Passing the Baton

My daughter graduated from library school in June.  I retired from my 40 year career as a librarian in July.

Just as I left the profession, my daughter began job hunting for her first professional library position.

She just called to say she had accepted a very good job offer.

I am so proud of her and happy that she has chosen the profession that sustained me for 40 years.

My daughter's and my lives have had many parallels, 37 years apart. 

We both moved thousands of miles away from our families, we both wanted to be actresses and we both became librarians.

We were born

"Welcome to the world!"

      1948                                                                                  1985                                                                                                     

                                                                        


        

 

 

 

 

We grew up in loving families.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Graduated from High School

 

                 1966                                                                                                        2003                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                               

We Graduated from College

             1970

 

 

 

 

 

 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

We Got Married

 

  




                                  1984                                                                    2010

                                                

 

 

We Were Actresses and Performers

                                                 

 

                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we became librarians.

 

 

 

Welcome to the world of libraries!

 

 

 

 

               

     My first job -  1974                                                   Her first job - 2013

 

 

A picture is worth a thousand words!

 

 

 

 

My mother got a real kick out of my daughter. 

 

 

 

Once, when my mother was particularly complimentary about her, I said, "Just like me, huh, Mom?" 

 

To which she replied, "Yes, only better!" 

 

Mom!!!

 

But she was right.  Don't we wish our children to be better than we were, to do better than we did?

 

And now my daughter has parlayed her education and three years managing a retail store (while her husband finished up his Ph.D) into a library management position as her first job, something it took me three years into the profession to attain.

 

As the conductor of my own life, I have chosen to retire from the symphony I conducted for the last 40 years, pass my baton and bow to the next generation.

 

I know some of what lies ahead for her. May she enjoy it as I have.

 

Now I am on to my next symphony!

 

 

Have you passed your baton to someone?

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

 

 

See you Friday for a Thanksgiving Wrap-up!

 

                                          

                                                         Thanks for reading!

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Remembering President Kennedy and The Week in Reviews

[I review the movies "Prisoners," "The Heat," "War of the Buttons," "Broken City" and recommend a good book.]

But first

Today is the anniversary of the day President Kennedy was shot. Not a day for levity.

I remember it well. 

I was in chemistry class (10th grade), and when the principal came on the PA system and said, "Our President has been shot," it was so far from the realm of possibility for my young mind that I thought he meant the Student Council President.

And after that day, life was forever changed for us Baby Boomers. 

We may have been afraid of the bomb, but witnessing the images of our President being shot and the aftermath, shook our lives as if the ground had literally shaken beneath our feet. If something could happen to the President, then none of us was safe.  Perhaps that is what fostered the Baby Boomer uprisings - protests, hippies, drugs, sex and rock & roll.  We realized we had to make our own rules and live life while we had it.

I recently heard that the pink suit Jackie Kennedy was wearing that day has been put away in the National Archives, not to come out until 50 years from now, so none of us Baby Boomers will live to see that in the flesh, but I don't need to or want to.  It was enough to live through those times.

Where were you when you heard President Kennedy had been shot?

***The Week in Reviews***

Prisoners

Two little girls are kidnapped and their fathers will go to almost any lengths to find them.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman do a fine acting job but this script lets them down.  It's starts out well and will have you on the edge of your seat as you anticipate what might happen next,  but as the film goes on the plot has more holes in it than swiss cheese. I think it's about practically everyone in this film being a prisoner of some kind, but it's quite an unpleasant film to watch and it's way too long.

Rosy the Reviewer says...though some critics disagree with me, I think you can save yourself the $11.00 and if you are still interested, see it when it comes out on DVD.

***DVDS***

Movies You Might Have Missed
And some you will be glad you did!
(I see the bad ones so you don't have to)

The Heat (2013)

A tight-laced by the book cop is paired with a ruler breaker cop as they work together to bring down a drug lord.

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy star.

Here is my criterion for judging a comedy.  Did it make me laugh out loud?

Rosy the Reviewer says...it was really funny.  Made me laugh out loud.

War of the Buttons (2011)

It's 1944 and young boys from two different French villages wage a war in counterpoint to the backdrop of the "real war" going on around them.  The spoils?  Whoever captures the most buttons from opposing gangs.

Heartwarming French film starring the cutest kids (and you know how I usually dislike kids in films).  And how much cuter can you get than cute kids speaking French? And ah, what kids get up to when adults aren't around. Gloriously lush French countryside adds to the film as it hides the evil of the French villagers who are collaborating with the Nazis. Subtitles.

Rosy the Reviewer says...C'est enjoyable!

Broken City (2013)

Usual story of disgraced cop trying to uncover the corruption in his city.

Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones star.  I have never forgiven Russell Crowe for his singing in "Les Miserables."

Rosy the Reviewer says...lots of clichés but at least Crowe doesn't sing.  Thank the Lord!  If you like this kind of thing, it's mercilessly short.

***Books***

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (2009)

Kingsolver's first novel since 2000 tells the story of Harrison Shepherd, a spectator in the world of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo during their friendship with Leon Trotsky in 1930's Mexico.  Shepherd goes on to become a novelist attacked by HUAC but it his chaotic childhood that haunts him.

I found it a difficult read at times but you can't fault her beautiful prose. My book club read this together and it inspires good discussion.

Rosy the Reviewer says...readers who like historical fiction and detailed prose will enjoy this.

***Theatre***

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Musical

A drag queen travels to the outback with his drag queen and transsexual friends to meet his son.

This musical version of the film the Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), is a very campy, fun  The songs are all pop songs of the 80's and 90's, mostly disco.  The costume designer for the film won an Oscar for the costumes.

Rosy the Reviewer says...lots of fun but not much substance.  The costumes star.

***Food***

The Gerald

Hipster bar offering delicious craft cocktails and comfort food.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Great retro atmosphere, friendly bartenders and BIG drinks!

That's it for this week.

See you next Tuesday!

Thanks for reading! 

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feel free to subscribe and/or share it with your friends.

Things Librarians Hate

Well, maybe that's a bit strong. 

My mother always told me never to use the word "hate," so perhaps I should amend that a bit and say "things that librarians really, really don't like. "

I was inspired by a recent Facebook posting by my librarian friend, Steve - "30 Things Librarians Love."  It's very humorous and right on.

But isn't it funny that the first thing I thought while reading it was that there sure were things librarians didn't love and in fact, hated...oh, sorry, Mom, really, really didn't like. 

After 40 years as a librarian, 30+ in public libraries, if you have been reading this blog, you know that I recently retired.  I have to say I have enjoyed being a librarian in a public library setting and feel it was a meaningful and rewarding profession. I have encountered many wonderful people over the years and have some wonderful memories. Most library customers value their libraries and librarians and the work they do.  But when you work in a public environment for over 30 years, things happen, some humorous, some not. 

I don't pretend to speak for every librarian or every public library. 
This is a personal list that only applies to a certain number of people.
But I think there are things on my list many librarians will relate to and library customers can learn from.

So here goes...everything I am recounting really happened (mostly).

Things Librarians Really, Really Don't Like:

1.  When you say Liberry or "Are you the 
     Libarian?"
     
     This makes librarians feel bad. It's as if you don't value them or the library
     enough to have good diction and learn how to pronounce LibR-ary.

2.  Booze breath at 10am.
    
     And I am not talking about the librarians. 
     When library customers walk in reeking of alcohol in the morning, library  
     staff are not sure if you are Monday morning coming down or Monday
     morning getting up.  Sometimes the stench would be so powerful I would
     gag on my way past the computers from the circulation desk to my office.
     So if you like to tipple in the morning or drink so much that it's coming out
     your pores, please don't be offended if you see library staff putting a dab of
     hand sanitizer on their upper lips.  It helps them not to get a contact high
     from you.

3.  Calling librarians "Sweetie," "Honey,"
    "Sweetheart," "Blondie" or "Toots."
    
     I am fairly certain this only applies to the female librarians.  I don't think the
     male librarians have to endure this disrespect, but maybe they get called
    "Sonny" from time to time. Even that is not as disrespectful.  
     When this happens, female librarians realize that some customers do not   
     respect them as professionals.  Please see item number 1 in the list of "30
     Things Librarians Love" I referenced above, which says librarians love
     "pointing out that you have to have a master's degree to be a REAL
      librarian."  That's right, folks.  Librarians are "edicated" and do not
      appreciate your demeaning them in that way.  They are PROFESSIONALS. 
      Would you call your doctor or lawyer "Toots?"

4.  Screaming children

     I was always amazed at the tolerance some parents have for screaming,
     crying children.  I have a fairly high threshold for noise, but when the
     shrieking gets to the point of eardrum rupture (150db), library staff has to
     say something.  And what happens?   The parents get mad at staff for being
     so insensitive to their little tykes' rights to express themselves.

5. Babysitting your children

    In the same vein, a constant problem in public libraries is parents dropping 
    off their kids at the library and leaving them there for hours. There seems to 
    be this misperception that children are safe running around
    the library, because librarians want nothing more than to find crafts for
    them, read them a story and give them appropriate lessons on how to act in
    the library (as in Shhhh).  NOT! 

    As I mentioned earlier, librarians are working professionals.  It might look
    like they have cushy jobs reading the dirty books they keep behind the
    desk (library myth), but it's not true.  They have to answer really difficult or
    crazy questions (though they don't judge) that require research, they have
    to plan for those story times and other programs, they have to conduct
    interviews, supervise volunteers and staff and sometimes even plunge the
    toilet in the restroom (and I will get to that later), so you can see they do not
    have time to keep an eye on your child. 

    I don't know how emphatically I need to impress people with the fact that it's
    called a PUBLIC library for a reason. Things happen in public places.

    Would you drop your child off at a public park and leave him or her
    there for hours?  The same goes for the library.  It is a public place where all
    kinds of people congregate. Mostly nice people, I might add, but no one is
    checking ID at the door or looking people up on the Internet to see if they
    meet certain standards to be around your child.  No one is checking the
    restrooms on a regular basis and no one notices if your child walks out the
    door. 

    So please take your child to the library and spend time with him or her
    there.  That's part of the library experience, happy memories and setting
    your child on the right road to reading readiness and success in school.


6.  Calling your pet boa constrictor a service animal

 

     Libraries welcome service animals when they are needed but please...

 


7. Going overboard with your right to bring food into the library

     Many librarians don't mind if you eat or drink in the library as long as you
     are tidy and not disruptive.  But when you order a pizza to be delivered or
     bring a complete hamper of food with tablecloth, silverware, candles and a
     bottle of wine, librarians really, really don't like that.

8.  Asking for office supplies
     
     Library staff want to make your library experience a good one, they really
     do. And they don't mind a rubber band here, a paper clip there, even some
     sheets of paper. But when you start asking for 25 paperclips, a ream of
     paper, free stamps or file folders, they want to say, "What do you think this
     is, Office Depot?" They don't because they are trained professionals, as I
     said earlier, but they think it.

9.  You call the reference desk from home for a recipe or an address and you have no pen or pencil anywhere near you.

Let me share some examples from personal experience.

Ring, ring.

"I need the address for our local Social Security Office." 

"Yes, Mrs. So and So. Here it is.  Ready?"

"Oh, sorry.  I don't have a pen.  Let me go find one."

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

"Here I am.  I'm back...oh, wait, this one doesn't work.  Just a sec."

Zzzzzzz

"OK, shoot."

By this time, I wish I did have a gun.


And here is another favorite.

Ring, Ring.

"Hello, could you give me the recipe for Paula Deen's chocolate covered deep fat fried sticks of butter," please?"

"Sure, are you ready?  Here it is."

(And let me just interrupt myself here.  Some librarians will read such things over the phone and some won't.  I would, but I truly understand why they would not want to).

"OK, 4 sticks of butter."

"Wait, wait, wait...fourrrrrr......stickssssss......offffff....... what was that?  Wait, wait, wait...butterrrrrrrrrr.....How do you spell butter?

Zzzzzz

Oh geez.....



10.  Dealing with the restrooms
      
       I will never forget my first complaint about the toilet in the restroom being
       stopped up.  It was early in my career and I was dressed in my usual "I am
       a professional but a very stylish one" outfit, including three-inch heels.  I
       went to check out the problem in the restroom and found the toilet had run
       over onto the floor.  It being a small staff, I didn't have the heart to assign
       this to anyone else, so I tip-toed through the dirty water, trying not to
       splash anything on my Jimmy Choo's (alright, they weren't Jimmy
       Choo's, librarians don't make enough for those but they were nice shoes)
       and proceeded to plunge the toilet.  Water flew everywhere, all over my
       stylish "Dress for Success" suit (it was the 80's). 
      
       The point here is...even though my boss later told me plunging toilets is
       that part in the job description that says, "Other duties as assigned,"
       librarians really, really dislike plunging toilets, crawling on the floor to get
       into the toilet stall your little darling locked from inside or having to lock
       up the restrooms, thus fielding multiple complaints about not being able to
       use the toilet, because someone did something unmentionable in there
       with their unmentionables (use your imagination).

OK, finally, I need to address the elephant in the room.

11.  Porn

Though many librarians probably really, really dislike library customers viewing sexually explicit images on the library computers, that is not why this is on my list. 

The reason it's on my list is because librarians really, really dislike people complaining about it.  They don't like unpleasant exchanges with their library customers, especially when all they are trying to do is serve the community.

And, don't get me wrong.  I am not talking about illegal activity or someone being disruptive. 

If someone is viewing something that is illegal, such as child pornography, librarians want you to tell them and they will do the same thing they would do when other illegal activities such as theft or assault take place in the library. They will call 911.

But I am not talking about illegal or disruptive activity here. 

I am talking about adults quietly looking at other consenting adults engaging in sexual activity or some other sexual image or something you might disapprove of. This may make you feel uncomfortable, but it is not illegal. 

Libraries uphold the freedoms of our country and a basic tenet of library service is to provide free access to information covering many points of view, and that makes some people uncomfortable.

These days computers provide access to information along with books, DVDs, and other formats and when you try to provide information on many points of view that can include material that some people will disapprove of. 

And if you have ever seen the list of books that have been "banned," you can see that what people disapprove of runs the gamut from Huck Finn to "Where's Waldo?" 

What is "pornographic" depends on who is answering the question. Everyone has a bias as to what is acceptable and what is not.  I find sites that preach hate much more objectionable than consenting adults engaging in sex.  Where does one draw the line?  Who gets to decide?

Libraries are not in the business of censorship.

If something is allowed under the law, the library should not be the censor. Nor should individuals decide what others should and shouldn't read or view.

But that doesn't mean libraries are not sensitive to the issue.

Libraries go to great lengths to protect library customers from seeing things they don't want to see, especially children. 

Libraries provide privacy screens, filtering and some libraries don't allow children in the adult areas.  Most libraries have highly filtered computers in the children's area and library cards for children under 18 are not able to access adult sites.  And libraries often offer adults the option to choose filtered viewing.

But filters are not perfect.  There are a couple of ways they work:  either by blocking actual sites or specific words.  But it's possible that some sites can fall through the cracks or something can be blocked that does not fall under the "objectionable" category.  When words are blocked, for example, and "breast" would surely be one, what about the woman who wants to research breast cancer?  On a filtered computer, she would not be able to find that information.

So if you are concerned about this issue, here are some things to keep in mind while in the library.

• Stay with your children while in the library. 

          Don't sit them at a computer and leave them there or let them run
          around in the adult section. 
          If you really care what your children are looking at, you should be
          monitoring that. That is your responsibility as a parent.  Not the
          library's.

• If you see someone looking at something you find objectionable, don't look.

          It actually takes some effort to peer over someone's shoulder to see
          what they are looking at, especially if your library uses privacy screens.
          Why upset yourself?

• As I said earlier, a library is a public place.  Act accordingly.

          You are not at home where you can control what happens around you. 
          People have the right to exercise their freedom to view what they want
          without you or the library telling them they can't. Tolerance is key.

When this issue appears in the paper or on the news, which it does from time to time and everyone gets all upset about it, my hackles go up because the news media paints libraries as bastions of pornography, when in fact libraries are bastions of service to the community. 

Most people come to the library to use them to find a job, connect with far-flung family members via email, learn a new skill, do research, etc.  Those using the computers to view "objectionable" material are in the minority, but it makes headlines to sensationalize and exaggerate it.

Libraries are your tax dollars put to good use.  What other government entities provide friendly people who really want to help you... citizenship and computer classes, help with your English, reading programs for your children, librarians to answer your questions on any subjects, free DVDs, music CDs and talking books, free downloading of content for free to your mobile devices...I could go on and on.  Does the media report on that?  No.

Libraries are providing computers for people who need them. 

Believe it or not, there are many people who cannot afford computers. They do not have the luxury of surfing the web in the privacy of their own homes as many of us do.

So when you complain to librarians about what people are looking at on the library computers and harangue them as if pornography is one of the services they happily provide and approve of, they really, really don't like such unpleasant encounters when all they are trying to do is be of service to the community.

Remember that with our freedoms comes diversity in how those freedoms are used.  And it's not up to you to decide. 

For all you know, they might be doing research!

If you need to blame something, blame free speech, not libraries.

 

 

See you Friday for News and Reviews!

Thanks for reading! 

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