New York

We arrived in New York on Tuesday afternoon after a pleasant train trip from Washington DC. It was great to be back here and the weather is cooler (but its getting hot again next week, mid 90s). Yesterday we went to Queens on the train and visited the Central Library and the Flushing Library, both huge, very, very busy libraries, facing budget cuts just like everyone else but still managing to run lots of programs. The themes that have emerged from out trip have been, early literacy programs, job hunting programs, public art and budget cuts. Libraries here do a lot more of the social support work than we do and seem to spend time finding the gaps and then filling them with programs that they fund with grant money and donations. The official Great Public Library Tour finished at lunch time today foillowing a tour of the NY public library. It has been a fantastic opportunity and I have some great pics and ideas to bring home.
Now it is time for my holiday...so I can relax a bit and take in some of the sights and sounds of New York. We spent the first day exploring the city from our hotel in East 39th Street and today have moved to our fabulous two-bedroom apartment in West 44th street (just around the corner from Times Square). Have a couple of things I really want to do on this trip, like have brunch at the Russian Tea Rooms and high tea at the Plaza as well as some shopping.

Tipping and automatic bathrooms

The US runs on a very bizzare economy. Just about everything you buy doesn't actually cost what is listed. You have to add tax and then a tip. And trying to decide what to tip a surly waiter is quite difficult, but then you get the bill and they have kindly added in the 'gratuity' so you don't have to strain!! I wonder whether when they work out the cost of living are all of these extra charges included and are they claimed as income by the cab driver or the server, or the bus boy?
The bathrooms are bizarre...they have automated the flushing, the hand washing and the hand towel dispensers, its all quite disconcerting at first but you eventually get so used to it that when a bathroom isn't automatic you look quizzically at the toilet wondering why it doesn't flush. In the new washington libraries they have been including green elements and the toilets are dual flush, I overheard a couple of librarians laughing about this and the sign that went with the toilet that says. 'For liquid waste pull handle up for solid waste push handle down'
It's a funny country but I like it.
Now for New York....

Washington DC...Big buidlings and hot weather

Washington was in the high 90s (mid 30s) every day we were there...it was really really hot. Luckily we were staying very close to the conference centre and I had my umbrella to shield me from the sun. The conference was very interesting, there were 23,000 librarians and a couple of thousand vendors, from Peruvian textiles, to foot massages, to jewelery, to sparkly tshirts and several hundred library related suppliers. A couple of sessions were really good and some not so good, pretty much what you can expect from any conference. Highlights were a session about the 50th anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird and winning an MP3 player at one of the conference stands. The bus trip to look at four of the DC public library system libraries was also excellent. Despite all the budget cuts which have meant cuts to staff and opening hours there has been mounds of money for capital projects...so everyone is getting new and refurbished librarians, but no staff and no collections
Washington (and the rest of the US but DC in particular) is full of massive monuments, every building is BIG, the columns are BIG, the statues are BIG and the ornate decorations are BIG. Its almost as if they have an inferiority complex and have to make everything BIG! The international librarians event was held at the library of congress , another massive building. My first look at the domed reading room I took a step backwards and gasp as it was so awe inspiring. I also went to the Lincoln memorial which was also awe inspiring and the Gallery of Art...the paintings they have are unbelievable!

Baltimore - You Rock

The most anticipated destination on our itinerary was even better than expected. After a quick trip on the train we arrived in Baltimore about 9.30 in the morning to be greeted by three friends of Chris's (are esteemed tour leader) and we divided into groups for a cultural tour of Baltimore. First off was the Amercian Visionary Art Museum. Absolute;ey stunning and one of the best shops I have ver seen, full of quirky, interesting items. We then took a ride around town (unfortunately the airconditioning in the car broke down and it was damn hot!) and ended up at the waterfront where Homicide: Life on the street was filmed and the Waterefront Bar which was a feature of the series is across the road...this was an added bonus as I didn't know we were going to see these!! We then went on a tour of the burbs and past houses that feature in Ann Tyler novels. After this our host took us to her place and we stopped outside John Waters' house to take a photo(I haven't been stalking at all!) At Kenna's place we met Bill Zorzi, a writer for the Wire, and had a chat about that show and Homicide for about an hour and a half. For dinner everyone met up at a restaurant and partook of a B altimore tradition, eating crabs...I had salad! All in all a most satisfying day

Segways - the latest form of transportation

Now you may think this is a joke but I can assure its not. Segways are a used a lot over here. Not only by the police but also for tourists, you can do Segway tours of Washington DC, Columbus and other towns...its the funniest ting I have seen and I couldn't believe it in Chicago when we were doing a walking tour near Frank Lloyd Wright House and a couple of police passed us in the street on their Segways..Americans are the funniest people!

Goodbye Columbus

Today we depart for Washington after a sensational visit to Columbus Ohio.
Yesterday we visited OCLC headquarters. The most exciting part was the visit to their library where all editions of DDC (Dewey Decimal Classification) are held along with the first edition, and a first edition annotated with Melville Dewey's notes! The collective sigh from 12 librarians was very funny and the staff at OCLC commented that they had never had that reaction to Dewey before! OCL is also the home of worldcat and we were allowed into the server room to see all the computers at work (I have photos Phill).
We also visited Ohio State University Library which has recently been reopened after a 3 year renovation project and was a fantastic library.
Last night we dined with Pat and some staff from Columbus Public Library at a lovely restaurant in german Village called Barcelona. I have had so much good food on this tour that my watch is even too tight!!
Here at last are some photos on Picassa

Columbus Ohio - Sensational!

Columbus is a town of 800,000 people that feels like a country town. The landscape is flat as the eye can see and they have been hit quite badly with the economic downturn, (9.5% unemployment). But the central library is wonderful and this year won US library of the year, a well deserved accolade. The central library is welcoming and they have really interesting displays. They are the first library we have been to where they take a retail approach to display with face out books and display pedestals all over the library. I've certainly got some interesting ideas from them for our displays at home and also floating the entire collection. The manager and staff were very welcoming and provided us with a full day of branch visits and presentations from the staff. The things that have come up time and time again are, early literacy, assisting with job search, art work in the library, and budget cuts, and the importance of the library in community building and developing programs where there is a perceived need (eg.job help centres). The staff at Columbus were very proud of their award and people we spoke to in the shops and the street all knew about it and were also very proud.
all in all a very satisfying visit.
Not much to do in Columbus however, its pretty quiet!!!