Knitting Ban
This story on the reported banning of arts and crafts groups in a Canadian library district has been making the rounds over the past week.
What I find most interesting is this comment:
“The history of programming in the SDG County Library has been, however, to offer programmes with only the making of a craft as its focus, e.g. build a bird house, make cards, decorate eggs, etc. This has drawn patrons in for the craft, who have left without “experiencing” the Library.”
Isn’t using the library space to engage in an activity as a community part of the essential experience of the Library? I’d hate to think that the sole viable experience of your local library is checking out books. And wouldn’t it be a simple thing to inject some “literacy-focused” activity into these programs? “Here’s a list of available items on knitting.”
What do you think? Where would you draw the line between what are appropriate activities/events/gatherings for the library space and what might distract from the library experience?
On August 21, 2008 at 10:45 AM Jennifer said:
I think anything that gets people through the doors of the library and makes them understand that a library is "theirs" is more likely to encourage patronage. I remember as a little kid being taken to the library, and feeling like the whole world was at my fingertips; it was very exciting. To provide activities for people that stimulate interest and that can be augmented by materials available in the library seems like a no-brainer to me.
On August 21, 2008 at 12:33 PM Alice Sneary said:
Thanks Jennifer. We've also seen in OCLC's reports that those feelings of wonder and excitement with the library when you are a child are very important in terms of your willingness to fund the library as an adult.
On August 22, 2008 at 8:50 PM lorcan dempsey said:
Ted Hughes composed a poem for a major report on public libraries some years ago (New Library: the People's Network).
I have always been surprised that this library poem has not been more widely noticed. It contains the verse:
Even the most misfitting child
Who's chanced upon the library's worth,
Sits with the genius of the Earth
And turns the key to the whole world.
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/lic/newlibrary/poem.html
On August 24, 2008 at 3:14 AM Lisa said:
Knitting is an activity that can easily be literary-based, either by showcasing the generally large amount of knitting-related books and magazines a library has, and/or by reading a book out loud (or on CD) while the group meets. Knitting now shows up in fiction and mystery series, as well as non-fiction both in terms of patterns and techniques as well as the various "Knit Lit" books out there. It truly amazes me that knitting could be banned, but video game nights--with no literary component--are ok.
On August 24, 2008 at 10:04 PM Kathy C, Indiana said:
The fact that the library can bring a sense of belonging and encouragement when times seem desperate. Whether our problems be financial(it costs nothing to use-unless you damage/lose/or hold overdue, grieving a death or dealing with a disease or child rearing. An inviting place to visit-the temperature is normally comfortable, nicely decorated with tables-chairs-computers-lighting. A place to go where there are others around-for the lonely, seeing a child loaded with books they picked out. Finding something to stimulate our minds and occupy our time. We have built a lovely new library in our downtown-next to a convention center on one side and a homeless men's shelter on the other. It's such a blessing to see the diversity of people in that building in a single day. I am a lover of the library. It's one of the joys of my life to have passed that on to my children, nieces and nephews. The library is for everyone-regardless of ones age, race, amount of education, whether you can read or not(baby or illiterate), creed, sex, social or economic standing in the community. Regardless of whether you got there by car, bus, taxi, or walked. Or you live in a house, apartment or a shelter.
On August 26, 2008 at 11:47 AM Mimi said:
To the above list of books I would add Knitting for Peace by Betty Christiansen. Projects such as making afghans for the homeless, sweaters for displaced children or caps for chemotherapy patients foster the kind of community in which a library should participate.
On August 26, 2008 at 9:44 PM Emily Lloyd said:
"are very important in terms of your willingness to fund the library as an adult"
--and use it, and ask librarians for help, I imagine. These kids will remember this seemingly random ousting, as teens and perhaps as adults. They will remember the library as an unfriendly space with inexplicable rules. What a loss!
I am wholeheartedly anti-craft in *storytimes*, and am grateful to have begun work in a library system that does not include them. But anywhere in the library? C'mon! And there's no reason, once you've drawn that line, to stop at "crafts" (a belittling term, if you ask me, and surely not all knitting is)--what about a chess club that meets at the library, but whose members don't "experience" the library otherwise (I guess "experience" means "drive up the circulation of")?
I write "Shelf Check," a library comic strip, and responded to the story in cartoon form here, for what it's worth:
http://shelfcheck.blogspot.com/2008/08/shelf-check-256.html