I have to start off this blog post with a big cheer for my Green Bay Packers! I was so proud of them this past weekend as they beat the pants off the Seattle Seahawks! (That's what you get for leaving, Mike Holmgren! Ha!) And...thanks to the Giants beating the Cowboys, we now get homefield advantage for the NFC Championship game!! Whooooo Packers!!



Alright, enough trash-talking...onto more serious subjects...like library abuse. Our library has been abused a lot lately. First there was the vandalism. We had two windows broken in our building. One in Pat's office and the other in the community room. To me the most frustrating thing about that whole situation was that it was a library. It's not like we're a large corporation that's putting people out of jobs and ruining lives. It's not like somebody would need seek revenge by "sticking it to the man". We are a library. We live and thrive on serving our communities. We accept and welcome all ideas and all walks of life. For someone to vandalize our building is not only disgraceful, it is simply disgusting. What did we ever do to deserve such an act against us?



Another act of library abuse that has recently hit our library is the theft of four Harry Potter books-on-cd. The interesting thing about this theft is that whoever happens to be doing it is only stealing the discs and then leaving the case stuffed in the easy reader's in the children's section. As I discussed in an earlier blog, we have had a lot of problems with stealing as of recently. It is difficult not to take it personally when we have items stolen from our collection. For one, the replacement cost can be pretty substantial (especially with books-on-CD). For another, it is free to check the stuff out!! Where else in this world can you check out stuff for free?!?! *sigh*

Finally, in another act of library abuse, the govenor is proposing an 18% reduction in state library funding for his fiscal 2009 budget. Per an e-mail from Barbara Peterson, President of the Iowa Library Association...I am passing this information on to you all in hopes that you will come out and support your local libraries. We need to make not only our city governments aware of what budget cuts do to our libraries, but our state representatives must be made aware as well. Here is what we received in our e-mail:

"As you probably know by now, the governor's FY 2009 budget proposal cuts state library funding by 18%! That is $1,119,442! This would cut the following: State Library $135,000; Library Service Areas $259,442; and Enrich Iowa $725,000. The $725,000 cut to Enrich Iowa came from the infrastructure fund known as RIIF. The governor's proposal removes $1,000,000 from RIIF. $50,000 of that had gone to the LSAs, and the remainder ($950,000) to Enrich Iowa. Then, only $225,000 is put back in the general fund as a replacement for the $950,000 in RIIF funding that had been going to Enrich Iowa. This results in the $725,000 net loss to Enrich Iowa.

As you can see this will affect libraries in a big way. The overall budget has a 6% increase in spending and libraries are suffering an 18% cut.

The end result would be that services to all of Iowa's library users would be
devastating. The only way that you as an Iowa Librarian or Library Advocate can
make a difference is to first contact the Governor at

http://www.governor.iowa.gov/administration/contact/ or chet.culver@iowa.gov,

letting him know you are opposed to this and what the consequences would be for your
library. It is my understanding that if you use the Governor's website to contact
him, you will eventually get an answer.

Second, email or talk with your local legislators. Again, you can find that information at http://www.legis.state.ia.us/findleg/. The more contacts the governor and the legislators receive, the more attention this issue will get. We want them to know that the governor's budget cuts for libraries needs to be changed.

As Mike stated in his alert, we need to be adamant, yet polite. Thanking the
governor and the legislators for past support is always important. Also, please
have your Trustees, Friends, and other library supporters contact the governor and
local legislators. Mike's Alert Part II stated, "In the last year, 64% of your
representatives' constituents held library cards and, collectively, made some 16
million visits to public libraries. This is a fact that needs to be heard by both
the governor and local legislators."


So please, do your part to help us out!

Now is the time to come together...

Welcome to 2008! Weeee!

Sorry it's been awhile since I've posted, between the holidays and taking a little time off, there really hasn't been a whole lot of time to blog. (Or breathe...) But you know I can't go long without a good whiny rant!


I'm not sure if you've been following the situation in Cedar Rapids with the budget cuts and the library...but to say the least, it has not been pretty. Sadly, it doesn't appear that it is going to get better any time soon. Last night the Cedar Rapids Public Library held a town meeting to discuss what is going on with the budget situation, as well as to rally support for the library.

First I must explain, although we are part of a Metro Network with Cedar Rapids, we here at Hiawatha get our funding from the city of Hiawatha. Technically speaking, budget cuts at Cedar Rapids do not mean budget cuts for us. However, whatever happens with Cedar Rapids will eventually trickle down and affect us here too. So, we here at Hiawatha have good reason to be concerned with what is going on downtown.

With the previous statement in mind, I also chose to attend the meeting for two other reasons: (1) I am technically a resident of Cedar Rapids and (2) I am a former employee of CRPL who still has many friends and former co-workers that I am concerned about.

The meeting started off with a wonderful report by the Vice President of the CRPL Board of Trustees, Susan Corrigan. She spoke eloquently about the vision of the Cedar Rapids Public Library and its mission to serve the community. She also explained the effect that the previous budget cuts have had on the library and what future cuts may do to the library. She stated explicitly that this is not a library budget problem, but a city budget problem...a very important point. It was a very impassioned speech and one that I think had a very strong effect on those attending. We then heard from patrons about their experiences with the library and their testimonials about why it should be spared from further budget cuts.

We also heard from several public officials at the city, county and state levels. This is where things got a little tense. From my vantage point and opinion it seemed like a lot of finger-pointing and excuses. We were told that the city is trying to work with the state who is trying to work with the city, but that neither one had come up with a good solution as to how to solve the budget problems. But the one thing missing from these responses by the public officials? The library!

I think we all can acknowledge that the budget problems being faced by Cedar Rapids are complicated and messy. That they are difficult and at times, very painful. However, our concern last night as citizens was about our library. Not one of those public officials shared their vision for what they felt the library should be for the community! Not one of them recognized the sacrifices that were being asked of the library board and the staff!

This, to me was extremely dis-heartening. I felt that several of them didn't even understand the basic principles of what it means to be a public library. One public official even suggested possibly using usage fees as a means of obtaining more funding for the library. Seriously?! Seriously?!!! Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of having a public library?? A little snippet from the American Library Association's mission statement might help clear this up for that public official:

ALA will promote efforts to ensure that every individual has access to needed information at the time needed and in a format the individual can utilize, through provision of library and information services.

Goals:
All individuals have equal access to libraries and information services.

Instruction in information use is available to all.

Government information is widely and easily available.

Library collections are developed, managed, and preserved to provide access for users to the full range of available knowledge and information.

Access to information is facilitated by bibliographic organization.

Library use is high.

Fees are not a barrier to library access and service.

*source-- http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governingdocs/policymanual/mission.htm#mission

I truly felt that several of the public officials failed to see the importance and significance of what public libraries do for the communities that they serve. But alas, I suppose this whining by me is not doing any good either. This does, however, provide me the opportunity to drive home the real point of this blog...now is the time to come together. I really hope that this town meeting last night will be a catalyst for change on both sides of the fence.

I hope that the public officials who attended last night will be moved to learn more about their public libraries and take the time to visit them, tour them, and educate themselves about them. I hope that they take the time to learn about the ALA Library Bill of Rights and the mission of the American Library Association. I hope that they look to the State Library of Iowa for suggestions and guidance.

I hope that those 380 some odd people who attended last night seek out their friends, families, and neighbors...anyone who may listen to them and advocate on behalf of their library. I hope that they continue to support the library and their programs. I hope that they write and call their public officials and continue to voice their concerns about what further budget cuts will do to their library.

But most of all I hope that both sides can come together and recognize just how very important libraries truly are.

Finally, a quote from a poem called "Library" by Paul Engle that was in the agenda from last night's meeting:

"Libraries are alive, walls tremble, books bounce on their shelves. In terrible times enter, your life comforted by their lives."

Mother Nature and I need to have a heart to heart...

Greetings and Happy Holidays from Wisconsin!

We *finally* made it up here today, since Mother Nature decided to throw a temper tantrum on Saturday and slam us with snow and ice. I've decided that Mother Nature and I need to have a heart to heart. I understand the need for the whole "white christmas" phenomenon to keep the masses happy...but seriously, girlfriend...not a freakin blizzard, alright?! I guarantee that the masses are not happy when their travel plans get delayed or cancelled. I was definately grumpy yesterday not being able to be in Wisconsin with my family. But alas, here I am!

So...from my family to yours, Happy Holidays everyone! See you soon!

It's like a slip-n-slide...only colder and harder...

I hope this little blog finds you with power and without hip injuries...

What a storm, huh? I have to admit that it made getting to work yesterday mildly amusing. I decided before I even walked out the door yesterday morning that if I was going to fall I was going to do it with grace! No awkward motions for me...I was goin' down in style!

You see, even though I am a very well trained dancer (of 15+ years) I have become quite clumsy in my older age. Like a month ago, when I managed to fall halfway down the stairs in my apartment building, while bruising both of my legs from ankle to knee. (But hey, I caught myself!)

Anyways, I went out to start my car yesterday morning and did make it back to my building with no falls. Although, there were a couple of good slides, especially with the rain and ice! I let my car warm for roughly 20 minutes then proceeded back out to finish chiseling it out of the driveway, which took an additional 20 minutes. I did eventually make it to work, but I think it would have been much easier via sled and dogs...mush!

After enduring four hours of work I made it to the grocery store and then home, all while dodging various tree branches and powerlines on the roads. Bob Ross would not have been drawing "happy little trees" yesterday. My roomie and I were part of the lucky few who did not manage to lose power yesterday (Yea for me, because I made chex mix!).

I am a little bitter, however...the library got to close early because they lost power...and of course it was on a day when I was not working here! Bah! Do you think the power could have gone out at the mall?! Heck no! Pat called last night to let me know that the library had it's power back and that we would be open the next day. I tried to convince her to non-chalantly cut a power line or at least knock over a tree on one to make it look legitimate. But do you think she would do that for me?! Nope! What kind of assistant director is she?! So here I am today...

Alas, I managed to survive another Iowa ice storm without breaking any limbs or embarrasing myself by falling. Nor did I freeze to death without power. I hope you all managed okay too!

A few favorite things I've been listening to...

So, as you have already figured out, I'm in charge of acquisitions of CD's and DVD's for the library. I have to be totally honest when I say that I have never had a job more perfectly suited for me (other than personal shopper). I love music. Love, love, love it! And although I don't have the exact same passion for movies as I do music, I still enjoy the pursuit and acquisition of those as well. But music is my first love. So...I've decided to share with you all some of the CD's and artists that I've been listening to lately.



* "These Streets" by Paulo Nutini--I am just infatuated with this CD! I discovered him on a radio station in Des Moines when they played his song "New Shoes". The funky little melody stuck with me and I decided I needed to hear more and went out in pursuit of his CD. It hasn't left my CD player since I bought it and that was well over 2 months ago. His voice is a little raw, but his melodies are fantastic. It's a pretty decent set all around.



* "Living in Clip" by Ani DiFranco--This double CD set is about 10 years old now, but in my opinion it is her best live compilation. I'm a diehard Ani fan. Her lyrics are insightful and intelligent. Not to mention that I love her roaring feminism and her amazing success at running an independent label of her own. She just an all around amazing woman and musician.



* "Planet Earth" by Prince--This is his latest release and to say the least I'm pretty darn impressed by it. It's a good solid disc that really shows his diversity as an artist. From the rocking "Guitar" to the mellow, jazzy "Somewhere Here", my favorite little man in eyeliner continues to prove his status as a legend in rock history.



* "The Colored Section" by donnie--Just an all around superb, funky, dance around your living room R&B CD from start to finish!

*"August and Everything After" by The Counting Crows--Aside from being my favorite band of all time...this is simply one of my all time favorite albums. They just re-released it and added some additional tracks and B-sides. (I have yet to get that copy...I guess because it's the holidays and I'm supposed to be spending my money on other people and not myself...*sigh*) I would have to say that this album is one of those that defined the sound of 90's rock. Okay...so maybe I'm a little bit biased. But still, you can't help but love Adam Duritz's introspective and intriguing lyrics. Each song of theirs has a story behind it just waiting to be told. This is one of the many reasons that I love this band and this album.

So there you have it...a little buzz of what I've been listening to and singing (at times obnoxiously) to! And for the record, we should have most of these CD's available at our library or we should be able to order them from one of the others...so if you're interested come see us and we'll get you the hook up!

I'm crabby

I'm crabby today. And to be honest, it's for no apparent reason other than I simply want to be...

I don't like the number 12

I'm having issues today. I think I'm suffering from a rare condition called "post-vacation brain syndrome." Everything seems so difficult to manage. For one, I can't write the number 12 today on reserve slips. We're three days into December and the whole idea of writing 12 instead of 11 still elludes me. *sigh* And now it has gotten worse, apparently, I can't even write names correctly. Oy. I think I may need to seek medical attention.