Library Services from a Very Different Perspective

Hello. My name is Mildred.

But don’t call me that. My mother named me after some ancient movie called "Mildred Pierce" starring some ancient dead actress. What teenager wants to be called Mildred? Why couldn’t she have named me Miley or Brittany or something cool like that? Anyway, I want to be called Lassie. I don’t know why – it just has a certain ring to it.

Anyway, I heard that the library is doing a survey this week (September 18-24) wanting to know how people feel about the services that the library provides.

On behalf of my fellow teens, I wanted to let you know how we feel.

We want a place where we can hang out and our little yelps, growls and occasional whining won’t bother anybody when we are meeting our friends. We like to come to the library to socialize, use the computer, and play games. But also, some of us don’t have quiet homes to go to so we need a place where we can concentrate and study.

It might not seem like we are doing something productive by gaming and attending movies at the library, but what adults sometimes don’t realize is that in order for us to thrive, we need support from adults besides our parents. We need positive role models, we want to feel valued and we want to feel safe.

We get that at the library.

At the library, we can get the latest Twilight books and romp around a bit, but we also see adults who like us, who smile at us when we come to the library, who we can see are respectful to others, who set reasonable boundaries for us and who are serving their community. We may not show it, but we appreciate it. And when we see this, it makes us want to serve our community too. We are glad we can do community service at the library. It makes us feel a part of the community. And that’s important to us, because we may act silly and get frisky soemtimes, but we really do want to be successful.

So that’s my two cents.

Sincerely, Mildred “Lassie” Pierce







Hello, my name is Frederic, and I am a senior.

Not only am I a senior citizen, but I am also the senior member of my pack..er, community.

As a senior, I am weighing in on the services of my community library.

I want the library to have large print books, so I can read more easily, quiet areas and places where I can gather with other seniors to talk about the issues of the day, such as the desirability of off-leash parks and local businesses providing water dishes outside their establishments. We want classes to teach us how to paw a mouse on the computer (good thing I am not a cat or that would be funny), and ESL classes to help us communicate better with humans. Other class ideas would be "Grooming for Dogs – Pros and Cons of Shaving in the Summer" or "Are Working Dogs Being Adequately Compensated?" Just a couple of ideas I had.

Anyway, I also see the library as a volunteer opportunity. I have friends in the "Reading with Rover" program who find it very enriching to help children with their reading. I also miss my grandchildren who have grown up and moved away, so it feels good to work with other young people. My library has some intergenerational classes where teens help us old folks understand our laptops or cell phone.

By cracky, when I look at it, I can see that my library is doing a very good job serving seniors such as myself. Thank you for caring what your community wants. I really appreciate the opportunity to give my input.

Sincerely, Frederic Alexander Poodle







Hewwo, my name is Baby Tarquin.

I think my friend A.J. wrote something recently about the Ready Reader Program. I wanted to be sure you heard from babies about what we think of the library. We like board books we can easily handle and Mommy and Daddy won’t have a fit if we chew, I mean, gum them a bit. During Baby Story Time, I like when you show my parents how to do things that baby's enjoy, so that when we are home together they won't just plop me in front of the TV. I enjoy songs, I enjoy puppets, I enjoy rhyming games and for them to read to me. Your baby and children's story times help my parents learn how to engage me and get me ready for kithergarten(sic).

And I like treats.

I don’t like the words “no” or “stop that!”

Thank you for listening.

PS I love my librarians and my library. They are doing a gr-r-r-reat job for my parents and me. Sorry, I didn't mean to growl.

Sincerely, Tarquin A. Baby

Please take the time this week – Sept. 20-24 – to fill out the survey at your community library to weigh in on your community library’s services.

We want to hear from you!