Who Knew?

One of the many great, unexpected outcomes of our project moving away from the Dewey Decimal System is being able to look at our books in an entirely new way.

My favorite is the "Who Knew" collection. As we went through the collection identifying the right topic for each, we found a number of books that defied categorization. They were all great books and we wanted to be able to highlight them in some way. After many months of discussion and creative thinking, we decided to try "Who Knew". When we evaluated these books, our consistent reaction was just that.

We just purchased a book that will end up in that collection - and it is guaranteed to make you say this. I promise. The book is The Secret Lives of Color, by Kassia St. Clair. This is a really fascinating book that tells how different shades of color got their name. The book is arranged by color, and the entries are quick, clear, and attention grabbing. Who knew that Shocking Pink got it's name from a young woman who had a bit of a reputation for being shocking and she loved this shade? Who knew Fuchsia is named after the plant that was named for a botanist?

So consider browsing through this book. You don't really need to be all that interested in color, the information in the book is just really interesting - and a great bit of trivia for impressing people at work or at a party. You can reserve it here.

But you can say that about all the books in the "Who Knew". Cool books, cool information, books you probably overlooked, but shouldn't. Give it a try - I promise you won't regret it.

Suggestions, recommendations and ideas

I have talked often about changes we are doing around the library, and it is always our intent that these changes will be an improvement. At the same time, we are always happy to hear ideas, suggestions, and recommendations from our users. The customer's point of view is key for seeing the need for improvements, and how better to see things from the customer's POV than to hear directly from you.

In reality some of our greatest improvements have come from complaints from our users. That might seem counter-intuitive, but it still is a fact. Complaints tend to highlight one of our blindspots, and so make us see something in a fresh ways.

So, we are saying that we welcome your input - after it is our goal to make the library what you are looking for, and so need your thoughts to achieve that goal. So drop me a line (abaker@kelleylibrary.org) or stop by for a chat and share your ideas.