Traditions

I watched the Macy’s Parade on Thanksgiving. It is a long-standing tradition going back as far as I can remember. For me, the tradition includes getting the pumpkin pie into the oven just as the Rockettes do their number (ushering in the start of the Parade) and sitting with family kibitzing about who the singers are, how well they lip-sync, what balloon is losing air, will Bob McGrath still be on the Sesame Street Float this year (sadly, no), how cold the marching band members from some warm state are (I have noticed the band from Hawaii never returned). While I keep this tradition going, it isn’t quite the same anymore, now that my family is far-flung and isn’t ‘home for the holidays’. This year, I ended up kibitzing via text to my daughter who was at work and only responded during her break.

Shop Local Saturday is our newest tradition, which finds us visiting a number of local businesses. One in particular we look forward to since it is a great little shop filled with just the right gifts for family and friends. So we set out with enthusiasm, only to discover it had moved to a larger site and is now much expanded (very nice location). We wandered around like lost souls, this year walking out with nothing, missing the intimacy and selection of the prior location.
Finishing off the weekend was a holiday film about giving up old traditions and moving on to new experiences. It seemed like I was being told something at this point!

I was surprised to be reminded how important traditions are to me, considering how I love and embrace change (have you been to the library recently?). But traditions do give you a sense of stability and surety in a world that seems to be radically different almost every day. It binds people together with a shared experience that everyone knows and fits back into comfortably and comfortingly. The risk arises when tradition prevents positive progress, when the tradition continues to lumber on having long outlasted its function and prevents the development of new traditions.

Libraries are often tagged with the traditional label – too often in a negative sense. But in reality, libraries just do the shift to new traditions well, building on what works and easing away what no longer is the best solution today. Sure, there are always changes that seem jarring – and these are the ones that strike closest to your comfort zone – but that passes as well. Libraries are thought of as being traditional places, but if you sit and consider the library of your childhood and today’s library, you will be startled be the differences that have eased in while keeping the sense of comforting traditions.

Movie: Fiddler on the Roof
Book: The Book of New Family Traditions: How to Create Great Rituals for Holidays and Everyday, by Cox, Meg.

Consumer or creator

           So, I was reading after lunch over the weekend, and my husband turned on one of his go-to TV shows "Love it or List it". Suddenly I thought: that narrator is the same one that reads Janet Evanovich's Plum series. I recognized it because her reading is the reason I stopped listening to the series (I have talked about audiobook readers previously), having liked the original reader much better. The newer reader's voice was too patterned, in a way that made me think about the reader's voice instead of visualizing the rich milieu of Stephanie Plum's life. And that is terrible - I prefer to get lost in the book, imagining the lives and locations being detailed on the pages. And I get lost - I was rereading the Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder one summer night. If you haven't read it, it is all about a long, extremely snowy winter. So my desperate dog finally got my attention and I got up to let her outside. I was so completely lost in the book that I was totally shocked there was no snow and it was warm outside.
           I had also just been following a discussion online about whether reading is a consuming process or a creating process. A director in a big midwest city library had been quoted identifying readers as consuming - and certainly one could argue that a reader is taking in what is written, not creating it. But some participants in the discussion believed that reading creates something in your mind. After all, two people can read the same book, the same descriptions of people and places and have radically different ideas of what it looks like. Why else would there be any argument when a book is filmed as to the choices of actors. One poster's comments are particularly evocative: "I know that as I recently reread C. S. Lewis's Narnia books, I discovered that much of the rich world I remember from reading those books as a child is actually not detailed in the books. Lewis's writing and my own imagination interacted to create the world I remembered. An individual's ability to imagine something that doesn't exist is the basis for innovation". Consider that and then think of the Narnia movies, where you are watching, or consuming, someone else's vision created when they read the book.
           So I guess my opinion is clear - what do you think? Hmm, so opinions are created by reading as well . . .

What is Happening to Dewey?

You may have noticed changes in the stacks recently. In some areas, old familiar Dewey is completely missing. Where is it going? It is being replaced with Natural Language Classifying (Natlac for short), something we have kind of invented. Basically it is translating the number system into the words that the numbers represent. It is a relative of the more familiar BISAC system used in libraries and bookstores, but a new twist.

So why bother? Well, Dewey is a terrific classification system - a hundred years ago. But times change, and Dewey doesn't like change. People want a book on cooking, or computers, or traveling to Rome - so why not make it possible to just find all the books labeled cooking, computers, traveling to Rome? Why confuse with those mysterious decimals that are really disguised fractions - and we all had trouble with fractions! Natlac is easier and much more intuitive.

Also, the structure of Dewey separates books that really are more useful side-by-side. Why should garden design be somewhere in the 700's and gardening in the 600's? Why should Photoshop manuals be way down in the 000's and photography is up in the 700's? We couldn't come up with a good reason why, and decided to make the change - and so Natlac was born.

Right now we are about 1/3 of the way through, and picking up speed fast. Hopefully by mid-2014 we will be all done with the relabeling and can move on to rearranging. Yes more change, but the final step. When we are done rearranging, even broadly related books will all be together in a neighborhood. Travel books will be right next to language books - isn't that most of the reason to learn a language? All the various and sundry hobbies, crafts, etc. will all be together, and then right next to sports and recreation - after all, aren't these all resources for finding and enhancing enjoyable pastimes?

So give us a little more time, and I think you will be really delighted at the outcome. And if you are confused at the moment - just ask one of us. We are ready as always to take you right to the book you want.

That funny widget

If you are reading this, you may have noticed that we revamped our website. You will find the information you have come to rely on in the same places, but we have added some features that we believe will enhance our service and speed you on your way to where you need to go.

That revolving widget that has been on our website for a few weeks (you will see it just down a bit on the left) is one of our enhancements. This gizmo is made up of the covers of our most recent additions to our collection. Does one look interesting to you? Just click on it and you are taken to a brief description, some reviews, and some suggestions of other titles. The catalog entry is just a click away from there so you can reserve the book or check on its availability. Use the drop-down menus at the top of the page for more newly added items organized by topic or format.

We think this little gadget will be a big enhancement - if nothing else, you can't say you don't know what's new! Try it out and let me know what you think.

Changes we don't like

We have been talking about change for a while, and there have been a number of changes at the library - hopefully most are ones that have been positive since that was the intent. All these changes were a choice, based on observed issues and needs, developed from a meeting of minds to formulate the best solutions.

Unfortunately, sometimes change is imposed rather than chosen. And there are big changes coming up for everyone that uses the library. Maybe you have been hearing about the drive to reduce the tax rate here in Salem, and reductions inevitably are visible and felt everywhere - and the library is no different.

As of January 1, 2012, the library hours will be reduced. We will be closing at 7PM on Monday and Tuesday nights, and at 2PM on Saturdays.

But that is not the most difficult change for us. The library was asked to absorb a 10% budget reduction and to meet that goal, everything will be reduced and sadly that reduction includes a staff reduction of two. We are very distressed and saddened that two of our wonderful people will be leaving us at the end of the year.

While we will do our best to provide the quality service you have come to expect, covering the kind of services provided by these departing staff members will be difficult. We all hope that you will be understanding as we find our feet as we adjust to these difficult changes.

Kindle and eBooks

We have been a participant in the wonderful state-wide program that makes Overdrive and downloadable audiobooks and eBooks available to you. You can find it here if you haven't tried it already. Originally this was just downloadable audio, but about a year ago, we all added to our annual contribution to Overdrive and added eBooks. They have proven to be enormously popular.

There have been a few drawbacks. It is a process to do it the first time, there aren't many eBook titles and they are always checked out, and you couldn't use your Kindle with it. But times change, and we are delighted to announce some very nice upgrades.

First of all, you can now download eBooks onto your Kindle (it has to go through your computer first) and read. Remember these are "checked out" just like a book and you only have them for two weeks, renewable. However, they are free, and we all know that eBooks are just about as expensive as regular books now.

Second, we have just arranged to have a supplimental service with Overdrive. This means that while we will continue to participate fully in the state program, we are arranging for additional eBook titles that will be available only to Kelley Library cardholders. We are in the process of selecting titles right now - so keep checking, soon there will more titles to select from that may actually not be already checked out!

Questions? Just stop by or call the reference desk and our helpful staff will be delighted to introduce you to this expanded service.

Still love to hold those books in your hands - you are in luck! We have just the books you are looking for, we just have them in more than one format.

Stop in and check out the Kelley Library. If you haven't been here recently, you really haven't been here.

Have you met Natalie?

If you use the library regularly, you no doubt have come across Natalie at the main desk. What you may not know is that she is our Head of Circulation which means she is responsible for a wide variety of things ranging from statistics to scheduling to making sure that anything and everything related to circulation is being done. If that isn't enough, Natalie is our go-to person for almost any question, idea or plan. If I had a nickel for every time someone says "I'll ask Natalie" we could have a diamond studded circulation desk!

Natalie has imagination, endless curiosity and creativity married to practicality, detail thinking, and the ability to think of all the issues and potential problems - a rare combination. Basically, if I make the most casual "Wouldn't it be nice if . . ." statement, within an hour or at most a day Natalie has a plan of attack with all the variables addressed and is ready for it to be put in place.

So it is no surprise that in the time between my asking if I had asked her the famous 5 questions (no) and coming back with the questions and a pencil, she was all ready with her answers:

1. When I am not at the library, you can find me: at home reading (and let me tell you, she reads alot of books).
2. Describe your perfect day: at the beach, uninterrupted, especially by kids (did you know she has teenaged twins?)
3. If you had to live somewhere else than NH, where would it be? San Diego, it is just about perfect. (She was just out there for a short vacation and discovered its perfection then)
4. What 3 things can you always find in your fridge? Grapes, yogurt and cheese.
5. You would be surprised to find out that I: like to skeet shoot.

Stop in and say hello to Natalie. She is always there for all of us.