Library Reading by Mary Dutta

I’ve published thousands of words but never read them aloud. Short story writers don’t get as many opportunities as novelists do to do public readings. So when my local library announced an open mic night, I decided to participate. I figured it would be a low-stakes way to dip a toe into sharing my work with a live audience.

The event was hosted by a woman who teaches writing classes at the library, and many of the participants were her students. Others, like me, were simply local authors eager to share their work. More than one said it was their first reading. Whatever path led us there, we each got seven minutes at the microphone.

I signed up with no worries about that time limit. How long could it take to read a short story out loud? As it turns out, more than seven minutes. Even my shortest published story took longer than that to read. I eventually turned to an unpublished piece that was languishing on my laptop. With some diligent editing, I managed to get it down within the allotted timeframe. Barely.

The timing was less of a challenge for the poets in the group. The first person at the mic had plenty of time for a dramatic reading of his poem, switching accents and pacing the stage. One writer lingered over her marvelous imagery, while another paused to emphasize the passion she felt for the themes in her work.

Their poetry, and the other works presented, took me out of my genre bubble for an evening. My writing friends and the conferences we attend are mystery-focused, so I appreciated hearing song lyrics, a children’s book excerpt, and a first chapter of a novel where no one dies. I also appreciated being part of a writing community, if only for one evening, that I hadn’t known surrounded me.

I’m happy to say that my reading did not exceed seven minutes. Maybe next time I will have a different time limit. Maybe I’ll read an excerpt of a longer piece. Maybe I’ll start writing flash fiction. Whatever the circumstances turn out to be, I’m ready for another turn at the mic.

What do you enjoy about readings, as either an author or an audience member?

 

 

Creating a Friends of the Library

By James M. Jackson

My memories of libraries are wrapped up with the concepts of freedom and self-exploration. When I was a tot, it was the freedom to choose which book to “read.” In grade school, I learned I could explore the world beyond what I could personally experience through books and the eyes (and words) of others. I learned a bit of history through the We Were There series that thrust me in the middle of an historical event following the actions of a kid my age who somehow played a major role in the action. I fueled my love of mystery reading The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

Every summer, our local library had a mobile van that came to our neighborhood, bringing books to us kids who lived too far away from a library branch to walk or ride our bikes.

In high school, I took the public bus to the central branch of the city library to research papers and discovered all that the stacks could offer. In college, the library was a calm, quiet place where I could study and work through the concepts of Boolean Algebra and Calculus on Manifolds. I’ve long forgotten the math, but I still look forward to trips to the library to see what new books I can explore. And I have appreciated all the library events I have attended as an author where I can meet new-to-me readers and talk about my books.

Most importantly, I believe libraries are an extremely important institution to help preserve our democracy. They provide an open place where all people, regardless of a family’s economic status, have the freedom to explore ideas, and they provide the resources to make that exploration possible.

So, when our local library hired a new director, I approached her with the idea of forming a “Friends” group to fundraise for the library and create a mechanism to bring volunteer assistance for their programs. COVID-19 intervened and put everything on hold for 2020. This year, once we could again meet in person, a group of interested people came together and agreed to form The Friends of the Crystal Falls District Community Library. When it came to accepting leadership positions, I turned down an invitation to become President to instead be the Treasurer, which was a harder position to fill.

One of my lines about myself these days is that my knowledge is a mile wide and an inch deep. And yet it turns out that inch-deep, mile-wide pool of prior experience had prepared me for this moment. I had learned about forming corporations in Michigan when I created Wolf’s Echo Enterprises, LLC (dba Wolf’s Echo Press) some years ago. That gave me a leg up on learning the hoops to jump through to register The Friends as a Michigan nonprofit. I had more than a passing familiarity with nonprofit bylaws, having helped the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime rewrite theirs while I served on its board. Knowing it is easier for a group of people to modify a document than create it, I drafted Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws using templates I found online. The group honed them to meet our needs (and learned that I can create typos out of whole cloth).

In my working life, I had three decades of experience reading Revenue Procedures and Rulings, weaving my way through the complex formulations they often include. Turned out that was beneficial in helping determine which flavor of 501(c)(3) corporation we wanted to be and apply for advanced determination of our charitable corporation status with the IRS.

I learned to purchase web domains and code and host websites for my author business. Those skills allowed me to throw together our first website (one thing governments review to determine if you are serious about your nonprofit corporation). You can find it at https://friends-cfdcl.org. Hopefully, we can solicit a volunteer from the community with actual skills to develop a more professional website, but that’s what you get with mile-wide, inch-deep knowledge.

Since I had done it before, it was a breeze to set up a business bank account, create a corporate email, and start keeping our financial books. Having participated or led the boards of churches, chapters of Sisters in Crime, and worked with the boards of directors of several national corporations, I am comfortable maintaining records, meeting protocols like having proper resolutions, seconds, and votes, and avoiding the complexity of following Roberts Rules of Order, choosing instead a more collegial approach to discussion and decision-making.

The work has been fun, frustrating, and fulfilling. And is just beginning. We still must develop policies for handling money, create a privacy policy, determine how to solicit donations, and do good works. That part we have begun by helping the library provide books for young trick-or-treaters this past weekend.

What do libraries mean to you, and are you part of a Friends of the Library group?

* * * * *

James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree series. Full of mystery and suspense, these thrillers explore financial crimes, family relationships, and what happens when they mix. Furthermore, a novella is the most recent addition to the series. You can sign up for his newsletter and find more information about Jim and his books at https://jamesmjackson.com.

My First Library

By Shari Randall

 

If you know me, you know I love libraries. Where did that library love start?

 

When I was growing up, my hometown had two fabulous libraries, so different from one another, each with its own charms.

 

The grander of the two, the Curtis Memorial Library, was set on a hill across from the Town Hall, and looked down on the city in serene majesty. Our town fathers and mothers knew what they were doing when they situated this building.

 

The 1903 Greek Revival building was constructed in the classical style to resemble a temple. It had a dome, and a skylight, and everywhere white marble with green veins. The second level had a mesh metal floor that rang slightly with each footstep. There were several plaques inside, including one that fascinated me, of what I thought was an angel holding a sign written in a strange language. Or maybe she was a fairy? (I looked it up. The plaque was called Amor-Caritas, one of Augustus Saint-Gaudens’  depictions of his mistress holding a sign that meant “Love – Charity,” intended to encompass both earthly and spiritual love. I remember this place with awe. The library was grand, imposing, and full of wonders, but it was cold and a bit forbidding to six-year-old me.

 

So my hometown’s smaller, friendlier branch library was my favorite. A sunny storefront much closer to home, it was packed with children’s books. My older sister and I were allowed to walk there by ourselves and park our wagon by the front door. Sweet independence! I remember a very accommodating librarian, by which I mean one who let me check out anything I wanted: Nancy Drews, Dr. Seuss, books on parakeet care (for Herbie, my first pet), biographies of famous dancers (for what I believed to be my burgeoning ballet career), and books on how to speak Russian (for my other career as Emma Peel. I wasn’t sure what the main character of The Avengers did exactly, but whatever it was, I wanted to be it).

 

Neither of these buildings is still a library – the grand Curtis Memorial is now a cultural center and the storefront is empty. Both were replaced by an expansive modern library which serves thousands of library lovers each year, including, I’m sure, little girls who love their parakeets and may want to be a spy when they grow up.

 

Do you remember your first library? Share a memory or photo in the comments.

 

Former children's librarian Shari Randall is the author of the Lobster Shack Mystery series and is Library Liaison for Sisters in Crime.

 

            

Loving Your Library Is Not Enough

By Shari Randall

In all the years I worked in a public library, there was only one time a patron became angry with me.

A few minutes before closing, a man hurried into the branch. He needed materials to prepare for a test. Because English wasn’t his first language, it took a few minutes to figure out what he needed but soon we were in the stacks and I handed him the books he requested.

“Where do I pay?” he said.

“It’s free, all you need is a library card.” Usually this line was met with happy surprise.

Not this guy. His face reddened. “No, it can’t be. You’re joking with me.”

I shook my head. “Let me show you where you apply for a library card.”

“No, I have money! No credit card!” he shouted.

After some conversation, he understood. As I helped him get his card, the man apologized profusely.

“In my country,” he said, “there are no libraries, just bookstores. Only rich people have books.”

His words have stuck with me because he opened my eyes. There are places where only rich people have books.

I never thought it would be my country.

Currently in Washington, there are proposals to eliminate agencies that provide federal funding to libraries all across America. Despite its tiny budget, the Institute of Museum and Library Services is on the chopping block. ILMS funds grants to libraries and museums of all kinds - rural libraries, tribal libraries, suburban libraries, inner city libraries, school libraries. If you know anything about libraries, you know they do everything on a shoestring. Now even the shoestring will be gone.

Someone explained to me that it’s easy to eliminate agencies with small budgets because if the budget is small that program must not be very important.

When I look at my home budget, I notice that one of the smallest outlays is for water.

from Karen Jensen, School Library Journal

Many years ago, news icon Walter Cronkite said, “Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation.”

Many in the ignorant nation think libraries are non-essential. Everyone has a smart phone, right? The “let them eat cake” people say, “just Google it.”

Tell that to a librarian who sees thousands of kids without books of their own, homeless teens doing their homework on a library computer, small business owners researching tax strategies, students struggling to discern real news from fake, and immigrants trying to get a better job by checking out test prep materials that you can’t get on the internet.

If you love your libraries and want to help, check out this easy to use site from the American Library Association. On Twitter you can follow #saveIMLS.

Are you a library lover?

New Year's Resolutions from the Stacks

Well, it’s January 5 and I’ve already blown my New Year’s resolutions, so I’ve decided to do something that’s more fun. I’ll make resolutions for other people.

Here’s a list of things that your librarian (that would be me) would like patrons to resolve to do – or not do in the library - for 2015 and beyond:

1. Please do not use nude photos of your girlfriend as bookmarks.

2. When you loudly answer your phone in the Quiet Study area, please don’t begin your conversation with “I’m in the library.” The irony kills us.

3. Parents, stop doing your kid’s homework. (Policymakers note: doing this would raise test scores and lower blood pressure for millions of people without spending a penny.)

4. Don’t eat in the library. If you are going to eat in the library, please choose an entrée that we can’t smell.

5. On a side note, when you do sneak food in, don’t leave your McDonald’s bag stuffed between Maurice Sendak and Dr. Seuss. This is a heavily trafficked area and the aroma of French fries has led to many of us falling off the Weight Watchers wagon.

6. If you are a government contractor who wants to reserve a conference room, please don’t tell me that you’re a non-profit. You are not. I am not bumping the children’s story time for you. Also, I am not your secretary. And yes, I am going to wait on patrons in the order they line up. That means I am going to help that eight year old figure out what book to read next in the Warriors: Omen of the Stars series. Yes, that is more important than you.

7. Please don’t leave your children unattended. Besides not being that guy’s secretary, we are not your babysitters.

8. When you return your copy of The Duke’s Deadly Desire with the pages damp and still scented with bath bubbles, please don’t tell us that you checked it out that way.

9. Students, don’t bother telling us that your project is due tomorrow. We know.

10. Don’t tell me that everything is on the Internet. “Everything” includes misinformation, disinformation, pay walls, and sales pitches disguised as information. We know where the really good stuff is – and we’ll help you find it.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest, and here’s a resolution for 2015 we can all agree on: Have more fun. But, if you’re in a library, please do it quietly.

Do you have a new year’s resolution?