High Country Musings

Abbie Greenleaf Library, Franconia

I'd put my library card collection up against anyone's.  OK, I really do know no one collects library cards, but it is quite fascinating to see the differences in libraries across the country.  I've seen more than a dozen libraries in the past five years.  My soft spot library is Franconia, New Hampshire.  Colonel Greenleaf built the Franconia Library to honor his wife Abbie in 1912.  It's a Jacobethan cottage made out of Indiana yellow brick, with stained glass window flags, and African mahogany woodwork inside.  It's like a dollhouse when you walk in.  The new addition is completely concealed from street view so as not to detract from the historically significant building.  It's on the National Register of Historic Buildings.

Each library has all the regular stuff - books, mags, computer terminals, newspapers, CDs, DVDS, and librarians, but each one has its little quirks. The Newport, Oregon Library was open more than ten hours a day, seven days a week. One (unnamed) library had to close and fumigate for bedbugs. The Austin Library has security to rival airports.  The

I'm pretty sure this is 'Fortitude' because I find Patience annoying.

NYC Public Library lions have NAMES (Patience and Fortitude) given to them by Fiorello LaGuardia, the Mayor of New York during the depression to stand for the qualities he figured New Yorkers needed to get through the tough times.  The Lake Tahoe Library was set smack dab in the middle of a city run RV park.  I've also discovered libraries are enamored with bronze statues.  They run largely to 19th century children seated reading books.  Those statues attract white haired ladies but not 21st century children.

A surprising number of libraries in really small towns have new library buildings.  The library in Fraser is one of these.  The Fraser Library is also doing a quilt raffle ( keep your fingers crossed for moi).  Fraser is unique in that it offers  a 'free basket'.  Every library sells stuff - usually their purged material or donated items.  In Fraser's free basket there are usually outdated periodicals and children's books.  Ruffling through the basket each trip has garnered some great reads.

The last time I found High Country News.  (Considering Colorado is the first state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, don't you just love the name?)  Actually, the subtitle is 'For people who love the West'.   It's a nonprofit news magazine covering environmental, natural resource, social and political issues affecting the American West - their words outlining who they are.  After having read two issues, it seems to be all about mountain living with a conservation twist.  Their advertisers are lots of small colleges touting their environmental/sustainability degrees, contractors outlining their 'green' residential construction, and travel opportunities for the adventurous.    In the second issue I read, they sprinkled the entire edition with famous quotes by conservationists beginning with Thoreau.  ("Simplify, Simplify.")  This publication is well written with thoughtful articles,  and essays.  If it hadn't been for the library, I'd never have heard of this magazine.

I loved the Marketplace portion of the magazine.  I've never seen help wanted ads like these:  Smith River Field Coordinator for Trout Unlimited.  Or, how about applying to be an Associate Director of Philanthropy for the Wyoming Outdoor Council.  I just wish they'd included the salaries being offered.  You can also buy stuff:  cast iron cookware scrubber,  ten floral varieties of raw honey, aromatic cultivated skin care, and my favorite:  Sign up for the 'green' dating website.

The point is libraries are still phenomenal resources of information and entertainment even in the age of hand held technology.  I've always been amazed by the vast majority of people who don't patronize their local library.  Are you still paying for downloading ebooks and audiobooks?  Why?  With a library card, you can access thousands of titles absolutely free.  Want to sample more than a hundred magazines and newspapers?  Check out your library.  They also offer classes tailored to the community they serve.  I've seen literacy classes and citizenship classes. Sun City offers a class to share your memories.  (OK, a little weird, but lots of people live alone in uber elderly land.)  Every library has story time for toddlers.  There's also homework help, writing classes, book clubs, tax help, technology help, and just a whole bunch more stuff.

My library card collection is in double digits; however, all you really need is one.