2003 Loleta Fyan Rural Libraries Conference
Mackinac Island, Michigan
Somewhere in Time: Good Theme. Inspired by fiction. But seeped in reality. Before we get into the nuts and bolts of practical ideas and learning experiences imagine. Imagine throughout the decades of librarianship. Imagine the place of rural libraries “somewhere in time”.
Throughout the past 100 years rural libraries have maintained a special place in our culture. From the roots of the ideal of a free lending library system by our founding fathers, to the birth of the Carnegie phenomenal to the gift of Gates, libraries have occupied an important role… in time.
But as we look back over the decades, I wonder if we can put ourselves in the place of our colleagues who have come before. In the first two decades of the 20th century, Andrew Carnegie was providing grant money at an unprecedented rate and creating hundreds of libraries in communities throughout the United States. Communities reveled in the beauty of incredible structures. Local county governments, committed to support this philanthropic trend, funded collections and furnishings for these facilities.
In 1920 you could walk into a Carnegie library and browse the card catalog. You would select your card and bring it to the librarian. She would probably retrieve the item from the closed stacks. Privacy was not a strong tenant for patrons. Did the librarian of 1920 ever wonder how her colleagues from the 21st century would think of her? Did she ever wonder the chapter her library would play “somewhere in time”?
The 1930s and the Great Depression impacted libraries as well as users. The Works Project Act put men to work. Bookmobile and deposit stations popped up at incredible rates to provide reading material for the 1000s of employees working on dams, bridges and other WPA projects. The local public library felt the crunch of a tight budget, but continued to provide the most authoritative of reading materials. Did the rural library bookmobile librarian realize the impact her library would play when her future colleagues remembered “somewhere in time”?
After Pearl Harbor, many boards of trustees skipped meetings for several months. Directors and staff took a percentage cut in wages. The rural library would have been staff by a minimum crew. Janitors would complete a variety of tasks from maintenance to shoveling coal. By the 40s, the libraries built forty years ago needed repair. Boilers and heating systems needed maintenance, but funds were short, and with war rationing iron and steel may not have been available. Major book drives sponsored by the American Library Association sent popular titles to the fighting boys overseas. Did the librarian during the war realize the impact her actions would have on that place in time? Did she realize the impact her future colleagues would recognize when they look back, “somewhere in time”?
With the baby boom of the 50s came a dramatic increase in services to youth and families. Summer Reading Programs exploded with every child in the rural town or village participating. Social and cultural programs sponsored by local Women’s Clubs and other society agencies were usually held at the library. Patrons could be assured the latest popular fiction and non-fiction could be found on the library shelves. Many of today’s rural library staff, although nearing retirement, can remember the impact the local public library had on them, “somewhere in time”.
‘Burbs, branches, bedroom communities, bookmobiles defined the 1960s and 70s. As family units changed and our United States society settled into a suburban utopia, libraries began changing with the times. Multi media, intellectual freedom, privacy issues and more liberal subject matter imploded into the way librarians conducted business. Record albums made way to eight track tapes. Eight track tapes ceded to cassettes. The librarian of the 70s and 80s never imagined the technology that was soon to come. What they did realize was that their emerging collection development decisions would impact the future of librarianship. They knew that once the public was offered materials in a variety of formats that variety would stay. The impact was felt “somewhere in time”.
The 80s and the 90s exploded with the Information Age and the dawn of microcomputers. Automated circulation systems, once considered risky and visionary were now the “thing to do”. Another box was opened, that could never be closed. There are libraries in the year 2003 that are not automated. They missed the opportunity for one reason or another almost twenty years ago. Now the choices are numerous and the decision impacts all users.
The 1990s were perhaps the most important decade as we look back on libraries “somewhere in time”. It was at that time that computers and the Internet became an integral part of library service and information access. From “gophering” to the World Wide Web, technology has changed the face and ideal of library service. Towards the new millennium the second of two unprecedented events took place – (the first being the Andrew Carnegie gifts) – that of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation library grants. The librarian working in a rural public library can find a sense of pride in the fact that her colleague in 50 years will look back and admire the courage and vision it took to integrate new technologies. Would that librarian of the early 1990s realize the impact purchasing a computer would have on library use, “somewhere in time”?
Where is the rural library of today on the timeline of “somewhere in time”? The rural library today provides access to the world through the Internet. Government services are accessible now at the public library. Patrons can file taxes, at their libraries. The un- and under employed can search and apply for employment online. Our vocabulary would sound like a foreign language now to our colleagues who preceded us. Our place in the history of libraries is phenomenal.
We are living in exciting and dangerous times. We have the opportunity to change lives forever. The role of the library has changed dramatically over the decades. We have gone from being the keeper of books in a quiet-studious building to being a professional information-provider in a hustling and bustling “wired” facility. The impact rural libraries have on their communities directly impacts the training needs of staff. The bar is set high. Job descriptions now include: computer proficiency, knowledge in web page design and information systems, comfortable with changing platforms and technology upgrades. Oh, and by the way, if you can handle “Reader’s Advisory”, catalog material, deliver an entertaining story time, drive a bookmobile, and teach a computer class.
So here we are… taking our place “somewhere in time”. How your library will be remembered is up to you. This conference will provide you with the opportunity to hone your skills, learn new skills, step outside the “box”, and identify new trends. Your sessions will include everything from story time techniques to partnering for programming. You will learn valuable tips for setting up a computer center and you will have been exposed to the “ethics” issue for the coming age. From cataloging to space planning and a plethora of Reader’s Advisory and genre services, you will come away with new ideas and new energy to make the changes you need at your rural public library.
You’ll be asked to imagine the future. You’ll be expected to “vision”. You’ll be expected to take what you learn here this week and integrate it into your library service. You will be expected to step off this beautiful island and step out of your box. It will no longer be “business as usual” at your library. You will be expected to not only set the bar higher, but also “see the bar” and begin to climb or leap over the bar. And, once you get over the bar, set it higher.
What would have happened if the bar set for the librarians of the 1980s were to only keep microcomputers on hand to type reports? That was the height of the bar then. That was then: “somewhere in time”. This is now: “somewhere in time”.
You will not be able to attend every session. Share what you have learned with your colleagues. E-mail me with one favorite tip or idea or inspiration you have gained from this conference. I will then put it in the rural newsletter. My e-mail address is hillsa@oplin.lib.oh.us. When you sit down and break bread with your colleagues, remember we all hold a position “somewhere in time”. Make the first move and make eye contact with someone you don’t know. As you attend your sessions be open to what is meant for you to learn. Create an action plan to take home. In your notes, prepare a sheet that is blank and left open for a list. Write on the top: My Action Plan. When you return home review the list first. Then review your notes. Do not let this event come and go as only a memory “somewhere in time”. Make sure it not only impacts you but your library.