Fiction Nation - Smart Reviews for Modern Readers - Hosted by Kim Alexander

Library Show

An audio file of this program is available in mp3 format; click to listen.

I'm Kim Alexander and this is Fiction Nation. Where did you spend most of your time when you were growing up? At the mall? Out in the neighborhood with your friends, playing ball, or just telling your folks you were playing ball? How about the library? For a bookish kid, the library was the safest haven — you'd never find a bully there, not if they wanted to keep their tough guy cred, and during the summer? Air conditioning. Bonus. Back then, the librarian struck fear across the entire social spectrum — no matter how cool you were at PS 102, once you were inside the library, you did not want that kind of attention. Yes, the library was like the kid demilitarized zone. I remember those nights — once a week or so — after dinner, when my mom would take me to the Oceanside, Long Island public library. There were two buildings — the kids section, and the adult library, and that glass hallway separating them felt like a big deal. I spent most of time in the science fiction section — it was actually just one wall of books, but I worked my way through it. I learned the 3 laws of robotics, and I could have built a time machine or a space ship if I could have gotten the parts. I have to admit a lot of those books were way over my head, but at least they were there, freely available. Give them a try, why not? And it's kind of fun to revisit books I read back then, turns out I missed a bunch of stuff. For instance — when you're 11, Metamorphosis is about a guy who turns into a bug, eeeeeewwwww. May have been some other stuff going on there.

Libraries today have a lot of competition for your kid's attention — much of it comes from a little glowing screen. So libraries have to adapt and change, just like everything else. I feel like a little bit of an old fogie when I admit I hate that idea. I want libraries to be the same as they were when I was a child, cool and quiet, and full of everything in this world and out of it.

Ginnie Cooper is the new executive director of the public library system in the District of Columbia. When I spoke with Ginnie one of the things I was going to ask her about was adapting libraries to changing technology, and whether she had to work to overcome any hesitation on her own part as far as taking advantage of all that shiny new stuff. As you'll hear, Ginnie is the opposite of afraid of change. I think DC is very lucky to have her.

Ginnie Cooper of the District of Columbia library system on Fiction Nation, Saturday February 10th at 6pm and Sunday February 11th at 10:30am on Take Five, XM 155, and on Sunday, February 11th at 11:30am and pm on Sonic Theater, XM 163 (all times EST).

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