Massillon Public Library News & Notes - August 2019

 

Happy August, friends. 
 
I wanted to use my space this month to respond to a few of the comments left in our Suggestion Box. I assure you that I read them, and then we digest them again at managers’ meetings, and then they are divided up by whether they CAN be done, or SHOULD be done, or are completely silly but might happen anyway…“nerf gun war after hours” is a perfect example!   

Many of the suggestions ask us to consider doing things that we already do! That tells me that in spite of our best efforts, not everyone knows that we: 
- already allow you to check out five video games. 
- have a “place you can check out your own items.” It’s called the Self-Check Machine and it is on the back corner of the Adult Circulation Desk in front of the stairs leading up to the Computer Center. 
- have an “algorithm that lets you know what you’ve already checked out.” It’s called having the computer system “maintain your reading history.” For privacy reasons, it defaults to “no,” but just ask a staff member to help you opt in. (No one will see that history except for you.) 
  
We have suggestions that I have to respond with “Thanks for the idea, but no.” In other words, the following will not happen: 
- Cover up tattoos. Who? The staff or the public? 36% of Americans 18 to 29 years old now have at least one tattoo. How ever some of us older folks feel about it, tattoos are here to stay. 
- Headphones in the Computer Center. We used to lend them and tried to keep them clean. Enough said. Now you can buy a fresh set of earbuds for $1.
- More signs on the front doors like when the Computer Center closes and “No Unaccompanied Children.” Sadly, the more signs you have, the less they are read. 
- ATM in the lobby. We’ve tried, but no bank will go to the expense of installing one for such infrequent use. 
- Typewriter. We got rid of the one we had because no one had used it for years. But, if enough people ask…maybe.   

Then, there are the good ideas that would cost more money or space than we have, or are not technically possible. Examples are cameras on the elevator, restrooms on every floor, and installing an indoor play area like at McDonald’s. (The Ashland Public Library HAS installed such an area, after a million dollar gift…just in case you have that kind of money lying around!)  

One category of suggestion I’m going to call, “complaints about our collection or services that are really a general dissatisfaction with society.” This includes “children run around and make noise” and “ALL of the books you buy are twaddle,” which is really a comment more on what books are written and published now rather than what we select. Many bestsellers in both Children’s and Adult appeal to the widest amount of readers and might not be considered “classics.” It’s worth mentioning that in the early days of our library, there was a rule that ALL fiction was “twaddle,” and to be allowed to check out a novel of any kind, you also had to check out a nonfiction book! In other words, people have varied tastes and we try to get something for all of them.   

But then we get GREAT ideas that no one has mentioned before AND which can be acted upon. Several people wrote to suggest that they would like a handrail going down the outside of the inner rounded staircase. That made me recall almost falling down the stairs myself a few months ago and finding nothing to grab, so I can see their point! Our Facilities Manager just brought in a custom ironwork designer to start the process of installing such a railing; like anything else in this building, you can’t run to a big box store for things to fit. In the meantime, hang on to the rail on the inside of the stairs or use the elevator. But know that we heard you! Like many wonderful things that have happened in recent years, you’ll have the Gessner Family Foundation to thank when it happens, due to another generous donation to your library from the Foundation.   

And so many of you stuff the Suggestion Box with notes of thanks and appreciation. For those who give us love, we thank you and send love back! 

I just finished Nina George’s The Book of Dreams, the story of a war reporter lying in a coma after an accident, his young son who never knew him, and his estranged girlfriend who has medical power of attorney. That’s the simple version of a very deep look into the divide between death and life, despair and hope, along with new and old loves.  It’s not cheery, but it’s powerful. It is from the author of The Little Paris Bookshop.  
                                                                                
Sherie Brown, Library Director