{"id":85228,"date":"2014-12-03T11:30:40","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T17:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=85228"},"modified":"2014-12-02T18:02:29","modified_gmt":"2014-12-03T00:02:29","slug":"creating-a-library-oasis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=85228","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Library Oasis"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Rebecca Kluberdanz, Senior Editor,\u00a0INALJ\u00a0Montana<\/a>,\u00a0Nebraska<\/a>,\u00a0Nevada<\/a>,\u00a0New Hampshire<\/a>,\u00a0New Jersey<\/a>,\u00a0\u00a0New Mexico<\/a>, and\u00a0Wyoming<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Creating a Library Oasis<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"REBECCA_KLUBERDANZ_NYS\"<\/a>The civil unrest going on in Ferguson, MO right now is no doubt scary but there is one\u00a0important thing I have learned during all this turmoil. The role of a library can truly never be\u00a0defined. In the wake of all this destruction the staff of the Ferguson Municipal Public Library\u00a0stepped up to the challenge and did something beautiful. Scott Bonner, the director of the\u00a0library, believes he is just doing what libraries ought to do but the truth is not everyone would\u00a0act this way and I, for one, am proud to be able to call myself a librarian along with him.<\/p>\n

The situation is definitely teaching people everywhere the importance of the public\u00a0library. It serves more than one purpose and can do more than just provide people with a\u00a0computer and reading material. The library can become a port in a storm. In Ferguson they were\u00a0able to use the space as a safe haven for families with children during the unrest and not only\u00a0provided access to the Internet but fed people, entertained them and helped them learn when\u00a0there was no school being held. They even opened their doors to businesses offering help to\u00a0preserve records and help with tax information.<\/p>\n

A library\u2019s job is truly never done. As librarians we are always hearing a little bit of\u00a0criticism about what libraries are being used for. There\u2019s Amazon and e-books, why do libraries\u00a0still exist? Well, the library in Ferguson shows exactly why they exist. Libraries are not only here\u00a0for books but to help people and make a difference in the community. The library is here to\u00a0provide any help necessary and Ferguson exemplifies that beautifully.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another important lesson here as well. As a librarian it is important not think of\u00a0yourself in a vacuum. Your day-to-day roles may change at the drop of a hat and it is important\u00a0to be flexible. Everything you do is to help your patrons even if that means doing something that\u00a0was not originally listed in your duties. I am sure that when these people were first employed at\u00a0the Ferguson Municipal Public Library they did not see themselves feeding people lunch and\u00a0providing water to protestors being tear-gassed but that is where they are today without\u00a0complaint. The employees of this library are truly an inspiration they definitely provide a perfect\u00a0model for the modern librarian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Rebecca Kluberdanz, Senior Editor,\u00a0INALJ\u00a0Montana,\u00a0Nebraska,\u00a0Nevada,\u00a0New Hampshire,\u00a0New Jersey,\u00a0\u00a0New Mexico, and\u00a0Wyoming Creating a Library Oasis The civil unrest going on in Ferguson, MO right now is no doubt scary but there is one\u00a0important thing I have learned during all this turmoil. The role of a library can truly never be\u00a0defined. In the wake of all this destruction…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":74188,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,6695,5580,3625,3787,3610,3599,3632,3635,3631,3915,6694,6255,6693],"class_list":["post-85228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-ferguson-missouri","tag-importance-of-libraries","tag-inalj-montana","tag-inalj-nebraska","tag-inalj-nevada","tag-inalj-new-hampshire","tag-inalj-new-jersey","tag-inalj-new-mexico","tag-inalj-wyoming","tag-libraries","tag-library-oasis","tag-rebecca-kluberdanz","tag-the-librarys-role"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/REBECCA_KLUBERDANZ_NYS.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-maE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/74188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}