February

Welcome...

mash — Sun, 04 May 2008 10:16:29 -0600

I have been writing a weekly newspaper column since 1987.

For 3 years, it ran in the Greeley Tribune. Since then, it has run in various subsidiaries of the Douglas County News Press. I still have most of my columns in digital format.

For many years, I only gave myself one rule: try to work the word "library" into every piece. My intent was to think in public about just what librarianship means at the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st.

February 25, 2010 - a new deal for schools and libraries

Jamie LaRue — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:12:31 -0700

After the 2008 election losses, followed by a recession, the Douglas County School District and the Douglas County Libraries had some cuts to make.

The school district chose to eliminate all of its subscription databases -- information resources offered over the Internet. At the same time, the library was looking at trimming its own subscriptions.

So we did something that doesn't happen very often between schools and libraries. We got together to talk about it. Library staff analyzed the cost per use of our subscriptions. Then we asked our colleagues at school libraries to tell us which resources were most useful for student assignments.

February 18, 2010 - numbers tell a story, too

Jamie LaRue — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:16:11 -0700

I'm conflicted.

On the one hand, over the past couple of years, I've changed my whole idea of what my profession is about.

I used to think the library business was about access to "intellectual content," whether it be fiction, non-fiction, movies, or music.

But the more I've read about brain research, the more I've thought about the role of the public library in society, the more I have come to realize that we're really in another business altogether: Storytelling.

From the storytelling upon which emergent literacy is based, to the storytelling that frames the highest level of political decision-making, it's all about narrative. It's about finding a frame that makes sense of things.

February 11, 2010 - the only windows in my office

Jamie LaRue — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:33:36 -0700

As an undergraduate, I spent a lot of time at the student billiard center. Occasionally, smooth, well-dressed pool sharks would come through on tour. They had great names, like blues singers or gangsters: Las Vegas Jimmy, Spats McDonough, Gentleman Joe, and so on.

At that time, we college players thought it was all about the equipment. We bought our own sticks, with fancy cases. We imagined that some tables were better than others. But then one of these outside jaspers would breeze through town, pull a standard pool cue off the rack, run the table, perform mind-boggling trick shots, and leave with a not-inconsiderable chunk of all our beer money.

I remember one guy saying, when we were discussing how tricky one of the tables was: "I bet I can still find the pockets."

February 4, 2010 - Wanted: library trustee

Jamie LaRue — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:05:09 -0700

February 4, 2010 - WANTED: LIBRARY TRUSTEE

Job Title: Library Trustee, a member of the governing Board of the Douglas
County Libraries. There are seven Trustees in total. This appointment fills the vacancy of Stevan Strain, whose term ran through the end of January 2011.

Residency requirements: must live in Commissioner District I, which encompasses the Northeast area of the county. The Commissioner representing this area is Jack Hilbert.

Qualifications: Must believe in the value of strong public library services to the citizens of Douglas County. The Douglas County Libraries is an equal opportunity employer, committed to a vision of a vital and literate community.

February 26, 2009 - we need to be more like Elwood

Jamie LaRue — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:02:15 -0700

Recently, I appeared in a play, the Parker Arts Council's "Harvey." Written by Colorado author Mary Chase, and the well-deserved winner of a Pulitzer Prize, it has always been one of my favorites.

All of the roles are wonderful, with surprising depth and humor. I landed the part of Elwood P. Dowd, the man who pals around with a 6-foot-one-and-a-half rabbit. Since most people don't see this rabbit, they assume that Elwood is "touched."

And well he may be. The rabbit, Harvey, is a "pooka." According to the play, a pooka is "From old Celtic mythology. A fairy spirit in animal form. Always very large. The pooka appears here and there, now and then, to this one and that one at his own caprice. A wise but mischievous creature. Very fond of rum-pots, [and] crack-pots."

My thinking about the character went through several changes. First, I thought Elwood was enlightened. He was always fully present, kind and courteous. But Elwood also does a lot of drinking in this play -- so maybe he was a "rum-pot," albeit a curiously gentle and friendly one.

February 19, 2009 - what next?

Jamie LaRue — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:27:10 -0700

Two weeks ago I described the library's core mission and vision. Last week I talked about some financial challenges we face (along with everybody else). This week, I'd like to talk about what we actually plan to do over the next three years.

February 12, 2009 -- 2009 Budget Cut Information

mash — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:56:11 -0700

Before I get into library finances, I should clarify something that confuses a lot of people. Douglas County Libraries is not part of some other government agency. We are not a department of the county, although we share geographic boundaries. We receive no money from them, nor from any of the cities or towns or school district in Douglas County.

Instead, we are an independent library district, created in accordance with state statute, by a vote of the people, in 1990. Virtually all our funding comes from a voter approved property tax of 4 mills. In 2009, that generates (with a few other smaller streams of income) about $21 million.

February 5, 2009 - library adopts new mission and vision

Jamie LaRue — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:02:07 -0700

On January 10, the library Board of Trustees and senior staff met to set a course for the future. In three hours, we adopted a refocused mission and vision statement, reviewed our financial status and goals, and finally, adopted some specific plans for the next three to five years.

Over the next three weeks, I'd like to cover those issues in more detail.

First (this week), what does the library stand for?

Second (next week), what is our financial status in these troubled times?

Third (two weeks from now), what does our mission direct us to do to respond to our budget issues? To put it more positively: what are our plans?

February 1, 2007 - Library Wins Prestigious PR Award

Jamie LaRue — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:34:19 -0600

Once upon a time (1889 to 1898, to be precise) there was a director of the Denver Public Library named John Cotton Dana. He was, in fact, Denver's first library director.

He was a beacon of "progressive" librarianship. In his view, most libraries of the day were mere warehouses and prisons of books. Librarians were more concerned with protecting the collections from patrons, than in seeing those collections used.