Zombies in Plain English

I revere and worship Common Craft, don't you?

Kids in the Academic Library

The big topic of discussion at MPOW today revolved around what to do about the kids in the library (by kids, I mean high school, junior high, or younger). Our particular library has a proud tradition of being extremely accessible to the community. We offer a consumer health collection, provide reference services to anyone who walks in the door or calls, and allow anyone to use the computer workstations without a university username and password. Gradually, over the past year or so, the word has gotten out to neighborhood kids that we don't lock down the computers and they have naturally gravitated to us. Most of the kids are well-behaved, orderly and respectful of the space and other users . They come in, borrow headphones, listen to music, chat, check their email, do homework, surf, and play games (we have no library policies against any of these activities for any of our users). I have never seen an affiliated patron not be able to find a workstation. Even so, significant problems have recently arisen. Especially on nights and weekends, their numbers have increased considerably. Some of the kids are noisy and disrespectful, others have started to bring their younger siblings and our university patrons have started to complain.

So, where does this leave us? The requisite committee is being formed to consider our options. I would hate to see us resort to extreme measures, such as locking down all the workstations, banning activities such as gaming, chat and social networking, or prohibiting kids entirely. On the other hand, I am concerned about the increasing numbers of young kids who are being left unattended in the library or who are in the care of siblings who are only slightly older. Were something to happen to one of these kids, what responsibility would the library have? I'm also concerned that some of our university patrons are starting to feel like they are unable to work in the library because of the kids. Only a few kids behave inappropriately, but they can be truly disruptive. As word continues to spread, I'm a bit concerned that we will be absolutely besieged when summer rolls around. Even given all of this, I'm quite concerned about the fact that kids are not being adequately served by the library community as a whole. Due to ongoing budget shortfalls, the closest public library branch has been closed and the remaining libraries are open very few hours, especially during nights and weekends. How can we make something good come out of all of this? Call me naive and a starry-eyed idealist, but I very much hope we can figure out how to respond to this situation in a creative, constructive, positive manner without resorting to draconian measures.

No Impact Man

Blog Action Day seems like the perfect time to promote my new, favorite super hero, No Impact Man. For a year, No Impact Man (aka Colin Beaver) will, along with his wife, daughter and dog, endeavor to figure out how to live in New York City without impacting the environment. The blog makes for fascinating reading. Check it out.

bookish meme

I've been feeling cranky, distracted and overwhelmed so, despite the best of intentions, I haven't posted in a while. I picked up this meme from Kaijsa at Jag söker job and it seems like something I can handle, so here goes:

1. Hardcover or paperback and why?
Paperback for everyday and hardcover for formal occasions. Seriously, paperbacks are so much easier to carry around and they are cheaper, but it is wonderful to own books that I treasure in hardcover, like The Annotated Alice, for example. I desperately want someone to give me a Lord of the Rings set in hardcover, perhaps with Alan Lee illustrations.

2. If I were to own a book shop, I would call it...
I've actually given this lots of thought over the years, because I've always wanted to own and run and bookstore (although I would hate to have to live off of my earnings). For a long time my chose name was Wild Iris Books, because there is so much one can do with the word and the image. Irises are my favorite flowers in the whole wide world. Alternatively, one could create a groovy eye logo, perhaps using a psychedelic spectrum of colors. Now, however, I have a friend named Iris, however, so it seems a bit odd to use the name for my bookstore, so I'll go with my second choice, which is Bibliomania (hands off -- no stealing this name!).

3. My favorite quotation from a book (mention the title) is...
The only one that comes to mind at the moment is from Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons: "I saw something nasty in the woodshed." If that means nothing to you, get thee hence immediately to go read the book or watch the excellent, funny movie.

4. The author (alive or deceased) I would love to have lunch with would be...
Heavens, I have no idea. When I've met authors or other famous people in the past, I tend to sit there paralyzed like a stunned bunny in the middle of a road who thinks that by staying perfectly still they can avoid harm. Alternatively, I envision myself stuck in a harrowing scene like unto the dinner party with all the famous women in Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine. To answer the question, I suppose it would be cool to meet Anne Lamott. She seems like the kind of person with whom one could drink a cup of coffee, chat and just hang out for a while.

5. If I was going to a deserted island and could only bring one book, except for the SAS survival guide, it would be...
Hmm, is it a cop out to say the collected works of William Shakespeare or one of the Norton anthologies? I might bring Jane Eyre, because I love it so, or perhaps I should bring something more ambitious and time consuming that I've been to lazy to tackle, like Faulkner, Dante or Joyce.

6. I would love for someone to invent me a bookish gadget that...
Well, obviously, I want a device that could transport me in and out of books at will. I thought of this way before Jasper Fforde, I'll have you know.

7. The smell of an old book reminds me of...
bookstores, libraries and my grandmother's house. Not very original, but there you have it.

8. If I could be the lead character in a book (mention the title), it would be...
As a child, like many girls, I identified strongly with Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) and Jo March (Little Women); also, Eowyn (The Lord of the Rings). I don't really have a good answer for this at this point in my life, though. I'll have to ruminate on this.

9. The most overestimated book of all time is...
I very much dislike The Catcher in the Rye, I'm sorry to say, mostly because I absolutely can't stand Holden Caufield as a human being. I just don't like spending time with him. I know that is a silly, superficial reason to dislike a book, but that is the honest truth.

10. I hate it when a book is...
Like Kaijsa, I hate it when a book is the only truly great book an author ever writes. Kind of like all the bands that only produce one great album.

Do you want to complete this meme? I hereby dub thee tagged.