! 

I'm glad to live in a place where the main threat to the library at the moment is the road work right in front of us that is preventing our patrons from getting here.