As far as I can recall, the first live performance I ever saw was in junior high school. When I was in eighth grade, I got to see my first orchestra. I was a freshman in high school before I saw my first play.
Elementary school field trips took me to museums somewhat earlier. I didn't get to an art museum, though, until I was a junior in high school.
It's a different story with our children. They visited the Denver Art Museum before they were five. They've seen ballet, Shakespeare, Celtic fiddlers, and orchestras. They've seen theater both local and regional.
But it does get tiring to have to drive to Denver so often. So I've been pleased to see that both at the county and the community level, there's a sudden swell of interest in the arts.
The other day, I started listing for my staff the many organizations that are focused on culture in Douglas County. It's getting to be impressive. Here are just a few: the Douglas County Cultural Council, the Douglas County Historic Preservation Board, the Castle Rock Public Art Commission, the Parker Cultural Commission, the Lone Tree Arts Council, and the Highlands Ranch Cultural Affairs Association. We have at least four local theater groups, one historic band, and a symphony. We have historic museums. Our schools offer a host of plays. And of course, there's the Douglas Public Library District, with facilities and programs throughout the county.
Another encouraging sign for culture in Douglas County is the Douglas County Cultural Master Plan committee. They'll be sponsoring six focus groups, three on Tuesday, March 5, and three on Wednesday, March 6. Thepublic is invited. The broad topics and locations are as follows:
March 5 - 9:30 to 11:30. Arts/Cultural Organizations Cooperating and Coordinating. Highlands Ranch Recreation Center, 9568 S. University Blvd.
Noon - 2 p.m. Funding and Facilities, also at the Rec Center.
4:30-6:30 p.m. Arts Education, South Elementary School, 1100 South Street Castle Rock.
March 6 - 10 a.m. to noon. Individual Artists, Mainstreet Center, 19650 E. Mainstreet, Parker.
2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Heritage, Festivals, and Special Events, also at the Mainstreet Center.
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: General Town Meeting, Hearing Room, Philip S. Miller Building, 100 Third Street, Castle Rock.
On behalf of this county-wide group, several Rotarians (from the two Castle Rock clubs, and from the Highlands Ranch club) will be conducting surveys. You'll see us outside area grocery stores, libraries, and recreation centers over next weekend.
Please do take a few minutes to talk with us. Our questions are pretty direct. We'll ask you what cultural activities you currently enjoy. We'll ask what would you like to see more of in your community. We'll ask who you think should be charged with the development of such programs.
Your time and thoughtfulness will help all of us try to plan intelligently for a rich cultural climate for you and your families.
Children shouldn't have to wait years, or battle interstate traffic, simply to discover the magic of the arts.
Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
February 20 , 2002 - Operating Report on Library's Web Site
Lately, when someone applies for a job with us, they seem remarakably well-informed about what’s going on in the Douglas Public Library District.
For example, they commend us on our circulation growth. They praise the deliberations of our Library Board of Trustees. They express amazement at the sheer volume of programs we offer each month. They speak with insight about some of the issues we and our communities are grappling with.
From whence do they gain their knowledge?
Answer: our library website (www.dpld.org). In addition to the usual links to various electronic resources, our website offers a couple of other major sections that say quite a lot about both our external and internal operating environment: "Your Community," and "About Us."
There was a time when the historical record even of public institutions was more or less hidden. You had to go there. You had to know what kinds of records were maintained, and where. No more.
Now it’s all right there, accessible to you even in the middle of the night, from the comfort of your own home.
"Your Community" includes links to local newspapers, including the columns written by library staff. It also has a section on the Library Board, which as of last year, also includes the minutes of Board meetings.
Another section of our website is "About Us." This features, among other things, a statistical report for last year. Assembled and analyzed by Rochelle Logan, Associate Director for Support Services, this report is worth a short summary here.
* The year 2000 marked a milestone for the District in achieving circulation of over two million for the first time. In 2001 we reached 2,650,638 for an increase of 31.67% over 2000.
* Individual branch circulation performance was:
· Roxborough +75%
· Highlands Ranch +32%
· Lone Tree +16%
· Philip S. Miller +12%
· Cherry Valley +11%
· Louviers +10%
· Parker +9%
* While we saw big jumps in various audiovisual formats, consider these increases in the area of young adult print materials: hardback fiction up 38% over last year, paperback fiction up 55%, biography up 177%, and nonfiction up 183%. Good news!
* Our largest single category of use is children’s fiction: 34%. Next is adult non-fiction (18% of all checkouts). Third is videos (14%).
* The volume of reference questions responded to by our staff was another area of significant growth: up 23% over last year district-wide.
* Programs offered by the district grew rapidly. We doubled the number of adult programs, and pulled in almost 5,000 people to them. Programming also increased for youth: both young adults, and children.
* Almost two million people walked through our doors last year.
But back to that website. An average of 8,430 unique visitors viewed an average of 99,830 library web pages per month. At this point, our website has become a sort of "virtual branch," an alternate service location for a new kind of library use.
Too often, these days, we read in the paper about all kinds of cover-ups. Many government sources of information are drying up, vanishing from public review due to a new concern for security.
Much is made of the falsified or hidden financial data concerning such companies as Enron.
I'm pleased that your public library, while not responsible for national security, nor the custodian of your 401 (k) retirement funds, still conducts its business right out in the open, where even the average citizen can see what's going on.
For example, they commend us on our circulation growth. They praise the deliberations of our Library Board of Trustees. They express amazement at the sheer volume of programs we offer each month. They speak with insight about some of the issues we and our communities are grappling with.
From whence do they gain their knowledge?
Answer: our library website (www.dpld.org). In addition to the usual links to various electronic resources, our website offers a couple of other major sections that say quite a lot about both our external and internal operating environment: "Your Community," and "About Us."
There was a time when the historical record even of public institutions was more or less hidden. You had to go there. You had to know what kinds of records were maintained, and where. No more.
Now it’s all right there, accessible to you even in the middle of the night, from the comfort of your own home.
"Your Community" includes links to local newspapers, including the columns written by library staff. It also has a section on the Library Board, which as of last year, also includes the minutes of Board meetings.
Another section of our website is "About Us." This features, among other things, a statistical report for last year. Assembled and analyzed by Rochelle Logan, Associate Director for Support Services, this report is worth a short summary here.
* The year 2000 marked a milestone for the District in achieving circulation of over two million for the first time. In 2001 we reached 2,650,638 for an increase of 31.67% over 2000.
* Individual branch circulation performance was:
· Roxborough +75%
· Highlands Ranch +32%
· Lone Tree +16%
· Philip S. Miller +12%
· Cherry Valley +11%
· Louviers +10%
· Parker +9%
* While we saw big jumps in various audiovisual formats, consider these increases in the area of young adult print materials: hardback fiction up 38% over last year, paperback fiction up 55%, biography up 177%, and nonfiction up 183%. Good news!
* Our largest single category of use is children’s fiction: 34%. Next is adult non-fiction (18% of all checkouts). Third is videos (14%).
* The volume of reference questions responded to by our staff was another area of significant growth: up 23% over last year district-wide.
* Programs offered by the district grew rapidly. We doubled the number of adult programs, and pulled in almost 5,000 people to them. Programming also increased for youth: both young adults, and children.
* Almost two million people walked through our doors last year.
But back to that website. An average of 8,430 unique visitors viewed an average of 99,830 library web pages per month. At this point, our website has become a sort of "virtual branch," an alternate service location for a new kind of library use.
Too often, these days, we read in the paper about all kinds of cover-ups. Many government sources of information are drying up, vanishing from public review due to a new concern for security.
Much is made of the falsified or hidden financial data concerning such companies as Enron.
I'm pleased that your public library, while not responsible for national security, nor the custodian of your 401 (k) retirement funds, still conducts its business right out in the open, where even the average citizen can see what's going on.
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
February 13, 2002 - Religion is a Complicated Thing
Every now and then I stumble across an author interested in the same things that interest me.
My latest find is Karen Armstrong. She’s a Brit, a former Carmelite nun who has taken to writing about a subject many Americans find hard to tackle without offending, or being offended. That subject is religion.
I’ve read two of her books now, and I’m listening to a third. The first two were biographies. The first is called “Buddha.” The second is “Mohammed.” The third is titled, “The Battle for God,” about the conflicts that have given rise to various fundamentalist beliefs among followers of the Christian, Judaic, and Islamic faiths.
Armstrong has a scholar’s mind. She mostly concerns herself with no more than the historical record provides. But as a diligent researcher, she mines that record with insight.
Her take on Buddha is fascinating. Here was a man who not only founded a religion observed by many millions of people around the world today, but lived into his eighties. During that time, he steered his developing community through many encounters with the prevailing power structure of the day., and the developing power structure among his own followers.
I find his management style instructive. Invariably, the Buddha sought not power, but a principled and compassionate peace.
He worked ceaselessly to prevent the establishment of a cult of personality. Over and over, he said that the only charge of the curious was to investigate the claims of Buddhism. If something didn’t check out, then the obligation of the newcomer was NOT to Gautama Buddha’s supposed authority, but instead to his or her own judgment.
Here’s the detail that sticks in my mind. Buddha managed to convert both his father and son to what became a new religion. His wife, the wife he abandoned to pursue the spiritual life, did NOT convert.
The story of Mohammed is also illustrative. He believed himself to have been touched by the presence of God. Given Armstrong’s research, I’m inclined to think he really was.
He too lived for many years, and in that time, proved himself to be not only a prophet, but also an astonishingly able politician. But here’s a telling detail about him. Soon after his establishment in Mecca, he was reviled by a wandering poet, the media of the day.
Mohammed had him assassinated.
Nonetheless, Mohammed had a deep and undeniable interest in the poor and orphaned. Like many of his desert peers of the time, he had multiple wives. But unlike them, he treated them with altogether extraordinary respect and regard. The clear focus of his young and revolutionary belief system, in that place and time, was the disadvantaged, the orphaned, the widowed, and the poor. He was an advocate for social justice.
It’s hard not to contrast all this with the story of Jesus, who died in this early 30's.
I wonder sometimes if so many things about our own country’s predominant religious beliefs don’t owe their origin to the fact that the founder of Christianity wasn’t there to guide it through its early organizational stages. Or that Buddhism to this date equates age and wisdom. Or that the followers of Islam still closely tie religious belief with politics.
Religion is a complicated thing.
My latest find is Karen Armstrong. She’s a Brit, a former Carmelite nun who has taken to writing about a subject many Americans find hard to tackle without offending, or being offended. That subject is religion.
I’ve read two of her books now, and I’m listening to a third. The first two were biographies. The first is called “Buddha.” The second is “Mohammed.” The third is titled, “The Battle for God,” about the conflicts that have given rise to various fundamentalist beliefs among followers of the Christian, Judaic, and Islamic faiths.
Armstrong has a scholar’s mind. She mostly concerns herself with no more than the historical record provides. But as a diligent researcher, she mines that record with insight.
Her take on Buddha is fascinating. Here was a man who not only founded a religion observed by many millions of people around the world today, but lived into his eighties. During that time, he steered his developing community through many encounters with the prevailing power structure of the day., and the developing power structure among his own followers.
I find his management style instructive. Invariably, the Buddha sought not power, but a principled and compassionate peace.
He worked ceaselessly to prevent the establishment of a cult of personality. Over and over, he said that the only charge of the curious was to investigate the claims of Buddhism. If something didn’t check out, then the obligation of the newcomer was NOT to Gautama Buddha’s supposed authority, but instead to his or her own judgment.
Here’s the detail that sticks in my mind. Buddha managed to convert both his father and son to what became a new religion. His wife, the wife he abandoned to pursue the spiritual life, did NOT convert.
The story of Mohammed is also illustrative. He believed himself to have been touched by the presence of God. Given Armstrong’s research, I’m inclined to think he really was.
He too lived for many years, and in that time, proved himself to be not only a prophet, but also an astonishingly able politician. But here’s a telling detail about him. Soon after his establishment in Mecca, he was reviled by a wandering poet, the media of the day.
Mohammed had him assassinated.
Nonetheless, Mohammed had a deep and undeniable interest in the poor and orphaned. Like many of his desert peers of the time, he had multiple wives. But unlike them, he treated them with altogether extraordinary respect and regard. The clear focus of his young and revolutionary belief system, in that place and time, was the disadvantaged, the orphaned, the widowed, and the poor. He was an advocate for social justice.
It’s hard not to contrast all this with the story of Jesus, who died in this early 30's.
I wonder sometimes if so many things about our own country’s predominant religious beliefs don’t owe their origin to the fact that the founder of Christianity wasn’t there to guide it through its early organizational stages. Or that Buddhism to this date equates age and wisdom. Or that the followers of Islam still closely tie religious belief with politics.
Religion is a complicated thing.
Wednesday, February 6, 2002
February 6, 2002 - Your Lucky Day!
This week's column is written by Rochelle Logan, the Douglas Public
Library District's Associate Director for Support Services.
Can you remember the last time you walked into the library, browsed the new book shelves and happened upon a bestseller you’ve been wanting to read? If you do, it was likely a happy occurrence. Now you have a better chance of finding that elusive bestselling novel with our new program called Your Lucky Day.
I’m a fiction reader and a 10-year resident of Douglas County. As much as I like to purchase the occasional bestselling novel to share with my friends, I much prefer to get my books from the library. If I want a bestseller, I have to wait on a holds list, sometimes for months. Even though the Douglas Public Library District is most generous in that we buy an additional volume for every four holds on a book, sometimes you just have to wait a while for a book.
Case in point – I want to read Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections. We own 43 copies of the book and 172 people are currently waiting on hold to get it. While I wait for my name to surface on the holds list, I can occasionally go check the new books shelf at my local branch to see if The Corrections might be there, hoping it’s my Lucky Day. We are now buying additional bestsellers that are “exempt” from the holds list. These bestsellers have a shamrock label on the spine. When a patron
reads a Lucky Day book and returns it to their library, the book goes on the new fiction book shelf for the next lucky patron to happen upon it. It can’t be placed on hold.
Another popular novel has been Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. The book has 242 holds and we own 67 copies of it. You might find a Grisham or a Follett with a shamrock on the label sitting on the shelf. The more holds a book has, the more we buy for both the regular holds list and Your Lucky Day.
Please don’t call your local DPLD library and ask the staff to check the new fiction shelf for you to set a book aside. One of our objectives of Your Lucky Day is to encourage people to come in to browse the shelves. Who knows, if the bestseller isn’t there you’ve been wishing to read, you might find something just as interesting. Library staff have been advised not to pull any of these books and hold them for patrons. However, you can check the online catalog on our Web site to see if your book is on the shelf. Right now I’m checking for The Corrections. I see that there is a copy on the shelf at Lone Tree waiting for the next lucky patron. Maybe I should jump in the car right now and head over to Lone Tree…
We started Your Lucky Day in December. A woman walked into the Parker branch at the beginning of a two-week vacation. She browsed the shelves for something riveting to read. Low and behold, there were two books she wanted just sitting there with a shamrock on the label. She was on the holds list for one of them. She couldn’t believe her good fortune and positively danced to the circulation desk to check them out. Since she found the Lucky Day book, her name was automatically removed from the regular holds list, freeing up the list for the next patron in line.
Who knows, it might just be Your Lucky Day. Check it out!
Library District's Associate Director for Support Services.
Can you remember the last time you walked into the library, browsed the new book shelves and happened upon a bestseller you’ve been wanting to read? If you do, it was likely a happy occurrence. Now you have a better chance of finding that elusive bestselling novel with our new program called Your Lucky Day.
I’m a fiction reader and a 10-year resident of Douglas County. As much as I like to purchase the occasional bestselling novel to share with my friends, I much prefer to get my books from the library. If I want a bestseller, I have to wait on a holds list, sometimes for months. Even though the Douglas Public Library District is most generous in that we buy an additional volume for every four holds on a book, sometimes you just have to wait a while for a book.
Case in point – I want to read Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections. We own 43 copies of the book and 172 people are currently waiting on hold to get it. While I wait for my name to surface on the holds list, I can occasionally go check the new books shelf at my local branch to see if The Corrections might be there, hoping it’s my Lucky Day. We are now buying additional bestsellers that are “exempt” from the holds list. These bestsellers have a shamrock label on the spine. When a patron
reads a Lucky Day book and returns it to their library, the book goes on the new fiction book shelf for the next lucky patron to happen upon it. It can’t be placed on hold.
Another popular novel has been Skipping Christmas by John Grisham. The book has 242 holds and we own 67 copies of it. You might find a Grisham or a Follett with a shamrock on the label sitting on the shelf. The more holds a book has, the more we buy for both the regular holds list and Your Lucky Day.
Please don’t call your local DPLD library and ask the staff to check the new fiction shelf for you to set a book aside. One of our objectives of Your Lucky Day is to encourage people to come in to browse the shelves. Who knows, if the bestseller isn’t there you’ve been wishing to read, you might find something just as interesting. Library staff have been advised not to pull any of these books and hold them for patrons. However, you can check the online catalog on our Web site to see if your book is on the shelf. Right now I’m checking for The Corrections. I see that there is a copy on the shelf at Lone Tree waiting for the next lucky patron. Maybe I should jump in the car right now and head over to Lone Tree…
We started Your Lucky Day in December. A woman walked into the Parker branch at the beginning of a two-week vacation. She browsed the shelves for something riveting to read. Low and behold, there were two books she wanted just sitting there with a shamrock on the label. She was on the holds list for one of them. She couldn’t believe her good fortune and positively danced to the circulation desk to check them out. Since she found the Lucky Day book, her name was automatically removed from the regular holds list, freeing up the list for the next patron in line.
Who knows, it might just be Your Lucky Day. Check it out!
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
January 30, 2002 - Libraries Still Reasonably Safe Public Places
When I was a kid, I remember heading over to a local carnival one summer night. With me was a buddy about the same age. We were 7 years old or so. We had a good time listening to the barkers, agonizing over which rides most deserved our meager allowances, and generally soaking up atmosphere.
Then we met a very well dressed, middle aged man who was unusually friendly. He bought us a couple of snow cones and seemed to want to hang around us. Finally, he asked if he could show us something he had out in his car.
I remember looking at my friend, who returned the gaze blankly. I said, "Sure! Are you out in the parking lot?"
The man smiled, "Just around the corner behind this tent," he said. "Great!" I said. "But I left my hat back by the ticket booth. We'll go get it, and meet you there!"
He seemed pleased, and wandered off into the dark, toward where he said his car was.
My friend and I turned toward the ticket booth. The instant the man was out of sight, both of us starting running. We didn't stop till we got home.
In part, our suspicions went back to the "never take candy from strangers" talk from our moms (which we had just done, of course). But it was also intuition. It just didn't add up.
That was 40 years ago. Those were, I've been told, the good old days.
More recently, just this month in fact, a library patron, quietly minding her own business in the Denver Public Library's children's room, was suddenly attacked by a man with a knife. Also this month, as featured prominently in the metro media, children have been sexually assaulted in public schools, and even in a church.
So parents are understandably worried. I even had someone ask me, "Is our library safe?"
Here's the straight story: no.
The awful truth is, anywhere you go, whether it be the grocery store, the gas station, the post office, or even your own home, someone could turn violent. If you're looking for absolute guarantees of personal safety, at the library or anywhere else, I'm afraid you're out of luck.
Some people are deeply disturbed and unpredictable. Sometimes they go to public places.
On the other hand, what so often gets lost in these discussions is a sense of perspective. In 2001 alone, our libraries had over 1.8 million visits. As far as I'm aware (and I believe I would have heard) not one person was mugged, knifed, or sexually assaulted.
In fact, I don't think it's EVER happened at any of our libraries. The odds are very much against it happening now. Even Denver Public, which has annual foot traffic greater than every single sporting event in the city COMBINED, and has been in business for over a century, has apparently had such an act of violence occur just once.
It's easy to be torn. I am confident that the public library is a REASONABLY safe place to hang out, no matter how old you are. But it also worries me when I see small, unaccompanied children apparently abandoned here.
Sure, we supervise public space. Sure, we'll step in if something looks amiss. But there are loonies out there, and bad things can happen fast.
So remember: the odds are very good that everything is perfectly fine at the library, both for you and your kids. But don't abandon kids too small to look after themselves, even if you'll be "right back." Even with older kids, instruct them to tell one of our staff if anyone is bothering them.
And stay alert.
Then we met a very well dressed, middle aged man who was unusually friendly. He bought us a couple of snow cones and seemed to want to hang around us. Finally, he asked if he could show us something he had out in his car.
I remember looking at my friend, who returned the gaze blankly. I said, "Sure! Are you out in the parking lot?"
The man smiled, "Just around the corner behind this tent," he said. "Great!" I said. "But I left my hat back by the ticket booth. We'll go get it, and meet you there!"
He seemed pleased, and wandered off into the dark, toward where he said his car was.
My friend and I turned toward the ticket booth. The instant the man was out of sight, both of us starting running. We didn't stop till we got home.
In part, our suspicions went back to the "never take candy from strangers" talk from our moms (which we had just done, of course). But it was also intuition. It just didn't add up.
That was 40 years ago. Those were, I've been told, the good old days.
More recently, just this month in fact, a library patron, quietly minding her own business in the Denver Public Library's children's room, was suddenly attacked by a man with a knife. Also this month, as featured prominently in the metro media, children have been sexually assaulted in public schools, and even in a church.
So parents are understandably worried. I even had someone ask me, "Is our library safe?"
Here's the straight story: no.
The awful truth is, anywhere you go, whether it be the grocery store, the gas station, the post office, or even your own home, someone could turn violent. If you're looking for absolute guarantees of personal safety, at the library or anywhere else, I'm afraid you're out of luck.
Some people are deeply disturbed and unpredictable. Sometimes they go to public places.
On the other hand, what so often gets lost in these discussions is a sense of perspective. In 2001 alone, our libraries had over 1.8 million visits. As far as I'm aware (and I believe I would have heard) not one person was mugged, knifed, or sexually assaulted.
In fact, I don't think it's EVER happened at any of our libraries. The odds are very much against it happening now. Even Denver Public, which has annual foot traffic greater than every single sporting event in the city COMBINED, and has been in business for over a century, has apparently had such an act of violence occur just once.
It's easy to be torn. I am confident that the public library is a REASONABLY safe place to hang out, no matter how old you are. But it also worries me when I see small, unaccompanied children apparently abandoned here.
Sure, we supervise public space. Sure, we'll step in if something looks amiss. But there are loonies out there, and bad things can happen fast.
So remember: the odds are very good that everything is perfectly fine at the library, both for you and your kids. But don't abandon kids too small to look after themselves, even if you'll be "right back." Even with older kids, instruct them to tell one of our staff if anyone is bothering them.
And stay alert.
Wednesday, January 23, 2002
January 23, 2002 - Even Idleness Fraught With Import
"Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 at a speed of 35 mph." (Jennifer Hart, Arlington)
That charming quote is, I believe, the only circumstance I can imagine in which the old math story problem actually generates any interest for me.
From my perspective, since I have never been charged with making sure that, for instance, one space capsule correctly rendezvoused with another, this kind of math problem was a complete waste of time for me. I didn't enjoy, I never used it, I never will use it.
On the other hand, take something like sentence diagramming. Now THAT, I loved. To my delight, it's apparently making a comeback. At least, my daughter (who is in middle school) has been coming home with sentence diagramming homework. We've had a lovely time on the tricky ones. She likes sentence diagramming, too.
Of course, honesty compels me to admit that although I've been in a lot of peculiar business situations, never once has somebody said, "Hold on! We're going to have to diagram this sentence, or we're in real trouble."
What's my point? Perfectly useless skills fall into two categories: useless and boring, useless and interesting. I think I should be spared from the boring ones. This frees up the time for the interesting ones.
The problem, of course, at least from the educational perspective, is that you never know in advance just which specific exercise will fall into a particular student's "interesting" category. There are people who despise sentence diagramming. There are people who adore to calculate the exact instant when two trains might collide.
Moreover, my wife tells me that sentence diagramming might actually have some educational significance. Those who master sentence diagramming, she says, understand the underlying structure of language. Hence, they tend to write more clearly. That makes perfect sense to me.
Although, come to think of it, then I would imagine that the folks who "get" the two train exercise have a similar insight into the laws governing motion and time. That's the sort of thing that might be handy in, oh, an air traffic controller. And possibly other professions and circumstances.
I may be on to something here. Let's try another example.
OK. There are people who just can't understand why anyone would want to read fiction. Let's face it; by definition, it's not true. It has no practical application. Why waste your time reading it?
But then, I notice that the more people read fiction, the better they grasp the underlying principles of relationships. They begin to see patterns in human interaction. This gives them insight into countless real life situations. That includes everything from their first date to keeping up with local politics. Reading fiction is like living many lifetimes: you get the distilled experience of all kinds of characters.
That means, just possibly, you won't make as many mistakes in your own life.
So, what have we learned? It would seem that even totally useless things can turn out to be positively practical. Even idleness is fraught with import.
It's getting harder and harder to really waste your time these days.
That charming quote is, I believe, the only circumstance I can imagine in which the old math story problem actually generates any interest for me.
From my perspective, since I have never been charged with making sure that, for instance, one space capsule correctly rendezvoused with another, this kind of math problem was a complete waste of time for me. I didn't enjoy, I never used it, I never will use it.
On the other hand, take something like sentence diagramming. Now THAT, I loved. To my delight, it's apparently making a comeback. At least, my daughter (who is in middle school) has been coming home with sentence diagramming homework. We've had a lovely time on the tricky ones. She likes sentence diagramming, too.
Of course, honesty compels me to admit that although I've been in a lot of peculiar business situations, never once has somebody said, "Hold on! We're going to have to diagram this sentence, or we're in real trouble."
What's my point? Perfectly useless skills fall into two categories: useless and boring, useless and interesting. I think I should be spared from the boring ones. This frees up the time for the interesting ones.
The problem, of course, at least from the educational perspective, is that you never know in advance just which specific exercise will fall into a particular student's "interesting" category. There are people who despise sentence diagramming. There are people who adore to calculate the exact instant when two trains might collide.
Moreover, my wife tells me that sentence diagramming might actually have some educational significance. Those who master sentence diagramming, she says, understand the underlying structure of language. Hence, they tend to write more clearly. That makes perfect sense to me.
Although, come to think of it, then I would imagine that the folks who "get" the two train exercise have a similar insight into the laws governing motion and time. That's the sort of thing that might be handy in, oh, an air traffic controller. And possibly other professions and circumstances.
I may be on to something here. Let's try another example.
OK. There are people who just can't understand why anyone would want to read fiction. Let's face it; by definition, it's not true. It has no practical application. Why waste your time reading it?
But then, I notice that the more people read fiction, the better they grasp the underlying principles of relationships. They begin to see patterns in human interaction. This gives them insight into countless real life situations. That includes everything from their first date to keeping up with local politics. Reading fiction is like living many lifetimes: you get the distilled experience of all kinds of characters.
That means, just possibly, you won't make as many mistakes in your own life.
So, what have we learned? It would seem that even totally useless things can turn out to be positively practical. Even idleness is fraught with import.
It's getting harder and harder to really waste your time these days.
Wednesday, January 16, 2002
January 16, 2002 - Newcomer
Every now and then, I like to repeat some key information for Douglas County's many newcomers.
First of all, welcome! You'll find that Colorado is a hard place to leave. Douglas County not only enjoys Colorado's remarkable climate, but also offers extraordinary views, a highly educated community, and a surprisingly rich history.
Second, let me tell you a little bit about your library. The Douglas Public Library District, founded by citizen vote in 1990, is an independent governmental entity serving the residents of Douglas County. It depends for its funding on property tax: 4 mills (that's .0004 of your assessed value). That averages out to somewhere between $40 and $60 per year per household.
What does that buy you? Well, there are four "full service libraries" in the county. "Full service" means "open 7 days a week." These libraries are located in the communities of Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, and Parker.
In addition, we have 3 "satellite libraries" located in Cherry Valley, Louviers, and Roxborough. These libraries vary in hours, but can be counted on to be open at least two or three days a week. We also offer a books by mail program to our Deckers patrons, way out in the southwest tip of the county.
All together, we have some 400,000 items: books, magazines, videos, audiotapes, DVD's, CD's, local history materials, and more. Our full service libraries also offer Internet terminals. Computers in the children's room are filtered. Computers in the adult areas are not.
The basic library service is "circulation" -- checking materials in and out. We also offer reference services in person, by telephone, or by email.
A huge part of our business involves children. In addition to an ever-growing collection of picture books, juvenile fiction and non-fiction, as well as various other media, we also offer creative and dedicated staff. Our employees offer an astonishing number of story times. All of our full service libraries give at least one story time session per week day, and often as many as three. The sessions are free.
We were the first Web site in the county, and we continue to be one of the deepest. You can find us at www.dpld.org -- and you'll see that it offers everything from 24X7 access to our catalog (including the ability to place reserves, check the status of your card, and renew materials), to a host of commercial databases. If it's 10:30 p.m., the day before a school or business report is due, our Web site can help you find current
and authoritative information from thousands of periodicals and other online resources.
Another of our contributions is community meeting space. We provide free public space for local and non-profit groups -- literally hundreds of meetings a year.
Among our most precious resources, however, is the people who work here. You may have run across good service before. At our libraries, you'll see excellent service, day after day, year after year. We have the brightest, most dedicated, most persistent people you'll ever find.
The purpose of the public library is pretty clear. It's our job to gather, organize, and provide public access to the intellectual capital of our culture. We take that job very seriously. That means that sometimes you'll find things that startle or offend you. But you'll also find deep, nourishing sources of information to help you in your quest
for learning and meaning.
The library works hard to be visible. That means you'll find listings for all our location in the yellow pages (look under "Library"). We publish an extensive weekly calendar in the newspaper, as well as a steady stream of press releases announcing speakers, reading programs (we do three a year for kids, and another one for adults), and other events.
We're also available as speakers. Just ask at your local library.
If, at any time, you think of something you wish we were doing, or would provide, just let us know. I'm the director of the library, and you can track me down at 720-733-8624, or via email at jlarue@jlarue.com.
And welcome again to Douglas County. Have you got your library card yet?
First of all, welcome! You'll find that Colorado is a hard place to leave. Douglas County not only enjoys Colorado's remarkable climate, but also offers extraordinary views, a highly educated community, and a surprisingly rich history.
Second, let me tell you a little bit about your library. The Douglas Public Library District, founded by citizen vote in 1990, is an independent governmental entity serving the residents of Douglas County. It depends for its funding on property tax: 4 mills (that's .0004 of your assessed value). That averages out to somewhere between $40 and $60 per year per household.
What does that buy you? Well, there are four "full service libraries" in the county. "Full service" means "open 7 days a week." These libraries are located in the communities of Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, and Parker.
In addition, we have 3 "satellite libraries" located in Cherry Valley, Louviers, and Roxborough. These libraries vary in hours, but can be counted on to be open at least two or three days a week. We also offer a books by mail program to our Deckers patrons, way out in the southwest tip of the county.
All together, we have some 400,000 items: books, magazines, videos, audiotapes, DVD's, CD's, local history materials, and more. Our full service libraries also offer Internet terminals. Computers in the children's room are filtered. Computers in the adult areas are not.
The basic library service is "circulation" -- checking materials in and out. We also offer reference services in person, by telephone, or by email.
A huge part of our business involves children. In addition to an ever-growing collection of picture books, juvenile fiction and non-fiction, as well as various other media, we also offer creative and dedicated staff. Our employees offer an astonishing number of story times. All of our full service libraries give at least one story time session per week day, and often as many as three. The sessions are free.
We were the first Web site in the county, and we continue to be one of the deepest. You can find us at www.dpld.org -- and you'll see that it offers everything from 24X7 access to our catalog (including the ability to place reserves, check the status of your card, and renew materials), to a host of commercial databases. If it's 10:30 p.m., the day before a school or business report is due, our Web site can help you find current
and authoritative information from thousands of periodicals and other online resources.
Another of our contributions is community meeting space. We provide free public space for local and non-profit groups -- literally hundreds of meetings a year.
Among our most precious resources, however, is the people who work here. You may have run across good service before. At our libraries, you'll see excellent service, day after day, year after year. We have the brightest, most dedicated, most persistent people you'll ever find.
The purpose of the public library is pretty clear. It's our job to gather, organize, and provide public access to the intellectual capital of our culture. We take that job very seriously. That means that sometimes you'll find things that startle or offend you. But you'll also find deep, nourishing sources of information to help you in your quest
for learning and meaning.
The library works hard to be visible. That means you'll find listings for all our location in the yellow pages (look under "Library"). We publish an extensive weekly calendar in the newspaper, as well as a steady stream of press releases announcing speakers, reading programs (we do three a year for kids, and another one for adults), and other events.
We're also available as speakers. Just ask at your local library.
If, at any time, you think of something you wish we were doing, or would provide, just let us know. I'm the director of the library, and you can track me down at 720-733-8624, or via email at jlarue@jlarue.com.
And welcome again to Douglas County. Have you got your library card yet?
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