Two Librarians Talking

(This week we’re doing something a little different. This week’s column is a conversation between Casandra, the children’s librarian, and me. Enjoy the conversation.)

Phil:  What do you think a library is for?

Casandra:  Obviously, books.  But then, a library also gives people access to computers and the internet and information, entertainment (DVDs and popular magazines) and a link to the community (programing, a meeting room for the public and a place to just relax).   And it’s all for free. 

Phil: Growing up that's what I thought the library was only good for - books. I would go to the Library and find all the books I needed for my school papers - copy them and be on my way. But as got older I found the Library to be a much cooler place than that. I would go into the microfiche room and read old newspaper. It was so cool and nostalgic looking up the sports stories and movie ads of my youth.

You know the one that I want to push is that we're here to peddle information and try to empower people. The Library is a place of vast knowledge and the community is given the opportunity to unlock it.

One thing that does bother me a little is that people expect the Library to do everything for them. We're more than happy to help you out, but I think we're facilitators. What do you think?

Casandra:  Fair enough.  The library can't do everything for everyone.  But at the same time, if someone asks a question, I hope that I can give them a correct answer.  Not everything has to be a learning experience.  For example, if a kid asks how to spell a word, I won't hand him a dictionary and tell him to look it up. 

And I think that you forget that at the library you can be pretty anonymous.  Sure, you need the paperwork to get a library card, but you can turn off your borrowing history so that no one (not even people working at the library) can see what you checked out in the past.  We have self-checkout stations, so that you don't even have to show the staff what books you are checking out.  Your secrets are safe here at the library. 

Phil: Exactly. We're here to help, but to a point. We're here to point them in the right direction within reason. And you make a good point about privacy. We'll never give out information or discuss what a patron is reading. They shouldn't have to worry or embarrassed about what they're reading. What they're reading is their business and nobody else’s.

And they should be able to read whatever they want. Whether it's Fahrenheit 451 to Slaughterhouse-Five or Harry Potter.   
 

Casandra:  Seriously?  Fahrenheit 451?  If you want books that push the button, then that is probably the last book that I would choose.  If you want recommendations for racier, more controversial books, I have better ones that I could recommend. 

Phil: I'm sure you can. It is pretty amazing that those books have been challenged or banned. If people have problems with these books ... well I can only imagine what can come up with.

Casandra: How did we get from privacy to banned books? 

Phil: You’re right. I sort of went off on a tangent. As you know, I do that once in a while. But the bottom line is whatever you read or do at the library is your business as long it’s not bothering anyone else.

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The Liberal Memorial Library will host “Kansas Brewers and Breweries,” a presentation and discussion by Cindy Higgins on Tuesday, October 22 at 6:30 p.m.

As settlers streamed into Kansas, brewers set up their mash tuns and wort kettles when making beer was still an art and state prohibition a bemusing notion. Higgins will discuss these brewers of early Kansas, their role in their communities, and how they have influenced Kansas brewers today.

“Predominantly German, the first Kansas’ brewers were more than beer makers,” Higgins said. “They were culture custodians and entertainment sponsors who fostered a sense of community within the state’s many German enclaves.”

 “Kansas Brewers and Breweries” is part of the Kansas Humanities Council’s The Way We Worked Speakers Bureau, featuring presentations and discussions examining the theme of work and working in Kansas and how these stories help define us. 

Higgins is a journalist and Kansas historian whose research interests focus on Kansas industry before technological mechanization dramatically changed work and labor in the early 20th century.

For more information, you can call the Liberal Memorial Library at (620) 626-0180 or you can visit us on the web at lmlibrary.org or check us out on Facebook.

The Kansas Humanities Council conducts and supports community-based programs, serves as a financial resource through an active grant-making program, and encourages Kansans to engage in the civic and cultural life of their communities.  For more information about KHC programs, contact the Kansas Humanities Council at (785) 357-0359 or visit online at www.kansashumanities.org.