October in Libraryland

What a beautiful day!  It is very hard to stay inside when the air is cool and the sun is shining.  I love fall.  It brings back memories of Friday night football games.  In those days, we wore sweaters and wool dress slacks to the games.  I still remember some of those outfits along with homecoming corsages and nights at Little King in Cedar Rapids eating deep fried cheese sandwiches.  Those were the days.

October is also big in the Iowa Library community.  The statewide conference is always the second week in October.  The conference moves around the state each year to give local libraries the opportunity to attend at a reasonable cost.  This year approximately 600 librarians and vendors descended on Dubuque for the festivities.  This is great.  I was able to send most of my staff members for a least a day of the three-day event.  The conference affords them the chance to meet other librarians from all sizes and kinds of libraries.  Each day is packed with seminars on issues of interest to our kind--new ideas for children's and adult programming, new technology, and advice for building community support for your library.  There are 80-100 exhibits for librarians to visit with representatives of products such as furniture, computer systems, and supplies.  There are always book vendors and attendees can even meet some authors.  The annual conference helps our profession keep up to date with trends and issues.  It is time well spent and it is good for the city of Dubuque.  During their visit, librarians spent their hard-earned money on meals, hotel bills, and shopping.  A real win-win situation.  Conventions are good for the local economy and that's why open borrowing across the state is so important.  When the bowlers or the dentists come to town, they should be able to use the services of the local library.

Because this year the conference was in Dubuque, the State Library Commission (the governor-appointed board which oversees library service in Iowa) met at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library on Wednesday.  As part of their agenda, Mary Wegner (State Librarian), asked both Susan Henricks (Director of Carnegie-Stout) and me to address the commission regarding the open access issue.  We both presented the challenges of local budgets and the need for fully funding the program so that Iowans can use the library which is most convenient for them.  Libraries are very good at resource sharing and this program encourages an open system of borrowing all across the state.  The commission is aware that inequities in the system are not only in Dubuque.  The Quad City libraries experience similar problems.  The commissioners asked good questions and seemed very thoughtful about our presentations. 

This coming week at Dubuque County Library we are excited to be hosting local author, Heather Gundenkauf, at our NICC Peosta location on Thursday evening at 6:30.  Everyone is welcome.  River City Lights will be providing copies of all of Heather's books for sale and Heather will be talking about her work and signing copies. 

Next week we are also continuing our series for children on dog training and safety.  The programs will be presented by Cindy Ludwig, M.A. owner & manager of Canine Connections LLC and Ginger, her collie mix therapy dog.  Cindy will talk about how to approach dogs correctly, how to choose a dog as a pet, and what is involved in dog training.  Ginger is a nice, well-behaved dog and the children have loved meeting her.  Check our website for program times and locations.

That's all for now.  Stop by and visit us.  We are eager to serve you.  Enjoy the brilliant weather.  Dawn