Your Library: Myth v. Fact

from geekthelibrary.org…

Myth: I’m already funding my library by paying my late fees and purchasing items at book sales.

Fact: Late fees and book sale dollars provide a very modest contribution to libraries and support replacement of materials lost and items not returned. Fees and fines are not sufficient to support operating or program activities.

I worked my way through school as a student and graduate assistant at the libraries of Florida State University and Syracuse University. While college library funding is different than your public library’s city budget allocations, I saw first hand how far the fines and fees we collected at the desk did NOT go.

Whatever you geek (love, like, adore), the library is there to support you. Today, I needed to find an old book about Glacier National Park. My local library didn’t have it, but they found it quickly within our regional library system.

Sometimes a discussion beats sales

I went up to the Maysville, Georgia, public library today for a Jackson County Authors Showcase. Along with me were authors Caine Campbell, Pamela Dodd, and Jackie White.

Including the assistant librarian who sat in on the whole event, there were four authors and four in the audience, two of whom had to leave before it was over. I sold one copy of “Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire.”

A waste of time? Not at all. The two people who came both had a lot of questions; one of them has a grand daughter interested in writing and wanted to know if we had any tips. Of course we talked about our books, how we got started, and how we try to market our work.

I had a good time. Plus, it was nice to get away from the house on a sunny Saturday and drive 30 minutes on a country road from my small town to the next small town north of here.

The discussion was worth a lot. Oh, and the library gave each of us a fancy jar of pears, something a starving writer doesn’t buy for himself!

–Malcolm

P.S. Don’t forget this is National Book Store Day, the day in which each of us is expected to go out any buy a pickup truck full of literature from (hopefully) a locally owned store.
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New Jock Stewart satire posted at the Morning Satirical News: “Love is the Morning and the Evening Star”

USS Ranger Closer to New Home in Portland

from the USS Ranger Museum Foundation

The US Navy announced that the USS Ranger Foundation’s Phase I application for donation of the super-carrier ex-USS Ranger has been approved and moved the group into Phase two of the four-phase process.

Phase two of the process has a 12 month timeline, during which the exact location of the museum complex will be finalized, environmental, marketing, business, neighborhood support and other studies will be completed and updated. Fund raising will increase, and national and international friends will be called upon to support the project.

The timing of this approval could not be better. At the completion of Phase three, the ship will be towed from its current home in Bremerton, Washington to Portland waters. When she arrives, she will bring much-needed jobs to the area, as there will be extensive work to prepare for opening as a museum.

Once open in her new role, the ship will have one of the largest event/conference areas in the area and will attract not only tourists traveling to visit the largest floating museum in the world, but corporate groups looking to hosting their next conference in a unique location.

During the aftermath of 9-11, the carrier museum Intrepid was activated as a command center in New York Harbor allowing communication, coordination and even helicopter operations. Ranger could be used in the same manner for emergency situations, natural as well as man-made. Movie companies have used the Ranger many times including “Top Gun”, and could bring more film opportunities to the Metro area.

We are looking forward to partnering with other local tourist attractions to attract larger groups adding much needed tourists’ dollars to the economy. There are five existing carrier museums spread out around the country. None of them rely on tax dollars to operate. The Pacific Northwest would be well served by Ranger and will be a great addition to the community.
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As a former crew member of the USS Ranger (CVA-61) on two Western Pacific cruises, I fully support the restoration and conversion of this ship into a museum. Best of luck, guys.

–Malcolm

Election in a small town

After living in the Atlanta metro area for over 20 years, there are a lot of reasons why I was more than happy to move out of the sprawl into a small town some 60 miles away a few years ago. (As I saw the news stories yesterday for the giant cruise ship “Oasis of the Seas,” I thought, my goodness, my whole town will fit aboard that ship at one time.)

In contrast to the lines in Atlanta, there are seldom any election-day lines here. This morning I was in an out of the polling place in five minutes, and that counted the time I took chatting to the people I knew. I never saw anyone I knew at an Atlanta polling place.

Here, I know the mayor and the members of the city council. A friend is running for the city council, but even in a small town there are wards, and his seat doesn’t extend to this part of town. I know the city clerk and the city manager. I’ve worked with them, seen them at weddings and funerals, had them over for parties.

Of course, the close-knit nature of things here can lead to a strange apathy. A friend who ran for council two elections ago lost by six votes because a lot of people in her neighborhood didn’t vote. Each had an excuse–at kid was sick, car trouble, the boss made them stay late at work. But oddly, none of them worried about the vote because everyone assumed they were the only ones that were playing hooky from the election.

One way or the other, here you know you’re making a difference. You can see the fact that your vote counts; and you can see the consequences of not voting. I like that because none of us feel like we’re getting lost in the shuffle.

–Malcolm