I recently attended the ALA Midwinter Conference in Seattle, Washington and my head is still spinning. I toured the new Seattle Public Library and was amazed at what I saw. This building is glass enclosed, with the various levels in the building kind of floating inside. The colors were vivid with the conference level painted automobile red, floor, walls and ceiling. As usual I picked up a number of ideas that I will implement at Lake Neverwuz. They have four hundred computers available for the public to use. It makes our 10 Apple IIe's and the Commodore Lab look sick. The Seattle Public Library has been so popular that the library has even been rented out for a wedding. At Lake Neverwuz we are taking that a step further. Our staff is being trained as wedding planners. We are a one stop shopping place as long as you have a library card. We help with the proposal, planning for the wedding and the food and assist with selection of gowns and tux. We've had so many pe0ple coming in to the library to find out about weddings that we came up with this new service. Jack, the maintenance man, drapes the library in toile and lights, Tussy, does the bouquets, (we get the flowers from the local funeral home and save a bunch), we have a special collection of previously owned wedding dresses. One dress was never worn, the groom ran off with the maid of honor the night before the wedding. We have made arrangements with the local churches for ministers to preside and even have our own Elvis. John from the Friends does an Elvis impersonation and this helps the Friends raise some extra cash. We have been working to get a Melville Dewey to also perform weddings but this guy has been so busy at ribbon cuttings for new libraries that it may be months before we can get him. Prior to the weddings we hold classes on etiquette, planning the honeymoon and a special "Prozac can be your friend"for our bridezillas. It's been very popular. I was hoping to do a session at the Rural Conference but Deb wasn't sure this would fly with the committee.
Oh well, I think the programs Deb has lined up for us are exceptional. Please remember to nominate deserving people for the various awards, sometimes the people you see everyday are deserving of an award, or even the people who write blogs. Make your reservation today for the Rural Libraries Conference.
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2 comments:
Oh, Marian! You have provided just the answer for me, as my daughter just told me that she and her boyfriend want to get married this July! I need all of your services. Please contact me offline ;-)
I will do that. I already have some ideas for a library themed wedding, complete with shredded catalog cards instead of rice. The outfit I vision for the mother of the bride, its too much to describe here, plus we don't want any Library of Michigan staff to get a "heads up" on your stunning look. M.T.L.
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