Libraries Still Relevant: Keep Reading (and Paying Your Taxes)

The other day I had an engaging conversation with an eager reader on the street who wondered if many of our fellow South Dakotans are doing any reading and thinking when they vote.

I can't speak to the thinking, but Mr. Gebhart points to encouraging evidence of reading:

The role of libraries and their reinvention is, I think, documented by what Siouxland Libraries has seen since renovating and expanding its main branch. The first six months since the main branch reopened to the public saw record use. During that time, the main library had close to 7,000 visitors a day and patrons borrowed nearly 267,000 items, a 17 percent increase over the same time period in the last year of normal operation. It’s clear the demand isn’t just for printed material. For example, there were almost 54,000 sessions of computer use during that period, meaning the computers there are being used roughly 300 times a day [Tim Gebhart, "Library Dealing with Reinvention Curve," A Progressive on the Prairie, 2010.11.18].

I'll take that as cause for cultural optimism. People want to learn. We need books and libraries and free public Internet access for that learning. In a democracy that depends on educated voters, we have a community obligation to pay for good libraries.

There's Carts, and Then There's Carts: Librarians and Shriners in Trojan Days Parade

Dakota State University held its Trojan Days homecoming parade today. Amidst the spectacle: carts...

Madison librarians and friends bust some precision moves with their book carts

...and more carts!

The El Riad Shrine Sprint Car Unit from Sioux Falls
burns some Trojan Days rubber. Typical driving for Madison, actually.

Of course, Madison put the carts before the horses...


...but shouldn't they have had the skid steers bringing up the rear to clean up?

Heidelberger Apologizes for Blowing Stack in Public Library

To the Staff and Patrons of the Madison Public Library:

I apologize for behaving like a jerk last night.

After adjourning last night's Lake Herman Sanitary District meeting, I chewed out fellow board member Larry Dirks. He chewed back. Our exchange was loud and childish. (Yes, at one point, it really did devolve to "No I didn't!—Yes you did!") We carried on this dispute in the meeting room, the main entryway, and outdoors on the front steps and sidewalk.

I regret that this exchange took place in the Madison Public Library. I generally have great respect for the sacred, contemplative quiet of libraries. Residents young and old gather in the library to read, think, and relax in peace. Our public library also extends the courtesy of using its meeting space to civic groups like our sanitary district, with the expectation that our meetings will serve the public good. I disrespected that quiet and that courtesy. I thought only about the dispute at hand and not about the good people not involved in the dispute. With my raised voice, I caused distraction and discomfort for library staff and patrons.

Having a loud personal argument in a public library is irresponsible and unneighborly. Again, I apologize to the staff and patrons of the Madison Public Library for my uncivil behavior. In the future, I will keep all such vocal disputes outside of the library.

Sincerely,

Cory Allen Heidelberger
Lake Herman, SD

—e-mailed to the Madison Public Library 2009.09.17 08:05 CDT

Forget the Gym; Fix Madison High School

...but don't you mess with my beloved library!

I'm sorry I missed the public meeting Thursday on plans to renovate my alma mater dear, Madison High School. From my reading of Friday's MDL, it appears my fellow citizens and the architects discussed a lot of practical, educationally sound improvements for our middle-aged high school. They also appear to have validated the position I laid out in the 2008 school board election: that we shouldn't spend taxpayer dollars on a gym expansion until we have addressed facility issues that have a clear negative impact on educational activities.

So what needs doing before a bigger gym with more seats? How about this list from Friday's article:

• More science lab space
• Bigger auditorium stage and updated sound and light system
  
• Bigger band and chorus practice areas
• Bigger shop areas for advanced vocational courses
• A dedicated special ed classroom (MHS doesn't have one?!)
• More workable art studio and exhibit space
• Separate space for the ceramics kiln (we had trouble with that back when I threw pots in Jill Frederick's classroom)
• More home ec kitchen space for advanced culinary classes (that sounds yummy!)
  
• Upgraded lighting and electrical outlets
• More teacher workrooms

I challenge anyone to make the argument that a gym with more bleachers will provide more practical educational benefits than any of the above improvements. Fix those items first, and if there's any money left, then maybe, maybe, we can think about more seating where people can sit and watch sports.

One suggestion from the article I don't like: moving the library. "Should the library be the first thing you should see when you walk through the door?" asks architect Jeff Nelson. When it's a library as spectacular as the Madison High School library, I say, "Heck yeah!" That big open space with all those windows and all those books is the heart of our high school, perhaps the only inspiring architecture in an otherwise grim slab of 1960s concrete. And conceptually, I like the feng shui of walking into a high school and immediately seeing a center of independent learning, an open, well-lit gathering place for all students and staff. A grand central library is more inspiring than doors and walls... and it does more for the educational mission of the school than another gym.

Vote for New Madison Library Card Design!

Online democracy rears its mighty head again in Madison: I just learned from the city website that the Madison Public Library is taking votes online for its new library card design! Cat lovers appear to have stuffed the preliminary entries or had an in with the judge pool that included three feline designs among the five finalists.

Voting appears to close Friday, so hop to it. You might say it's only a library card, but I say it's democracy! Never miss a chance to vote!

Wireless Internet: Great Investment for Madison

A quick note as I peruse the Madison city budget for 2008—I find the following costs for the Madison Public Library:

• Cost of new books for the Madison Public Library: $32,595 (and worth every penny!)
• Cost of automatic door opener: $4,000
• Cost of wireless Internet access: $600

Talk about opening doors: the library is able to provide its patrons with wireless Internet for less than $2 a day. Now that's service!

Imagine what a bargain it would be for the city to make the entire downtown a wireless Internet hotspot for shoppers, businesses, and our guests from out of town... just like Aberdeen does!