Friday, October 19, 2007

It’s a Thing of Beauty!

No matter how interesting your job is, I think we all run the risk at times of being so focused on tasks that we forget the wonder being expressed all around us in our little corner of the world. I am leaving shortly for meetings at OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) in Dublin, Ohio. OCLC is ‘big” – an international library collaborative which has built WorldCat, a database of 1 billion (yup, billion) library holdings in many languages and countries. This is the basic product that allows PPL and other libraries to execute interlibrary loans and catalogue material efficiently. So my focus this week has been to get lots of tasks completed so that next week is reasonably smooth for my colleagues here at work before I depart for something BIG.

I took a deep breath this morning before starting the tasks and looked back at a week in the life of the PPL system and yes, it is a thing of beauty. The fact that last night Portland’s own highly respected punk music band The Leftovers graced the Rines Room at our Monument Sq. location for a 45-minute set was cool enough on its own merits. But contrasted to this morning’s programs: Series for Seniors: An Overview of Important Issues “Enrichment Opportunities”; a Maine Humanities Council Let’s Talk About It Program on the Middle East (Behind the Headlines: An Introduction to the Middle East); and Tales for Twos (for two year-olds), all of which followed early in the week offerings of Preschool Story Time, Finger Fun for Babies, a panel discussion on the future of Congress Street and Pat LaMarche (2004 Green Party VP candidate) speaking about her new book on homelessness in America "Left Out in America".

It - this week anyway - ends tomorrow, Saturday, October 20th, with children's author Cathryn Falwell launching her new book with Shape Caper's, a fun program for children from 11 AM to 2 PM, as well as the Third Saturday Book Discussion of Dave Eggers "What is the What". Then we start again next week.

The programmatic landscape of the PPL system couldn't have reflected better the breadth of creativity we offer in reaching every age in our great town. It’s nice to breathe it in!