Signs of Spring

It was quite pleasant out this afternoon-- sunny, low 40's, hint of warmth and growth on the breeze. Rotund rodent from Pennsylvania to the contrary, it seems that maybe spring is at least dabbling its toe in the waters around this area. Felt good.

Some other signs that spring is preparing to enter, stage right:

• The first baseball game of spring training was on the radio yesterday. What a treat and a thrill to hear Bob Uecker's unmistakable commentary-- Brewers fans are lucky to have Mr. Baseball calling their games. He will be missed when he retires.
• Girl Scout cookies have arrived! As a hopeless addict of the Thin Mints, the day of delivery for those yummy little cookies is always a happy one.
• The first green sprouts can be seen, here and there. Daffodils, I think, but I'm not certain-- I don't have a brown thumb, but it isn't green, either.
• The college basketball season is winding down, with March Madness visible in the distance.

Spring isn't my favorite season, but I do enjoy the sense of rebirth and new possibilities it brings after the cold and huddled indoorsness of winter. 50 degrees or bust!

Remember Our Veterans

Today is Veterans Day, a day to remember and honor all of the brave men and women who have served in our country’s armed services. It is held on November 11 in remembrance of the ceasefire on November 11, 1918 that effectively ended World War I. Originally meant to honor the veterans of that war, the day has grown to include all who have served in our country’s armed services.

This year, the Library is honored to have a display of memorabilia from the Badger State Chapter of the 82^nd Airborne Division.

Currently in our lobby, the display features photographs, equipment, badges and more from Wisconsin 82^nd Airborne veterans of World War II.

The 82^nd Airborne was organized on March 25, 1917 and is an elite paratrooper unit of the U.S. Army. Members of the unit typically parachute behind enemy lines and work to disrupt enemy supply lines and communications. They were a vital component of D-Day during World War II, as they were dropped behind the German lines with a mission to destroy bridges and railroad lines in order to cut off the Germans ability to resupply their forces in Normandy.

Unlike most units, the 82nd Airborne drew recruits from across the country, rather than being geographically focused. It is truly an All-American force with a long and proud history of service to our country.

The display will remain at the library for the next three months.

Tres Cool

The Louvre is now available online. Simply visit: http://cartelen.louvre.fr/cartelen/visite?srv=crt_frm_rs&langue=en to explore the musuem's vast collection. You can search by keyword, by room or by department (paintings, sculptures, etc.). Additionally, there is a special area for new acquisitions.

The search engine itself is a little clunky-- it took me about 15 minutes to find the Mona Lisa room (room 6 of the Grande Gallerie-- that's her waaaayyyy at the end), and there is no actual image or information on the Mona Lisa or many of the other prominent holdings of the Louvre. Which is odd-- wouldn't da Vinci's works be some of the first, if not the very first, works you'd include? The only reason I can think that they haven't is preservation concerns, but there must be a way of getting a good image of the painting without damaging it, right?

Finding the Venus de Milo was easier, though still a little awkward. The close-up shots are also very cool, though not necessarily easy to spot-- they pop up off the tiny links below the image of the sculpture herself. And the captions are all in French, unfortunate but not surprising.

Despite these shortcomings, the ability to virtually "tour" much of the Louvre is very cool, and the close-up imagery of many of the world's most famous artwork is extremely cool. Hopefully, they will add the other premier works of art in the future.

Libraries Can Make You Healthier

So says the March 3, 2009 Woman's Day magazine, and thinking about it, I'm not really very surprised. The public library was Google long before computers were even conceived of, much less the internet. There is information available at the library on nearly everything-- and not just any information, dependable, critically-reviewed information. And not just information, but people willing to help you find the information you need.

Money quote from the article:
"It's funny, I was always told to be mindful of my health. Luckily, the library taught me that the way to good health is to have a mind that's full."

What's Up With That Tree?

Hopefully, you have noticed the colorful mural that is taking shape on the south wall of the Library’s lobby. The second phase of the project is starting to take shape—the creation of a spreading tree. This tree will serve not only brighten and beautify the library’s lobby area, but also to recognize donors to the library’s expansion.When finished, the leaves, branches and roots of the tree will contain the names of the many generous donors to the expansion fund.

The creation of a tree as a symbol for the library is a good one for many reasons—a tree has strong roots, provides shade and comfort, and is a living, growing part of its surroundings. Likewise, the library has deep roots in the community, it provides education, recreation and community development, and it to is a growing, vital part of its surroundings—the entire Mukwonago Community.

The tree is being created by Jessica Schreib and Anna Boelk, two dedicated and talented seniors at Mukwonago High School. Supplies and support for the project have been graciously provided by the Friends of the Mukwonago Library, a group that helps the library and the community in so many ways.

A Cool Place to Waste Some Time

ted.com has some of the coolest, most interesting, flat out fascinating webcasts I've ever seen. Get a bunch of smart, talented people together and see what happens. What a great concept! This guy's 37 minute juggling/learning/space/art/motion/rhythm segment is mind-blowing.

Actually, most of the stuff on the ted site probably can't be considered a waste of time-- it's too informative and useful! But it is a great way to spend some time.

Library Collections: What Should We Have?

A comment recently came through, asking if it was a good idea that the library had DVDs, and now video games, in an era of childhood obesity. I responded to it, briefly, in the library's column in the Mukwonago Chief, but I post the comment in full here because I think it raises some interesting points and it requires a full and thoughtful response that I just don't have the room for in the newspaper column. Here is the full-text of the suggestion:

With today's children spending so much time in front of the television, is it necessary to promote this by offering hundreds of movie DVDs and now video games at the library? Studies have proven that our children are less imaginative than ever before, and cases of obesity in children is [sic] overwhelming. On my past trips to the library, I notice that children and their parents are not checking out books, but instead are checking out stacks of DVDs and now video games. Is this the quality time that parents spend with their children now, mindlessly parking them in front of the television set? What about sharing a good book and talking, or venturing outside for some fresh air and exercise. A little sun won't hurt any of these kids. Maybe it should be suggested that we spend more money on books, magazines, papers, etc. and less on mindless visual entertainment.

I want to thank whoever made the suggestion. And I mean that very sincerely-- it clearly comes from someone who truly cares about his or her community and the community's library. Similarly, thanks to everyone else who has made a suggestion or left a comment—please, keep them coming. We appreciate any and all feedback from the community we serve.

It is also important to provide a little historical context-- this is a question that has been around, in one form or another, for centuries. In America, it has arisen in the form of "good" books vs. "bad" books, newspapers and magazines vs. books, movies and videotapes vs. books and newspapers, and even genre books (SF, fantasy, mystery) vs. other fiction.

Essentially, it boils down to: Is the public library an educational institution, an entertainment destination, or some blending and combination of the two? The general consensus has been for option #3, a blending and combination of the two. Certainly that has been the approach of the Mukwonago Community Library. Our vision statement identifies us as both a Lifelong Learning Place and an Entertainment Place. Most significantly, perhaps, we see ourselves as A Place For Everyone.

Now, in regards to particulars of the patron's comments, let's start with the final point. It is important to realize that the library spends more on books than on DVDs, CDs and video games combined—more than twice as much, when you include our newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Books, newspapers and magazines are staple of library holdings, and despite speculation like this, I don't see that changing any time in the near future.

I also think calling movies and video games, “mindless visual entertainment” is too harsh. Certainly, some movies and games are pure escapism, but movies are often as thought provoking as books and many video games can be shared by a family in the same manner as a board game. My kids and I had a blast last week playing SuperMario Kart together, and with the motion-sensing capabilities of the new generation of games, even the "couch potato" image of a typical video game player may be going by the boards. Having recently purchased Wii Fit, I can testify that "playing" that "game" will provide you with a workout. Plus, recent studies are showing that video games can be beneficial to the brain in many ways.

And, then again, what's wrong with a little pure escapism from time to time? Certainly some books are primarily, perhaps entirely, escapist fiction. Not every book can be The Grapes of Wrath, Wuthering Heights, or War and Peace. Nor would we want them to be.

Additionally, the library is also an entertainment place and both DVDs and video games are part of the entertainment landscape. Certainly we hope that families check out books as well as videos and games, but the library's vision is for it to be a "place for everyone". One group that is a challenge to "be a place for" is the young adult population-- video games are a way for us to reach out to them.

In regards to getting outside for some sun, the library is exploring options for making better use of the park to our west this summer, including outdoor reading spots and possibly checking out some sports equipment (basketballs, kickballs, etc.). Overall, however, I would say that video gaming is no more inactive than reading a book, and that today's games are sometimes quite active, indeed.

The challenge to today's library is to be that "place for everyone". Old, young, readers, writers, viewers, gamers. Computer savvy or not, religious, agnostic, retired, unemployed, students, parents, children, artists, professionals, factory workers, athletes and intellectuals. To meet that challenge, we attempt to keep a balance of educational and entertainment materials, in as many formats as possible, to reach as broad a portion of the community as we can.

And we are always open to suggestions and new approaches. Please, help us be the best community library we can possibly be-- add your comments just below, if you'd like, or stop in and let us know what's on your mind.

Thank You!

I've written this before, but it bears repeating-- thank you to everyone in the community for the warm welcome I have received since taking over as Library Director this September. The Mukwonago Community Library truly embraces that central term-- community. I've only been in Mukwonago for two months, but I already feel comfortable here.

The Mukwonago Chief has been, and continues to be, excellent to the Library and I deeply appreciate the time and space they give us every week. This blog is in no way meant to replace what the Chief provides, rather I see this blog as a supplement to the information in the Chief. It is an opportunity to provide additional information regarding the Library to the Community it serves and in a more timely manner. In this space I hope to highlight our programs or new materials, provide occasional reviews of whatever it is I'm reading/viewing, have other staff members contribute their insight, and heap lots of well-deserved praise on everyone who makes this Library so popular and so excellent in all that it does.

I also hope that, as time goes by, the comments section will provide a place for feedback from everyone out there that likes and uses the Mukwonago Community Library. That is the beauty of this forum-- while it is primarily driven by the blogger, there is ample opportunity for the reader to respond, to disagree, to suggest. In short, to discuss.

And I love discussion. I truly believe many of the best ideas and approaches spring from discussion. From interaction. From ideas bouncing back forth and around and about and suddenly becoming something completely different from what they started as, yet better, fuller, richer and more interesting and useful. This is not a formal place. While it must remain respectful, it is a place for the free and open interaction of ideas.

Okay, enough preliminary blather-- back to the main point.

Thank you!