Carnegie Libraries

Here's a link to a story that highlights Iowa's success in keeping the state's Carnegie libraries alive and well, although that's not always the case in most areas.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-carnegielibraries,0,1183357.story

The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library (Indiana) currently has two Carnegie libraries--the West Branch Library and the East Branch Library. Both locations received renovations within the past six years and are absolutely beautiful. Both also serve their respective neighborhoods well. It's wonderful that the EVPL system saw the value in these buildings. View these two libraries at EVPL's website at http://www.evpl.org/.

Way to go, Iowa and Indiana!

Toddler books

This morning my husband ran to the nearby branch library to get a couple of DVDs. (Yes, he does read profusely, but as we are preparing to move, he decided he needed something to use as a "relaxation" object later today.) He really surprised me when he brought back a stack of children's books (mostly toddler and early picture books) for my grandson. Hubby knows that I am babysitting this energetic 3-year-old this evening, so he took it upon himself to select some books that I could read to the tot. Just a few evenings ago I was discussing with Husband the abundance of research that overwhelmingly proves the benefits of reading to young children--not that my husband didn't already believe in the benefits of reading). Naturally, when I babysit my grandchildren, I take a supply of books to share with them. I had not had time to go to the library to get a new stash for tonight and figured my grandson would not mind hearing the same stories again tonight that he heard last week. I am thrilled, however, to know that my husband--a man who himself never had any children and who is not particularly comfortable around very young children--took it upon himself to make sure my grandson has a fresh supply of books for this evening's visit. His action is a way not only into my grandson's heart, but also deeper into mine! I consider his action one of true love.

Local Library Conferences

Today I attended the Indiana Library Federation's District 5/7 conference, where I presented a session. Yes, it's a small conference, but there is still a wealth of information to be gained from such conferences. This year's conference featured workshops on blogging, social networking sites and the ways teens are using them, historical databases, and more. Additionally, the keynote speaker was Margaret McMullan, author of several books, including How I Found the Strong and When I Crossed No-Bob. All said, the conference was a pretty good deal at only $35 a person--which also included a decent hot lunch (with dessert!).

So why were there so few people there? I pondered that question as I drove home from the conference...in the rain... for quite some distance. Are library staff too busy to attend conferences? Do they think local conferences don't have anything to teach them? Are their budgets so drained that they can't afford to pay the registration fee and mileage? Are they simply not interested? Did they have other programs and events scheduled today which prevented them from attending? I haven't yet found the answer. All I know is that a lot of library staff in the southern part of Indiana missed a really good conference today.

My congratulations to the board that put together the event--especially to Larry Oathout, district president and director of the Tell City PL.

I'm Baaaaa-aaack!

I will admit that this blog first started as an "experiment"-- a self-designed course for learning the how/what/why of blogging. One lesson I didn't seem to take to heart, though, was that blogging takes time! If you want to have a successful blog, you've got to keep it up to date. Honestly, who wants to read a blog that hasn't had any posts to it since JULY of last year?? So...I am now hyped up and ready to become an ACTIVE blogger. A friend of mine (a librarian who has a very good blog and is much more a pro at it than I am) said she spends 15 minutes a day with her blog. Hmmmm...I'm not sure I'm ready for that type of commitment. I'm just not ready for it! I'll plan to spend 10 minutes a day with my blog, which means you'll only have to spend 5 minutes reading the posts! Hey...we're all short on time, right?