Tag: library

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Living in Society

Community Volunteer

Trail walking on Nov. 22, 2025.

When I became an adult, married, and settled into steady work, it was assumed I would volunteer in the community. The volunteer impulse has its roots in the industrial period after the Civil War. People used less time to produce enough money with which to live our lives. In more modern terms, we could pay for things like our child’s college education without sacrificing a lot at home.

Perhaps the most prominent example was the robber baron Andrew Carnegie whose expansion of the steel industry made him one of the richest Americans and enabled his philanthropy to fund a number of public libraries, among other things. “The duty of the man of wealth,” Carnegie said, is “to consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer . . . in the manner which, in his judgment, is best calculated to produce the most beneficial results for the community.”

I didn’t have “surplus revenues,” yet worked in jobs that created enough money to pay basic living expenses with a bit leftover. While there were limits on potential income, I was afforded regular free time and expected to use some of it to volunteer in the community. My volunteerism really took off when we moved to Big Grove Township.

I differentiate the types of volunteer work I have done since 1993. There is community work: membership on the home owners association board, election as a township trustee, and serving on the board of a senior citizen’s group. There is also what I call advocacy work: serving on the boards of peace-related organizations, politics, and two different county boards. Each had something to contribute to society. I talk about community volunteer work in the rest of this post.

Within the first year we were in our new home in Big Grove Township, I was asked to join the volunteer home owners association board and did. Any monetary considerations were insignificant. A regular person does not volunteer in the community for money. Part of living a sustainable life in rural areas is contributing to the general well-being, I believed. I felt blessed and had to give back to the community in which I lived.

Home owners’ associations get a bad rap. In our case, we managed the association like a small city. We provided a public water system, sanitary sewer district, road maintenance, refuse hauling, and real estate sales and purchases. Over time, we upgraded the roads from chip and seal to asphalt, dealt with changing government standards related to arsenic in drinking water, reduced the number of wells from three to one, complied with changing Iowa Department of Natural Resources standards for wastewater treatment plant effluent, handled a lawsuit, and coordinated activities like road use and maintenance with neighboring associations. If the board doesn’t do these things, they don’t get done. Everyone is the better for such volunteer boards. I served, off and on, for over 30 years. This was the beginning of a long period of volunteering in the community.

In 2012, when only one candidate was running for two township trustee positions, I ran a write-in campaign and won the election. Being a township trustee included managing emergency response and a volunteer fire department with other townships and the nearby city of Solon. Toward the end of my tenure, we formed a new entity to manage these functions. We maintained the local cemetery and supervised a pioneer cemetery where the first person to die in the township was buried. This work helped me understand how tax levies work and how they were used to support things the county did not, things like a small fire department or saving someone’s life in an emergency. There was only a single conflict during my time as a trustee, about the main cemetery. All the trustees showed up at the cemetery to resolve a dispute over a burial plot. No one wanted the job of township trustee and someone had to do it, so I stepped up.

When the local senior citizen’s group had an opening on their board, I volunteered and became its treasurer. This lasted about two years and provided insight into this segment of the community. Everything we did, from providing community meals, to giving home-bound people rides to medical appointments, to arranging outings around eastern Iowa, served an often-neglected segment of the population. It was a great opportunity to learn about the life of our senior citizens before I became one myself.

I am satisfied this activism did some good. I still believe it is important to stay engaged in the community.

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Living in Society

Food Pantry Donation

Fennel, Pac Choi, and kale donated to the local food pantry on June 30, 2025.

I like to have more than one thing to do when I drive the two miles to town. The more I multi-task my trips to the City of Solon, the more value I find in it. It began with gambling.

Almost always, I buy a Powerball ticket. The social aspect of walking into a convenience store and saying to the clerk, “I’d like the usual,” resonates from when I lived in Europe. It is a closely knit relationship even if we don’t know each other except for this recurring transaction. It is something positive in what can be a difficult world.

On Mondays I harvest the garden and split the best-looking produce into separate crates for the food pantry. I delay picking greens until Monday so there is usually a good amount for our kitchen and to share. Yesterday it was Pac Choi, a bulb of fennel with the fronds attached, and two kinds of kale. I enjoy putting together a pleasing display and then pack the car and speak with the receiver until the produce is transferred to the food pantry shelves. Today’s weight was five pounds, which doesn’t seem like much. The value of the transaction is the good it does. My sense is food pantry patrons could use more fresh produce.

I had reserved a book at the library early in the morning. I decided since I was in town, why make a trip later to get it. I walked into the library, found our librarian, and told her I decided to just stop by and pick it up myself rather than go through the reserve process. She was kind enough to find the book on the shelf and process me without delay. Now I won’t run out of reading material over the Independence Day holiday… not that that is a possibility in our house. Having relationships with a local library and the people who work there is the stuff of which society is made.

When I was working for an employer these social interactions pretty well stopped. I don’t know why, but there are better possibilities for a well lived life simply by living one. It can be hard, yet we must learn to deal with the concerns in society and go on living. Part of that means going to town on a Monday morning and spend time with my usuals.

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Living in Society

Answer, No Answer

Zestar! apples forming. This variety will be first to ripen.

At the bottom of our public library home page it says, “This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of Iowa.”

I wrote my Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks on March 31 after the staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services was put on leave, in part,

I’m writing to express my disappointment that the president intends to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) “to the maximum extent of the law,” via executive order. As you know, the Congress created IMLS and, by law, only the Congress can dissolve this federal agency. As a resident of your district, I don’t understand how the executive branch can intervene in a congressionally created agency, cancel grants, and in effect put it out of business. Please explain.

She responded today, in part:

As you may know, on March 14th, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14217, which closed 7 agencies, including IMLS, to the maximum extent applicable by law. The staff of IMLS were put on leave on March 31st, 2025. As always, my office and I are in constant contact with officials in the administration to see how any changes to federal agencies affect Iowans.

Bad date format aside, she stated what I stated in my original letter, declining to explain a dang thing. It seems pretty clear to people like me who use our public library that if funding from IMLS goes away, we will have to find another way to provide the important services for which federal money pays.

Another day in the dumbing down of America.

Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of short posts to enable me to get the garden planted in May. Despite the setbacks described yesterday, gardening goes on.

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Writing

A Walk On the Lake Shore

Lake Macbride from the hiking trail.

Last night I spent time reading in a Discord group. That means about seven members of the community got together on the platform, set a timer for 45 minutes of quiet reading, then had a discussion after we finished. A couple of things stood out.

  • The host provided the platform and played music to read by.
  • The online chat was turned on but not many commented after saying hello. We each went about our business: various permutations of reading.
  • The point of the gathering was to have one more thing to do together in the established online community. Reading is good.
  • We didn’t all share what we were reading. My book was A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties by Suze Rotolo. Rotolo was an artist widely known as Bob Dylan’s girlfriend from 1961-1964, according to Wikipedia. Dylan acknowledged her influence on his music.
  • I was the oldest person, by far.
  • We had a voice discussion about public libraries. The group likes libraries. I mentioned they are easy on the pocketbook. In particular, we discussed process: visiting in person, using online tools, the value of checking a book out vs. buying, and placing reserves. The others were not that different from me in terms of process. I wrote about that here.

The time went quickly, and it was fun to know others were reading while I was. The after reading discussion was positive. A community event in a life where we need more of those.

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Living in Society

Reading the Shifting Sands of a Life

Flowers in the driveway.

Afternoon plans changed after the optometrist dilated my pupils. It was part of my annual eye exam, in which I seek to monitor whether or not diabetes is showing in my retina. I got an all clear diagnosis but the dilation persisted well into the afternoon. I could not bear working outdoors on a sunny day. That evening it rained for several hours.

Thursday morning I wheeled the recycling bin to the curb for pickup. It has been warm enough I dispensed with wearing a sweatshirt. A light breeze felt good on my skin as I contemplated the dark sky while walking back to the house. Simple things in a simple life.

Also on Thursday I began a five-day prep for a colonoscopy. The hospital would have me reduce the amount of fibrous food eaten, which is a chore since almost everything I eat by design has plenty of fiber. I asked them about it, yet they had no guidance about what I should eat, saying, “Do the best you can.” It will be a change during which I expect to drop a couple of pounds of weight. After the procedure I expect to gain it back.

Four paragraphs in and I’m not sure where this post is going. I don’t want to write about the political-media-government generated chaos available in my email and social media news feeds. I rely on email, newspapers, substack and BlueSky for most of my information in this category. Thing is, everyone has the capacity to access the same kind of information, so repeating it wouldn’t be adding much new to the fray. I guess I’ll write about my changing relationship with the public library.

My writing space has thousands of shelved books. Organizing them is a work in progress. There are thousands more stored in boxes. I don’t need to add many more to my collection, so this year I started using the public library more. It started with a simple request.

I asked the library to order Chris Hayes’ new book The Siren’s Call and they did. Part of this process is the person who suggests a new book gets the ability to read it first. I read it and reviewed it. I am glad others in the community will be able to check it out and read it too. Then I asked the librarian to order Bill Gates new book, Source Code: My Beginnings. They have a process to make book suggestions online, which I love. They did order it, I read it, and wrote a brief review on Goodreads. After reading it, I have no interest in finding a spot on my shelves for it. Better the library keep the copy, as this book should be popular. By this time I was enjoying the public library again.

I began exploring the website, the hosting of which is currently paid by a grant from the federal government. They have a feature called “What’s New” which is a query form that calls up the titles added to the library shelves in the last week. I’m checking it out daily. Already I found several new books to read, books I might have missed in other places. In addition, my home page has this banner at the top: “In 2025, you have saved $434.00 by borrowing from the library rather than buying!” Now I was really hooked.

My philosophy of reading is pretty simple. Read some pages in a book every day. This habit is part of developing a way to live a good life. Some books demand more daily pages than my typical 25 per day. Once I get going on a good book, it is hard to stop reading.

If you haven’t been to the public library in a while, I recommend you check them out. Maybe you will find a way, like I did, to reinvigorate your reading. Plus, there is usually no cost to check out a book! Other advice: figure out your topic before writing an essay. It may keep your readers more engaged.

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Living in Society

Institute of Museum and Library Services Update

On Monday, March 31, National Public Radio reported the Institute of Museum and Library Services placed its entire staff on administrative leave. While the employee count is low at about 70, the impact of the institute across the country is high. I recently posted about all they do to help public libraries in my community.

According to a statement from AFGE Local 3403, which represents IMLS workers, the agency’s staff was notified by email about being placed on paid administrative leave for 90 days after a “brief meeting between DOGE staff and IMLS leadership.” Employees had to turn in government property, and email accounts were disabled. (National Public Radio, March 31, 2025).

The future of previously awarded, yet unpaid grants is uncertain. Work on new proposals stopped. One assumes the institute won’t be returning from leave except to wind down the Congressionally approved institute. Whether the grant-writing process would be transferred to another agency hasn’t been discussed in public. The uncertainty is not good for people who work in public libraries, especially in smaller communities where libraries are widely used as a resource and a foundation of community life.

I wrote my federal representative and senators. Senators Grassley and Ernst replied, and based on that communication, we are in a wait and see period while the intentions of the Department of Government Efficiency become public and the process evolves. Placing staff on paid administrative leave throws cold water on initial belief the institute could be saved.

Why is this so important? Public libraries are the lifeblood of our democracy. In addition to public facilities made available for little or no fees, reading is a valued way of learning. The anti-intellectualism behind the assault on museums and libraries is on prominent display with this action. The endgame is the deliberate destruction of knowledge. We are already seeing evidence of this in other parts of the state and federal government.

If locals need to fund our public library, I believe money could be raised if federal grants disappear. Uncertainty is in the air. Just tell us what you are doing, federal government, and with clarity library lovers everywhere will do what is needed to support our public libraries. While this action in unwelcome, it is not the end of the discussion of public libraries and museums.

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Living in Society

Letter on Library Funding

Solon Public Library

Below is the message I sent to my federal representatives in Washington, D.C. The president signed an executive order on March 14, which said in part, the Institute of Museum and Library Services is an unnecessary bureaucracy.

…the non-statutory components and functions of the following governmental entities shall be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, and such entities shall reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law… (Continuing the reduction of the federal bureaucracy, The White House, March 14, 2025).

Here is the message I sent:

What can you do to save the Institute of Museum and Library Services?

I’m writing to express my disappointment that the president intends to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) “to the maximum extent of the law,” via executive order. As you know, the Congress created IMLS and, by law, only the Congress can dissolve this federal agency. As a resident of your district, I don’t understand how the executive branch can intervene in a congressionally created agency, cancel grants, and in effect put it out of business. Please explain.

Our local public library in Solon, Iowa depends on IMLS funds for things like inter-library loans, platform fees, shared online resources with other Iowa libraries, website hosting, the People’s Law Library of Iowa, and more. Depending upon the timeline for ending grants, if that is the final decision, these library services upon which we depend could be disrupted.

If the federal government pulls the plug on IMLS, the community will respond and replace it as we can. We’ll see what the courts say about the president’s executive order. What can the Congress do?

Our community is self-reliant. When we didn’t like that the library was located under the band stand in the city park, we solved the problem by contributing more than $1 million to build the current facility. When we quit claimed the building to the city, they made a commitment for staffing. Ever since, the library has been a valuable community asset.

Thanks for considering my email. Good luck navigating these turbulent times.

Regards, Paul Deaton

Senators Grassley and Ernst replied, and Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks has not. Grassley and Ernst did not really address my concerns, yet they say they support libraries and don’t have an opinion on the effective closing of this agency. Like me, they are concerned and describe the current situation as actively unfolding with a lot to learn. I posted part of Grassley’s response here.

What seems clear from the executive order, and the other actions the president has taken, is the impacts on plain folks like me will be many and will hit me where I live.

The next step is figuring out what I can to about the many changes proposed by the federal government.

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Living in Society

Concerned Library Lovers

Solon Public Library

Library lovers gather at the public library. It is not a formal meet up or conference. We are more like a living coral reef where symbiosis is more important than creating permanent structure. The weather was so mild on Tuesday, we chatted outside on the walkways to the parking lots. Library lovers are concerned about what our government is doing regarding libraries.

As mentioned March 12, there is an anti-intellectual movement afoot in Iowa that would abolish public libraries. The expectation is a slate of bills will be debated on public and school libraries soon. Hopefully they are defeated, and better yet, never come up for a vote because of lack of support.

Among the bills is repeal of the state exemption from obscenity laws for public libraries. A worst case scenario of repeal is some librarians may see jail time because a kid brought home a book their parents didn’t like. The purpose of public libraries is not to provide cheap child care to parents who are too lazy to supervise what their children read.

An equally serious problem is the impact state lawmakers new “library regulations” will have on the talented staff at libraries across the state. I would expect these good folks to err on the side of caution: caution against winding up in jail. If the zealots have their way, I would expect libraries to experience significant turnover. If such turnover happened, the quality of patrons’ experience would be diminished, possibly permanently.

Another impact on Iowa libraries is what the federal government does regarding the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)—the only federal agency focused solely on supporting the nation’s libraries and museums. Established by Congress, the agency assures federal resources would be available to improve and support the nation’s libraries. Iowa City Public Library Development Director Katie Roche issued a press release on the impacts of losing funding through IMLS last night. Read it here. The impacts of killing IMLS would be many. It would change dramatically what we could expect from public libraries. Yes, I’m talking about your library.

Folks who work at public libraries are well aware of how to deal with budget constraints. What makes the current climate different is a third party, namely outside zealots and the federal government, are directing actions with expected and politicized desired outcomes. People across the political spectrum can agree public libraries are a positive influence on society. We should stand up to defend them. How best to manage them should be and is an ongoing topic of discussion. Library lovers are stakeholders who shouldn’t be excluded from the discussion. For heaven’s sake, visit a library and check out a book. That’s what I was doing on Tuesday and it was uplifting. We do more than check out books.

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Living in Society

Libraries Remain Important in Rural Iowa

Solon Public Library

In addition to calling the American Library Association a “Marxist” organization, and asserting librarians should be arrested for materials found within the walls of spaces they manage, there is an anti-intellectual movement in Iowa to eliminate public libraries. There isn’t a bill for that, because it is a sub rosa campaign. The intent is there, yet supporters hide it because they are dishonest.

Our local library community responded to the bad bills filed by members of the Iowa legislature. They sent an email to patrons and published a guest column in the March 11, Cedar Rapids Gazette. Click here to read the guest column. Shedding light on what this small minority is attempting is the best way to defeat these bills. Anyone with common sense realizes the value our libraries represent in our communities.

I sent this email to my district legislators:

Dear ___

I live in your district urge you to vote no should HF521/SF235 come up for a vote. The bills would repeal current exemptions from Iowa obscenity laws for educational institutions and libraries.

Here is my reason.

The basic question is who should decide what content is available in public libraries and schools? I submit it is someone trained in library science and rooted in the community. We should empower librarians to do their job and settle any disputes regarding content, including those relating to obscenities, without getting run out of town on the rail. The obscenity exemption protects government employees who seek to do their job.

Should we have public libraries? I believe we should because they benefit the entire community, especially those who have limited means. We need an arbiter of what resources are in our libraries, and that person should be a trained librarian.

Vote no on HF521/SF235.

Thanks for considering my request.

Regards, Paul

Supporting your local library includes standing up for them when an unreasonable minority tries to impose their values on the rest of Iowans. The time to contact legislators is now.

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Living in Society Writing

Republicans Seek to Repeal Library Freedom

Solon Public Library

Editor’s Note: House File 274 passed out of subcommittee on Monday, Feb. 17, 2-1.

A bill in the Iowa legislature seeks to repeal Section 728.7 of Iowa Code. This section provides a long-standing obscenity exception for libraries and educational institutions. According to the bill, nothing in code prohibits the use of appropriate material for educational purposes in any accredited school, any public library, or in any educational program in which a minor is participating. It further provides that code does not prohibit the attendance of minors at an exhibition or display of art works or the use of any materials in any public library. People are worried that children are being exposed to obscenities enough in public spaces to change how public institutions operate. This bill should be cause for concern for anyone who uses a public library.

I looked through our local library’s policy statements and found this:

Including materials in the collection does not constitute endorsement of their contents. The Library recognizes that any given item may offend some patrons, but, because the Library follows accepted principles of intellectual freedom, it will not remove specific titles solely because individuals or groups may find them objectionable. (Solon Public Library website, October 2022).

The language regarding children and censorship more directly addresses the concern:

Censorship is a purely individual matter. While an individual or group is free to reject material, no library staff person shall restrict access to the rest of the community. Selection of materials is not restricted by the possibility that children may obtain materials their parents may consider inappropriate. While materials are shelved by recommended age, patrons of any age may use materials in all sections of the library (see ALA Bill of Rights, Article V). Responsibility for children rests solely with their
parents or legal guardians. (Solon Public Library website, October 2022).

So yes, House File 274 directly addresses existing library policy related to the American Library Association Bill of Rights. Here is the entire ALA Bill of Rights. On Monday, Feb. 17, at 11:30 a.m., an education subcommittee of the Iowa House meets in Room 103 at the State Capitol to consider the bill.

Here is a typical pro comment from the public comments section of the bill where more than a few words were used:

02-11-2025 Jonathan Huber:

I support House File 274 because it aims to protect minors from exposure to obscene content. By repealing the obscenity exemptions, Iowans can ensure that educational and public spaces remain safe and appropriate for all students. It’s important to have clear standards that prevent the distribution of material that could be harmful or offensive. This bill helps create a more secure learning environment where students can focus on their education without the risk of encountering inappropriate content. This bill prioritizes the well being of our youth.

Here is another:

02-12-2025 Sonya Swan

Our children are our future. When a child sees something, they cannot “unsee” it. Those images are forever in their precious little minds. When they read something obscene the result is the same. As an educator, I choose the materials for the children I teach very carefully. Our public institutions, have an obligation to omit obscene material for minors regardless of the location (school or library) or the function. Please repeal 728.7

Here is a con comment:

02-13-2025 Steve Clarke

Dont pass this bill the current exception in 728.7 allows for the use of appropriate material for educational purposes. Nobody is advocating for Playboys and Xrated movies. This is part of the larger cultural wars being waged. Protect our society by denouncing censorship.

Here is a longer con comment:

02-13-2025 Sarah Smith

Do NOT pass this bill. It is not the role of libraries or librarians to determine what children can or cannot readthat responsibility belongs to parents. Rather than restricting access to books, we should encourage parents to be actively involved in their childrens reading choices.If I come across a book I dont want to read or a news channel I dont want to watch, I simply choose not to engage. Thats the beauty of intellectual freedomthe ability to decide for ourselves. HF 274 imposes unnecessary restrictions that would hinder libraries from fulfilling their mission, limiting access to information and stifling the freedom to read.Our communities thrive when libraries are empowered to serve without political interference. Please vote against HF 274 and protect our right to read, learn, and think freely.

There are a lot more comments, which can be read here.

If I can figure out the technology, I plan to watch the subcommittee meeting online. In the meanwhile, I recommend you take a look at the comments and tell your state representative to vote no should this bill make it to the full house.

UPDATE: I submitted this comment on the bill:

“Vote no on this bill. There was and is a valid reason for this exception. I hope the committee will consider these things:
Perhaps the raciest part of the public library is the romance genre section. It would be okay with me to eliminate this section completely, although many patrons read romance novels. It persists. A local group developed a solution in which a sticker is placed on romance library books suitable for Christian readers. It seems like a workable compromise, better than repealing this section of code. Secondly, I have been shocked at the content of a few books I checked out from the library. I’m thinking of the Elton John memoir Me. John talks openly about his sexuality and if I found it shocking, so could others. Should graders have access to this book? It’s not for me to say, nor for legislators. It is for parents to say. The American Library Association’s Bill of Rights is clear on this: “A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.” If a citizen’s group or individual objects to a book, resolution should take place at the local library or with the library board. As with my example of the racy romance novels, a solution can likely be devised at the local level. Republicans have super majorities and can enact what they will, including advancing the idea that Iowa will become a nanny-state. No reasonable person wants that. Please vote no on this bill. Thanks for reading my comment.”