If you want a sure thing, go with a Shorr (thing)

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Of all the time I’ve spent outside of the U.S., most of that time has been in Mexico. From the first time I visited, I fell in love. I’ve spent most time traveling on my own but we decided to try an all-inclusive resort this year. And while I enjoyed it, it did not feel like the Mexico I love. The one day we left the resort and went into town, was great. And we were lucky enough to stumble on a public library!

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A note about the election

I sent this note to the 400 Public Services staff at DCPL:

Hi everyone,

It’s been a week since the presidential election and I know many people are still processing what the change in administration will mean for D.C. and the country. I want to echo what Rich said in his Friday update—for DCPL and other libraries around the country, we continue to be committed to being a place of inclusion. This is not new to public libraries and we can see this commitment reflected in the work we do every day to create a safe space for our entire community. Many of you took the Public Library 101 training this year and I hope you see the connection between what you discussed there and our current landscape.

In this same spirit, I want to remind you of a couple of things. In order to be a welcoming place, we might have to put our own feelings about the election aside so that we can serve all people, whether we share their belief system or not. I think back to a question asked of me when I was working at the Central Library in Portland, Oregon. A gentleman asked me for books about White Power and it was pretty clear to me that he was not writing a research paper. Honestly, I didn’t want to help him find books that would help him hate other people. But I dug deep and remembered what the American Library Association Bill of Rights says,

“Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves.

Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.”

It was my job then, and it is your job now, to create an environment where all people feel welcome. And as long as they follow our Rules of Behavior, their political beliefs shouldn’t influence the service we offer them and the environment we create. Please remember that our rules say that our users are not allowed to “Engag[e] in conduct that disrupts or interferes with the normal operation of the library, or disturbs library staff or customers, including but not limited to, conduct that involves the use of abusive or threatening language or gestures, conduct that creates unreasonable noise, or conduct that consists of loud or boisterous physical behavior or talking.” This includes hate speech and if you hear something that violates this rule, please either address it with the patron or let your manager know what you heard.

You should absolutely feel however you want to feel about the future of this country and the election. But now we must all dig deep and remember why the public library is so important to the fabric of this country. As former D.C. resident (and NW1 patron) David Kipen said in his LA Times editorial last week, “librarians may be the only first responders holding the line between America and a raging national pandemic of absolutism. More desperately than ever, we need our libraries now, and all three of their traditional pillars: 1) education, 2) good reading and 3) the convivial refuge of a place apart. In other words, libraries may be the last coal we have left to blow on.”

We are quite often the only neutral place that people have in their lives. And by maintaining and honoring that space, we can make a difference. I urge you to keep this in mind as you talk with your coworkers, patrons, plan programs and displays. I have always and will always be proud to work in an institution like the public library.

Thank you for all that you do for our community,

Manya

Election (go to your library!)

This was a hard week for many people I know and love. Not to say it wasn’t hard for me, but while I’m nervous about the future, I am very locally focused and I know I do everything I can do every day to serve my community. And that’s really all I can focus on right now.

Or, as David Kipen said this week in his LA Times editorial, “refuge-wise, libraries are the ultimate “third place,” the urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s “sanctuaries beyond the realms of home and work.” Nowadays, what with bring-your-dog-to-work days and bring-your-work-home jobs, home and work are becoming almost interchangeable. We need a third place more than ever, and libraries — with quiet courtyards and alcoves, or provocative public meetings and programs — increasingly offer that very place.”

Read the whole thing here: http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-kipen-essay-20161110-story.html

Frederick County Public Libraries

Frederick County, Maryland is about an hour North of D.C. and a lovely little town. This is unfortunately all I could see of the library, since we visited on Columbus Day. That said, I witnessed at least four people trying to visit the library that day.

Opening of new DCPL branch

A little over 10 years ago, the District of Columbia made an incredible investment in the crumbling infrastructure of the DC Public Library. Since then, DCPL has built new or renovated 16 of the 26 locations. This week, we opened our 17th new library. The Woodridge branch is in NE DC and is on a stretch of street that really needs some new design and services. The old branch was demolished before I moved to DC so I never experienced the old building, but I’ve spent enough time in some of our older buildings to know what it was like. Due to some construction/soil issues, the project was delayed for over a year, so as you can imagine, excitement was very high at the grand opening this week.

We were lucky to have a lot of VIPs come to the opening. The D.C. Mayor (and her parents…she grew up in the area), two D.C. Councilmembers, the Deputy Mayor for Education, Executive Director of the Urban Libraries Council, Executive Director of the American Library Association Washington Office, and…..Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden! I thought only the library folks in the room would be excited to see her but even the Mayor was excited to welcome our first female, African American Librarian of Congress. Members of the community packed the mid-week ribbon cutting, which really tells me how excited people are for their new library.

I wasn’t involved in the design of this building, since it started before I moved to D.C. but I spend about 75% of my time in design/construction meetings for the other projects we’re working on and it was extremely gratifying to see how excited everyone was for the opening. I know it will make all of the hard work worth it.

I didn’t get to cut the ribbon (that’s the Mayor’s job) but I was able to confirm the scissors are real. And heavy!

Look at that excitement! D.C. Mayor cuts the ribbon.

Upcoming webinar

DC Public Library recently abolished all fines and fees for kids 19 and younger. If you’re interested in doing something like this at your library, join me for the Urban Libraries Council webinar Library Fees: To Forgive or Forget. I’ll be presenting along with San Jose Public Library Director, Jill Bourne. More information here.