ad-free
Channel / Source:
TEDx Talks
Published: 2013-12-16
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa6ERdxyYdo
when you work in a public library you never know who's going to come through that door you never know what questions they're going to ask one day a young boy who is eight or nine years old ask an unusual question had been hanging out in the library all summer and he said well I have an idea I'd like to check out a room today like to
check out a room for the week as a matter of fact I've been scoping the space out in your house Astoria room you're not using and the puppet %HESITATION stage that doesn't seem to be used then I'd like to put together a puppet program for but the kids and their families on Friday afternoon what he is saying it's an unusual question and I couldn't cyclic through
my mind as to well what could possibly go wrong seemed like an innocent enough question and I've I thought okay let's go for it so I said yes with two caviar that's one you just need to check in and out with the staff so that they know where you are and you need to %HESITATION pickup after self he did exactly that he came in every afternoon
he set up the stage he worked on this project he worked with the puppets on Friday afternoon there were signs handmade will over the library puppet show two o'clock he gathered about thirty people in the story around kids in their moms and their dads he did a lovely puppet show the kids clapped he was happy I thought he was a star good idea he laughed and
we didn't see him for a couple of weeks later that fall he came in on a Saturday he came up to the desk and he brought his dad with Jimmy said today's my birthday and of all the places in the world a place I wanted to come to the most was the library I want to introduce you to my dad and then he said but I
have some news we are going to be moving away my dad got a job we're moving out of the homeless shelter we have an apartment and we're not gonna be able to come back to the library anymore but I wanted to say goodbye and thank you so's apple in his dad's left I had this big lump in my throat little did I know that when he
asked that question how important it was for him to have that space to create I think to fulfill some dreams he needed someone to have the instinct to say yes and I'm so grateful that they did he needed somebody to be on this side isn't that what we all need some people have questioned the relevance of libraries today all over the world libraries are adapting to
me their community's needs and they're different in different communities in London they've completely revamped rebranded libraries they call it the idea stores where people could calm men have a Cup of coffee take a class shop for an idea libraries are becoming early responders last year after hurricane sandy the New York Public Library is where some of the first agencies to reopen after the hurricane this is
an image of a queens library branch in which the day after C. and they happened they didn't have water they didn't have electricity but they opened for their community to distribute food %HESITATION important supplies and water the same thing as happened in Colorado lately during our disasters the recent fires and floods our libraries are there doing whatever our communities need in Adams County we were the
poorest library system for over forty years in two thousand and six our community voted to increase our funding and I'm ever so grateful because now we have seven brilliant lovely libraries that are places that people can come and do that dreaming but they need to that creating we use the model of treehouse as one of our points of inspiration because if you've ever built a tree
house or a for it you know that feeling of being in that space where you are in charge you have the power you're in charge of the world and you can do or dream or become anything you want that's what happens in libraries over a hundred years ago the first city librarian with John cotton Dana said the purpose of the public library is the pursuit of
happiness first and education seconds when those are your inspirations happiness in education it's all good libraries are places where you can create and collaborate we have tools to share like this three D. printer you can learn how to the digital photography or you can make a video this is our studio one of our one of our most important resources are actually our staff this is mo
where studio guide we think all of our staff are part wizard part genius part explorer and the work that they do every day changes people's lives libraries are learning places we used to relying on books for learning but now we know that people have different learning styles that's why we have community gardens at our libraries people come together and they learn from each other they work
together they show each other how to plant and how to grow the best vegetables they learn how to get along we work with Denver urban gardens their mission is building community one garden at a time our community gardeners get to know their neighbors and that's as important as knowing how to grow those vegetables at our library everything isn't it one big experiment and that's why when
our facilities director Doug came in my office one day and said Pam I'd like to hire the urban goats Tom and mow our grass I get all sorts of great questions and my response is almost always yes but when three hundred goats showed up and our library with the goat herders for a week we were in for a big surprise we didn't realize that this was
gonna turn into one of our biggest experiences a bit bay as learning experiences almost immediately kids on their moms and dads and families started asking questions like tell me about the goats digestive system can I pet the goats can I feed the goat what do goats eat where's the baby goat they pulled grass and they pulled our weeds which was great it was cheap labor some
families even went home and they pulled weeds from their yards at them brought it back to the library the next day you can learn anything if you make it playful libraries bringing history to live and that creates conversation we recently broadened that exhibit from the me is the Holocaust museum that was fighting the fires of hate the Nazis in the book book banning we wanted people
to talk about this and interact and so we had this question as they left the library and they could vote would you risk jail time to defend your favorite book yes or no the questions actually where just about even and we listen to people as they were leaving the library having these big family discussions about whether they would go to jail over Harry potter in order
to bring additional context to the exhibit we invited Walter Pulaski he's one of the ten surviving Holocaust survivors in the state of Colorado who lives in boulder Walter shared his stories that night he told us about how they survived in the ghettos in Poland on three hundred calories a day and how his brother and he spent time in boss wits and Dachau and how they survived
in the skate at the end of his speech he left us with these words don't be an evil doer don't be a bystander to evil as I said to Walter when I ask people were leaving isn't this exhausting Walter is typical Walter way said who else is gonna do it this is his mission libraries are places that support creativity community innovation and entrepreneurial ism we are
the cornerstones of democracy everyone has a seat at the table and we treat everyone with the same respect and dignity whether you are a millionaire or whether you are that boy who was homeless so the next time somebody says to you why do we need a library I ask you to pause and reflect and I hope you'll think who else is gonna do this I can
