I support the proposal to build a new entrance on the first floor and provide easier/better access from the parking area. The current entrance is not built for Alaska’s winter conditions - when my children were young we would often go to the library in the winter and climbing the icy stairs and crossing the elevated, windswept plaza was downright unpleasant.
I think we should consider heated sidewalks that melt snow and ice. There was an article in the ADN:
http://www.adn.com/2013/01/06/2743400/hometown-u-cheap-carbon-fibers.html
Make that section of the library that houses the Alaska Collection into a multi-use area capable of hosting community dialogues.
The inner circular area in the lower level of this section is well-suited to dialogues.
The upper level circular area could be reconfigured to accommodate break-out groups.
This change would not require major structural work. Some removal of fixed furniture and reconfiguration of electrical fixtures may be required. The purchase of moveable tables and chairs designed to accommodate facilitated group dialogues would also be suitable for the needs of students and researchers. Improved electrical, internet and audio visual technologies would improve the experience of all users.
Use of the facility to accommodate community dialogues would occur, most often, during evenings and on week-ends. This would be very compatible with present use of the facility for research and study during normal library hours.
I work for the library, and I know we once sold canvas bags w/ logo through the Friends of the Library gift shop (which is now closed). I think we could sell them again - through the circulation department. My initial idea looks something like this: you can charge 2-300% of cost and make a decent profit on them (they can be plain or fancy, simple or fancy with little zip pockets etc). Patrons will pay this because in turn, every time they use their bag for check out they get $.25 off of their fee account. So a $10 bag would pay for itself after forty uses, etc. Since the municpality emphasizes library patron use over patron fine revenue, this is not a bad thing. And since the municipality emphasizes a clean city over used plastic bag circulation, this is a good thing. I suggest the circulation department because there is no FOL gift shop anymore, and there never were at the branch libraries. But if FOL wanted to be involved somehow, great! This is just a first draft idea, and could certainly benefit from other input.
I think some group study rooms would benefit the patrons of the library by providing separate sound proof rooms for small groups to meet in. This would provide an area where groups can meet to discuss whatever project they are working on and also give other users of the library the quiet they desire. One area of the library can have a bank of rooms which are reserved similar to the public use computers, for a certain time frame. One member of the group surrenders their library card as the rental fee then at the end of their time, a librarian checks the room for damages or missing items then gives back the card to the patron. Any missing items or damages must be paid before card is returned. Perfect for meetings of small community groups such as girl scounts working on something and for school age children assigned to a group project requiring research of the library or maybe tutoring sessions for home schooled children. Maybe one of the rooms can be outfitted with a projector that a laptop can be connected to for work on a power point project that the group is working on.
Very cool concept from the fabulous Library As Incubator Project, a blog of cutting edge library ideas. Let’s have an idea box at Loussac!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathan_moreau/418008212/in/photostream/#f
This would be a fun idea for the outside of the building.
I use the Alaska Section more than any other part of the library. It is full of stuff about where we live and the little animals that inhabit the rest of the library don’t go there much so you can hear yourself think there unlike the rest of the library which has become a preschool or playground. I have noted a complete set of the Scree (Mountaineering Club of Alaska Publication) dating from 1958 to present and a complete set of the AAJ (American Alpine Journal). I have flipped through every one and plan on doing it again. If these resources and everything else could be entered into a data base on location and team members name it would be a rush. For example take the book Alaska’s Wolf Man by Jim Reardon. A true wilderness adventure and Alaskan History Classic. In that book he talks about living on the Savage River in the 1920s in what is now Denali National Park. Now we know the mountains that Frank Glasier, the guy in the book, talked about, now have names and people climb them and make publish accounts in the Scree and other publications. If we could have an index that brought all these sources together on place or team member it would be a blast. In the case mentioned above Frank talks about how to successfully trap wolves. He transplanted tufts of grass to the top of the ridge in order to establish a pee station for wolves that he could lay traps near. Guess what. I have been on top of Mt. Margarret, the mountain that he mentions. Guess what is up on top of the ridge. You guessed it. Some very odd looking tufts of grass. I wondered how they got up there. Now I know who and why and the year it happened. I also know about the Natives that lived there before Frank hung out there since he talked about them. I have found their rock rings for their saunas or tents. I guess I could do a story in the Scree about it with photos but the Scree is full of this kind of thing. A Wilderness Travel / Mountaineering data base would suffice I think and if there was one central location it would be a cool place to go and hang but you need to have the USGS Maps there, too. They currently are at APU. Also you have to find a way to keep low lifes from walking out with the goods. The truth is when you walk into the Mountains and forest there is no question that something speaks to you in a certain sense. That is why we keep going back. To have the library recognize this fact and to also facilitate all documentation on locations it might make that voice, if you can call it that, a lot clearer. What a concept.
