Snow and cold

Looking out the window today, the library parking lot looks like a skating pond, shiney and gray with a touch of overcast skies. It's just December, and with the steady cold and snow, it's hard to count my blessings. But a Christmas card from an old friend made me smile. He was filled with good cheer and listening to holiday music. He sent the challenge: Close your eyes and recapture you best holiday memories. That made me laugh because I already have some good memories from this year, and I look forward to more.

December is not just about snow and cold. It is the end of the year, and so much has
happened this year. The library has had two outstanding community read events. A stunning piece of artwork was added to the property. The work of the remodel is over and job routines are feeling like routines again. We are busier than ever with the number of new people in town, and we can actually help them learn about their new community and state. We help them stay in contact with the family they left behind, and we provide recreational and educational materials for their leisure and family time.

There are not a lot of jobs as satisfying as a librarian's. And right now, right this minute, I like the view from my window.

"Cassanova was a ....."

CASSANOVA WAS A LIBRARIAN by Kathleen Low is a new book which tickled my fancy. The concept that anyone can love books enough to be a collector is a pleasing thought. There are lots of funny stories about librarians, and even with the stereotypes, librarians appear as heroines in lots of stories. This book even includes bumper stickers and the cartoons, which leads Wyoming State Library right to the forefront of librarians with personalities. Have you see the mudflap girl reading a book yet?
The svelte miss has become a hot topic on library blogs - is she a concept that we
want to endorse? Or not? Still WSL is promoting a younger image with bumper stickers and book marks proclaiming: My other card is a library card and You can have my Book when you pry it from my cold dead fingers. These slogans are not new to the library world, but they are new to us, and a bumper sticker that reminds us that truck drivers, coal miners, and carpool moms are all readers and library supporters is just as enticing as the idea of Cassanova as a librarian.

It's fun facts that really started me on the Cassanova book, because I was look for a related series of books on "oddities." Books about bizarre buildings, crop circles,
weird science, and other curiosities can be found at your library. It's why librarians love their jobs -- every day we find or learn something new to us. It's part of the fun of browsing the shelves, handling books, reading. I especially love it when my argumentative family can be hushed when I quote a fact or statistic which I have recently read or found. I even love starting the family argument by proclaiming a little known fact.

Put some fun in your life. Enjoy your free public library.