Fremont County is large, diverse, and filled with opinions, or “talk in the 10.” “Talk in the 10” is an opportunity for you, our readers, to articulate and share your thoughts about what is happening in the community with the community. Letters may have been edited for clarity and length, but generally have been published exactly as received. The views expressed in the following are solely those of the author. Send your letters to our editors by emailing opinion@county10.com
We see you, Fremont County Library Patrons.
We, the librarians, see ALL of you and are here for ALL of you.
We see the well-dressed business people here for a meeting. We see the down-on-their-luck patrons needing somewhere to sit out of the cold and wait for a ride. We see the youngsters bursting with energy as they come for a program. We see the tweens slinking in asking for the latest Dog Man. We see the elders who come in desperate for help with filling out government forms that are now only available on the internet. We see the single parents juggling child care while trying to study for the exams that will get them a better job. We see the teary-eyed relatives desperate to find information that will help their loved one who is fighting a physical or mental disease. We see the college students grateful for somewhere to study. We see the lonely, grateful for someone to chat with about this or that. We see the grumpy looking to pick an argument. We see the readers happy that the book they’ve been waiting for has arrived. We see the mechanic (professional and amateur) looking for instructions on an obscure car fix. We see the enthusiastic genealogists excited to share their latest find. We see the homeschool family grateful for that needed book. We see the struggling reader and their parent searching for anything to catch their interest. We see the exhausted parents of toddlers grateful for a change of scenery for a while. We see the traveler impressed enough with such a nice facility to comment on it. We see the we-don’t-have-streaming crowd happy to check out DVDs from our supply. We see people of all ages, all walks of life, searching for information about the questions important to them. We see people searching for a place in the community where they can connect to others.
We also see the Library Board Members when they attend board meetings. Those board members who presumably are working for the betterment of the library system. At least, it would make sense if you sign up to be a member of a volunteer board, your motivation would be to work to make that organization the best that it could be, right? And maybe that might involve actually utilizing the library enough to know the general scope of what we do. Hopefully, that would involve talking positively to all your friends about the great activities happening at your local branch and your hopes for the future. Ideally, that would involve positive interactions with staff so you could respect what we do.
Instead, we seem to have some board members who are constantly negative about the library, even in public meetings. We have board members who couldn’t name two staff members at their local branch. We have board members who say that if they just had the data, they could analyze our problems away. When you ask for lists of what we have done with the collection for the last four years, it looks like you are implying you could do better than the staff who see the public each day. You, who don’t know what the staff do, don’t know what the patrons who actually use the library want, and don’t know what it takes to get them what they want. This work actually takes some skill and experience to do it well. And it is disheartening to have a board that doesn’t acknowledge that.
So where do we go from here? Borrowing the phrase and the suggested solution from a very popular recent event at the library, we need to talk (not lecture) to each other and listen to concerns. You wonder why there are fewer books in one branch than in another? Ask that question. But listen to the answers we give. That will give you more insight than a list of titles. Want to increase foot traffic at the library? How about starting with some acknowledgement about the wonderful work we do each day and the positive effect we have on the communities we serve. Let’s work together for a bright future for the Fremont County Library System.
Sincerely,
The following Fremont County Library System Staff Members:
- Tamara Anderson
- Rachel Arnold
- Christina Bolin
- Becky Brazil
- Patti Bucy
- Alex Carlson
- Faith Daniels
- Elizabeth Duke
- Kennedy Erhart
- Pauley Fross
- Kathy Gettelman
- Amy McClure
- Rebecca Slaton
- Kolton Washut
- Cindy Wright