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Imagine That: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Garfield County

[This column originally appeared in the Oct. 23, 2024 edition of the Sopris Sun.] When I was a child, my mother did three things that turned me into a reader. First, she signed me up for a library card. Later, she enrolled me in the Landmark series of American biographies for children, aimed at kids 10-15. There were similar series: Bobbs-Merrill’s “Childhood of Famous Americans,” which ran from the 1930s through the 1960s, had famously orange bindings and were also popular. Third, and maybe most important, my mother belonged to the Book of the Month club, which resulted in a modest home library. My mother knew what she was doing. It happens that there’s a lot of research about all of this. I often cite a University of Nevada, Reno study conducted back in 2010. It examined 27 countries over a span of 20 years. The surprising finding was that regardless of parental income or education, just having 500 books in the home was as good as having two parents with Master’s degrees. Early expo
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Promises Made, Promises Kept

[This column originally appeared in the Post Independent on Oct. 25, 2024.] In 2017 a sudden drop in tax revenues from oil and gas properties precipitated a library crisis. Almost overnight, a third of the staff lost their jobs. In 2019, Garfield County voters approved an ongoing mill levy of 1.5. Included in that ballot language was a series of promises: restoring library hours; keeping our libraries well-maintained and in good repair; retaining qualified staff; providing books, technology and materials; providing educational classes and events, including literacy programs to help children and teens learn to read and do homework, train veterans and job seekers for new careers; prepare students for college and careers; help seniors fight isolation and prevent the effects of aging; and finally, to do all that “with citizen oversight and an independent annual audit of expenditures.” I thought it would be interesting, just as today’s crop of election-seekers are making their own promises

Institute for Liberal Values book talk

The Institute for Liberal Values  let me know that were reading my book On Censorship  for a book club. Then they invited me to join them. They livestreamed the conversation with host Elizabeth and Pam. You can find the Youtube video here  or see below.

Ban Bombs: Managing Public Comments in 2024

  (Originally published in Knowledge Quest, May 14, 2024) The problem Across the country, many school and public libraries have seen a surge in intellectual freedom challenges — attempts to restrict or remove access to library resources. But this round of challenges doesn't follow the usual playbook of a single patron filling out a Request for Reconsideration for just one library resource. Instead, it looks more like this: ·        Ten to 15 people show up at a public board meeting and crowd into the slot for public comments. ·        They express (as opposed to submitting in writing) the desire to remove multiple titles, 20-30 at a time. And they request that the materials be removed while under review. ·        They read aloud the naughtiest bits they can find in the books they object to. The apparent complaint is language and sex. The books are repeatedly described as "obscene." But in fact, the content is almost always related to LGBTQ+ and race. ·       

Our Library Heroes

[This article appeared in the September 29, 2024 edition of the Post Independent.] I’ve gone to a lot of library conferences over the course of my career. My favorite part is one of the staples: the awards ceremony. Very often, the awards call out the quiet work that has gone on in libraries for decades. The people drawn to library work are motivated by service. So we’ll see the volunteer who has run book sales for 35 years, contributing tens of thousands of dollars to library facilities. We’ll meet the staff member who introduced hundreds of children in her small town to the joys of storytimes. We’ll acknowledge the local business person who has sponsored important programs. These people are worthy of celebration. They didn’t expect recognition. But they made a difference in their communities. Sometimes, we need to hear from others just how important our work really was and is. The Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) is one of the state “chapters” of the American Library Associat

For sex, see librarian

[This column appeared in the September 25, 2024 issue of the Sopris Sun.] When I was 13, I kissed a girl. Many times. I was feeling pretty good about it until I overheard my mother, a head nurse at the Veterans Administration hospital, mention something to a colleague over the phone about the treatment of venereal disease. When you wanted to learn about something in those days, long before the internet, you went to the library. In the dictionary, I found out that venereal disease (see syphilis and gonorrhea) was the result of sexual activity. Kissing, it sure seemed to me, was sexual. Then I looked up syphilis and gonorrhea in the encyclopedia. There were pictures. It was horrifying. It was also a little unclear how you got the diseases. In something approaching panic, I dove into the card catalog. (This was before computer catalogs, too.) I looked up the logical heading: “Sex.” And right there on the main card was typed “For Sex: See Librarian.” I want to make it clear that the libra

Who you gonna trust?

[This column appeared in the August 28, 2024 edition of the Sopris Sun.] Did you know that there are more public library buildings in Garfield County (and in the nation) than there are McDonald's, Starbucks, or City Markets? We hold our own with traffic, too. There are the young ones who come to storytimes, the moms who bring them, the local businessmen and women working from laptops and library wifi, the seniors showing up for meetings and exercises to stay sharp. But there's something more important than the presence and use of the library. People trust us. A study by Pew Research found that 40% trust libraries "a lot," and 38% trust us "some"--both of which are about double the rate of local and national media. Part of that, I'm convinced, is that libraries have typically been established and administered by smart and service-oriented women. They're not in it for glory or money. They're in it because they believe institutions of knowledge mak