Peter’s Folly – Phase II

I’ve arrived at the mid-point, I guess.  Basic construction is complete, but many of the finer details I will address this winter.  This construction is a cat staircase, nothing more nor less.

The design of the spiral staircase blends well with the raised garden cabinets used for vines in my backyard area.  There are three stair step levels, and then three landings – two for the cat and the highest one is my bedroom/breakfast balcony floor.

That first jump is over 2-1/2 feet and the next almost two feet as well.  Big jumps, even for a cat, but I can always add a small platform.  These platforms are made of soft redwood fencing boards.  Their texture is rough and uneven, perfect for cat-scratching and clawing; also good for helping the climb up the staircase.  There is a flower bed planter box along side the stairs, with a trellis going up one side.

For the cat, step two provides a view of the narrow passage between my house and my neighbor’s.  There’s the cover of the trellis vine to watch the bird feeders along the fence line.

Or, saying goodbye to the neighbor’s house, the cat can jump to level three, which affords the initial view of y backyard.  This is a nice resting spot after having done three big jumps.  A backward reflection on what a climb we have made is shown next, looking down, which people say we should never do.  Nonetheless, it provides perspective.

The steps are necessary in their own right.  It’s not just to get to the landing decks for wonderful cat views of the world.  I’ve always hated cat doors (others come in unwanted).  An I won’t put up with lengthy, midnight arguments about nocturnal freedom.  So, my solution is the deck off my bedroom, which has French doors that I leave open 99% of the time. 

If the raccoons can make it to my bedroom deck, then cats can do so as well.  But I’ve made it easier for them with the stairs, and a lot more pleasant with the two special lounging cat decks/landings.  You can see on the left that the Sun Deck will be a bright and spacious area for enjoying the backyard vista.

Of course, the best view is from the Observation Deck, one more landing up.  It isn’t as roomy as the Sun Deck, which also has rain protection.  Even though cramped, I already know that Peppermint Pattie, the cat in question, loves the views from each of my highest windows: back yard, side yard, and front. 

She is currently awaiting a surgery (of a private nature), and when the healing from that is done [Halloween ?], we will have a grand opening.

2-legged friends are restricted to the very top deck, which is my bedroom balcony.

This construction work has been labelled, “Peter’s Folly”.  Not just because it’s for a 6-month old kitten, but also because the whims of all cats are capricious.  It may never be used, but that is the prime characteristic of “Folly’s”.  The second reason for the “Folly” nomenclature is that while photographing the “contraption” from my normal deck, I was loathe to notice that that there was only a two-foot difference in height between the two decks, across a span of a dozen feet.  I could have laid a 1” X 12” twelve-foot board across the span, which would have allowed the cat to quite happily use the back porch steps and then cross the gulch on the pine board bridge, suitably outfitted with guard rails.

Wonderland IV

One, of two items, that I will comment on to close out Summer 2019 in Monte Rio is today’s Wonderland stage production at Michael Tabib’s Russian River Hall.

This is the third calendar year Rhian Millar & Paul Dubray have done one of their periodic Russian River documentaries.   They locally stage a variety show to exhibit the talents of an “in- focus” River town.  They record the sound for a later broadcast on KRCB radio and edit a video; for I assume, an eventual Russian River documentary – that is Rhian’s profession.

It was a sentimental performance for me today.  Nostalgia for me watching many of my KGGV radio peers participating in a talent review: Damien Olsen co-MC-ing with Paul; Sadie Damascus doing her Laughing Lady schtick; Pat Nolan & Gail King reading poetry. 

This all in a venue 100 meters away, and me sitting in a small section surrounded by luminaries: Dan Fein, Ann Erickson, Cynthia Strecker, Jane Kleimo, and John Schubert.  This was a turnout of Monte Rio’s Who’s Who.

Library Stewardship

Managing your relationship with the community

Posted: 06 Sep 2019 03:28 PM PDT

I've written in many places about one of the key shifts in librarianship. We are moving from being library-centric to being community-centric. This movement is based on two core ideas: first, that libraries will perform better when they understand the environment in which they operate; and second, that true advocacy is about solving problems together, about helping to build an agenda for the community, then helping to get it done. Libraries that make their communities stronger get stronger support from the community.

So how can directors systematically inform themselves about community players and issues in the first year, especially in a new town? (Assistant Directors moving up within the same organization might have a handle on this, or might not.)

I propose a method that can be personal or institutional. Either approach begins the same way: work up a list of community movers and shakers. Who are the influencers in your community? When you're still new to a place, finding that information may seem hard. But a simple exercise, conducted once with staff, once with the board, quickly generates 40-50 names. The exercise is this: as you think about these broad areas of the community, who makes a difference? The categories are in alphabetical order.

§ Business. Who are the main employers, or activists within the business community?

§ Civic. Every community has civic groups like Rotary, Optimists, or the Lions.

§ Education. Who are the prominent leaders--principals, superintendents, communication directors--in the community?

§ Elected. Who are the key elected officials?

§ Faith-based. Who are the leaders of some of the larger or influential churches, synogogues, mosques, or other houses of worship?

§ Government. Who are the non-elected, or appointed officials who get things done?

§ Media. Some of my most enlightening interviews have been with people who do interviews.

§ Non-profit. There are many, many not-for-profit groups, often with deep expertise about various issues.

The second step is to interview them. If done on a personal basis, call them up, at least one a week, with maybe two weeks off in a year. That's at least 50 people a year. Schedule two a week and you can meet 50 people in six months. Introduce yourself and say that you're the new director, and would like to pick their brains about community issues. I recommend having that discussion either in their office, or on neutral ground, like a restaurant. Some directors bring lunch-for-two with them to the interviewee's office. (If being done on an institutional basis, I recommend sending two reference librarians out to conduct an in-depth reference interview at the person's place of business. Obviously, this is more formal.)

What do you talk about with them? These three questions, with probing, will easily get you through an hour lunch:

1.   As you think about your constituencies (and getting clarity about those constituencies is part of the probing), what issues do you think they will be most concerned about over the next 18-24 months?

2.   What decisions do you think your constituents need to make over the next 18-24 months, and what do you wish you knew before those decisions?

3.   Who else should I talk to?

The third step: Make notes. If done on a personal basis, I think it's enough to keep the information in your contact database. What is their contact information (preferred name, email, phone, full titles, etc.)? When did you meet with them (and who paid after you pay the first time)? What did they tell you about their family, or hobbies? What were their answers to your interview? What immediate upcoming project are they working on (that maybe you need to track)? I also recommend calling this out on your calendar: "community interviews (or CI or whatever tag that makes sense to you), with the person's name. Together, contacts and calendar can provide a searchable record of the process.

If done on an institutional basis--as the beginning of a planning process, for instance--this note-taking should take place on a more formal, shared, internal tool: a relational database, a blog, a series of staff debriefs.

Fourth and finally, stay in touch. Depending on the other demands on your time, it's probably wise to book a follow-up meeting, no more than six months from the first, and preferably quarterly. This gives you a chance to report back on your own progress, and to ask follow-up questions. Staying in touch might also be noticing community news that matters to that person. For instance, an interviewee might mention an upcoming fundraiser; after seeing that the event was successful, the director might send a congratulatory email or phone call.

This staying in touch not only keeps you out of the bubble (where you only hear what you already know or believe), it might also lay the groundwork for lifelong friendships.

Taken together, this approach for the first year director accomplishes three purposes:

1.   It builds relationships with the powerful. You will know their name and interests. They will know yours. (Be prepared to share, succinctly, your own personal information and institutional issues. But this is more about listening than talking.)

2.   It orients you to community issues. Most people  do not seek that, and even more rarely, do so systematically. Be forewarned: If you thoughtfully interview 50 movers and shakers, you're liable to become one.

3.   It lays the ground work for significant institutional contributions to the community. There is both an opportunity and a threat here. The opportunity is that you just might find an issue that the library can significantly assist with. The threat is that you might find so many that it's overwhelming. Then the task, institutionally, is to pick a project that not only really helps the community, but deeply aligns with library values, direction, and expertise.

The bottom line is this: public library directors cannot be successful if they don't know their communities. And building a network of contacts and supporters is a shrewd investment of time that might be useful in many circumstances (funding crises, intellectual freedom challenges, or simply identifying potential partners ).