Wo zum Teufel ist Freising?!

Where is Freising you ask? Freising is located in southern Bavaria and during the Middle Ages was one of the most important cities in Germany (or as it was then known, the Holy Roman Empire). The public library in Freising (Stadtbibliothek Freising) was founded in 1959 and was first located in the old city hall. When I first started frequenting the library in 1988 during my studies in Munich, it had already been located in the Marcushaus at Marienplatz for the past 15 years. Sadly, I failed to take any pictures when I was there but I did find some on their website including some in black & white which could possibly even be from the 70's!




In November of 1991, the library reopened in Praetnerhaus located on Obere Hauptstrasse. Amazingly I didn't get to Bavaria at all during the 90's, so I didn't get here until the summer of 2000. There was considerably more room at this location compared to the Marcushaus location, but of course we librarians know that doesn't last long! Again, here are some pictures from the website as I was too lazy to take my own!


The present library resides on Weizengasse since 2006 but because I haven't been there yet, no pictures! Guess what I'll be doing next time I'm in Freising!

Going Green at Hamilton Mill

One of Library Journal's (no, not this blog but the actual journal!) top 10 finalists for new landmark libraries in 2011, Hamilton Mill is part of the Gwinnett County Public Library (GCPL) in Georgia and opened its doors in the spring of 2010. I was lucky enough to pay it a visit just weeks after it opened and just weeks before I left GCPL. This environmentally-friendly building and some of its innovative designs can be read in the full article here.





RFID self-checkout with the ability to pay your fines!

My new workplace...

Well, it's been six months now at my new job so I figure it's about time I post about it!

Ohio used to be the benchmark for public libraries in America, but that started to change during the 90s with decreased funding. However, this was nothing compared to the crash in 2008 when libraries across the country found themselves reeling.

This is the Union Township Branch of the 10-branch public library system of Clermont County. Compared to the neighboring county of Hamilton, which includes Cincinnati, Clermont doesn't have anywhere near the amount of resources or money for programming, but being a patron of Hamilton I can say that Clermont has one clear advantage and that is customer service. Not that Hamilton provides bad service, but comparatively Clermont staff is more attentive and personable. Union Township is slated to move towards the end of the year in proximity of the East Gate Mall and is poised to take over the #1 spot in highest circulation in the county.

As the adult services librarian, the reference desk is my domain!

Partial view of the DVD collection. A decent sized collection with a good mix of current movies and classics, vintage TV shows and various nonfiction titles.

To think I gave up my own office for a desk in a cubicle! But hey, this is a great place to work and I'm glad Clermont called me!

Memories of Munich!

I first started frequenting this library in 1988 during my year studying at the University in Munich. Otherwise known as die Zentralbibliothek des Münchner Bibliothekssytems, it opened in 1984 and during the time I was a patron, it was the most impressive library I had used. In addition to a vast audio/visual collection, I had an awesome laminated library card complete with a scanable barcode, something that wasn't commonplace in the states until the 90s!


Unfortunately I did not take any photos back in the day, but I did manage to find some recent ones on the web.

It's Parrot Time!

This is the Delhi Branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, just one of forty branches in this system. It is one of the busiest library systems in the country serving a population of 500,000 or more and has one of the ten largest collections in the U.S. with over 9 million items!

This past weekend I attended my first library program in probably a decade. Three members of the Greater Cincinnati Bird Club gave a presentation featuring three of our feathered friends: a macaw, a cockatoo and an African Grey parrot. The program itself was held in the main part of the library and turned out to be a big hit with a final count of 76 people. After a brief introduction by the reference librarian who arranged the event, each member of the bird club talked about one of the parrots and offered advice for those interested in purchasing a bird as a pet and tips on maintenance.

Clymer Library in the Heart of the Poconos

This library certainly brings back a lot of memories for me. During the time I worked at Skytop Lodge, I used to frequent this library during the late 1990s to attend a monthly program entitled "Foreign Film Night."

It is a small rural library in northeastern Pennsylvania, but already more than a decade ago, they were offering internet access, had a very respectable AV collection and were even able to offer up adult programming on a shoestring budget.


Orderly, well lit and very functional, this may very well be my favorite small library so far. Hopefully I will be able to make a return visit in the near future... and get my library card renewed!

http://www.clymerlibrary.org/

The Mecca of Public Libraries

Don't ask me why I've taken so long to post this library. I am from New York after all! Well, when it comes to public libraries, I challenge you to find one more famous than this!
Technically, this is a research library although it is open to the public and is part of NYPL, the New York Public Library System, which consists of over 80 branches.

the most famous lion in New York

the grand reading room

the map division room

an old postcard featuring the library








For a history on the library, click on this link. I would rather present to you a blurb from this book by Marilyn Johnson. In her chapter entitled "Gotham City", she gives a very vivid view on the inner workings of the old library.

"This library is huge. It encompasses two city blocks, millions of items, miles of shelves, hundreds of librarians, a cavernous storage space beneath Bryant Park, the whole thing humming like a freeway. You locate what you want in the digital catalog, an ever-expanding index of knowledge. You write down your name and the particulars of the item, its call number and title, on an old-fashioned clip with a stubby pencil. You have just used the most sophisticated tool in the library and the least sophisticated; the twenty-first-century library embraces both. A reference librarian checks the call number against a map of the library, tucks the slip into one of the 1911-era brass tubes, and sends your request whizzing through pneumatic pipes to a station deep in the building's bowels. If you're lucky, the book is where it is supposed to be and arrives at the call desk on a conveyer belt; the slip you sent out like a prayer is answered."