Category: 
Florence, Co. Brave librarians throw away all lame excuses
After our admired friend Jenny Levine posted our tour on her blog Karen Hixon was brave enough to invite the Dutch gang over to her library. Despite our impossible schedule we really wanted to visit a small town library to see how they are facing the challenges of the 21st century. Well did we come to the right place. After an amazing meal with lots of cows and a good night rest on the ranch, we were ready to see how the 3500 people of Florence were using their library. And what a lovely library we did find. A real community center with a knitting group, the Wool Gatherers, and a computer class going on as we came in. The night before there had been a lecture on The Day of the Dead, a Mexican celebration. This library is very much alive. Mostly, as we notice, because of inspired, ambitious, open minded staff. There are never enough budgets or enough hours or whatever reasons you may think of not to go ahead. These people do not count hours or stop on budget restrictions. They invent ways to do what they want. Game events why not, the place is packed with teens, who all love the initiative. Changing from a card system to barcodes and a free open source ILS and catalogue for their website, thus saving a lot of money, why not. They were lucky to find Jessie, a 15 year old wizard, who is implementing all the technique, but then what is luck? We Shanachies believe that if you really want something, you will call upon that sort of luck and it will come to you. Away with the excuses, if they can do it in Florence you can do it. Let’s get on with it. Thank you Karen and Judy. Your board can be proud of what you are doing for your community. On to Salt Lake it is, through the best of scenery. New energy and inspiration. First a meal in the Red Barn and than a night stop in Grand Junction. The pictures of Salt Lake look so good. It is almost a pity that we humans need to sleep sometimes.
You can also view & download the Quicktime Version below.
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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 28th, 2007 at 5:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Hi, guys, starting to miss you right here.
How are things right now? Completely bankrupt after the “library”visit in Vegas? Or driving in limousines ?
One never knows.
When will you ne riding through “the golden rolling hills of california” “where the redtail proudly soars”(please take a picture of that if you can, and guess the soarce of those quotes, the winner gets a glass of 16 years old Bushmills Malt at my place!)
Good luck with the show!
Have a hug and a smile
Hoi Jaap,
Ziet er goed uit, nog een paar nachtjes slapen en de reis van je leven zit er weer op.
We zijn benieuwd naar je verhalen en foto’s.
Tot gauw,
Ernst en Nel
Lovely story!
Sorry guys, the video doesn’t go any farther than Erik on horseback wanting a few minutes to be a cowboy. then it starts again.
Obviously the cowboyscene is too much for this machine.
But open sources?
Guess our singing broke your video camera, suppose you’ll just have to come back and do it all over again!
Hi Karen, the song was a big hit in Monterey. Videoproof will follow soon. Video should be ok now but that won’t stop us to come back again.
YES, it works. Nice tune, singing ladies, but still no SHANACHIE-song. Sad.
@ Pim: shanachie song will be in the final episode. Editing as we speak
[…] of the Shanachie Tour videos of American public libraries released so far, my favorite is easily the one from the Florence Public Library in Colorado. Not because of the message of “the open source ILS song” sung by two librarians there, […]
What a wonderful video! The folks at Fremont Library — indeed, the creative folks in Florence — are an inspiration! I live up the hill in Colorado Springs, where the library district has programs to attract crafters, seniors, and teens. Am excited to see the Fremont offer all this — and OPEN SOURCE ILS! They prove that there are only boundaries if we accept them.
Pim, you brought a tear to me eye. Won’t quote the source of those lyrics since I can’t collect on the Bushmills. But I love that music and miss the wonderful word pictures so much! Love to watch the hawks ride columns of air current, up here in the rolling hills of Colorado.
Drink one for me, yah?
Mary, if you’re even coming to The Netherlands, there is still the promised Bushmills. From your remarks I must gather that you still miss out beloved Kate. Well, who doesn’t. And she still deserves to be heard. Well, in any good library one might consider lending out cd’s and dvd’s in this day and age.
And yes, I have the Kate Wolf DVD and it is amazing.
So…..
The boys meanwhile are back in town as I write this, and tired but in good health I think.
I will drink one for you. Who knows in the future…
Best wishes, Pim
I am sad that I could not get the video to work, since everyone one on here is raving about it! I do think that it is great that the library is keeping up with the 21st century and not set in their old ways. The more people accept that the times are changing the more beneficial they become!!!
@ R.Hammond: video’s are being transferred to different server. Back online in a day.