24 October, 2002

To Whom It May Concern:

Until yesterday, it had been a long time since I’d visited a public library. However, a friend recommended a book to me that wasn’t available in my company's private library (from whom I normally borrow). I checked your online card catalog and saw that the book was available at your Issaquah branch. What the heck. I needed to go to Costco anyway, so I stopped by the library on my way there.

I’d forgotten to write down the decimal location of the book, so I stopped at one of the numerous computer terminals in the library to look it up. I made a simple title query to the online catalog—it took less than 2 minutes to complete, and I didn’t even sit down. That, however, was too long for a library staff member. Storming over and glaring at me like I was some kind of social deviant, she hissed, “These computers are for children 12 years and younger!” By that point I’d figured out where the book was, so I said as much, wrote it down, and moved on. Upon closer examination of the signs around the computer I’d stopped to use, it was indicated with reasonable prominence that they offered “filtered Internet access.” I didn’t see, anywhere obvious at least, that the computers were reserved exclusively for young children.

I’ll overlook for a moment the fact that children 12 years and younger don’t pay taxes, and I wasn’t delaying any of them anyway (the area was practically deserted), making the policy ridiculous in the first place. That said, I’d suggest that rather than admonishing a patron, the Issaquah library staff may want to invest some time in creating better signage, which would have helped to prevent my apparently horrible social transgression.

This experience helped to drive home one of the reasons that my use of public libraries has diminished substantially in past years, and I’ll definitely remember it the next time KCLS puts a bond issue on the ballot. From the privately run company library, I can order a book online, and it will be efficiently delivered to my office the next business day. No driving to Issaquah, no parking hassles, and definitely no uppity public library staff admonishing patrons for making use of the wrong library resources, heaven forbid.

Granted, this is a really small thing, so it probably seems strange that I should be so upset. I’m upset because I passionately believe that libraries should be an open, welcoming environment for the public enjoyment—not the ivory tower kingdom of overbearing staff. I certainly hope you agree. If not, I don’t see the point in supporting public libraries; after all, it’d be a lot more efficient to run the whole operation from a warehouse and a Web site.

Maybe I caught the Issaquah branch on a bad day—I hope so. Nonetheless, whether or not the library staff improves their attitude, I at least hope that you’ll ask them to improve their signage.

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