Passionate For the Stories

This is the first major sports week of 2018.   The combination of the Super Bowl and the  Winter Olympics must  seems like a heaven for sports fanatics.  Mixed in with a little basketball and NHL hockey, there will be something to watch every night for at least the next couple of weeks.    Sports utopia?  In a way it is but these sporting events are not just for the enthusiast.  Even those who don’t follow sports that closely will turn in from time to time.  Why?  As all librarians know, everyone loves a good story.  Sports has it all.   The action.  The drama.  The excitement.  The crushing defeats and rise to victory.   Who needs reality Television shows when sports was the original in bringing real life, unscripted  action to audiences around the world.   It’s all good.  

Some of the most powerful and inspirational stories of facing adversity and winning against all odds come out of the Olympics.   It seems that at every Olympic there has been  at least one story of the underdog seizing the gold medal.  This is the one place where  the “amateurs “ get to play and showcase their talents before a world wide audience.     What is an amateur really?  These athletes by every other definition would be considered professionals.  They train everyday.  They abide by strict daily regiments to improve their skills.    They abide by rules and regulations set forth by the Olympic organization.   They represent the country as being the best of the best in their chosen sport.   To be an Olympian is to join an elite club of athletes.  Only a few are chosen to compete in the Olympics but many have the dream to achieve that level only to have failed in making the grade. It  is an honor and a privilege that belongs to a few chosen.  So how is it that we still look upon them as “amateurs”?  Technically that is what they are suppose to be but in reality, their names should be changed to achievers.

The “stories”  of the athletes that captures the attention and it is a single common thread that  every athlete shares, whether they are amateurs or professionals.  What is that thread that binds them together and makes each of their story compelling?  Simply put, it is a courageous passion.  These athletes found something that drives them, that consumes their every moment and every step forward brings them closer to their dreams of gold or championship rings.     It is in essence their passion.  When they win the medals or rings what the audience sees is that one moment when everything comes together.  What the athletes and their coaches see were the many practices, trials and tribulations that brought them to where they are now.  Great stories of passion rarely take a day in the making.  It is more likely that it was days, weeks if not years before the athletes see the fruits of their labors.  That takes faith.  That takes perseverance.   The agony of defeat is not a pretty sight for anyone.  When athletes  lose, the blows are felt by the audiences as well.  Hopes and dreams are shattered but not for long.  Not for the true competitor.  For their passion won’t let them rest until they have that medal around their neck or the ring on their finger.   Athlete or not, most are familiar with  what it is like to work hard,  devote time and energy to one cause, come so far and walk away empty handed.  It is not a good feeling.  The inspiring stories rise for the losses as well as the wins.  There is something to be learned from both situations.

Books about sports capture the good, the bad and the so-so moments that make an athlete a legend.  A moment in time has been captured and if the story is told well, the reader can hear the roar of the crowd, the swish of the snow, or the puck clinking against the goal posts.  These stories bring the book nerd and jocks together as much as watching the game together does.  They teach the readers what it means to follow a passion no matter how impossible it may seem.  Sports stories, particularly ones that showcase an underdog, are great reminders that settling for average is not acceptable when there’s a possibilities that gold is just at the end of the rainbow.  

Libraries are the sports arena of the mind. Books are the exercise machines that help stretch the mind.  It may sound a bit dramatic or over the top  to say this, but it is absolutely true. One of the best place to begin searching and cultivating a passion is at the library.  The books and information are in abundance whether looking up sports, fiction or non-fiction.  Dreams are made of ideas that have turned into something tangible.   It’s true that not every person will pick up a book about ice skating and then become the best in the world just by reading the book.  It does help with the motivation to get started on working towards a dream.  On a side note,  there are athletes who use  novels as away to escape the everyday pressures of professional sports.  Don’t think this is true?  Ask LaBron James of the Miami Heat basketball team.  Sounds like he has something in common with book nerds.  Might be the only thing in common but it’s better than nothing.

Passions are very hard to explain.  Once something gets under the skin and into the heart it is hard to shake it off.  Everyone should be bitten at least once in their life by a passion that drives them.  For some it is soaring down an icy slope head first, face inches away from danger and the thrill of crossing the finish line in record time.   For others, it’s catching a ball and running to the end zone to make the touchdown of a lifetime.  Still for regular folks, who aren’t not amateur or professional athletes, their passion lies in what some might call everyday ordinary stuff.  Like working  daily advocating for libraries, large and small.  This is a vastly different  arena than what athletes perform in each day.  In this particular arena, the crowd doesn’t go wild unless it’s Terrific Thursday Story Hour.  There are no gold medals to collect or Super Bowl rings to win but there is the satisfaction knowing that on some days the gold medal moment is when a life has been touched by a book that was shared.

Enjoy this week in sports.  We can’t wait to hear what great stories com

Library Funding Part One: The Road to Privitization?

In an anti-tax environment libraries across the United States are going to have to do some soul searching. Especially in states where the economy is not doing well due to high unemployment and soaring cost of living expenses. It seems that prices are going up on everything, which means that libraries are feeling the same pinch. Once again, many libraries are turning to the tried method of mileage proposals on the ballot to raise the revenues they need. In the past couple of election cycles, there have been many success stories of libraries passing their mileages. However, if the economy takes another downward turn, as many economic indicators predict, the mileages won't mean a thing if taxes can't be paid. It is very likely that the anti-tax voice will get stronger and louder. Libraries must be bolder than just going after the tried and true money box of mileages. It may be time to consider privatizing libraries for profit and secure a future. Before the naysayers raise their objections, consider the following points. Publishers are in no hurry to help out libraries as it relates to ebooks. Frankly, it is probably the moment they have been waiting for all their proverbial lives. The chance to squeeze out not only libraries but booksellers too. Why else would three out of the six major publishers refuse to sell ebooks to libraries? The other three that are willing to sell to libraries overprice the books to capitalize on profit. It's not "fair" that libraries lend out books to readers, who thus get to enjoy the book for free. Here's a crazy thought: avid readers love to share the books they read with others. Electronically or in print they will find a way to loan their friends a copy of their book. It's a fact of life. Publishers need to realize that libraries are as part of the society as apple pie and Chevrolet. Not matter what form the libraries take, there will always be libraries serving an important role in the community. Having said that, there needs to be an effort to encourage publishers to lower prices and sell to libraries. For once and for all, it has to be proven that it is a win win situation for both parties. Especially with indepent publishers pushing their way into the market and making an impact that could be comparable to when paperbacks made their breakthrough in reading habits. The problem with the publishers is only a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to library survival. The digitization of our culture is another battle that must be won. Libraries can talk about the digital divide and how it is important to bring everyone on board to the new digital reading world until they are blue in the face. The fact of the matter is, when push comes to shove the haves and the have nots in this world will not matter one iota when paychecks get smaller and everyone is grumbling about the cost of everything. Start asking for more tax revenue and it may make th4 ecommunity begin to question do they need a library. Forbes did a wonderful two part article on why libraries matter. The basic premise is that librries are needed as an insstitution where reading is promoted. The Library also acts as a gathering place for informtioan and meeting. Wonderful. What they fail to address is the promotion of librareis as a return of investment (ROI) for the community. If this can not be provem, a community will look a the library as a dinosaur and unable to change. If the discussion is going to turn to practical usage of taxpayer dollaars and community benefits it might be time to consider consolidating or communities sharing resources. For example, many cities have found ways to share police and fire resources to help the finacial bottom line of both communites. While it is always a nice idea that every community deserves a library, perhaps a better way to view it is that every community dsserves access to a library. With the digital age and downloading capabilities there is no reason why communities can not share one library building and serve multiple communities. Returning to the origianl idea of privitizing libraires. The question becomes is there a "product" that libraries offer. yes. It's called information in any form a patorn desires it and for any purpose be it educational or entertainment. Those agains selling or using information as a commodity fail to remember that the first public library in the United States was not free. It was supported on a subscription basis. think of it this way, if the population valued their libraries as much as they say do they do, they won't be mind paying for it like they do for cable or cell phones. It is a servcie that is wanted, therefore it is not rolled into a tax. Libraries have relied so heavily on the tax systme that it may very well be to their demise. Perhaps they are are afraid it will be harder to fund a private library becasue they do not see a commitment from their own communities to their libraries. If that is the case, then shame on librarians for going along with the status quo and not even trying to venture out to something new. Clinging on to old ways is a recipe for disaster. Time to look at new revenues, new challenges and finding the solutions to make it work for the future. Stay tuned this is a discussion that will be reviseted in the months to come.