Garbage-pickers aren't so bad...

When I was a child, and my family visited my grandparents, we'd often play canasta.  If any one of us picked up the discard pile when there was less than a dozen cards or so, we'd be called a garbage-picker.  Regardless of our intentions (often grabbing one or two cards we needed to finish a canasta, etc.), we were labeled for picking up and collecting something that others felt was worthless.

I see that happening at the library sometimes, and it really bugs me.  People with an inflated sense of their own literary tastes put down readers and authors who don't live up to their expectations.

"You really read him/her?"

"I can't/won't read that trash."

"He/She isn't a *real* author."

For those of you who have expressed these sorts of sentiments (and to be fair, I've done it once or twice in my life in response to authors who write more books than I do blog entries), I'd like to request in the politest way possible that you keep them to yourself.  Here's why:

1)  Adult illiteracy is a major issue.

• As I've written about before, we live in a time when illiteracy is a huge concern.  There are many people who will never voluntarily read a book after high school.  As a society of readers, we need to be encouraging people to read, nomatter what the content.

2)  Library funding is derived from circulation (to an extent).

• If elitist readers drive away patrons, the library's circulation stats will plummet and the library's book purchasing budget will follow.  At that point, the library will have to focus its fiction budget on titles that appeal to as many patrons as possible, and will no longer be able to purchase books that appeal to that small elitist subset.

3)  Indiscriminate reading should not offend you.

• Reading is not a conspicuous activity.  Short of reading pornographic materials in public, reading is not an activity where the participant makes a point of doing something to impress or offend bystanders.

4)  There's nothing wrong with trashy novels.

• Okay, these books will probably never be used as a basis of an academic dissertation.  People can still derive pleasure from reading them.  These people are still reading and using their imaginations rather than passively consuming television and other media.

I've read the Illiad.  I also read Star Trek novels.  The universe is not constructed in a way that requires me to only enjoy one or the other.  So leave those readers alone who don't match your expectations, and perhaps try picking up a trashy novel.  Who knows?  You might even enjoy it.

Synchronicity and Summer Reading Club

Greetings, good readers.

Last week Sharon spent a large portion of her time preparing her fundraising letters for Summer Reading Club.  Each year she sends out letters asking for support for this program, and a handful of businesses and organizations have been very generous and made the Summer Reading Club possible.

Sharon was finishing off the letters this morning and was getting ready to mail them when she received an out-of-the-blue phone call from Glenn Auger of Spectra Energy.  He was coming to the library to present us with a cheque for the Summer Reading Club.  Meanwhile, the envelope addressed to Spectra Energy was sitting on Sharon's desk, just waiting to be sealed and stamped.

Glenn stopped in shortly before I left for lunch.  He told Sharon that Spectra Energy knew of the importance of the Summer Reading Club and literacy at a very young age.  Then Glenn presented Sharon with a cheque, posed for a photo, and left with our profound thanks.

Now I'd just like to take a moment to thank Spectra Energy for their donation and for kicking off the Summer Reading Club.  The Summer Reading Club is largely funded by donations of this kind.  The funds are used to buy program supplies, help pay for summer students, develop our children's collections, and (most importantly) buy prizes to reward members of the Summer Reading Club at the end of the summer.  It's a fantastic program that helps keep the children of TR entertained and educated over the summer, and we certainly appreciate the help.

Thanks Glenn.  Thanks Spectra Energy.

Living in the Chaos Zone

Hello good readers, and welcome to a brief blog entry.

Two weeks ago, we were told that work on the community centre envelope would be starting again shortly.  Due to the work required on the exterior wall of the library, we were asked to move everything at least five feet away from those walls.

We spent the next three days (Thursday, Mar. 31 -- Saturday, Apr. 2) moving books, shelves, and furniture with a great deal of help and sweat from the community centre staff.  Due to space constraints, the library's large tables and most of its seating have been placed in storage.

Shortly after we were warned about the pending construction, the silence we've enjoyed over the past few months was shattered as the contractors continued their work.

On Saturday morning while I was shifting books on the shelves, there were a series of loud thumps on the roof which caused one of our fluorescent light covers near me to fall and shatter.  The community centre staff responded, and they've since removed all the light covers so that incident will not be repeated.

In spite of everything, we *are* open for business.  If you visit us at the library, you will likely find it noisy and cramped, but we are open.  Our hours will not change over the next few months, and the library will not (barring any unforeseen dangers associated with the renovation work) close while construction is ongoing.

Before I wrap up this blog post, let's make a deal folks.  If you don't complain to me about the noise and cramped conditions (which are thoroughly beyond my control), I won't rant at you about how I have to work full time under these conditions.

...Wanna shake on it?