In praise of the public library

www.carnegielibrariesiowa.org/library/sac-city/

Well, I missed it. National Library week was last week. How could I have let it slip by?

While my career centered around school libraries, I have been a devotee of public libraries since I was a kid. The photo above shows the old Carnegie Library in my hometown of Sac City, Iowa, looking much as it did in the 50s and 60s. Although I lived on a farm some nine miles out in the country, it seemed that I still was able to get to the public library every week.

Sitting on Main Street hill just a block or so west of downtown, the library was not exactly handipcapped accessible. There was a back entrance in an alley that required fewer steps, but the inside of the library was two stories. The lower level had the children’s section that I didn’t use much. It was the glorious second floor where I spent my time. The circulation desk was in the aisle that divided the east and west halves of the main floor. On the right was the card catalog with its separate drawers for title, author, and subject. As I remember, the non-fiction section was on the west, the fiction section on the east. Each section had a few tables where one could sit and read.

I was an avid reader of mysteries written for kids - Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, especially. I hit the science fiction section hard, Heinlien being a favorite. But what I remember checking out most were books from the library’s wonderful mythology section. Greek and Roman myths were my favorite, but I also dipped into Egyptian and Viking lore. One of my proudest days was when the librarian informed me that I had read every book in the mythology section that the library owned. If there was interlibrary loan in those days, I was unaware of it.

Until my retirement, I have to admit I had not been a big user of the public library as an adult. I took my kids to story hour in Mankato at times and I served on multi-type library advisory boards (being the school representative), but I rarely used the materials themselves. In fact, I wrote a rather critical editorial for the local paper, describing the things our Blue Earth County Library could learn from the newly opened Barnes & Noble bookstore. Embarrassingly, it happened to be published the same day the public librarian came to speak to the Kiwanis Club where I was a member. She gave me the cold shoulder as I remember.

Today’s library system here in Dakota County where I now live, is probably the best one I have ever encountered. The physical facilities are beautiful and open everyday and in the evenings. Their collections are superior and the librarians easily work with library cooperatives on interlibrary loan. As I have written about before, their digital collections, especially Libby, have saved me a lot of moola! Volunteers deliver physical materials to homebound users. Just before I retired, the Dakota system and my school district created a mutually advantageous plan that made sure every 6-12 student had their own “digital” library card that guaranteed fine-free checkouts.

The public library has come a long way since my childhood. May it continue to evolve and stay relevant when my great-great-grandchildren discover it. 

Cleaning out digital closets

…the maximum number of meaningful relationships most people can have is somewhere around 150. David Brooks citing Robin Dunbar, March 24, 2022

After doing a thorough weeding job, my Google Contacts list just shrunk from 5700 entries to 96. Whacking so many entries took about a week of on again/off again deleting.

Many of us have found that minimizing our physical possessions brings us, if not joy, at least satisfaction. I’ve done a pretty good job of that, so with the advent of a new phone with a new OS entering my life, I thought minimizing some of my digital stuff was a good idea too. And I started with my contacts.

How does one accumulate 5700 entries in one’s contact list? Well…

• About 2/3rds of them were the school staff email addresses from Mankato schools where I worked from 1991 to 2014. We were a fairly early adopter of Gmail as our institutional email system and somehow my work and personal contact lists were merged. I had a lot of the old @isd77.k12.mn.us domains from before we switched to @isd77.org. I have to admit it was fun going through the names of folks I’ve not thought much about lately. For many accounts, I recognized the name, but could not place the face. But for most, I could remember personal interactions, both positive and negative. I had the old email addresses of our current governor, his wife, and our Department of Education Director on my list. Not that they would have worked any more.

• Another large group of email addresses and other contact information were for people in professional organizations and regional technology groups. I was a very active member of MEMO (now ITEM) locally, as well as ISTE and AASL nationally. Fellow board members, conference planners, and document authors came from all over the US as well as from other countries. I am sure some of these folks I first communicated with during the early days of LM_Net! While I eliminated most of these contacts, assuming my role with professional organizations is pretty much done, I kept the ones who turned out to be not just colleagues, but friends as well. 

• Another surprisingly large number of entries were of folks who arranged for me to speak at conferences or do consulting work in their organizations. I have kept an email folder with missives from most of these events (another clean up project), so I didn’t hesitate wiping these contacts away. Placing faces with names in this category was difficult.

• There were quite a few folks who served as editors of periodicals for which I wrote articles and columns along with book publishers. Whack, whack, whack, I’m afraid.

• Genuine friends and family - all 96 - remained. These are people with whom I want to stay in touch. For whom the relationship was personal, not just professional in some way, shape, or form. I did delete even some friends' contacts when I knew the email addresses were old and that I could contact them via Facebook.

• Finally, I was surprised at how many people in my address book had passed away. As I age, that number will only grow and grow more rapidly. While I am sure there will be email in hell, I’m not so sure about in heaven.

Like tossing an old, but beloved shirt when cleaning out the closet, so many names caused me to pause, remember, and reflect. I recognized some folks as those with whom I was extremely glad I’d never have to interact with again - not many, but a few. 

More often, a name would bring a smile to my face along with the memory of a meeting, a dinner, or a night of collegial revelry. (My bedtime wasn’t always 9pm.) These were folks who believed in me, offered good advice and encouragement, and constructive criticism when needed. They were really the reason why I attended conferences. And who I now miss the most.

My phone feels lighter without the unneeded 5600 or so contacts it once contained. And perhaps my heart feels a bit lighter as well. Spend a few hours weeding you contacts sometime.