In the age of internet, why public libraries are still relevant

Woodridge Neighborhood Library in Washington, D.C.

After moving to Maryland earlier this year, one of my top priorities was finding a good local public library. And I did, even if its across the District line in Washington. I visit the Woodridge Neighborhood Library, a branch of the District of Columbia Public Library system regularly – it's only a mile from our new home – and depending upon the time of the day, the library is often filled with people availing themselves to some of the many services offered. Indeed, it's a very positive environment, which opened to the public on September 28, 2016, to much fanfare.

I've seen high school students doing their homework, college students writing their dissertations, younger kids enjoying reading time, adults searching electronic job boards. A public library is a living room where one can go and feel human instead of feeling threatened. For some, including many young students, a neighborhood public library like Woodridge represents the only wi-fi source available to them for free. With 40 desktop computers with internet access available for use, this public library's value isn't lost on its patrons.

There is a warm, community-oriented ambiance inside the 20,000 square-foot Woodridge Neighborhood Library – not to mention a modern design by Wiencek + Associates and Bing Thom Architects that spreads throughout the library's two floors. It's open seven days a week and stays open late Monday through Thursday until 9 p.m.

Indeed, public libraries serve as a valuable bridge between the information-rich and the information-poor. Within these welcoming confines – and the Woodridge Branch is very welcoming – librarians provide a highly skilled service that meets the needs of the general public. I speak with the authority of someone who is married to a librarian.

As our public libraries play a vital role bridging the digital divide and teaching people how to get reliable information from the internet – something that's become very important following the Russian meddling scandal during the 2016 presidential election – it is for this very reason that we need our public libraries now more than ever despite living in an age when most everyone has broadband and can access information without recourse to a librarian.

While I appreciate that my local public library is open seven days a week, many public libraries have limited hours. Federal funding of public libraries has decreased by nearly 40 percent since 2000 and now – more than ever – they need our support not our dismantling.

There is something of important value gained from the physical, communal space of a library, and our public libraries need to continue to be able to provide highly skilled services in order to meet the needs of the general public – not to mention continuing their valuable mission of being repositories for books. I believe they ought to continue to innovate in order to take advantage of the way people are interacting with their libraries, which differs today than it did 10 years ago – even five years ago. There is a digital gap we need to continue bridging between those who have access to the internet and those who do not.

At local public libraries, there are core services such as book loans, study materials for local and national elections, availability of federal and state income tax guides and forms, and weekday and Saturday story hours for children, that remain vital. And, of course, where would we be without our librarians? They may be physical people – hopefully never replaceable by robots – and in the age of Google, their purpose remains valuable.

It's my hope that everyone does what they can to support their own local public libraries, especially now in the age of President Trump's self-proclaimed "fake news." After all, an ill-informed society that is ill-equipped to prosper in today's "information age" is a dangerous prospect for any democracy.

Learn more about the Woodridge Neighborhood Library by clicking on the link.

Photo: Courtesy of DCLibrary.org.

Celebrating the vitality of poetry

It's time to channel your inner bard /
Thursday is National Poem in Your Pocket Day.

The seventh national Poem in Your Pocket Day is Thursday, and I'm ready to celebrate.

April is National Poetry Month across America. It's a great opportunity to become acquainted -- or re-acquainted -- with poetry, and to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture.

Since 2008, the Academy of American Poets have encouraged individuals throughout the country to join in the Poem in Your Pocket Day and channel their inner bard. According to the Academy of American Poets' website: "We hope to increase the visibility and availability of poetry in popular culture while acknowledging and celebrating poetry's ability to sustain itself in the many places where it is practiced and appreciated."

Such as in the wonderful environment of a delightful independent bookseller, located in a vibrant neighborhood, that happens to be near one of the nation's top public universities.

As it happened, last Friday my wife and I walked into Mrs. Dalloway's Literary & Garden Arts Bookshop on College Avenue in Berkeley's Elmwood neighborhood, near the University of California, to browse at books after dining nearby. In a prominent display in the center of the shop was a basket displaying hundreds of beautifully written "pocket poems" printed on nice stationary that could easily tuck into one's pocket to share with friends and family.

What a clever idea -- and these "pocket poems," feature many different San Francisco Bay Area poets, including: Maxine Chernoff, Brian Komel Dempster, Alice Jones, Hugh Martin, David Meltzer, Randall Potts, giovanni singleton, Tess Taylor and Alli Warren.

Also, Jennifer Elise Foerster, whose "pocket poem" contribution is entitled "Flight." I picked hers at random from the basket and look forward to reciting it on April 24.

Flight

As a child I tossed

all my imaginary friends

out the window of a fast moving train

because I wanted to feel my fist

break open as I freed them,

as each of their bodies

whipped against the siding,

their insides: snow

dispersing into wind,

their little heads rolling

across the yellow plains.

Because I believed they would return.

But non have since.

Not even the ones I didn't love.

Mrs. Dalloway's has encouraged its customers to come by their bookshop and pick up a "pocket poem" anytime during the month and share it on the seventh national Poem in Your Pocket Day. Bookstores, libraries, schools and parks throughout the country will be participating in pocket poem readings. This year, the celebration is carrying over to social media, too. Twitter users can use the hashtag #pocketpoem to share a favorite poem with their followers.

Indeed, the idea behind Poem in Your Pocket Day is a simple one, and anyone can create their own pocket poem. Here's how: Select a poem you love during National Poetry Month, then carry it with you and share it on Thursday, April 24 with friends and family -- even co-workers, too.

"Flight": From Leaving Tulsa by Jennifer Foerster ©2013 The Arizona Board of Regents. Pocket Poem reprinted by permission of the University of Arizona Press.
Pocket poem illustration by Michael Dickens ©2012.

Reflections of a Happy Halloween

Chelsea Market, New York City, 2006 /
Still one of my favorite Halloween pumpkins.

As a kid, there are some things you look forward to each year like Halloween. 

Last Thursday, over the course of two hours, the kids -- white, black, Asian, Hispanic -- were out in great numbers in our Oakland neighborhood, a microcosm of the city at large, full of enthusiasm and dressed in wonderful and creative -- even traditional -- costumes. 

Dressing up as a ghost or witch is still quite popular as well as going trick-or-treating decked out as a super hero like Batman, Spiderman or Superman. Darth Vader and Harry Potter still garner a lot of attention, thanks to their movie-star appeal, and both remain among my favorites. As a kid, I remember dressing up as an astronaut one year back when kids wanted to grow up to be astronauts and fly to the moon. 

This year, we were surprised when a girl and a boy, both about 11 or 12-years-old, came to our door, together, dressed as a carton of milk and a jar of pickles. Maybe, they were influenced just a little bit by Trader Joe's, one of our local grocery stores? I don't remember if the boy's label said soy, low fat or skim, but any of them would have been appropriate by Bay Area standards. Of course, it's always cute to see little kids dress up as lovely and cuddly tigers and dinosaurs, too. Whether homemade or store bought, imaginative costumes are what make Halloween a special occasion.

Lots of parental chaperones were present on this pleasant, autumn Halloween evening -- some in costume -- and we saw a few toting their pet dogs (a few in costume -- think "hot dog") and baby strollers for the littlest ones, too. Some kids were timid and shy, especially the youngest ones -- being coached by their parents, who were standing at the bottom step of our porch, to say "trick or treat", then "thank you" -- while others were very eager and outgoing. A group of five middle school-aged girls shouted out "trick or treat!" in unison as they came giggling up our walkway for all to hear loud and clear.

Halloween has definitely turned into a family event -- a sporting event, maybe? -- and this year, handing out 200 mini chocolate bar candies, as we did, was not enough! Credit the weather, which was nice and dry, and the San Francisco Giants for not being in the World Series like they were in 2010 when Halloween coincided with Game 4 against the Texas Rangers -- and the result is our neighborhood was quite lively with trick or treaters, more so than in most years. We could have easily given out 50 more candies.

As it turned out, we had about two dozen See's peppermint candies in reserve that we used as a fall back after our chocolate candies ran out, and when those candies were all doled out and there were still a handful of eager kids shouting "trick or treat" at our front door, we dragged out our piggy bank and gave out handfuls of nickels and dimes, determined not to leave anyone disappointed. And, surprisingly, the kids who received pocket change were just as happy and content with their "treat" as those who earlier in the evening received a Kit Kat, Twix or Milky Way candy bar.

Once the crowds had thinned, we turned out the lights, shut the front door, and took a walk through our neighborhood so we could admire Halloween decorations and absorb the evening's festive atmosphere, which included a lively and vocal pirate-themed house down the block from us that drew lots of curious attention. 

Finally, almost back to our front door, we were invited in by our neighbors across the cul-de-sac for a glass of Napa Valley red wine, a dessert of tasty baklava from a local Mediterranean bakery and good conversation about Halloweens past when our neighbor's children (one, who's now a college-aged freshman, and the other is a freshman in high school) used to dress up in the most creative and colorful costumes and go out trick or treating.

Looking back on this festive evening, less than a week after it all unfolded, left me in a happy, reflective mood. Indeed, it was a happy Halloween -- one of the most enjoyable evenings of the year -- and I look forward to the next one.