December

Welcome...

mash — Sun, 04 May 2008 10:16:29 -0600

I have been writing a weekly newspaper column since 1987.

For 3 years, it ran in the Greeley Tribune. Since then, it has run in various subsidiaries of the Douglas County News Press. I still have most of my columns in digital format.

For many years, I only gave myself one rule: try to work the word "library" into every piece. My intent was to think in public about just what librarianship means at the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st.

December 31, 2009 - that was the year that was

Jamie LaRue — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:09:29 -0700

Here at the end of 2009, I sent an email around to the staff of the Douglas County Libraries. I asked them to reflect on what they were proud of over the past year. I thought I'd share their responses with you.

Karen Dvorchak noted that "With the Bookmobile retiring this summer, I am very proud of the efforts the drivers and staff made through all kinds of weather and conditions to bring our services into the neighborhoods."

December 24, 2009 - a gift for all ages

Jamie LaRue — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:41:49 -0700

December 24, 2007 - A Gift Suitable for All Ages

For the past several years, I've been reprinting what I've come to think of as "my holiday column" -- a tradition. I hope you enjoy it.

***

What we really need is an all-purpose gift that will satisfy everybody. It should be suitable for all ages. It should require no assembly. It shouldn't need batteries. You shouldn't have to feed it. It should last forever. It should be constantly entertaining. The more the recipient uses it, the more he or she should like it.

And of course, it should be free.

No such animal, right? Wrong. I'm talking about a library card.

LaRue's Views 12/17/09 - 7 arguments for building new libraries

Jamie LaRue — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:33:37 -0700

Recently, one of our employees moved to the Midwest to become the director of a library whose main building was destroyed by a thousand year flood. On the one hand, many members of the community are working to restore that library.

On the other, this former employee tells me he's hearing more and more often the refrain that building libraries just isn't necessary. Not in the 21st century. Not in the age of the Internet.

December 10, 2009 - potential ballot issues undo public infrastructure

Jamie LaRue — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:49:12 -0700

Last week, I wrote about civic literacy. One aspect of that is knowing something about our framework of laws, the United States Constitution.

Libraries are very much about the First Amendment -- freedom of speech. Sometimes, that gets awkward.

As I think Reggie Rivers once said, nobody minds if you stand on a street corner and profess your tender affection for butterflies.

The reason we need the First Amendment is to protect unpopular speech, to say things that are not innocuous or pleasant.

Here's a case in point. Last month, petition-gatherers stood outside several Douglas County libraries. Some of these folks were local.

Some were apparently from the west coast. A few of them claimed they were getting paid up to a dollar per signature. It's not clear who paid them.

December 4, 2008 - back up to move forward

Jamie LaRue — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:55:14 -0700

Back in my early twenties, I had an unusually vivid dream. I was driving a car, when suddenly, a big concrete wall loomed up in front of me. Crash!

For a moment, I was stunned, stopped, horrified. Then, I gradually realized that I wasn't bleeding. Nothing was broken. I put the car in reverse, and slowly backed up. Everything seemed to be working. I pulled forward around the blockade. And woke up.

The meaning was clear enough. Back then, I had a gift for making spectacularly bad romantic choices. The dream was about another breakup ... that I survived.

I find the image apt for the 2008 library election. Crash! - 52.6% of the county voted down a mill levy increase.

Castle Pines North voted for the mill levy increase at 62%. Parker approved it at 51%. Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree came in at 48%; Castle Rock at 43%, and Roxborough at 38%. But despite regional differences, the total is what matters.

The library was on the road to keeping pace with growth and demand. And after two attempts to make that case to the voters, I think we have to assume that the community has spoken. That road is blocked.

December 27, 2007

spyder — Sun, 04 May 2008 00:00:00 -0600

So You Want to be a Trustee?

The players have changed but the game remains the same." - Harrison Ford, "Working Girl."

As we approach 2008, the Library Board of Trustees finds itself with two vacancies. Leaving us at the end of December is Steve Roper, who was appointed back in 1996. His term expires in January of 2010; his replacement will fill that out. Candidates must currently reside in Douglas County Commissioner District III, meaning Highlands Ranch.

December 7, 2006 - We Store it for You

Jamie LaRue — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:34:15 -0600

I'm at a point in my life where "stuff" is starting to catch up with me.

On the one hand, there are boxes. I'm not just talking clothes, but those mysterious boxes that somehow survived three moves and ten years in the basement. Many of them are books, of course.

Some of those boxes are stuffed with my own writings. I have notebooks, I kid you not, from 6th grade. I have a couple of my incredibly naive and amateurish attempts at novels from high school. I do not, I promise you, spend my evenings reviewing this debris.

December 14, 2006 - Pay Attention!

Jamie LaRue — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:34:15 -0600

So here's my 12 year old son, Max, talking on our cordless telephone to his sister, Maddy. She's calling from Germany.

December 21, 2006 - Give the Perfect Gift

Jamie LaRue — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:34:15 -0600

Back in 1992, I reprised a column I'd written even earlier. I find that I still don't have much to add. So here it is again. Happy holidays!

And of course, it should be free.