Not a World Apart

Last Tuesday we at PPL had one of those days that inspires, energizes and reminds you why at a very, very basic level librarianship is a noble and true profession.  Maria and Esther, librarians from Busia County, Kenya came to visit us for the day.  They are on a mission to create a community library that will become the cultural center for their community and to positively impact every aspect of community life.  The day was jam packed and as these things often go we learned much more from them than I suspect they learned from us. The day was initiated by Eva Kaplan, a Portland native now working in support of Maria’s Libraries.  We face similar challenges differing only somewhat in scale.  The qualities needed to meet the challenges were the same: enthusiasm, intelligence, sense of purpose and humor. 

But Eva and the crew can recount their trip much better than I, but we were honored to have hosted their visit and privileged to learn from them. http://mariaslibraries.org/2012/10/23/maria-and-esther-visit-portland-public-library/

Art Everywhere

I have recently returned from a 4 month sabbatical, the intent of which was to get some perspective as to the future of Portland Public Library.  I interviewed colleagues in various parts of the country, sat, thought and read all kinds of things.  One of my major areas of investigation involved creativity.  I have come to the strong conclusion that, in going forward, the major asset required in employees and to be expressed organizationally is creativity.  You need starting points of curiosity and intelligence, both individually and organizationally, but I think you also need to make it possible for people to be creative by caring about the physical work environment and having the right structure.

When I returned from my time away, the first thing that I appreciated was the quality of the Main Library and the building as a whole.  On Friday May 4th, Alice Spencer of the City’s Public Art Committee gave a talk on the Little Water Girl, a public art work featured prominently in the Library.  By early June it will have been seen by one million visitors since the reopening in April 2010.  And even more special was the award received by our architects, Scott Simons and Associates, on Monday, May 7.   At the Maine Chapter of the American Institute of Architects biennial awards ceremony, held at the Portland Museum of Art, the Library received one of three Honor Awards and was the only non residential structure to be so honored.

http://aiamaine.org/awards2012/2012-award-winners/

It is good to be back.