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We’re writing from the Tucson International Airport, about to head back to Sacramento and Columbus. (We leave again for Salt Lake City tomorrow, but that’s another trip, another story.) It’s been a most rewarding week on tour here in southeastern Arizona – and an excellent first edition of what we hope will be a long-running annual event. To recap:
- 2 consultants
- 6 days
- 10 libraries
- 686.8 miles of amazing desert scenery
- 21 cans of Diet Coke
- half a case of bottled water
- 2 excellent pizzas
- 2 bags of Nibblers
- 1 piece of chocolate cake with to-die-for peanut butter frosting (split 3 ways)
- 2 monsoons
- 4 rainbows
- 2 iPods
- 2 enthusiastic – if not always on pitch – singers
- 3 en-route conference calls
- 7 u-turns
- 2 jackrabbits
- 1 blue lizard
- hundreds of lavender butterflies
- at least 64 jokes and bad puns
- 3 world class sunsets
- 1 shootout re-enactment
- 7 blog posts
- 77 photos
- 133 new friends
- countless delights and insights
- and NO rattlesnakes!
Ya gotta love this work!
–Joan and George
Today, we took a step back in time, visiting historic libraries in Bisbee and Tombstone. Copper Queen Library in Bisbee is the oldest continually operating public library in Arizona. We spent the morning meeting with director Peg White and her staff. The two points that were most memorable in this discussion were the dedication of the staff to maintaining the historic qualities of this fine old library building while modernizing its services, and the way the library reflects Bisbee’s iconoclastic nature. We also bonded with programming maven Donna, when she shared her pleasure that the library programs are building community.
Did we learn library voice in library school?
After a brief visit and lunch with Cochise County Library Director Lisé Gilliland, it was on to Tombstone for an afternoon of sightseeing and a visit to the Tombstone Public Library. We paid our respects at the O.K. Corral, where none of the animatronics looked like Val Kilmer, much to Joan’s dismay. The charming Tombstone Library is housed in the old train depot, and it’s filled with pictures and memorabilia of the Old West and mining days.
We talked with librarian MJ Harvel about the history of the library and its role in the community. We also saw firsthand how personal library service can be in small towns, as one of the Tombstone re-enactors came in for his daily fix of interlibrary loans.
We couldn’t leave Tombstone without stopping at the Crystal Palace, one of the bars that dates back to the Earp days, for an adult beverage. We toasted the end of our tour with a promise that this was only the first annual George and Joan Road Trip.
–George and Joan
Before you read this post, you should be warned that we’re writing to you from rattlesnake country.
If George had known this, another state might have won the road trip!
On the other hand, Joan was fine with the rattlesnakes, but she couldn’t shake the feeling we were being watched.
This morning, we played hookey, and made a quick side trip to the Nature Conservancy’s Ramsey Canyon Preserve. This area is noted for its diversity of birds and butterflies.
In the afternoon, at the gorgeous Sierra Vista Public Library, we met with four local library directors: Lisa Lewis from Huachuca City Library; Peggy Scott from Benson Public Library; Peg White from the Copper Queen Library in Bisbee; and our delightful host, David Gunckel from the Sierra Vista Public Library. By the way, David should be a radio announcer; he has one of the best voices in libraryland.
The discussion revolved around pragmatic issues, such as staffing, finances, and an appropriate library response to Arizona’s weapons carry laws. For example, what exactly do you say to a gentleman who is sharpening his machete in your children’s room?
At the end of the day, we made the short drive to historic Bisbee, where we’re bunking at the School House Inn, a converted grade school that is now a B & B. Each room here is named after a traditional grade school subject. Joan has the “Writing Room,” George is in the “Reading Room,” but it so easily could have gone the other way.
Check out all our pictures from the road trip on our Flickr site.
Tomorrow, we visit two historic libraries in historic Arizona towns. Hint: in one of them, we can have a shootout at the “I’m OK, You’re OK” corral.
–George and Joan
Today, we had the opportunity to alternate between work and sightseeing.
We started off the morning at Pima County Public Library doing a Futureproof presentation for library staff, friends, board members, foundation members, and invited guests. The audience was great, the questions were cogent (a lot about eBooks), and we were only sorry we had to leave after three hours.
Next stop was Mission San Xavier del Bac, a little taste of what was going on out West when the Founding Fathers were otherwise engaged on the East Coast. Talk about Futureproofing: this Mission is nearly 300 years old!
Then, it was back in the rental beast, on our way to the border town of Nogales, with a brief stop to check out Tubac, the oldest European settlement in Arizona.
In Nogales, we met with Public Library Director Suzanne Haddock, her Board and city officials to discuss how the Nogales Public Library could position itself as a cultural center and tourist destination. Board members were brimming with ideas, and we had a stimulating conversation about a wide range of exciting possibilities.
During the session in Nogales, we got our first taste of the Arizona monsoon season. A gully washer of non-Noah proportions swept through while we were meeting, leaving a sparkling city and a rainbow in its wake. The rainbow accompanied us from Nogales to Hereford, making it one of the prettiest drives we’ve ever taken, and that covers a lot of miles for georgeandjoan.com.
You can see images from today’s travels on our Flickr site. See you down the road!
–Joan and George
What could be more fun than descending on three very different branch libraries on a sultry day in August in Arizona? Not much!
At each library, we had a chance to snoop around, see how people were using the services, and ask questions. Each visit concluded with a stimulating, no-holds-barred, off-the-record discussion about how the branch and the system as a whole could move forward.
We started the day at the newest branch of the Pima County Public Library, the Wheeler Taft Abbett, Sr. Library. Ruth Grant is the new managing librarian here, and she gave us an extensive tour. One of the highlights of this facility is an early literacy activity center called the “Librainium.” The Librainium provides a variety of interactive experiences for kids around reading readiness.
The second stop was the Sam Lena-South Tucson Library, where managing librarian Sol Gomez presides. Sol has put the library on the map through his tireless work to build community connections, and through programs such as “Teen Iron Chef,” done in collaboration with the University of Arizona library school and the John Valenzuela Youth Center.
The last stop was the Quincie Douglas Library, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year. Managing librarian Elva Smithwhite and her staff have been spectacularly successful in building community bonds, to the point where they are actively sought by a variety of organizations for partnerships and collaborations.
We rounded out the day with a
working dinner and we got our first sight of lightning over the mountains surrounding Tucson. Quite an impressive display!
Tomorrow, a presentation for Pima County Public Library staff and guests from other local systems, and then on to Nogales. Why Nogales? Tune in tomorrow!
–Joan and George
You’ve heard of speed dating, right? Today, on the first day of the George and Joan Keeping It Real Tour, we launched a new service: Speed Planning.
Spencer Paden, the director of the Apache Junction Public Library, asked us to help the library create a new five year strategic plan, based on PLA’s Planning for Results, but without the usual process of committee meetings or lengthy deliberations.
The recipe: Start with a quick review of important library trends, followed by an exploration of what makes the community a great place, and what residents hope for the future. Then choose service responses that speak to those community priorities. Meld and augment the PLA generic service responses to create localized strategic directions. Then brainstorm possible service initiatives that speak to the user experience: how can we get them started, get them unstuck, and keep them interested? The result was a framework for AJPL’s new plan, rooted in the needs and expectations of the community, with lots of options for how the library can align itself with those needs.
Next steps: staff contibutions to the list of service initiatives, then a winnowing process (using criteria developed during our planning session) to identify priorities for the coming years.
In the weeks to come, the wonderful staff at Apache Junction will work on fleshing out the service initiatives and setting specific objectives. Objectives will be established annually, to keep the plan from going stale before its time.
It was tough work to get so much done in just one day, but the planning team was great and we were treated like royalty.
Here we are in the castle in their children’s room. (To see other pictures from our road trip, go to our Flickr set.)
Whew! What a way to start the week…it was such a whirlwind day that we were all the way back to Tucson (about 100 miles away) before George realized he’d left his sportcoat in Apache Junction. Follow this blog for the rest of the week to see what else he loses!
–Joan and George
We start the Arizona ”George and Joan Keeping It Real Tour” this morning.
Today is devoted to getting to Tucson from Sacramento and Columbus, provisioning the rental beast, and getting to Apache Junction, Arizona.
The week looks like this:
- Monday, Apache Junction Public Library, to offer ideas and help shape a new strategic plan
- Tuesday, we will visit three branches of the Pima County Public Library in and around Tucson
- Wednesday morning, we’ll be doing a staff workshop for library workers in the Tucson area, using our “Futureproof” model as a jumping off point
- Wednesday afternoon, we’ll be in Nogales, meeting with the board and director of the Nogales-Santa Cruz County Public Library on their future plans
- Thursday, we will be meeting with Cochise County Library District directors at Sierra Vista Public Library
- Friday, it’s off to visit public libraries in two cities with more history than some whole states, Bisbee and Tombstone
We’ll be writing about the trip throughout the week. Join us, at least virtually, as we work on keeping it real!
—George and Joan
Joan and I often talk about the need to make the library easy to get around, a place where one can get started and feel successful fairly quickly. We offer some tips on using ”civilian” (i.e., non-library) wording and references on our signs.
Now it appears our colleagues in the art museum are starting to look at this as well. Gail Gregg has written an excellent article called “Your Labels Make Me Feel Stupid” in the current Art News outlining some of the ways art museums are reviewing and replacing their signs and the labels adjacent to works to make them more useful.
Art museums have identified the following eight questions as the most common ones visitors have.
- I don’t know where to start.
- I don’t know what to look at first.
- Have I looked at this long enough?
- What does circa mean?
- Your labels make me feel stupid.
- How did the artist make this?
- Why would a museum put this on display?
- Is this really art?
A lot of these sound pretty familiar, don’t they?
–George
Several days ago, we announced that the first annual George and Joan Keeping It Real Tour will take place in Southern Arizona. We’re fully aware of the controversy swirling around Arizona as a destination these days, and we did a lot of soul-searching in making this selection. But we are dedicated to the idea that strengthening libraries is one key to creating wiser communities.
Joan and George
Congratulations to Nancy Ledeboer and her colleagues in Southern Arizona who have been selected for the First Annual Keeping It Real Tour. Come August we’ll be visiting, speaking, training, consulting, and generally trying to stir things up at public libraries in Apache Junction, Tucson, Nogales, Tombstone, Bisbee, and Sierra Vista. We look forward to seeing the sights and enjoying the food as well!
Thanks to all the libraries that applied; it was a real challenge to choose just one trip from so many enticing itineraries. And just so you know, we aren’t kidding about this being the “first annual” tour – maybe we’ll be wheeling your way next year!
Joan and George
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