Thing 5--Libraries

Thing 5
I somewhat take exception to the sentence of this “Thing”: Public libraries are the doorway to information for you and your students. I LOVE my public library system, but I think most teacher/student relationships start with the school’s library and then move out of that “doorway” to the public library, as needed.
I enjoy being a media specialist in a school. I cannot imagine working in a public library and not getting to know the clientele the way we get to know “our” students.
But I have not had all of my professional career working in schools. I did have the unique experience of working on the development of the national library in Iran in 1975. I was a lowly employee of the Pahlavi National Library in New York and Tehran. It was an amazing privilege to experience all the considerations and details that went into planning a service that would span satellites and donkey delivery of information. Experts from around the world were brought in to consider all the facets of developing a library system for a country that did not have much of an existing system. The library’s plans ended up literally in the gutter when the Shah was overthrown.
For years, I have very much enjoyed the Apple Valley branch of the Dakota County library—even volunteered there one summer years ago. More recently, I took my granddaughter to the weekly story times. I love to request books online and have them waiting for me, using self-serve checkout. I don’t know how I would keep my sanity during my daily commute without the library’s books on tape. I am thankful for books, copy machines, and even tax forms