Making Noise with Class 20 and the Librarians
I love the road. It can be rough and it can be righteous, but either way, I love being out and about, particularly with people who roll around in it for a living, like I do.
First stop on this adventure, one of my favorite spots in the greater DC-NYC corridor—Newark, DE, and the Food Bank up there, run by my chum of chums, Pat Beebe.
From some of my writings and interviews, some might come to the conclusion that I’ve got a jones against food banks. Not at all….I just don’t dig old ideas if the times demand new takes. If your house is rockin, then I’m ready to roll with you…and Pat’s house is rockin. A lot of that has to do with her killer team, and Chef Noah, who runs the training program up there (with Chef Nick) play a huge roll in keeping the volume up at the kind of ear slitting levels that I prefer.
Case in point—the graduation of their 20th culinary arts class. There are few things in life more affirming than a graduation, and as you can read from this account in Delaware Online, this was a great gathering of family and friends. If you EVER get up to the First State, or if you want to learn about training from some powerful leaders in this field, then stop by and give Chefs Nick and Noah a shout out for me.
Then I got it on the good foot and made tracks for West Virginia, to speak at a staff development day for the Public Library Squad of Charleston.
Now…it might seem random, and some might assume, given how often I’m up in front of an audience that I’ll speak at the opening of a refrigerator just to hear the sound of my own voice…and they wouldn’t be half wrong…but in this case, I really wanted to be there.
I have ALWAYS dug libraries. Few countries have made public education or FREE access to information so handy. We should be really proud of our country for this part of our history. But…like food programs (who also have a history of giving things away for free), the times are changing for our bookish brothers and sisters.
Now, Public Libraries have to fight for funding. Voters often view them (as they do nonprofits) as part of the “extras” that, if the choice comes down to cops on the beat, they can do without. Libraries (and many nonprofits) are now doing “Return on Investment” formulas to prove their worth. They are tracking how many folks come their to access computers to look for work, gain new skills, or, in the case of that spunky school girl who sat next to the First Lady at President Obama’s first speech before the House, use them to write letters that say “we aren’t quitters!!” Neither are the librarians!!!
But they are up against it right now. West Virginia is one of only a handful of states that have yet to post a deficit (coal), so their library system isn’t as up against the wall of others, but the big questions about the future of libraries is just a relevant to them as it is anywhere else in America. Will the public fund them? Will they continue to come through their doors and the information age progresses? If they build a new one with countless cool bells and whistles—will they come? I URGE YOU to think about this. Be part of the discussion in your town.
When I started the Kitchen—I didn’t know how to start a nonprofit. I went to the library to learn how!!!! I owe them. So do you.
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February 27th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Robert,
I am suprised you don’t see the duplication of efforts in the library system. You have clearly seen the issue with non-profits, too many duplication of efforts and need to stream line. Take for instance your campus kitchen concept. Same theory applies for libraries. From where I sit, there are 4 libraries within a short bike ride. 1 public library who is screaming for more funding, and 3 libraries in the schools(elementary, Jr High, and HS). The school libraries sit closed and “moth balled” all summer and on the weekends, as well as most nights. These are the times that libraries are generally used the most in my area. I am sure many of the same magazines, periodicals and resources are duplicated in each library. The library community needs to get togethter, pool resources and re-organize. The problem is that as a culture, most think that if you throw money at an idea it will solve a problem. But as with libraries(and most other things run by the government) that isn’t the case. It is interesting as a taxpayer, I am not allowed(hey, who wants a strange dude walking the halls of the elementary school) in the school libraries(hundreds of them in my county alone), yet I constantly hear the cries for more library funding.
Campus Kitchens meet the library system,.. problem solved
February 27th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I don’t agree with the analogy of cops or libraries. Localities are better off investing today ($35 per capita in our locality) then spending $26,000 per inmate in jails and the demage that they inflect upon lives and families as a result of their action. Most of the the ones that end up in jails don’t graduate from high school. Public libraires provide the right environment where people learn new skills, improve their lives, and is the center of continued education. Libraries are part of the solution when a community is struggling economically. Library usage throughout the nation is record high in the last 12 months. Yes, they come and they will continue to come when library facilities are equipped with the state of art technology and resources.
February 27th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
You are always just so right on. Really should think about writing a book…
February 27th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Right ON for the bold challenges.
Johnny—you hit the nail on the head your reply, Dude. Like SO much of what’s going on, there’s the assumption that bigger is better. We rarely look the other way, as you have suggested. Frankly–I’m stunned that I didn’t see the Campus Kitchen analogy myself–thanks for hitting me over the head with my own theory. Although…one of more uncomfortable realities in America is that we use the libraries as our de facto day wards for the homeless and mentally ill. As we refuse to discuss mental illness in America, there’s probably an unspoken fear that if school libraries are opened, they will inherit this issue.
Zahir–you struck interesting chords yourself. This is part of the rocky road that many library folks find themselves in–how do you elevate the value of a library to a public that often want to hold onto older, more comfortable images. For MANY, in just about every American city, the library is a now a job center. I have a good friend Donna who informed much of my dialogue in WVA. She now works in the library system, and we talked a lot about new leadership (the American Library Association has an Emerging Leaders program), as well as the REAL role that libraries play in our economy. She’s in a state that is making HUGE budget cuts, and they made a solid case to legislators that libraries help keep the economy running for all the reasons you list.
My point about cops was that it’s a false choice. Libraries are, as you suggested, a better anti-crime device than more cops. The job is to convince taxpayers. Sounds like you are already on that road.
Reach out if I can help.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:47 am
:O So much info