May 16, 1990 - Who reads what?

Library statistics are like community fingerprints. No two communities use a library in quite the same way.

The number of people registered for library cards is a good index of a community's interest in literacy and education. In Douglas County almost half the population of the county has a library card. As is true throughout the country, most of our library users (70% in Douglas County) are women.

Now for the really interesting question: what do the people of Douglas County like to read?

Douglas County's libraries keep track of 31 different statistical categories for our materials. But just four of those categories account for about 75% of our business.

Based on the number of checkouts, the number one category at every library branch is kid's picture books. The percentages of our total circulation vary from a low of 27% at Philip S. Miller (where we have our biggest collection of adult materials), to a high of 37% at Oakes Mill.

The use of children's pre-school books speaks very highly of Douglas County library users. As I've written in an earlier column, children exposed to books early on in life are far more likely to become readers. There is no simpler, cheaper investment in your children's intellectual (and recreational) future than to get them in the habit of going to the library. Obviously, many of you already know that.
The second, third, and fourth biggest categories jockey for position at each of the agencies. Overall, adult non-fiction accounts for 20% of our circulation. Adults read non-fiction to learn how to do things or stay current; younger people use the non-fiction collections for school assignments. Providing up-to-date factual material about a broad range of subjects is a major responsibility of the public library.

The third busiest collection is adult fiction, accounting for about 15% of our business overall. This number combines various other smaller categories you might call "reading for fun": new fiction, older fiction, paperback fiction, and genre fiction (westerns, mysteries, science fiction, etc.).

The fourth best-used collection isn't books at all. This is the up-and-comer in library services: videotapes. Overall, videos account for almost 9% of our business -- 13% at Oakes Mill. We're not talking, necessarily, the kinds of movies you see in rental stores. We have a fairly extensive collection of children's videos, how-tos, and science videos, such as the popular Nova series.

The other categories -- combining with the top four to account for over 95% of our circulation -- also have a lot of overlap from branch to branch. The biggies are children's fiction, periodicals, and audiotapes (books on cassette, old radio programs, and the like).

The main use of Douglas County libraries continues to be books: still the most convenient package for information and reading pleasure. But we are making way for newer materials in keeping with technological advances (videotapes) and changing lifestyles (audiotapes -- read while you drive!).

Statistics are more than just interesting. At the Douglas County Public Library System, we use these numbers to determine how much money to put into different categories -- matching your tax investment with your demonstrated interests.

You can count on it.

May 9, 1990 - Art

When my daughter Maddy was about 18 months old, she startled me with her raw artistic perception. My wife had just made a quick sketch for her. Maddy glanced at it and shouted, "Cat!"

So the next night, I made my own sketch of a cat. "What's this?" I asked Maddy proudly. She gave me a look of profound sympathy. Even pity. "Rabbit?" she hazarded.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But that one word summed up a lifetime of my drawings. I admit it. I am artistically disabled.

It's taken me a long time to come to grips with this. When I was a kid, I spent many hours in the local public library, enthralled by the sculptures of Rodin, mesmerized by Van Gogh's wild, unrestrained paintings. I wanted to be a Great Artist.

In turns out that you can't be a great artist unless you have great talent. Artistically speaking, the best I can hope for is to be a Great Appreciator. On the other hand, for appreciators, libraries are great places to hang out.

So I find it fitting that the Philip S. Miller Branch of the Douglas County Public Library System is hosting an art exhibit. The artists are the students (K-12) of the Douglas County School District. Until May 12, we'll be exhibiting about 500 pieces, and some of them are absolutely stunning.

At the opening reception on May 1, I was delighted to see literally hundreds of people roaming through past display boards and down library aisles. I saw primary students standing proudly next to their works, and parents taking snapshots. I heard people getting into friendly arguments about artistic techniques -- then running out to the reference desk to look up the facts.

I believe the basic mission of any public library is books. Literacy is the essential skill for survival in what has been dubbed the Information Age.

But eventually books lead to everything else. Libraries, if they are to survive and flourish, must serve as gateways to the entire universe of human culture.

Depending upon the community, sometimes libraries must do more than just buy books, magazines, and videos about art. Sometimes, they must also serve as community showcases, linking up with other community organizations to highlight the burgeoning ability of their citizens.

Judging from what I have seen in the School District art show, Douglas County has some remarkably talented young people. It wouldn't surprise me if there are even some talented grownups around.

In the months to come, the library will be looking for more ways to lure talented Douglas County residents into the open. If you've got an idea for something exciting -- a writer's contest, a senior citizen's craft display -- then we've got an invitation. Go to your nearest library branch and tell us about it.

You'll find us to be an appreciative audience.

May 2, 1990 - Trash

Until she met me, Zanne, my wife, maintains that she was a person of culture. She read Kafka and Tolstoy -- in the original Russian. She admired the musical works of Shoenberg. She was a keen devotee of the paintings of Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and the other Impressionists.

It's not that my wife thinks I'm a mental midget. (I think.) She knows that I was a philosophy major in college. With her own eyes, she's seen me read a decent number of fairly big books.

But I believe that as we grow older, we cultivate new tastes. As for me, I have learned an appreciation for, well, trash.

Don't get me wrong. When librarians say "trash," we're not sitting in judgment. We're not condemning whole branches of writing as somehow substandard.

"Trash" is our shorthand and even affectionate phrase for a whole body of very popular literature. I'm talking about romances, either the squeaky clean variety, or the ones with a little oomph. I'm talking about gory mystery stories. I'm talking about Stephen King, and Sweet Valley High paperbacks, and "True Confessions." I'm talking about grocery store tabloids. I'm talking about the books most librarians usually read themselves. I'm talking about the reading materials that make money.
The turning point for Zanne was when I got her to read some of my comic books. I handed her a copy of a wickedly funny comic called "Howard the Duck." To my wife's amazement, she loved it. She read my whole HTD collection -- and I have the #whole# collection -- in one stretch.

Shortly afterward, I got her started on mysteries -- Raymond Chandler. Since then, there's been no stopping her.

But I'm not done corrupting her yet.

Last week, I bought a copy of a tabloid called "The Sun" from a gas station. The headline caught my eye: "Cheating Husband's Head Explodes." Mainly, I admit, I bought it to see if there were any pictures. But there was also an article no responsible American citizen could or should ignore: "UFO Aliens Forced Nixon to Resign," which in my judgment, explains a lot.

For just seventy-five cents, I got a lot of entertainment. And my wife read it too, although not where I could see her.

So okay, maybe I have lowered my wife's literary standards. But I'm not going to apologize. I think reading ought to be fun. For some people, it's Russian literature. For others, it's philosophy. And sometimes, even for the same people, it just might be "The Sun."

So stop by your local library branch and tell us what flavor of trash #you# enjoy. And don't be embarrassed. How will we react? Get ready for a surprise: We'll buy it. After all, it's #your# library. And besides, it could be we like it too.

April 25, 1990 - Stars

According to the poet T.S. Eliot, "April is the cruelest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring / Dull roots with spring rain."

But other people have other opinions. According to the American Chiropractic Association, April is the "Correct Posture Month." To the Fraternal Order of Eagles, April is "Boost Your Home Town Month." To the National Exchange Club, April is "Freedom Shrine Month."

It could be that you think of April as just another month with the usual four or five weeks. But as it happens, April has at least thirteen. To name just a few, there's Publicity Stunt Week, Week of the Young Child, Victim's Rights Week, and Professional Secretaries' Week.

In that constellation of special months, weeks, and days (Easter, Earth Day, etc.), you might not have seen anything about (drum roll please) NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK. But in my unbiased opinion, National Library Week (April 23 through April 28) is the brightest star of them all.

Appropriately enough, "Nights of a Thousand Stars" is the theme for this year's National Library Week. On Tuesday, at 7 p.m., the Oakes Mill Branch hosted a puppet show, some storytelling for children, and a reception. On Wednesday, also at 7 p.m., the Parker Branch will spotlight some local storytellers, readers, and puppeteers. On Thursday, again at 7 p.m., patrons will be dazzled by the play, "Miss Nelson is Missing" -- as well as more stories and puppet play -- at the Philip S. Miller Branch in Castle Rock. All of these nights feature local artists and dignitaries, people who deserve to glow awhile before an appreciative crowd.

The idea behind "Nights of a Thousand Stars" is simple but intriguing. In any community, there are grown-up book-lovers. Most of those people can point back to some influential book or books in their childhoods. I don't mean necessarily, the "good" stuff, like stories with morals, or the Boy Scout Manual. I mean the books children love to death just because the stories are fun.

When I was a kid, I was wild about Dr. Seuss books. Now that I've got a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, I'm discovering the good Doctor's books all over again -- and enjoying them more than I did the first time. I know lots of very intelligent and successful women who admit, sheepishly, to having loved Nancy Drew mysteries. I don't find that surprising at all. Nancy Drew was one resourceful, adventurous young lady. Who wouldn't like her?

During our "Nights of a Thousand Stars", local celebrities will get the chance to read some of their favorites to a new generation of youngsters.

Think of National Library Week as an echo of those moments of your childhood when you looked wonderingly at the stars and thought that anything could happen, a time when you didn't have the words to describe what you wanted or felt, but then had the good fortune to discover a book that gave you those words, and thereby introduced more light into the darkness of your inexperience.

National Library Week: why not check us out?

April 18, 1990 - Read to your children

The cure for adult illiteracy is tough. For the adult with a reading problem, it takes a lot of courage to come forward. For student and tutor both, it takes time, energy and patience. Helping adults learn to read is hard, important work.

But it should never come to that. Far better than the cure for illiteracy -- years late and often after devastating personal trauma -- would be its prevention.

There is a very simple way to make sure that your child learns to read. This is something only literate parents can do, and something they should be proud to do.

This powerful teaching technique is not only easy, it's fun. It doesn't cost anything. You can do it in the privacy of your own home.

If you want your kids to read, read to them.

Children learn by imitation. Do you watch a lot of television? Okay, they can learn to do that. The two of you can sit there in the living room and enjoy some quiet companionship. Of course, there won't be a lot of engagement between you. As entertainment goes, it's maybe a little passive.

But if you read to them, if you've got a really exciting story that they can tell you're keen to stick with, then they'll stick with you. And the questions they ask later will amaze you.

I think we all have the secret desire to be great actors and teachers. A rapt, attentive, questioning child can make you feel like a cross between Laurence Olivier and Socrates.

As for the child -- he or she can hardly wait to learn how to interpret all those squiggles on the page. Every night you read to your child you set an example. You share precious time and active expression. The desire to read takes root in that young, eager mind and grows.

Will these children learn how to read? Try to stop them! These are the children teachers treasure -- kids who just know reading is going to be fun and when do we start?

No matter how old you or your children are, the right time to start reading to each other -- is NOW.

April 11, 1990 - Literacy

Why read? After all, if it's news you want, either radio or TV will wrap it up in a couple of minutes. If you're looking for advice, there are probably a few people you trust -- why not call them? If you're looking to just relax and have a good time, hey, jab in a video!

If this makes sense to you, if you're nodding your head, then chew on this: every librarian has two nightmares, and you're the second, someone who can read but won't. What's our first nightmare? Someone who doesn't know how to read.

Before I came to Colorado I was a literacy tutor for over a year. My student was an alert, capable man, 52 years old. For 25 years he had worked at an automobile plant, running sophisticated electronic equipment. His memory was almost perfect. His ability to follow oral instructions was close to flawless. When I met John, I had trouble understanding just what I could do for him. Then I had him read me a "diagnostic" passage of text.

John read about as well as a beginning second grader. I was shocked. I asked him how many people knew about his reading problem. Just three, he said -- an army sergeant, John's wife, and his daughter. He hadn't seen the sergeant in 30 years. His wife had died just recently. Once a week, he drove thirty miles to his daughter's house so she could go through his mail and pay his bills. That was partly the reason he had contacted the local literacy project -- it was one thing to lean on his wife, he felt, something else to depend on his grown and married child. Then, the automobile factory closed. John couldn't read a job application.

At first I couldn't believe that a reading problem that severe could go unnoticed for so long. But the functional illiterate quickly learns how not to be noticed. He doesn't have his glasses, could you read this to him? And that phenomenal memory -- he never wrote anything down because he couldn't. He had to remember.

With John, I experienced one of the most intense pleasures a librarian can know. Once a week, I helped unlock the mind- boggling treasure that is a library. I gave him books, and they were welcomed as a starving man might welcome food. His joy in learning was keen and ravenous. He devoured suspense stories, newspapers, magazines, classics, even romances -- with mounting ease and excitement.

I learned all over again what a precious, even magical thing a book is. And I learned how easy it is to teach motivated adults. They have a lifetime of experience to draw from, and a need-to-know few children can match.

Mark Twain said "There is no difference between a man who cannot read good books, and a man who will not."

Why read? Ask John.