RE: Library as a intellectual hub of the community

[Steve Cooke <scooke@uidaho.edu>]

Lori,
 I like the idea of the library as a research and cultural/intellectual hub 
of the community. I think you and the board are moving the LPL in that 
direction and I applaud you all for your efforts. Keep up the good work.
Steve Cooke

-----Original Message-----
From:	Lori Keenan [SMTP:lkeenan@norby.latah.lib.id.us]
Sent:	Wednesday, March 03, 1999 9:58 AM
To:	vision2020@moscow.com
Subject:	Public Space, Public Library Action Alert

Dear Visionaries,

This was in my mail this morning.  I had not heard of this action, but am
interested and intrigued.  Can anyone shed any light on this?  In any case,
there are some wonderful ideas expressed here and the Library would be very
happy to help in getting some of them implemented.

Lori Keenan
Latah County Library


>Return-path: <coriez@lff.org>
>X-Sender: coriez@192.168.0.10
>Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 15:33:42 -0500
>To: coriez@lff.org
>From: Corie Zimmerman <coriez@lff.org>
>Subject: Public Space, Public Library Action Alert
>
>Libraries for the Future Action Alert
>
>To:  	National Library Advocates Network
>From:  	Sarah Clachar, Field Coordinator
>Re: 	Earth Month 1999 Pump Up the Volume Campaign for Public Space
>
>February 22, 1999
>
>Celebrate public space and public libraries for Earth Month 1999!
>
>How many of you go to the public library as a quiet respite from the 
hubbub
>of the street?  Are any of you lucky enough to be able to sit outside in
>your public library's garden and listen to storytellers or learn about
>compost?  Do you take a Saturday afternoon to enjoy the local park and dip
>into the library next door for an hour to find a good book to read, or 
look
>up a bird you spotted near the pond?  How about fishing; how many of you
>have used your library card to check out fishing gear that you can take to
>the nearby lagoon?
>
>Many library users are able to answer "yes" to one or more of these
>questions.  Public libraries are not just places to store books, they are
>community space and nurtured as such with artwork, gardens, and 
comfortable
>reading areas. Libraries also provide public space for musical
>performances, movie screenings, readings, public debates, displays, and
>much more.  In towns and neighborhoods around the country, libraries have
>developed partnerships with nearby public spaces to strengthen such
>precious community trusts.  This year for Earth Month we are focusing our
>Pump Up the Volume campaign on the importance of public space and public
>libraries!
>
>We encourage you to visit your local library and find out how you can work
>with the library to celebrate public space or enhance the space within the
>library.  Here are some ideas:
>
>Plant!
>
>Work with library staff to care for the space indoors.  Contribute
>houseplants, particularly plants which clean the air such as spider plants
>or pothos.  Plan and implement a mural.  Develop a design for comfortable
>reading areas and use volunteer muscle and contributions to turn the de  
sign
>into a reality.
>
>Help beautify the grounds around the library.  See the attached 
information
>from America The Beautiful about receiving free seeds and bulbs for public
>libraries.  Is there a vacant lot nearby that you could convert into a
>garden?  Could your library use a few windowboxes or planters on the 
steps?
> Are there some trees near the building that could use attention?
>
>Cultivate!
>
>Work with the library and other nearby public spaces to celebrate 
community
>space.  Could the library develop workshops with the local park rangers
>that include a discussion, recommended reading list and a hike nearby?
>Could your library set up a free afternoon for kids in partnership with 
the
>local botanical gardens with storytellers and seed planting?  Maybe your
>library could have maps of local hiking trails, frisbees, or fishing gear
>that can be taken out with a library card.
>
>Make sure your library has a calendar of workshops and events at local
>public spaces like the zoo, the botanical gardens, public parks, museums,
>community centers, etc.
>
>Include the library in discussions about planning and developing public
>space.  Archive meeting minutes at the library for public access.  Hold
>forums at the library.  Develop a display about plans for new community
>projects at the library.  Use your library to raise awareness about
>community space like the New York City community gardens discussed in the
>attached petition.
>
>Invite community gardeners or local farmers to give classes at the 
library.
> Is there space in front of the library?  Set up a regular farmers market
>to take place there.
>
>Grow!
>
>Encourage members of environmental groups, gardeners, students, and anyone
>else you can think of to check out environmental materials from their 
local
>library.  Check out books, videos, periodicals and use the library's
>computers to visit green websites!
>
>When embarking on any of these projects, be sure to work with library 
staff
>to implement them accounting for longterm sustainability and maintenance
>that doesn't simply become the responsibilty of library staff.  For more
>ideas about public libraries and public space, contact LFF and we will 
send
>you a copy of our draft collection of profiles, Libraries and Public 
Space,
>or a copy of The Environmentalist's Guide to the Public Library.  Please
>let us know what you are doing and what connections your library has with
>public space.  You can call us at 800-542-1918 or email sarahf@lff.org.
>
>
>Yours sincerely,
>
>Sarah Clachar
>Field Coordinator
>
>
>
>America the Beautiful Fund
>1730 K St., N.W., Suite 1002, Washington, D.C. 20006  Tel. (202) 638-1649
>
>FREE SEEDS!
>FOR LIBRARY GARDENS
>
>OPERATION GREEN PLANT 1999
>
>America the Beautiful Fund wants to share with your library a gift of FREE
>SEEDS!  We are offering between 100 and 1000 seed packets on the basis of
>availability and relative need for volunteer efforts to grow food for the
>needy, elderly, handicapped and confined; for charitable plant sales; to
>beautify neighborhoods; to start new educational programs; and to show 
that
>growing plants can give people and communities new hope as they help to
>beautify and nourish America.  These are 1997 and 1998 seeds with
>germination rates of 85% to 90%.
>
>To help you along the way with your growing experience, ABF is proud to
>offer Gardening for Optimal Nutrition.  This 27 page full color booklet is
>filled with nutritional information, harvesting, storage and eating tips
>for over 40 fruits and vegetables.  Thanks to the Cortisia Press, we are
>able to make these available to you for only $1.00 per copy (regular price
>$2.25!) with a minimum order of 10 booklets, or you can order in sets of 
30
>for $25 and save more!
>
>America the Beautiful Fund has also just begun an exciting new program 
with
>the Mount Vernon Association to celebrate the life of the Father of our
>country, George Washington for the Bicentennial of his death by creating
>George Washington Memorial Gardens.  Since some schools no longer require
>American history, these gardens would give the community a way to keep
>Washington's memory alive for the next century.  If you would like to
>create a George Washington Memorial Garden in 1999, please indicate so by
>checking of the box on the request form.
>
>To request a Free Seed Grant, simply 1) Fill out the application form
>below, 2) Attach a short letter describing your project, 3) Enclose a 
check
>for Shipping & Handling, 4) Mail it to the following address:
>America the Beautiful Fund, Department L, 1730 K St., N.W., Suite 1002,
>Washington, D.C. 20006
>
>OUR SUPPLY IS LIMITED SO SEND IN YOUR REQUEST TODAY!  And don't forget 
your
>membership contribution for our newsletter, hotline, and educational
>materials.
>
>__ I/We don't have a specific charitable project, but here is a
>contribution of $___ for shipping seeds to needy projects.
>
>Contact Name -					
>Project Name -
>Street Address (for UPS delivery) -
>City -			State -  			Zip Code -
>Phone Number -			
>E-Mail Address -
>
>Shipping and Handling Fees
>First set of 100 packets = 			$12.00
>__ Additional set(s) of 100 x $5 each =
>Please specify amounts below:
>Vegetables __ Flowers __ Herbs __ (max 25 pkts)
>Special George Washington Garden Seeds Selection __
>Annual Contributing Membership  ($10) =	
>Gardening for Optimal Nutrition  (10 @ $10) =
>			           (30 @ $25) =
>			TOTAL =
>Paid --		Amount --	 	Check Number --	    Dept. L
>
>
>
>Profile: Savng Public Space
>
>For more information, please visit the New York City Community Gardens
>Coalition website at www.nycgardens.org.
>
>Despite the fact that there are 14,000 empty, buildable lots in New York
>City and only 750 community gardens, Mayor Giuliani has slated 120 
thriving
>community gardens to be auctioned off in May.  This is the second auction
>in which gardens have been targeted. These gardens, many of them decades
>old, were established with the city's blessing on abandoned and vacant 
lots
>that had often been centers of drug and crime activity.  New York City's
>gardens are known across the country.  They are studied in our nation's
>schools.  Their disappearance would mark not only a tragedy for the city,
>but would set a dangerous precedent for other cities across the country
>whose garden programs are struggling to survive.
>
>Community gardens mark community health and revitalization.  They are
>founded by working New Yorkers, thrive on principles of a true democracy,
>provide solace, learning, and pleasure to young and old, offer bridges
>across cultures and ethnic groups, offer space for a multitude of cultural
>activities, and turn neighborhoods and indeed the city as a whole into a
>more vibrant and healthy environment.  New York's gardens have set a
>national example of innovative and successful public policy and urban
>renewal.  They are studied and admired across the country.  Their
>preservation represents a special opportunity to set a critical
>environmental benchmark in this issue and to evidence foresight for the
>cities of the future.
>
>One of the spearheading organizations for this campaign to save community
>gardens is the Green Guerillas who have also combined library advocacy 
with
>their work to nurture public green space.  Their work to cultivate the
>outdoor space around the Hamilton Fish Branch of the New York Public
>Library is profiled in "The Environmentalist's Guide to the Public
>Library".  Not only have they developed a beautiful garden at the library
>involving community residents at the library, but they have also been
>working with the library to increase awareness about community gardens in
>the neighborhood, and develop collections and programs that provide
>gardening information.  For more information about Green Guerillas, check
>out their website at www.greenguerillas.org.
>
>If you are a New York City resident, you can call City Council Speaker
>Vallone and your local Councilmember and ask them to support a current 
City
>Council proposal to protect community gardens.  For Councilmembers' phone
>numbers call the League of Women Voters at (212) 674-8484.
>
>If you are not a New York City resident, send this on to friends of yours
>who live in New York City and use the story as inspiration to locate 
public
>space in your neighborhood and develop strategies to protect it,
>particularly through working with your public library.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>




Lori Keenan, Director
Latah County Library District
110 S. Jefferson Street
Moscow, ID  83843
tel: (208)882-3923
fax: (208) 882-5098
e-mail: lkeenan@norby.latah.lib.id.us