Banned Books Week: Celebrate Your Right to Read

Obscene, blasphemous, violent, smutty, gory, profane, and racially charged—this is how the censors describe some books. They say, “No.” They say you can’t read it. They say that they know better. They say they are protecting children and preserving values in the community. They say, “No.”

“Yes” is what I say.  Yes, you can have what you want to read. Ask me and I will do my best to give you “obscene, blasphemous, violent, smutty, gory, profane, and racially charged” if that is what you want. If that is not what you want, I will help you find what you do want.

I am public librarian. I will protect and defend your right to read whatever you want, even if you are a kid. I do this each and every day. But, this week is particularly special because it is Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. According to the American Library Association, more than 1,300 books have been challenged since the inception of the event.

This year, I am defending your right to read about underwear clad superheroes, gay penguins, bondage, ghosts and a potty-mouthed Native American. All these topics have been the subject of book challenges. According to the American Library Association, there were 464 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2012, and many more go unreported. The 10 most challenged titles of 2012 were:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group

4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group

6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit

7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group

8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence

9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit

10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

The Life and Times of a Programming Librarian: Hot Heels and Runaway Apple Juice

Some days are filled with tough lessons and other days are filled with multiple tough lessons. Not too long ago, I learned three brutal lessons in a few short minutes. Lesson One: Carrying popcorn in a 30 gallon hole prone bag is not the most efficient way to transport the snack. Lesson Two: A dropped gallon of apple juice does indeed roll downhill. Lesson Three: A librarian who is carrying a bag full of popcorn big enough to hold a corpse should not wear hot high-heeled boots and a tight skirt to chase a fast rolling apple juice bottle.

But, once the apple juice was retrieved and I followed the Hansel and Gretel like trail of popcorn from the middle section of my minivan through the library parking lot, up the stairwell, across the children’s area and into the community room, I was able to stop hyperventilating and rejoice in my return to library programming. After an almost two and half year break from planning and hosting library programs (due to an out of state move), I made my debut return to library programming by hosting a free Classic Movie Night featuring Yankee Doodle Dandy, which stars James Cagney in the role of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan

Unlike my diva days in my old job when I asked library assistants and circulation staff to do my room and equipment set-ups, I packed up tables, lugged out a multitude of chairs, painstakingly lifted audio equipment, scooped the popcorn into individual serving bags, poured juice and water into cups, and greeted audience members as they entered the room.

“Where’s the popcorn,” a snarly older man questioned.

I pointed him to the table of free snacks.

“Why do you only have juice and water? Have you ever thought of making iced tea and lemonade? And maybe you should offer Sprite too,” suggested a teenage girl who was forced to be there with her grandparents.

“I never thought that. Thank you for your suggestion. Please write it down on a comment card” I replied.

With full bags of popcorn in one hand and a beverage in another, the packed house of movie-viewers fidgeted in their seats with anticipation.

“Welcome. Thank you for coming to our library tonight. You have many choices for entertainment in this town, and we are always pleased when you choose to spend your time here with us at the library. Before I get started I just wanted to remind you to grab a calendar with our upcoming events on your way out. We have a full slate of events for Black History Month, starting with the African Drummers and Dancers that I will be hosting next Saturday. I hope to see you all there, and once again thanks for coming tonight. Take a moment to silence your cell phone and enjoy the show."

Lights out. Remote clicked. Blank screen. Dozens of eyeballs were staring at me and judging my competence. Quick switch from VHS to DVD. The movie began.

“Miss, could you please turn up the volume.

“Sure.

“Could you please turn down the volume?”

“Sure.”

This is the world of library programs—many people with many conflicting requests. A skilled programming librarian can make most of the crowd feel comfortable and welcomed (despite the discontents who attend just for the thrill of complaining). When the crowd is happy, they leave a program feeling great not just about the specific program but the library in general. And if they are especially pleased, they say, “Thank you so much. This was wonderful. I must admit I did not vote for this library, but now I want to tell everyone how great it is.”

For comments like that every program, I would happily chase apple juice downhill in heels for miles.

A Special Thank You

A special thank you goes out to the library patron who saw me leaving the staff break room, stopped me suddenly and whispered, “Your skirt is tucked in your pantyhose.” There is no thank you big enough for the woman who saved me from being followed by snickering pre-teen boys and divorced middle-aged men with librarian fetishes. Thanks to her devout usage of the library and her keen sense of observation, a library scandal was averted for now or at least until my next wardrobe malfunction.

However, having my skirt covering my ass did not stop the creep old guy from standing uncomfortably close to me while I repeatedly climbed under the desk to unplug the printer. This is the kind of stuff they don't teach in library school.

Commitment Issues

Commitment, faithfulness, and devotion -- overrated and not necessary in a modern day society. Nobody sticks to just one at a time nowadays, and I am no exception. Tried 73 different options in 2010 and only finished 27 times.

Yes, my librarian's interest led me down the path of 73 different books, and I only completed 27. This is an atrocious reading record for a librarian since the average librarian completes more than 100 books a year. I always intend to finish what I start but then boredom, restlessness and interest in something more interesting causes me to abandon my old, worn book for the hot new one.

But in 2011, I will break this habit and finish most of the books that I begin. I will only abandon a book if it is too bloody, too scary, or too pedestrian. Life is too short for banal and mediocre books. But if the fiction is literary and the story is even a little compelling, I will remain faithful. This year, I will complete 60 books and will not desert more than 10 novels. This is the year that I will be something that I have never been -- loyal.

I Need This Book Please, Oprah Told Me To Read It

“Can you show me where the Oprah books are?” asked an elderly woman, holding her cane and flanked by her health care provider.

This is one of the most frequently asks questions in libraries across the country. Although many people think that Oprah should be her own library category like Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s, and Paperback Fiction, the books she has selected since her club’s inception on September 17, 1996 vary widely in authors, genre, style, and literary merit. Due to the diversity of her picks, these books are spread all over the library, typically.

However, I realized that I was working at our library district’s gorgeous “retail-style” library, meaning a library with so many displays that it feels like you are shopping at a bookstore for free. At this particular library, we put the Oprah Selections on our special display for Award Winners. (I feel a little reservation about this because when I think of award winners, The National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, the Mann Booker Award, and the Nobel Prize for Literature come to mind. But, is there really any greater boost to an author’s career than being selected by Oprah? So in many ways, her book selections are award winners.)

Having given Oprah selections to patrons at libraries in two different states, I have many of them memorized, so I buzzed around the library grabbing as many as could. From our special display, I snatched Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Tara Road by Maeve Binchy,White Oleander by Janet Fitch, The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve. I then went over to biography to grab Night by Elie Wiesel and found A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle in non-fiction. I later made my way to the Classics for East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I concluded my quest with a few of my favorites from Oprah’s list Sula by Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende.

I placed this enormous array of books on a table for the woman to peruse. Admitting she was not a huge reader, the senior citizen said she felt like “an Oprah Book was a good place to start," which is such a funny phrase because I tend to think of Anna Karenina as a Tolstoy novel not an Oprah Book. She grabbed Wiesel’s Night and also picked up McCarthy’s The Road when I told her that one was also a movie. She left happy and is just one more example of why Oprah is the Ultimate Sherpa of Library World.

In many ways Oprah is the perfect Old School Librarian, the kind who starts their readers off gently with engaging books and slowly moves them to move literary fiction and Classics. When she started her Book Club, her selections were mostly contemporary books that could trigger some conservation but for the most part were not literary fiction. Early examples of her simple selections include The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou and The Treasure Hunt by Bill Cosby. As Oprah’s Book Club grew into an international sensation with millions of readers and the selected books instantly becoming best sellers, Oprah started to select more literary works such as novels by her friend and Nobel Prize Winning Author Toni Morrison. She later transitioned her readers to Classic novel. Average readers who probably read New York Times Best Sellers and paperback romances were reading, The Good Earth and Anna Karenina all because Oprah asked. And, she has done it again by, in her words “going old school” with her winter selections Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

In the past year, I have put out Great Expectations (my favorite book ever) as a “Staff Pick” with my name scribbled on a recommendation slip sticking out of the book nine times in the past year. It has been returned to shelf nine times without being checked out. Within hours of Oprah’s selection, we had numerous requests for the book. Librarians go to school for years to learn that trick and never have near as much success.

But fortunately, Oprah does the work for librarians. She tells the masses what to read; they us what they were told to read; and, we put the books in their hands resulting in both higher circulation numbers and happy customers. In the early days of her club, librarians shuttered every time Oprah made a new selection. Oprah is both the biggest boon and bane for libraries. Anytime, she announces a new book selection, libraries are slammed with a multitude of requests. Her requests impact libraries everywhere, Interlibrary Loan is not a reliable option to fill requests. So, libraries are expected to purchase books. But, what does a library do with 70 copies of The Book of Ruth after Oprah moved on to her next book? This is where book rentals for libraries come in. Most major book vendors allow libraries to rent “in-demand” books and return them when the books fall out of favor. This movement in libraries is a clear-cut example of the Oprah Effect.

Without any real knowledge of library operations, Oprah has changed the way libraries buy books; accomplished what most librarians have always hoped to accomplish -- getting readers to abandon  bibliographic crap in favor of more esoteric, educational titles; and, has caused circulation numbers to increase.

Next to the Librarian of Congress, Oprah is probably the most powerful figure in libraries.

Relax: You Are Not a Sinner, Criminal or Loser

I will hear your confessions. I will listen to your excuses. I will tolerate your begging. I will smile at your negotiation tactics. But in the end, I do not have the power and authority invested in me to absolve of your library fines. I am a mere reference librarian; you must seek absolution from the circulation department.

As a front-line librarian, I spend a portion of my time at the reference desk reassuring people that it is not a moral failing to have an overdue book. A library fine is nothing like a speeding ticket fine; there was no crime committed. Sometimes you just need that extra five days past your due date to finish The Elegance of the Hedgehog; sometimes a book sits on your nightstand untouched until you exhausted all renewals and that 10 cent a day fine eats away at your cheapskate soul until you finally read the book in two days; sometimes your kids throw the Caillou DVD case behind the couch and put the DVD in an Arrested Development DVD case during a quick clean-up of the entertainment center, resulting in $4.60 in fines.

Although you may think you are letting your library and community down when you are delinquent, in actuality, you are helping your library. Fines are substantial revenue generators for non-profit libraries, even at 10 cents a day for books and 25 cents a day for DVDs, which is the standard fee at many libraries across the country.  It is time to stop thinking of your library fines as a punishment and start thinking about your overdue charges as a generous donation or an extended use fee (meaning you actively choose to keep the item and pay a small charge for the extra time.) Every time your kid stuffs the Diary of a Wimpy Kid under her bed for weeks, you are helping your library.

So even though, many patrons pride themselves in never having a library fine, I feel pretty confident (although it has yet to be confirmed) that there is not a special reading room in Heaven for patrons with perfect reading records, so be daring and watch those episodes of Californication for an extra day or two. Your library record is confidential, so no one will ever know, but the Ultimate Librarian.

Gone Library Conferencing

Will my kids arrive to their games on time today? What will they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Will the children be stinky when I get home? These are questions that I am not going to ponder today. They will be in their father’s care while I learn about a new community reference project that could enrich my library; hear about 21st Century Libraries: The Challenges and Opportunities; learn a few tips for Summer Reading; and, discover enough ideas to have a whole year of craft activities in my library.

Late, hungry, dirty kids -- Not my problem.

Lunch and Shopping, Librarian Style

Beautiful white tablecloth covered with black linen napkins, sparkling white plates, beautiful crystal glasses and a ridiculous amount of silverware. Servers clad in black uniforms with somewhat robotic visages quickly clearing plates and replacing them with new ones. A delicious green salad with grilled chicken followed by a delectable, sinful, fluffy three-layer chocolate mousse on a petite dessert plate garnished with caramel in abstract forms. Not a single multi-purpose children’s menu and paper placemat in sight; absolutely no crayons on the table, not a single spill or mid-lunch emergency bathroom run. Civil small talk with grown-ups about libraries.

Following the meal, child-free forums on live music programs for libraries; how to offer training for free using cloud-based services; and how to implement a family literacy program. An entire notebook filled with words and not a single stick-figure drawing, heart or scribble anywhere on the paper.

Lots of learning followed by plenty of play. A little guitar hero for grown-ups, a plethora of chocolate, hors d'oeuvres filled with ingredients that only adults would eat; tons of free stuff strategically labeled with the names of book vendors and library furniture companies; and, a booth filled with a variety of librarian t-shirts.

A full belly, an enriched mind and a new black, long-sleeved bling t-shirt that says “Librarian” in clear and red rhinestones. A great day in a child-free zone known as a library conference.

Librarians Swarm Northern Colorado

It is not every day that a library conference is held in my backyard. (Okay, maybe not exactly my backyard but only 13.9 miles and 26 minutes away). But, this year for the first time ever, the Colorado Association of Libraries Conference is being held in Northern Colorado and I am ridiculously giddy. A conference center packed with hundreds of librarians from all over the state. The bunheads, school librarians, the progressives, the traditionals, corporate librarians, the moderns, academic librarians, the lipstick librarians, the overall wearing youth librarians, the public librarians, the IT geeks, the ponytail sporting children’s librarians will all be together in one building talking about what we love best—libraries.

Copious note taking and question asking by day. Carousing and reveling by night. Nothing says serious research and reference like swarms of tipsy librarians on the loose in a college town. Let the Conference Commence!

Ask Me, I’ll Give You What You Want

Obscene. Blasphemous. Violent. Smutty. Gory. Profane. Racially Charged. This how they describe it. They say, “No.” They say you can’t have it. They say that they know better. They say they are protecting children and preserving values in the community. They say, “No.”

I say, “Yes.” Yes, you can have what you want. Ask me and I will do my best to give you “obscene, blasphemous, violent, smutty, gory, profane, and racially charged” if that is what you want. If that is not what you want, I will help you find what you do want.

I am librarian. I will protect and defend your right to read what you want, even if you are a minor. Your local librarians will do the same, so give them a visit anytime. Please remember this week is Banned Books Week and a great time to check your local library to celebrate the freedom of reading.

More than Just Clowns, Jugglers and Storytellers: The Impact of Library Programming on Communities

“Thank you. Thank you so much. You have given my mother something to remember. She forgets everything. She doesn’t know what she ate for breakfast 20 minutes after she finished. She only knows my name sometimes,” said the worn woman in her early-sixties who took her eight-three-year-old mother to special library programs monthly.

“But, she remembered your program. She remembered the stories that the lady told last month. She told them to me," she said wiping the tears from her eyes as she recalled her mother’s reaction to “Stories for the Second Half of Life,” a storytelling program geared towards senior citizens.

As she told me her anecdote, I fought back a few tears too. I lost the battle with my emotions, but later rejoiced in the idea of transformative library programming – programs that impact and changes lives.

Since that day, my goals as a library programmer have shifted away from having huge attendance numbers to implementing programs that entertain and enlighten in meaningful ways—programs that ultimately influence and enrich the lives of participants with information or entertainment. Granted, life-changing programming cannot be achieved with every library event. Sometimes it is just about hiring a puppeteer, a storyteller, a local humorist or a jazz guitarist and hoping that scores of people will show up and write a few nice remarks on a comment card on their way out of the community room. Simply put: Bodies in seats equal high numbers to give administrators and library boards; high numbers equal happy administrators; happy administrators equal more funding to create more programs to put more bodies in the seats. This is the cycle of library programming. Attendance numbers dominate the planning and implementing of most library programs. Unfortunately, a number-driven agenda for both library programs and summer reading does not necessarily promote the high standards necessary for quality, relevance and long-term impact.

A passionate, committed library programmer or programming committee creates a balance between well-attended programs and quality programming that attracts participants and ultimately satisfies them. Effective and pertinent library programming reaches the pulse of the community, attracts typically underserved demographics, and impacts all ages (infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, primary school age kids, tweens, teens, adults, and seniors). Library program coordinators succeed when the public chooses the library consistently as their destination for exceptional free programming that entertains and informs them, ultimately bringing a touch of happiness and joy into their lives.

To foster successful programming, I implement the strategy that I call value-added library programs. With value-added programming, popularity and audience appeal are considered but in conjunction with the quality of the performer or speaker; the affordability of the performer as well as cost reduction options like grants or multiple show discounts; community demographics; patron satisfaction; the promotion of the library’s collection in relation to the program topic, and opportunities for community partnerships. There is a lot more to library programming than hiring a blue grass band with a cool name and posting a few signs around town. Planning great library programs requires staff to learn the community’s wants and needs; find affordable performers or speakers who can satisfy audience demands and market events in innovative ways that capture the imagination of the community and propels them to visit the library. Once you have a captured audience, you can introduce them to other library products, services and upcoming programs for all age groups. Fantastic programs lead to not just high program statistics, but higher entry gate counts, increased circulation and a spike in computer and database usage both remotely and in-house. Library programs can and should be a solid cornerstone for your entire library system.

Author’s Note: For two wonderful years, I had the most amazing and dynamic job as an adult library program coordinator until an abrupt out-of-state move two years ago caused me to leave my job in the middle of the summer reading program, which for a programming librarian is like an accountant leaving his job in the middle of tax season. Fortunately, I was able to transition into a position as reference librarian but without the programming responsibilities. Now I am thrilled to report that I will be planning library events again as part of a library programming committee. So, there is no doubt I will write additional posts about library programming. Of course, these posts will be completely incongruous with my excessive commentary on Prince and his ridiculous business decisions, so please forgive me as juggle my dual role as competent programming librarian and obsessive Paisley Park commentator.

Two Different Covers for the Same Book

I have a split bibliographic personality with the two facets coexisting in perfect harmony like both sides of a Shakespearean oxymoron. I am simultaneously a literary snob and an advocate of literacy through recreational reading. You will frequently hear me say that I do not read books that you can find on the end-caps at Walmart, and I would rather have all the blood sucked out of me than read a Stephenie Meyer book. I only read a New York Times Best Seller if it is an award winner or has received phenomenal reviews in some of the finest newspapers and magazines in the United States and the United Kingdom. I spend my time reading great books. I know they are great because someone with authority has told me so. I wait for book critics, professors, and prize committees to tell me what to read. When I am particularly desperate for a great new book, I ask for recommendations from my librarian co-workers who are professional reading advisers by trade. I am not ashamed to admit that I never pick out a book just because it has a provocative title or curious cover. Who has time to be wrong?

However, while I am donning my metaphorical librarian bun, my bibliophile elitism stays repressed and only my advocacy for literacy prevails. I support the tenet: A book for every reader and a reader for every book. This basically means that even the crap, according to my personal standards, deserves to be read and loved. When a patron tells me that James Patterson is great writer, I do not choke on my tongue. Instead, I give her more Patterson books than she can carry; too bad I can’t hire one of the assistants in the “Patterson Machine” to carry the books for her. And, when I am not distributing James Patterson books, I give out Twilight like relief workers in Africa give out Penicillin and rice. I would be a wealthy women if I got paid every time, I handed out Star Wars, Pokémon, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or Daisy Meadow's fairy books -- all dreadful books that appeal to reluctant readers. Heck, I have even added David Pilkey’s Captain Underpants series and his Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot books to my list of regular recommendations for kids who do not like to read. It is not great literature, but all readers need to start somewhere. David Pilkey today, Lois Lowry tomorrow?

The Force Field of Librarianship

I must confess that I have a magnet in my butt that causes me to be sucked into the magnetic field of the reference desk, firmly planting my bottom in the seat behind the formidable structure that gives me credibility and stature. The desk screams “Ask Me” even louder than the huge “Ask Me” button that I wear. People are drawn to the power of desk because it is an easy to find, safe place to go when in need of assistance in the library. Reference desks and librarians are synonymous. The irrevocable link between reference librarians and their furniture may contribute to my hesitation towards roving librarianship. At the same time, I am fascinated by any possibility of reaching more users and increasing the quality of library service that could stimulate both reference statistics and the number of item check-outs.

Just in case you have been too far buried into Stieg Larsson’s trilogy or too busy with your repair/review carts to have read a library journal in the past five or six years, roving reference is relatively new service approach that requires library staff to get out from behind the desk and go onto the floor, into the stacks, and around the computers to assist patrons more directly and closely at their points of need. For instance, if a patron is going up and down the aisles with a lost look on his face, a librarian would approach and ask, “May I help you find something.” The librarian would help the patron retrieve the book from the shelf, or if it was not there, other steps would be taken to acquire the item for the patron. By having librarians in the stacks, patrons are served immediately at the moment when they need assistance instead having to go to the reference desk for help, which some patrons may never do and ultimately leave frustrated and empty handed. So, roving librarianship goes a long way in providing customer-centric service. This trend is catching on in academic and public libraries throughout the country and appears to be increasing levels of customer satisfaction and escalating patron contact statistics even while traditional reference questions that require more than a minute or two of research are steadily decreasing.

But, is there the possibility that by deserting our desks in favor of exploring and wondering that we are abandoning our patrons who go to the reference desk as a safe haven, only to find that no one is there to help them navigate through their information overload? For example, during one of my shifts at a retail style library that has replaced traditional goliath reference desks with slender, counter height computer stations, I returned to the desk after a lengthy stroll around the library just in time to find a customer comment card that said “I came to ask and no one was here to listen,” punctuated with a frowning face. In this case, I threw out the book with the book jacket when I abandoned my patron by abandoning the desk.

This example reaffirms my commitment to a hybrid method of roaming/traditional reference. Let’s have staff venture into the aisles to offer great service, but let’s keep a librarian at the desk all the time to catch those confident library users who aren’t too shy or unsure to use the reference desk. This way no magnetic fields will be broken, seats will stay warm; library assistants will earn their wings in the stacks, and happy customers will abound.

Bigger Makes a Better Barrier: The Sizable Debate about the Shrinking Reference Desk

Author’s Note: If you are not a librarian, this post will have you wishing that I wrote about Prince today.

While studying library science I opted not to take the library buildings class and instead enrolled in more practical classes like cataloging, collection development, and reference; I did not realize, at the time, how library buildings and library furniture would dominate much of the talk and trends in librarianship. In particular, the reference desk gets more attention than any other single piece of furniture –the academy and administrators claim it hinders service while traditionalist arguing it symbolizes everything that is trusted and beloved in libraries.

Library administrators and library science academes insist that “the reference desk is a barrier to service” and frequently want to abolish the reference desk or reduce its size so significantly to push reference staff onto the floor and into the stacks. There argument is both correct and incorrect. No, the desk does not prohibit great customer service and information retrieval. Yes, the desk is a physical barrier but for many good practical reasons:

Protection of the librarians: Although public libraries are typically safe places, there are times when patrons do become a threat to library staff. A reference desk helps to limit the physical access that a patron has to a staff member while at the same time not making patrons feel like criminals, which was my exact feeling during a recent trip to an area county courthouse to pay a traffic ticket. I thought that I accidentally walk into the visitor section of the jail as I watched people talk on phones and look at each other through glass barriers. I approached the security guard and said, “I must be in the wrong place. I am just here to pay a ticket.” He told me to go stand in line to use a phone. Given their unpleasantness and incompetence, glass barriers at the courthouse are a necessity. But, nothing this extreme is required in a public library setting.

Patron privacy: By conducting searches at a reference desk opposed to a centrally located catalog or counter-height Ask Station, staff is best able to protect patrons’ privacy, concealing both check-out records and their searches. For example, a woman approached me and whispered,” Can you help me with a search of very personal nature. I need to find my husband on the sex offenders list, and I don’t want people to see what I am doing.” I had her come around to my computer, and we did the search together. Similarly, while working at a joint-use community college/public library (that serves both children and adults without filters in the adult reference areas), I conducted, in about a three hour time period, patron searches for cybersex, sadomasochism, and burlesque. At our reference desk, the patrons were able to see my results without exposing any children to my findings.

Storage of staff materials: This point is so banal and rudimentary that it would never make a library journal or even a library management meeting, but it is a real concern. Librarians collect, store and use lots of stuff at the reference desk. Typically, the first thing consultants say during every library building audit is that desks are too cluttered, creating artificial patron barriers. This is probably true, but what can be sacrificed? We keep our Ready Reference behind the reference desk because we don’t want our most valuable or most frequently used materials, such as state statues, how to do your own divorce books, and Consumer Reports, walking off. We need to have our marketing materials near to push our latest and greatest electronic databases; and, summer reading prizes take up much space. Although summer reading is only three months of the year, those three months are among our busiest and most important periods, and there must be ample space to accommodate reading logs, prizes, and drawing boxes. Without a reference desk , alternative plans have to be made for summer reading materials, requiring more volunteers to make sure that the items remain untouched and are not stolen.

On-Desk versus off-desk work: This is another real life concern for librarians who work the reference desk far more than the two hours a day that is recommended by most library science professors. The average public librarian works the reference desk four to eight hours a day, which means they must perform some of their non-reference duties on the reference desk, such as collection development, repair& review, displays, booklist creation, program planning, outreach development, and story-time preparation. If the reference desk is removed, staff must be given a place and time to perform these tasks.

An immediate, well-marked point of service: A reference desk serves a focal point in the library where patrons with all different levels of information-seeking behavior can approach to ask variety of questions. Patrons assumes the person sitting at the reference desk will help them find what they are seeking whether it is the restrooms, a New York Times Best Seller, a Paula Deen cookbook, or a silent film on DVD. The concept is simple: one stop for all your information needs. This concept is eradicated when reference desks are removed and staff is roving around with electronic equipment and headsets.

Reference desk as a symbol for great library service: Although traditional reference desks swallow a substantial portion of prime library real estate that could be used possibly for display shelving or more computer terminals, the size of the reference desk symbolizes the power and authority of the librarian. A large desk in the middle of library gives the impression that the person behind the desk has the knowledge and skills to give you authoritative information that you want and need.

These are just a few things that should be considered when deciding to completly remove the reference desk or to put in a station so small that it loses many of its practical everyday usefulness. It is not necessary remove reference desks in order to use the roving reference approach of having your staff go into the stacks and onto floor to help customers at their points of need. But, let’s preserve the functionality, practicality and familiarity associated with the reference desk and spend our time thinking about real barriers to service, such as current legal identification being required for library cards; library fines and fees; staff not speaking the same languages as their patrons; books being shelved too high or too low for patrons to reach comfortably; and, limits on computer use and material check-outs being too restrictive.

Let’s think about real challenges that face our staff and patrons, and hold onto our references desks as bastions of clarity among information overload. Getting rid of the reference desk is like throwing out the books with the bubble wrap and packing peanuts. As a profession, let’s retain onto our reference desks just like we keep our books, and let’s embrace other forms of reference much like we adopt audio-books and e-books. No need for either/or.

The Tax of Public Service

I don’t want to be the one hundred and eighty third person in line for The Lost Symbol. I pay taxes, so I buy the books, and I think there should be more copies. Order more copies now.

You know that I voted for the bond that built this library, so I think your need to have the state statues at all your libraries because that is what I pay for.

I pay your salary, so I think you should proofread my paper.

I spend good money to support this library, and I don’t come here to see homeless people, who don’t pay taxes, sitting inside, milling around outside, and bathing in the sinks.

Dear Taxpayers,

Thank you for being a productive and responsible part of society by paying your taxes. Thanking for contributing to the purchase of our books, paying my salary, and telling me every day that you pay my salary. But, I just want you to know that librarians pay taxes too. We even have to pay our own library fines, and our patrons are not allowed to bathe in the library's sinks.

But feel free to continue to tell me that you pay my salary, and you’ll continue to see your tax dollars hard at work and smiling.

Thank you for your ongoing patronage,

Your Dutiful Public Librarian

A Plea for Help

Are you or someone you know a mean angry public library patron? Mean angry library patrons try to suck the life out of helpful and caring public librarians. The only cure is a lobotomy, which is not feasible. We can raise awareness about this issue. So, when you are posting on your Facebook and Twitter accounts for the cure for Autism, Cancer, Diabetes, heart disease, stupidity, nailing biting, chain smoking, and kleptomania (opposed to raising money or volunteering), please add angry library patrons to your list. Please remember librarians have feelings too and anything you can do to raise awareness about this issue would be much appreciated.

The Others V

“You are a great woman. You are smart and helpful and are really good with computers and you are always nice to me when other people are not,” said the homeless man who I assisted every day for over a year.

“Thank you, “ I said.

“You should let me take you to get a bite to eat sometime, so I can thank you for all your help,” he said.

“That is kind of you, but unnecessary.”

I stayed behind the desk and no hugs were exchanged as I wondered if I was being thanked or hit on.

The Others IV

For a week, a Vietnamese woman with limited English speaking skills and minimal computer knowledge came into the library to complete an online cosmetology test. I helped her log onto the testing site every day and answered technical questions for her during her allotted two hours.

At the conclusion of the week, she brought me a basket of candy, Vietnamese dried fruit, a postcard that displayed a Buddhist deity, and an small card with $7.00 in it.

I explained I was not allowed to accept gifts. She reached out, touched my expanded belly and said: “For your baby.”

I returned the presents and was the recipient of yet another patron hug.

The Others III

As I was relieving my co-worker from her shift at the reference desk, she said: “I know we aren’t supposed to do this, but please help that man pay his property taxes. He doesn’t speak much English, so it will just be faster if you do it instead of showing him.”

I approached the Hispanic man on Computer 14. He handed me his tax notice and bank account information. In less than five minutes, I had his property taxes paid. “

As he stood up, he shook my hand and slipped $20.00 into it. I told him that I was not allowed to accept money.

He said: “No, please go buy a Coke. Buy a Coke.”

I told him it was my job and a pleasure to help him, and I returned the money.

He hugged me and headed to the elevator.

The Others II

Being drawn to our display of bright colored orange, green, red, blue, and purple pens on the public library reference desk, a homeless man asked if the pens were free and how to get one.

The librarian who was working the desk with me that morning said: “You have to sign-up for our summer reading program.”

“Is there any other way than that to get one," he said.

“No," she said.

“Well, let’s get you signed-up for summer reading, and I’ll get you a pen,” I interjected.

Without a telephone number listed on his registration, it wasn’t likely that he could win one of the prize drawings, but he was not hoping for a shot at a gift card, he just wanted a pen.

He got a bright orange pen, and I garnered one more statistic for our library.

With his stack of books topped by a German-English dictionary, the man took his pen and said: ” Ma'am I promise, I’ll do my reading. I’ll come into the library every day and read for three hours. I promise.”