James LaRue - myliblog

Our first experiment in a new model of library layout and service was in our leased Roxborough Library. It was so successful that many of the things we tried we immediately started using them elsewhere. Roxborough gave us the blueprint to remodel Lone Tree. Last year, as the result of unprecedented community support in the new city of Castle Pines North and nearby Castle Pines Village, we were able to open a very small storefront library -- about 2,500 square feet. But again using the palette of power walls, face-out displays, comfy furniture, self-service options, automated materials handling, and consistent signs, we've reached really astonishing use. Out of that small space, we will check out a solid third-of-a-million items annually. To get the Flicker tour of this space, click here , or the title of this entry.

There's a case to be made, and who better than John Cleese to make it?

The weekend arrives at last. And the Denver Posts' evil sudoku has been once more wrestled to the ground. Over the past couple of weeks I gave a talk about our BHAG: Colorado Public Library Advocacy Initiative to the Colorado Association of Libraries Paralibrarian conference, the Colleague Connection event at DU, and participated in a similar presentation for the Colorado Library Consortium. When I returned, it was to find a couple of highly critical, and one rather nasty, letter to the editor about a column I'd written about Ben Bernanke's role in averting a second depression. I was touched by the concern of some of my staff members, a few of whom wanted to fire back in kind. But I reminded them of several things: 1. I write a column every week. I get the last word. 2. The topics I write about are things that interest me. I don't expect that people will agree with me. I change my own mind often enough as I learn more about things. Although I write my columns on my own ...

This is my favorite dance number of all time: Jane Powell and Fred Astaire in the movie "Royal Wedding" (1951). Every time I watch it I end up just grinning ear to ear. And this has to be one of the longest song titles in history. Also, I have got to get me a pair of pants like Astaire's. Slick.

I was flipping through a bunch of old songs, and found "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window" by Patti Page. Heartbreaking photograph (of Patti Page, not a doggie). I got to nosing around on Youtube and found this recording of a song I'd never heard: "Steam Heat." Boiling hot.

Today's Denver Post ran a piece by David Brooks from the New York Times under the heading "Our poor, broken society: two revolutions damaged community." I found myself nodding in agreement all the way through. The broad thesis is based on the work of one Phillip Blond, a British writer. Brooks writes, "Blond argues that over the past generation we have witnessed two revolutions, both of which liberated the individual and decimated local associations.... First, there was a revolution from the left: a cultural revolution that displaced traditional manners and mores; a legal revolution that emphasized individual rights instead of responsibilities; a welfare revolution in which social workers displaced mutual aide societies and self-organized associations. Then there was the market revolution from the right. In the age of de-regulation, giant chains like Wal-Mart decimated local shop owners. Global financial markets took over small banks, so that the local knowledge of ...

We saw this at the Taipei Zoo yesterday -- a quite unexpected restaurant stop. For those having trouble reading the elegant English: "Ireland's proverb says: There are two things in the world that can't be joked: 1.marriage 2.potato" How true that is. A wise people, the Irish.