A Message from Jud

I want to personally welcome Becky Berry to the Main Library and want to share with everyone how difficult it was to tear her loose from her fans down at Avoca. Becky is treasured down there for her winning ways: for her ability to smile at people and call them by their first names. The folks at Avoca are terrified that without Becky, it will never happen to them anymore.

Why? Because, according to them, nobody smiles or calls people by their first names at the Main Library. And if Becky got taken away, it would mean the smiling at Avoca would stop.

As pleased as I was that this group cherished Becky so much, I felt a little bad for Sue Morrell and Bill McKenzie, who’ve worked with Becky for a while. I think they probably smile some and use some first names. I felt bad for Sue Wolfe, just starting out down there, because in effect her presence there was being taken to mean that Main was exporting its moroseness and its impersonality to Avoca. I assured the group that this wouldn’t happen.

In fact, I thought it would be useful to share this with everyone just so that we could understand what it is about Becky Berry that makes her so special to these people. I don’t mean to put her on the spot because she’s modest and humble, but I do think it would be good for all of us to realize the very simple and easy things you *must* do in order to make the library a place that people want to come to.

I can say all I want to about the threat of changing technology to the future of libraries. But the best thing to keep libraries viable will be people who treat the public like Becky Berry does.