[Lavalibrary] and my response some time ago...

[Kristin M Campbell]

hey - wow i'm not used to library talk in my inbox...

dave, you said you felt a little weird about how a few people got sick and couldn't make it to the meeting and then nobody 
showed up for two months. i'm not sure who you are refering to as the "few people" versus "nobody" but i can't help but think 
i'm apart of the nobody camp who didn't even think about going to the meetings. 

as far as i'm concerned, i've been at the library on wednesdays pretty much every week (except one or two) for about 5 
months now. and i keep showing up, even though it almost seems like layne and i are the only ones still staffing the library 
because there has been no word from anyone else that i thought was also involved. kat, cris, corina, dave, lou, steven...others? 

i tried to outreach for a few new volunteers in march (layne and bannaz) which worked in terms of actually finding motivated 
people who wanted to sign up for shifts. but honestly it is difficult to get newer people motivated and committed in the long-
term to a project that seems really stagnant and at times pretty irrelevant. i'm even finding it hard to feel committed to a 
project that hasn't really been able to accomplish what it vaguely wanted to (from what i hear) to begin with. 

i am all about talking about developing more genuine community connections and being more of a proactive group, but, i'm 
also really into doing things that move us towards that. i got pretty demobilized after we would talk about so much stuff at 
meetings and then wouldn't really put any accountability structure in place for getting things accomplished in between meetings. 
it is difficult to have a bunch of energy for something when it doesn't really feel like others do. 

i also think our lofty visions about autonomy, etc. have to also stay grounded in some way. i am actually really good at 
envisioning and coming up with language and theory around a group. usually this kind of work ends up looking really good on 
paper or on a website. but even just at the most basic level, let's keep in mind that a bunch of the folks from the neighborhood 
(who have come into the library while i've been there) can not read that well. this makes me think that just opening up the 
shelves and sitting there waiting for people to drop in is not too effective for building more genuine community connections. 

i'm sure i'm not the only one who thinks about things along these lines, but what i'm saying is, that it has been clear to me for 
a while now that being a "lava librarian" has to mean more than just being able to show up for a few hours on wednesdays or 
sundays. 

i also have a hunch that there have been people in the past that worked on the lava library and got frustrated with stuff and 
left; it would be helpful if those folks' critiques and frustrations were talked about because then we could all see more clearly 
how the library needs to change. 

anyway, lou, i think your questions and concerns are great, and i'd like to discuss all of that. but who is actually still actively 
involved with the library and has the time and energy to not only envision but practically get things done? i know layne and i 
would like to do some of that. 

also, i think it would be great to have layne at a meeting but thursdays don't work for her. 

-kristin




----- Original Message -----
From: onion <onion at defenestrator.org>
Date: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 6:43 pm
Subject: [Lavalibrary] and my response some time ago...
To: lavalibrary at defenestrator.org

> i'll be there for the buffet!!!
> 
> but aside i just wanted to throw a few thoughts out there. things i've
> been discussing with some other librarians....
> 
> i felt a little weird about how once a few of us got sick and couldn't
> make it to a meeting, nobody (as far as i can tell) showed up for 2
> months. I checked in with a few people before the meetings and no-one 
> had
> even thought of being there. it seemed weird, especially after we had
> spent months talking about developing more community connections and being
> more of a proactive group.
> 
> in a way this set off some alarms, or at least some thoughts... where 
> are
> people at with the library? is the romance over? is everyone too busy?
> would people rather just show up and staff and not worry about the other
> stuff? does thursday not work for people?
> 
> i think we should maybe get together, as many of us as possible and see
> where we're at personally in regards to the library. i really want to 
> keep
> this going somehow, but maybe we should just talk and make sure we have
> enough collective energy to sustain this project (and figure out how 
> to do
> it)...
> 
> cheers, onion
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hello to all and sorry for being incommunicado! (Not sorry as > in guilt,
> but sorry like society :)).
> 
> Anyway, Thursday May 31st is the last library meeting before > summer 
> hits
> (for those on academic time, and) for those world travelling > jet-setters
> who take off to parts unknown during the fair months...many > people take
> get-aways during hot-time, so we'd like to get together to > throw our
> calendars in the ring and see who'll be around when...even if > you don't
> know, come harrass the rest of us who do...
> 
> We'd also like to discuss possibilities for future library > undertakings
> (the non-mortuary kind, of course)...some of which > are:
> 1.  Does it serve the best interests of the library to (elect, > appoint,
> cajole) an annual coordinator?  (A whole year?  > Arghhh!) Its just an
> idea but it solves a couple of problems for an > organization which is
> pretty "month-to-month"...(looks good on a > resume!)...
> 
> 2. In keeping with our vision for our work, does it make sense > to 
> have a
> library collective, such as: The LAVA > Autonomous Library Collective
> (LALC!  or other) which might give a > different sense of belonging to
> such a hard working group...(t-shirts with > the sleeves torn off, or 
> some
> such)...
> 
> 3. How to keep tabs on ourselves and each other when > approaching
> "burn-out", how important is it to admit it to > ourselves? How to take
> time off without leaving or how to leave > without quitting, or how to
> quit for a while but maybe come back later?  > Or...whattdya' think?
> 
> 4. These are just a few ideas, I'm sure everyone has > more...
> 
> Anyway, I'd like to bring a Southwest Buffet for the night, > flourless
> corn tortillas and lots of vegan/vegetarian specialities ( > i.e. 
> soy-cheese quesadillas)...  to commemorate the hard work throughout > 
> this
> year (bookshelving, e-catalogueing, zine-organization, staffing, wood 
> >
> work, fund-raisers, et.al.!!!) If anyone can help with > beverages/dessert
> just lemme know...
> 
> If anyone you know might like to come for the meeting, please lemme > 
> know
> asap so I'll make sure there's enough food, etc...
> 
> Hope to see you there:
> 
> THURSDAY, MAY 31
> 6-9 pm the LAVA autonomous library!!!
> 
> Lou.
> 
> 734-323-0054 href="