Monday blues

[altivo]

Felt off color much of the day, but perhaps just because it was Monday. ;p

The Easter egg hunt in the library on Saturday was apparently much too popular and rather out of control. Reportedly the noise levels were deafening for several hours and many visitors (even adults) seemed to have no idea of the general rules of behavior for libraries (such as no food and drink in the stacks, lower the noise to a dull roar, etc.) I think this event will not happen in our building again. It was too big for the venue.

Spinning guild newsletter completed for this month, including photos from the National Park and American Textile Historical Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. Also the details on a Drop Spindle Race planned for this Saturday.

Thunderstorms in the area, including severe storm warnings, so time to shut down and go to bed I think.

Comments

[merik]

The Easter egg hunt in the library on Saturday was apparently much too popular and rather out of control.

Erf... Just thinking about out of control children running wildly through a library searching for Easter eggs makes me cringe. And I'm not surprised that there were many visitors who had no idea about how to behave in a library. Either that or they, like many of the people I have to deal with, somehow believe that the rules, either formally laid out or just common sense courtesy, apply to other people, but not to them. :-P


Felt off color much of the day, but perhaps just because it was Monday. ;p

I hope it was just because it's Monday and not something more troublesome...

[altivo]

Blame it on Monday. I feel better today.

We get people all the time who think that rules don't apply to them. But I gather this was more like blissful unawareness. After all, bookstores now have coffee shops in them, why shouldn't libraries?

[merik]

Blame it on Monday.

*chuckle* That's what I keep telling myself on Mondays. Glad to hear you're feeling better today, even with the storms and the detour on your drive.

After all, bookstores now have coffee shops in them, why shouldn't libraries?

The administrators of the main branch of the county library here were asking themselves that very question towards the end of last year. The last I heard back last December, they were planning to rent out space in the library to a local coffee place to set up a small shop in order to bring more revenue into the library's coffers, but other restaurants in the vicinity of the library downtown were complaining about the possible competition. Haven't heard any updates since, so I don't know if they've scrapped the plan or are still hashing out the details. Of course, given that the library runs ads almost every week in the free weekly local newspaper, and those ads tout not the library's book collection, but their "extensive collection of DVDs and CDs", I'd imagine their thinking about how to run a library is strange and wondrous. :-P

[altivo]

More and more that kind of thinking is becoming common. It's "marketing" just as much as if the library were a retail store. Consequently, administrators think they have to look and act like retailers, and offer strictly what's in high demand.

I am of a different opinion on this, but my views are considered "old fashioned." I think a public library is an educational institution just as much as a public school is. Consequently it is our job to present balanced viewpoints and information, and to cover historical details as well as current events and literature.

[moonhare]

(even adults)

Even? Our worst offenders. They stand at the circ desk while their out-of-control little banshees run around whacking the fish tank (think Nemo), whack each other, and set off security with books as they run in and out of the doorway, all the time chatting loudly with the other moms and dads about play dates and other %#@&. Or texting, or just talking on cell phones, or letting cell phones ring...

:o) It's that New Library image that OSL is trying to promote, where we don't want to appear stuffy and old fashioned... *snicker* We have two elderly retirees who must think we're a coffee shop as they sit and read newspapers and yell to each other across the periodical section about the state of the world and other mundane topics in those 'old guy' cranky tones.

[typical edit...]

[altivo]

Yeah. I really dislike the "Library 2.0" concept. Forget call numbers, shelve the books like in a bookstore. Serve coffee and doughnuts, never mind the mess. Don't charge overdue fines, it makes people angry. Never say "No" to anything, the customer is always right...

Fortunately, our present director is not into this sort of thing much. Unfortunately, some of the other libraries in the consortium seem to be headed in that direction so now we're starting to get the "They do it at Woodstock" or "They do it at Cherry Valley" complaints.

Blue Pony

[moonhare]

Felt off color much of the day...

Sorry, I should have been addressing this and not ranting on. Hope you feel better today. I felt 'off' yesterday and wondered if it wasn't the ham we had Sunday. I slept badly and was out-of-sorts thereafter (accounts for my rantiness, as opposed to randiness).

Maybe just the beautiful weekend and all the blooms in abundance. Makes working indoors even less attractive.

...and if I preview each time instead of posting, unposting, posting again... maybe I'll have less edits ;o)

Re: Blue Pony

[altivo]

Nah, just because I'm complaining doesn't mean you have to humor me. ;p Nice image though. I was thinking about a blue unicorn the other day. Maybe I should paint one of those.

Re: Blue Pony

[moonhare]

Something I did in '98 based on Franz Marc:
Hand drawn, computer 'tinted.'

Of all the German Expressionists, Franz Marc was my favorite artist. His animal paintings, particularly his horses, stand out as the greatest of the movement... well, imho ;o)

You should certainly do a unicorn!

Re: Blue Pony

[altivo]

Hmm. I'll have to look up Franz Marc. That reminds me of Rockwell Kent, one of my favorite illustrators. (Even though I also like Beatrix Potter, Maxfield Parrish, and other more traditional artists.)

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

You had a hunt...inside the library??

[altivo]

Not my idea, and fortunately I didn't have to be there. The city wanted it there and the director wasn't willing to say no to them. I guess next year they have already scheduled it for another location.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

It's always a much better idea for it to be outside :)