Dec 15th

I enjoyed all the talks this week, it is fun getting to hear from all my fellow students!

The talk on urban libraries raised some topics I hadn't thought of before, mainly the negative effects of gentrification on the low income residents of an area. I'll be interested to see what happens with the new Madison central library branch in regards to the layout and the homeless population that can often be seen there.


The banned books group gave some good resources, and links, about what to do about a challenged book in a library. This is good information to have for the future. It was also interesting to hear how many librarians actually agreed to remove an item from circulation. We all talk a big game, but it seems the reality of the situation is that books are removed from the libraries more often than we might think.

The talk about big box stores brought home the point that libraries are not book stores. It is nice to make libraries inviting places to sit and read and browse, but ultimately we are there to help patrons, not to sell merchandise, and that will always be the difference between libraries and books stores.

One city, one book

I enjoyed hearing about how and why the "one city, one book" program began. The only program like it I have ever participated in is Go Big Read, here on campus. I like the idea of taking a book club one step farther, incorporating many different events, discussions and talks. I like that the events stretch over a longer time than a traditional book club would spend on one book. The more events planned, the more likely it is that people will hear about them, and hopefully more people will read the books.