Tech Services Happenings

I attended the Southeast Florida Library Leaders: Building the Next Generation of Service to Underserved Populations Regional Meeting: Politics 101 workshop on September 18th, 2008. The morning included panel discussions with political decision makers and with library advocates. The panels focused on the political context of library policies and funding.

The property tax cut and the fact that there is a huge disconnect between people’s understanding of what they are voting for and their perception of how it will affect their lives was discussed at great length. If you voted in favor of the tax cut and you are a fireman, you may not have realized that the extra $0.66 a day you’re saving in property taxes will mean a smaller paycheck (or no paycheck) for you. This is because property taxes fund budgets for schools,  police, fire stations, hospitals, garbage disposal, sewers, road and sidewalk maintenance, parks, libraries, and miscellaneous expenditures.

Another disconnect exists between the legislators estimation of the value of the library given the many services it provides to the public and its actual usage, especially in times of economic crisis. This is the reason why it is so important to communicate the value of your library to your representatives; make them aware of the after-school programs, computer literacy classes, multi-media collections saving its patrons lots of money with less fees from Blockbuster, outreach programs, etc, so that maybe we can save these services from extinction. They need to know that, in these trying times, library usage has increased significantly; people cannot afford to pay for luxuries like entertainment when they can barely pay for gas or groceries.

This workshop was very enlightening. I used to think a form letter to your representatives would mean something – apparently, they just hit delete when it reaches their inbox (one of them freely admitted this). It’s best to write a heart-felt letter. They consider five letters on one subject an inordinate amount and they do get noticed. Good to know.

Anyone who knows me knows I love fabric and everything about it  — from the plant or animal to the finished goods. The Graves Museum used to be in Dania, you can still see the building on Main Street with the TRex skeleton leaping from the facade.  It has forever closed and the collection is now across the street at Broward College, to make a long story short. 

This morning I met with the curator, Ms Kirsty Forgie, to see how this special collection is organized. What can I say?  How a collection is organized holds me spellbound.  And I was riveted. Ms Forgie worked at the Graves for 10 years and continues her work, almost singlehandedly. She packed up the 50,000 square foot museum herself, in every kind of box.  She and her assistant, Ted, have unboxed and photographed and carefully wrapped each piece in acid free tissue. 

Ms Forgie graciously and carefully unwrapped several pre-Colombian textiles for me to see. The textile fragments are bits and pieces collected (I think) from the debris piles left by graverobbers, simply picked up off the desert floor, sun-damaged and splotched with dirt.  Nevertheless the quality of the work, the beauty of design and color are still a wonder to behold. 

Ms Forgie has accepted my offer to volunteer in the identifying and cleaning of these items. I feel so happy about this possibility, to be able to contribute to the preservation of the never-equalled  excellence of Andean spinners, dyers and weavers.  I will also contribute by researching museum level techniques of textile care.  Wish me well!