The 80/20 Librarian: Focusing on the 20% that matters

Three library news stories that have taken place this month that I think are worth looking at are:

1) The Fairfax County, VA library discard situation. See http://wapo.st/1865sHL for the Washington Post article

2) A controversial move on the part of a school to rescind an invitation to have author Meg Medina speak. See http://bit.ly/13SdOiQ for the news story

3) Lawsuits filed by Tea Party members in Kentucky to challenge tax raising by library districts. See the article in USA TODAY at http://usat.ly/1epfQ0O

(Image Courtesy of Amazon.Com)

I really enjoyed reading King Peggy by Peggieline Bartels and Eleanor Herman. The book was selected as the One Maryland One Book for 2013. See http://www.mdhc.org/programs/one-maryland-one-book/ for details.

The book chronicles the rise of Peggy Bartels, who holds both Ghanian and United Stats citizenship, to kingship in Otuam, Ghana. A receptionist at the Ghanian embassy in Washington DC who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, Peggy’s life changes drastically in August of 2008 when her cousin, Kwame Lumpopo, telephones to inform her that she has been selected Otuam’s new king.  It turns out that Otuam’s previous king, Peggy’s Uncle Joseph, has died and Peggy has been picked by the elders and the ancestors to be the new king.

I enjoyed learning about the discrepancies between Peggy’s African roots and her U.S. background. For instance Peggy (on pages 60- 61) talks about the difference between the warmth of African family/friends and the cold isolated existence she sometimes feels in the U.S. As Peggy notes, “In the United States, she did her job and came home to her condo. Sometimes she feared that if she died in her condo or had a stroke, no one would find her for weeks. That would be impossible in Ghana. There would always be relatives calling to see how you were, banging on your door, bringing you plates of fish and rice, inviting you to church and family events.”

Another discrepancy hinted at in the book is Peggy’s observation of the U.S. diet/ sedentary lifestyle as being a source of impotency. When one of Peggy’s town elders, 77 year old Tsiami, tells everyone that he is going to have a quickie with a girlfriend, Peggy reflects (pages 198 to 199). “In the United States, some men in their forties had to use Viagra because all the stress and preservatives had turned their private parts to mashed potatoes. But in Otuam, eighty-year-olds walked around with an eternal hard-on. Peggy thought it was the food they ate- fresh fish, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruit with no chemicals- and they were always walking miles and miles every day because they had no cars, or were hauling in heavy nets of fish, or working in the fields.”

Peggy’s commentary on U.S. lifestyles versus African lifestyles is also worth noting.  Pages 158 and 159 reveal Peggy’s thoughts, on the role of technology that has inhibited healthy human interaction in the U.S., are contrasted with her observations of African social life. “Many Africans saw America as a promised land because it was rich in conveniences and gadgets. Americans could make hot air cool and cold air warm. They almost all had running water. They could send men to the moon and cure many cancers. But many of them couldn’t loosen their grip on their remote controls enough to sit on a breezy porch with friends and family, talking about nothing in particular, or sitting in contented silence listening to the birds. If some of them were sitting here now on the porch, she thought, with birds singing and children playing and sunshine slanting through the trees, they would nervously whip a remote control out of their pockets and start pushing buttons.”

Peggy herself affirms that she is both African and American. While Peggy notes that certain aspects of African culture are perhaps far healthier than U.S. culture, she does reveal an admiration for the advancement of women in U.S. society. Peggy notes that she has found African women to be far too timid to stand up for themselves especially when being taken advantage of by a man. On page 14 Peggy notes, “Sometimes Peggy wondered how on earth she could be an African woman. She was much more like an American woman, always had been. When talking to a man she fixed her eyes on him with an unblinking stare, and the moment he disrespected her she let him have it with her big mouth.”

Another positive aspect of U.S. culture that Peggy brings to her kingship is the American belief in changing unjust societies to better serve the people. When Peggy gets into an argument with her corrupt council of elders she invokes some of her American identity on page 209. “Change has come to America, and I have come from America to bring change to Otuam! I am the Obama of this place!”

Ultimately, Peggy’s kingship is the tale of her confrontation with a corrupt group of town elders, who seek to live lavishly both off of the town of Otuam and off of Peggy herself. In order to secure clean drinking water, basic medical services, educational improvements, and a habitable town palace Peggy finds herself on a collision course with the town elders. Theft and lies abound within the town’s leadership. Peggy finds some unlikely allies in Africa and the U.S. that help her to get Otuam on the right track. This reviewer encourages others to read the book for a full appreciation of what King Peggy had to accomplish. Readers will be held captive by what takes place when Peggy has the previous king buried. This is a great book that is well worth reading. Many public libraries in Maryland will be discussing the book so readers should consult their local public library to participate in a book discussion

Andrew Herridge, a leader of the Save the Miami Dade Public Libraries campaign, let me know yesterday of some additional online resources to advocate for the library system.

They are as follows.

Twitter: @MIALibraries
Wordpress: savethemiamidadelibraries.wordpress.com
Contact: savethemiamidadelibraries@gmail.com

If you have other resources that I should be posting up on the blog please let me know.

I just got a comment regarding the article I posted yesterday pertaining to the library budget cutting situation in Miami-Dade and was made aware of an online resource that can be used to assist the Miami-Dade library system. Feel free to take a look at

“Save the Miami-Dade Public Libraries” FB page

https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheMiamiDadePublicLibraries

This should be a helpful resource for those who want to advocate for the Miami Dade public library system.

I am not sure if everyone has been following the huge budget battle that has put the Miami Dade County Public Library system on the cutting board. There was a great article by Gary Price (August 24) that is up on the Library Journal’s website. See http://www.infodocket.com/2013/08/24/miami-dade-county-will-no-longer-close-any-public-libraries-but-169-librarian-jobs-will-be-cut/ for the article.  The upside to all this is that the library system will be able to keep all its library branches in operation. The downside of this is that 169 librarians could lose their jobs and the library branches will only be open for three quarters of the time that they would normally be open. The library community will have to keep an eye on this. Price asserts that the library community has not been effective in advocating for its vital missions. Below I am placing the text that Price wrote.

“Is a public or school library really a public or school library without professionals building collections (print and ebooks for adults and children), selecting electronic services (from research databases to 3D scanners), training library users (e.g. digital literacy, web search), etc.?

As we pointed out a few weeks ago on infoDOCKET, the library community has done a poor job of explaining what librarians do (both in and out of the library facility) and why they are more valuable today than ever before.

We must do a better job marketing ourselves and promoting our skills and abilities and demonstrating (this is key) why they are important. If we don’t do this no one else will. This needs to be done in a community wide-effort (regardless of library type) but also by each one of us, individually, with those we come in contact with including both friends and family.”

Sadly Price also points to the cutting of school librarian positions in Harrisburg and New York City as signs of what comes when no successful advocacy takes place.

I recently saw a great article in the New York Times about how the hotel industry is creating libraries within their hotels as a way to attract/retain guests and to increase overall sales. The article by Amy Zipkin entitled, “Hotels Add Libraries as Amenity to Keep Guests Inside” is from the July 29, 2013 B4 edition of the New York Times. See http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/business/hotels-add-libraries-as-amenity-to-keep-guests-inside.html?emc=eta1&_r=0 for details.

For me the article is a wonderful response to those that question the value of libraries in our digital age. One of the interesting partnerships that is developing is the business relationship between bookstores and the hotel chains. As noted in the article, “The Strand bookstore in New York, for example, sells books to the Library Hotel and the Study at Yale, as well as to hotels in Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, and Philadelphia, among others. Jenny McKibben, who coordinates the store’s corporate accounts, estimates that 60 percent of corporate business stems from hotels or design firms working for hotels. Before the recession, she said, 15 to 20 hotels a year would call to order books. Now, with increased guest interest and newer technology that allows hotels to review pictures and title lists, the number of hotels ordering has increased to about 40 annually. “It’s a new luxury item,” she said of books.”

The reason the hotel industry is creating these libraries is because the hotel library encourages guests to be comfortable with staying in the hotel as opposed to traveling outside the hotel. By staying within the hotel, the odds increase that the guest is likely to purchase items directly from the hotel instead of going outside the hotel to make these purchases. The obvious purchases that come to mind are food and beverages. As the article indicates hotel restaurants and bars stand to benefit by being located close to the hotel library. One example that Zipkin highlights, is the June 2013 renovation of the Hyatt Magnificent Mile in Chicago that includes a bar stocked with books and magazines and a small number of computers. Other examples of hotels that have created libraries include, the “Renaissance Washington, D.C., Downtown Hotel which has books about presidents and sports; the Newport Regency Beach Hyatt; and the Boston Marriott Long Wharf, where books about the Boston Celtics, fishing and baseball are popular.”

It will be interesting to see how this concept evolves over time. Should we anticipate the hotels hiring library acquisition staff to help select books for the collection? Should we see a definitive rise in sales within hotel restaurants and bars? We will have to see.

I am not sure if you saw the great article in Fortune entitled, “Amazon vs. your public library” written by Verne Kopytoff on July 22, 2013. See http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/07/22/amazon-9/ for more information.

The article highlights the fact that the public library may be a worthy competitor of Amazon in the digital book arena as people can borrow e books for free instead of paying for them. The public library would be joining Google and Apple to challenge Amazon’s digital book dominance.

The article stresses a key point in that libraries have coexisted just fine with print booksellers for many years.  Would not the library be able to function well in the digital era, coexisting with e book vendors? I believe so. The reason is that the library has shown itself to be adaptable to technological innovations and has learned how to handle the demand for e books. This trend should continue into the future with librarians continually learning new technologies in order to serve their patrons.

The real question of course is whether the same private company that created the new technology (or became the dominant distributor of the new technology) will continually create new technological innovations or oversee their distribution. One example that comes to mind is Blockbuster. Many of will recall that the company was the dominant player in the VHS tape rental business (and later the DVD rental business) during the 1990s and early 2000s. For years it seemed as if the place to go to rent a movie was Blockbuster. During this same time the public library was also facilitating the borrowing of VHS/DVDs. Eventually Blockbuster was forced to compete with a different business model created by Netflix, whereby viewers could choose their movie online from a wider selection and then mail back the movie when they were finished. The days of Blockbuster have come and gone. As we shall see the models of information provision, established by private businesses, are subject to change and competition. While private companies come and go, the library has always been able to adapt to these changes and to stand its ground.

In regards to e-books, the article notes that, “Just over three-quarters of libraries lend e-books, according to a survey last fall by the American Library Association. Even people who do not own an e-reader can often check them out from their local branch. Nearly 40% of libraries let patrons borrow Kindles, Nooks, or other similar devices, the survey found.”

Christopher Platt, director of the joint technology team for the New York and Brooklyn public libraries, stated that “Digital is not a boutique service. It’s part of the future of the library.”

Of course, as the article has mentioned, libraries have been limited by publishers in their efforts to lend e-books. Until earlier this year several major publishers refused to sell to libraries at all. The current situation is a slight improvement. As stated in the article, “Some major publishers jack up the price libraries pay for e-books compared to what they charge the public. Others make only a small number of titles available, delay their availability until weeks after the general release, or require libraries to buy another copy after lending it 26 times.”

Some takeaways from the 2013 ALA Conference in Chicago:

1)      I got a chance to present a poster session. See http://ala13.ala.org/node/12048. It was great to get such a good turnout at the conference. I presented on how you can utilize patron talent for programming.

2)      President Obama addressed the current American Library Association annual conference in Chicago to tell librarians that their assistance will be needed to help enroll those who need to sign up for health insurance. See
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/apnewsbreak-librarians-health-law-19519332#.UdG_z9jdvLU and see
http://www.districtdispatch.org/2013/06/breaking-news-president-obama-to-reveal-message-to-ala-conference/ for more details.

3)      In her presentation 20 programs under 20 dollars (http://ala13.ala.org/node/10082) Pamela Jayne, a youth services librarian at the Boone County Public Library in Kentucky, explained the various affordable programs that she has implemented. Some of these programs include bottle cap mosaics, a candy casino (where teens use candy to bet on card games), building a PVC pipe marshmallow shooter, and a spy society game (where teens have to decipher various codes). I did not realize that simple everyday items can be manipulated to make something new. For instance Ms. Jayne wanted to host a Star Wars teen program. She took pool noodles cut them in half and then placed duct tape at the bottom of the pool noodle to make it into a light saber. I also like how Ms. Jayne was able to take bottle caps and have the teens make a mosaic out of them. She even created an R2D2 robot using an empty toilet paper roll and a plastic Easter egg top.

4)     The program, Attracting Reluctant Male Readers, (http://ala13.ala.org/comment/853#comment-853) was good as well. Chicago area author, Barbara Binns, and school librarian, James Klise discussed the reasons for the lack of enthusiasm among young male readers. Binns stated that she believed that reading is not a skill that we are innately born with (such as walking, eating, breathing, etc.), However Binns noted that literacy is now a 21st century survival skill. To develop young readers rewards should be handed out early and often. However, it was noted that boys take longer to develop and that fear/embarrassment made be a cause for a disinterest in reading. The presenters encouraged the audience to look at acquiring various titles that attract male readers. These titles included Acceleration, Bell Jar, Ship Breaker, Chaos Walking Series, Never Fall Down, The Compund, Homeboyz, and many others. Klise indicated that there were several things that can be done to encourage young male readers. He talked about how effective displays work, you need to buy books that focus on external conflict, give book talks to young male readers, have one on one librarian time with the readers, and above all give the reader a book to keep. Klise noted that giving the reader a book to keep helps encourage them to read. He also talked about making sure to give students a personal choice in regards to their reading material. Binns talked about how we should not forget the importance of non-fiction as many male readers prefer real life stories. Finally Binns noted that male readers pick up books whose characters and themes the readers can identify with.

Love and Other Perishable Items earned a 2013 finalist nomination for the William C. Morris Award- which honors a book written for young adults by a previously unpublished author. Author Laura Buzo creates a teenage romance story set in modern day Australia. The central plot concerns two grocery store workers, high school student Amelia Hayes (age 15) and university student Christopher Harvey (age 21), who work at Coles supermarket (sarcastically known as the “Land of Dreams”). The book’s title Perishable Items probably has something to do with the fact that the characters work in a supermarket.   Amelia and Chris are in and out of love with each other. The book tracks the relationship through its ups and downs. Essentially the conflict here is character vs. character, but smaller conflicts with supporting characters (such as grocery store worker Ed or Chris’ Uncle Jeff) do take place.

The story is told from the point of view of the two protagonists, Amelia and Chris. In addition to the actual writing a journal notebook entry style format is used to delineate which character is speaking. In reality each character is sharing their private thoughts in a diary that the reader has access to.

Amelia’s journal is organized by the month. In addition a phrase usually describes what is going on with her during a particular month. For example, for the month of April she has listed “Nothing but Interesting Times”. Within each month entries are headed by certain topic titles (such as Getting the Hello Out of Here, Learning the Ropes, Christmas, etc.).

Chris has a journal that is organized by the name of the notebook, which is most likely the notebook’s color. For example, I see that Chris used notebooks called the Purple Notebook and the Black Notebook.  Within the notebook entries are headed not by topic but by the plain old date. The date is usually just the month/day and no year is given. Occasionally there is even a precise time of day located with the entry. For example, on page 212 an entry is marked June 5, 11PM.

I found the characters to be believable for a teen audience. There are a number of reasons for this. First, is the use of profanity by the teens which is used just enough to give the characters a bit of an edge, but not enough to be a complete turn off.  Secondly, the how the characters view what is happening in their larger society is totally realistic.  As is taking place in many countries Chris as a young man of 21 is still living at home as he finishes university and has to decide where next to go on his life journey. On page 120 he is distressed that his friend Rohan has chosen a major that will lead to a job after his graduation from university, while he might be stuck. As Chris reveals, “What am I going to do with a degree in sociology?” Chris’ father views home ownership as better than renting and states, “Why throw your money away on rent?” However, Chris views (per page 106) the payment of rent as an investment in your own sanity and independence.  Thirdly, the characters engage in behavior that is becoming more common among adolescents. Characters have sex, smoke, drink, and do pot. Fourthly characters come into conflict with fellow workers, parents, relatives, and siblings.

The setting in Australia is obvious. As a first time author Buzo, a lifelong resident of Sydney, may have felt comfortable writing about a setting she is intimately familiar with. The setting is important to the story as it explains why Christmas is in the warm season, why words like “car park” and “uni” are used, why the names of towns such as Perth come up, and why the bus system is used far more often than it would be in an American teenage story where characters would solely use cars. That being said, the story could have taken place in the U.S. and would have been just as believable because the societies’ that the teens live in are generally the same.  Teens work entry level jobs to save money for school, live at home to make ends meet, grapple with love, and confront issues such as sex/ substance abuse.

The glass jar on the front cover did not exactly do it for me and the shopping cart on the back was helpful only after you realize that the teens are working in a grocery store.

School Library Journal reviewer Susan Riley has noted that, “The realistic conclusion is a bit open-ended, which lends hope that there will be a sequel.”

In the end Chris heads to Japan to teach for one year. Amelia is torn between waiting for Chris and getting on with her life.

I really liked Katharine Applegate’s book The One and Only Ivan, an award winning children’s work.  This is really a morality tale completed with personification. Ivan, a gorilla, is living as an attraction at the Big Top Mall and Video Arcade conveniently located off of I-95. The real change that prompts Ivan to get out of the mall is the death of his beloved elephant friend Stella. The death occurred because the mall’s owner did not want to pay for Stella’s medical treatment. Just before Stella dies she asks that Ivan free a newly arrived baby elephant, Ruby, and take her away to a different place. That different place is a zoo, where according to the book humans make amends for their mistreatment of animals. To get out of the Big Top Mall, Ivan will have to rely on his artistic ability as a painter and help from a few good humans namely George (the mall’s maintenance man) and his daughter Julia. I recommend the book as it should be on any public library’s shelf.