Death of a Library

[primsong]

It's been a hard year for a lot of people and our church hasn't been exempt - one of the things going on at this point is we found out the old grade school people, who already caused us so much misery in the past that ended in our abrupt and traumatic closure of the school, have come back to haunt us. Turns out they never completed the permits for

Comments

[ladymercury_10]

Wow. I'm really sorry. I can only imagine having to let go of something I'd worked on so long. And books, too....

[primsong]

I think it's the feeling of all that work going to waste that's the worst of it - here's hoping I can salvage more than my fears would imagine.

[ladymercury_10]

Best wishes. I hope it goes as well as it can--and better than you expect.

[alouzon]

That's terrible! What will you do with the books and other materials? Can you temporarily leave them with a local library or keep them boxed up at home (or a couple of other parishioners' homes)? Can they be boxed up on site and accessed by appointment instead of having them continually on display?

You could list all your holdings on Library Thing and then users could browse the books without having to physically survey them and ask for particular titles by name (kind of the way libraries used to operate - only librarians had access to the stacks and brought particular titles out for patrons).

http://www.librarything.com/

And I suggest this with sincerity: have you tried applying to the Extreme Makeover people?

http://abc.go.com/shows/extreme-makeover-home-edition/apply

[primsong]

I just looked over Library Thing and I'm seriously thinking of putting it to work - what a wonderful tool, how did I miss its existence? Too bad I can't import my existing library database into it somehow, that would be a huge timesaver.

So far all I've managed is removing 90% of the audio cassettes - the preschool wants some, the rest are being dumped into a rummage sale as no one really wants cassettes anymore anyway...and I pulled half of the magazines out. That was the simple part. I really like your idea of boxing some books up or keeping the cream of the crop in a bookcase here at my house if I have to - it gives me hope that some creative ideas might keep it from just all going to naught, there's some really good titles in there.

I also volunteer at a private high school library, so if I have to I can park the young adult and maybe some adult fiction there... my head is all in a muddle over this still. Perhaps a more coherent plan of attack will surface over this week. I really value your ideas!

[alouzon]

Glad to be of help! Can you tell I'm a concerned librarian? ;p

Library Thing will allow you to import catalogue information from Library of Congress and WorldCat, so you may not need to enter as much information as you would think!

And it's good to look at it as an opportunity to weed out the less-circulated materials, otherwise it could drive you batty!

[ravenskyewalker]

Oh, that's sad. Boooooks. I'd offer to salvage some for you, but really must sell some of mine instead of acquiring more!

I'm glad to see you post again. I can finally play around with watching YouTube videos, and was dee-lighted to find your "dee-dee-dee" Third Doctor video -- I just posted about it, in fact. Any chance of your making any other Third Doctor vids? I've remembered how much I always liked him. :-)

[lost_spook]

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that _ I do hope something can be done. :-(

And my whole library service is a) something I am not really part of any more and b) keeps having bad stuff happen, so I know how it feels.

(It is, bad news notwithstanding, always nice to actually 'see' you, though.)

[primsong]

*loves your icon*

Lots of Bad Stuff happening to libraries out there these days, very sad - I would certainly prefer the old 'misery loves company' adage to not apply in this case. And yes! I'm seriously hoping that as we move into summer I'll be having more time to catch up on my online life again, I miss all you guys!

[lost_spook]

Strangely, I like librarian icons. :-D (You might also like this one I picked up the other day - hee!)

Yes. In a way, some of the stuff in ours is not as bad as in other authorities, but while I don't wish to be too miserable - over the past year, I've seen so much swept away in our public libraries, including my job. Hopefully you can at least find a way to store the books worth keeping and find space again in the future.

Anyway, yes, let us be more cheerful and hope you acn find time to join us online, because it is very nice to see you. And you know I never stop hoping for more 60s era DW fic!!!

[shirebound]

"Rolling with the punches" is what we're learning to do where I work, as well. Budget cuts are forcing fewer people to do more work, and in less space than before. *sigh*

[primsong]

*rolls* I'm doing a little better with it this week than last when it was new - wish I had more time... at least we still have a church building, and the resources to care for people in need - nowadays that's something in itself.