James LaRue - myliblog

[This column appeared in the November 25, 2024 edition of the Sopris Sun.] On November 1, 2024, Alicia Gresley addressed housing from the angle of commuting and public transportation. (See Trick or Treat: the Economics of the Commute .) Her points were all well-made, but I wanted to expand on some related issues. At the end of last year, Garfield County Libraries staff interviewed 90 community leaders. We asked about and tallied recurrent concerns, and housing was top of the list. Leaders identified several big issues under that heading: Recruitment . The cost of housing (Garfield County is one of the least attainable in the nation) means that it can be very difficult to bring in outside talent with rich skills and relevant experience. Even if the pay is good, it's not good enough to cover a $1.2 million house. And if new employees have to find more affordable housing in the western part of the county, they may shy away from long and frustrating commutes. Retention . What many em...

[This column was first published in the Sopris Sun on November 20, 2024.] Once I volunteered at a radio station. I read the daily newspaper for the blind. I wasn’t particularly good at it. I recorded at 6am and quickly learned that I need to be on the other side of at least two cups of coffee before I can talk. One time, I ended my two-hour session with the discovery that I forgot to hit the record button. The radio station had a lot of followers, but they were gently amused by my flub. (And now … Yesterday’s news?) Years later I moved to Colorado and wound up taking a tour of the Colorado Talking Book Library (CTBL) in Denver. A department of the Colorado State Library, part of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (a program of the even larger Library of Congress), the Talking Book Library can be found in every state. Its history traces back almost 100 years. It is a magnificent institution. Who do they serve? Millions. It’s easy enough to understand the mean...