The Memories of Items

Five years ago today, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, devastating the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas. We all watched on television as people crawled onto rooftops, paddled through sewage and flood water, and stood dying on highways. It was terrible. Six months later, I had the privilege to lead a group of DePaul students to New Orleans to help in the recovery effort. We worked with Catholic Charities to gut homes. It was hard physical labor, but the real toll the work took was on our hearts. Seeing homes pulled off their foundations, cars on rooftops, and homes on top of homes was shocking. No words can describe what the people in New Orleans endured, and no words can express my amazement at their resilience.


The third home we worked on was actually in the process of being rebuilt. After gutting two homes, it was good to see something positive, although mixed with uncertainty. Outside this home, we found a birds nest with two eggs in it. The homeowner said and our team agreed they were a lovely symbol of the fragile hope that pulsed through some of those in the city.



We met some amazing people, but I learned most from one of my own. The fourth home had not been touched since the storm. We had the monumental task of going through all of the items inside and decide what to save and what to destroy. Mold had eaten through most of the belongings. As we had all week, we worked with a team from Ohio State University. They were troopers. Together we sorted through the items, at one point throwing away a bundle of black ribbon. One of our DePaul teammates became quite upset. She explained to our group that in some African-American families, these ribbons are an important part of a mourning ritual dating back to slavery and are a vital tie to lost loved ones. She explained why we needed to save these items, why we couldn't throw them away despite water damage. Her words, her passion, and her sincere commitment to a woman and a family she had never met were touching. These items were a tie to more than just one person; they were a tie to an entire culture. I can never thank my teammate enough for the lesson she taught me that day.

As we remember the people of New Orleans and the disaster they continue to recover from, we should also remember that they are resilient, strong, and truly unique. With that, here's a photo of a group of New Orleans musicians doing their thing and bringing joy to all those who saw them:

Satellites

Satellite locations have been on my mind recently. Once upon a time, my library had two bookmobiles which motored about the city and county, distributing books like largesse. It was all very picturesque and rose colored (because I've never been in any way involved) but then budgets got tight and circulation dropped and people started to point out that we are a city library, not a county library, and those trips far out into the countryside to deliver some Nora Roberts were maaaaaybe stretching the budget a bit far.

And so we parked one of the bookmobiles in an outlying community, that had no library of its own but was a heavily used bookmobile stop. It was outrageously successful. For one reason or another, the other bookmobile got parked at a grocery store in town for awhile and was also very popular. Then it went back to puttering about the Wisconsin countryside, being all cute and whatnot. Then budgets got even tighter, circulation dropped more, etc etc. So as of Labor Day, the second bookmobile is going back to the grocery store and will be parked. We're calling them "satellite locations" instead of "non-mobile bookmobiles" and so far a lot of people (in town) are very happy. People in the country...well, not so much but their taxes don't fund us. Sorry buddies.

Anyways, the idea of a location run primarily by volunteers, with a librarian out every once and while to spruce it up and direct those volunteers, is quite interesting to me. It doesn't offer all the other services we associate with libraries--reference, reader's advisory, programming, storytime, computers--but it gets back to basics: books. They are so popular! Then I saw this BBC story about a library in a pub! Gosh, I wish we had that here. I think there is a lot in common between Yorkshire and central-Wisconsin. Really! Anyways, watch it. I especially like that the man who runs this pub library acknowledges that volunteers and bestsellers alone do not make a library! You need the real library services. OR, as he really points out--people need their government to make things happen.

So remember that as we head into primary season here folks. Government isn't always evil, and they do provide some services (like libraries!) that are quite helpful.

photo source-- shout out to my sheffield ladies!

Catch Up

I took an unintentional sabbatical from the blog, mostly due to real life events that kept me busy or away from a computer. First, my mom and brother came and brought me kitchen chairs, thus making it possible to eat like a real person and not a frat boy. Then my friend Lucas came to visit, and we spent lots of time eating and catching up. Finally, I went to Michigan for the wedding of two dear friends. It was so much fun and so full of laughs and reunions that I didn't check my email for two. whole. days. Insanity.

It seems more people than I thought read this blog, because I've gotten an amazing number of real, paper based, awesome letters in the last week. I'm responding to each one, as promised. Thank you to all of those who wrote and all of those who read this blog; I had no idea people actually cared what I thought. Well, maybe you don't, but it is nice of you to check in and read it anyways.

On to a more relevant idea: publication. I had an interesting conversation with a friend's boyfriend at the wedding about publication and what that means. He teaches debate and one of the categories requires that the piece being performed be a "published" piece. As of right now, that has been defined as "between covers." This presents an interesting debate, as many formerly print journals, magazines and newspapers are moving to a web-only publishing format. Is anyone with a blog a "published author?" (Yikes, that means me. Any forensics kids who want to perform my pieces--good luck placing! HA!) How do you deal with vanity publications?

These are questions we deal with in library land when selecting materials. There are so many titles that come out it is impossible to know everything about each one, so we rely heavily on reviews in a few trade journals and respected sources. These publications, however, review titles published almost solely by large publishing houses. Authors that are self-published (ie, use a vanity printer) or are signed to a smaller house often are not reviewed and so libraries never hear of them, much less buy them. For libraries that have collection development policies requiring reviews for purchase decisions, this means these titles will likely never be collected.

This is a big, thorny issue that libraries and library thinkers have been dealing with for a long time, but I want to get some non-librarian perspective. So, dear readers, what is your definition of a published work?

I know you are out there now, so you have to comment. :)

The Importance of the Tangible

I spend inordinate amounts of time on a computer. I use a computer all day at work, and yet I often check my email and Facebook within an hour of getting back to my apartment. In many ways, my life revolves around technology. It allows me to connect with my family and friends, none of whom live within 60 miles of where I currently reside. However, after a recent loss in my family, I have had a hard time using various technologies (mostly the telephone) to communicate. Writing and reading are important parts of processing grief. Having an object to hang onto--in every sense of the word-- can make a real difference for some people when dealing with such intense emotions.

Something that I was not aware of, but have just learned about, is mourning stationary. In the past two months, I have yearned for the Victorian era and its rigid code of mourning. To have such ritual to help one process grief seems so much easier. A part of this was mourning stationary. Instead of explaining this, I'll ask you to hop over to Felt & Wire and read about it there.

I wholeheartedly agree that such tangible expressions of grief and mourning are helpful. At such dark times in ones life, it helps to have any help in conveying your emotions and I think stationary can do that. Despite all the technology in my life, all the options I have for communicating, I am finding that the written word, on a solid, thick piece of paper covered in dark ink from a fine pen, is the best way to truly express myself.

So, send letters. I promise to write back.

photo source

PS. My family did receive those pre-pressed thank you cards from the funeral home. They were a blessing, as it alleviated the stress of what to write. They are rather impersonal, but they do the job. And I still have, and always will, each sympathy card I received--Hallmark or personal. They are each a small token of love and support. Thank you, all of you. See, tangible things matter.

The Nets and Charitable Causes

One thing that I've been thinking a lot about lately is how the internet has changed the way that non-profits and advocacy organizations do business. In my life I have been loosely involved with dozens of non-profits. I've recently become much more involved with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and have tried to use the various technologies available to me to spread the word. When my family and friends participated in PurpleStride Chicago, a fundraising and awareness walk, I used Facebook heavily to solicit donations, invite participation, and organize fundraisers. I have also used Facebook to post videos and links to other events benefiting this organization. So far, I haven't really used this blog to do anything, but it might creep in here someday. I also participated in Chase Community Giving, which uses Facebook to collect votes for charities. The winner gets a million dollars!



Twitter, however, is an explosion of information and communication about non-profits. I follow and am followed by various PANCAN affiliates, and it has been a great way to learn about events, advocacy opportunities, and research. Other celebrities, like Drew Carey have used it to drum up support for donations as well. Mr. Carey gave $1 for every Twitter follower he gained in a certain time frame to Livestrong.

This is an interesting (and a bit self serving?) way to raise awareness of a cause and to raise money. I think that these technologies allow non-profits to reach many more people than ever before. However, they can also get lost in the shuffle. There has to be a very concerted effort to make sure that a YouTube video gets a lot of hits, that your Twitter has tons of followers (who retweet to all their followers, etc, etc) and that your Facebook is dynamic. This is a full time job and requires a lot of creativity. In the end, it also relies on people (real people) connecting and working hard.


photo source

Delicious

Nope, not about the social bookmarking service.

I want to be 4 and go to this party.

Can someone I (sort of) know have a child and let me throw them this party? But only someone I don't actually hang out with much, because some people (SARAH!) are too much fun to go and have a kid and screw it all up.

Not that I dislike kids or anything.

Anyways, check out this party. It combines innocence, tasty treats, aesthetics, and strawberries in the most perfect way.