I wonder about what it will really take for some of our local drivers to stop being selfish and care about the hazards that they create. True, some still run the red lights with impunity, but you should see the Seawell School Speedway in the early morning. Doing 60 or more on that road is insane, as the recent accident near the train track proves.
We also have drivers who must not remember much from the last time they studied for the DMV test. They drive in the rain without their lights on, and they don’t seem to understand the difference between solid and dotted yellow lines. Just watch what happens when the traffic going east on Estes backs up at the Franklin St. intersection and how people speed into the left turn lane starting back at Library Drive.
It would also be nice if some of our drivers remembered that when they do make that left turn, they are suppose to stay in the left lane. And how about visualizing using the turn signals activated by that stick on the left side of the steering column? It one can visualize using them, then one can easily advance to actually doing it. Not only does it help other drivers know what you intend to do, it also shows that you care about others.
Maybe we should require drivers to take the test every couple of years, but that won’t happen – it costs too much. But what do all of these accidents caused by uncaring drivers cost us?
Monday, June 4, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
The CHH Will Continue (For Now)
Editor Bob Ashley (click link) wrote in today’s Durham Herald-Sun that the Chapel Hill Herald will continue as a seven day a week newspaper.
I think that’s good news, but I do have concerns. Mr. Ashley uses the phrase “stay the course.” I hope that the Paxton management does not believe that nothing need to change with how they resource or support the CHH.
Chapel Hill needs more than one paper and I think the dedicated staff at the CHH produces a quality product – with the resources that they receive. Thus, it would be good to see several improvements by the Paxton management – to include delivering the paper with regularity!
I think that’s good news, but I do have concerns. Mr. Ashley uses the phrase “stay the course.” I hope that the Paxton management does not believe that nothing need to change with how they resource or support the CHH.
Chapel Hill needs more than one paper and I think the dedicated staff at the CHH produces a quality product – with the resources that they receive. Thus, it would be good to see several improvements by the Paxton management – to include delivering the paper with regularity!
Friday, May 25, 2007
RADIO (WCHL Commentary)
Do you have one of those XM Satellite radios? If you do, you probably were a little perturbed when you experienced an outage earlier this week. Hearing about their satellite being down and then hearing the story on TV about the ominous 2007 hurricane season made me wonder; if the predicted number of named storms and number of hurricane days is anywhere close to accurate, it’s going to be an interesting season!
Remember the ice storm back in December of 2002. Fortunately, WCHL had just returned as a local station and was able to provide 24 hour information and updates for those of us who had working radios. What would have happened if we had to depend on a satellite signal for our local advisories and updates? Sure, if you had a battery operated TV or a generator, you got news and updates from the TV stations, but it was regional. Hearing our mayor and town manager projecting calm and competent leadership as they provided advisories and updates was really reassuring.
Sadly, I think we will face another crisis of that sort in the future and it may come during this hurricane season. Now is the time to get ready by doing what the emergency preparedness folks have suggested. Go to the Orange County webpage and check out their advice. Having a working radio and extra batteries is one of their suggestions. I don’t know about you, but my family and I will most definitely be tuned to WCHL 1360 in order to stay informed. Satellite radio may have the music you want but it sure won’t have the local information that you really need!
Remember the ice storm back in December of 2002. Fortunately, WCHL had just returned as a local station and was able to provide 24 hour information and updates for those of us who had working radios. What would have happened if we had to depend on a satellite signal for our local advisories and updates? Sure, if you had a battery operated TV or a generator, you got news and updates from the TV stations, but it was regional. Hearing our mayor and town manager projecting calm and competent leadership as they provided advisories and updates was really reassuring.
Sadly, I think we will face another crisis of that sort in the future and it may come during this hurricane season. Now is the time to get ready by doing what the emergency preparedness folks have suggested. Go to the Orange County webpage and check out their advice. Having a working radio and extra batteries is one of their suggestions. I don’t know about you, but my family and I will most definitely be tuned to WCHL 1360 in order to stay informed. Satellite radio may have the music you want but it sure won’t have the local information that you really need!
Sunday, May 6, 2007
RESIGNATION
April 30, 2007
Dear Editor:
In the first 120 days of 2007, we probably have not received our paper on one-third of those days. Calling the Herald-Sun “customer no-service” line produces even greater frustrations, especially when the voice tells me that they “deliver more news seven days a week.” Of course, if they did deliver it, I wouldn’t be calling. Sometimes after calling, the paper eventually gets to our driveway and sometimes it doesn’t.
With all of the challenges facing the print media these days, you would think a paper’s owners would do all that it could to retain paying customers. I have personally had conversations with the district manager, the circulation manager, and even the publisher about not getting our paper but it continues to happen. I just can’t understand why, as the other paper that we pay to receive has missed delivery only once in the last 120 days and the free paper comes twice a week without fail. Whatever the explanation, deeds, not words, should be the coin of the realm for consumers.
We did not get this Sunday’s paper, again. We called and were told that they would try to deliver it; it never came. It didn’t come Monday morning either, but the “customer no-service” rep said that they would try to get it out to us Tuesday. I assume that my Sunday column was printed but I have no personal confirmation. What’s wrong with this picture?
Thus, in good conscience I can no longer be an unpaid weekly columnist for an organization that seems to care so little about its customers. I have enjoyed my time writing for the Chapel Hill Herald and I especially value all of the feedback from readers. I understand that, as editor, you have no control over the business aspects of the paper, but I hope you understand my decision. I also hope that somehow, the Paxton chain will devoted the necessary resources to improve delivery and its customer service approach before it’s too late. Our community needs a community-focused newspaper, but is this a corporate commitment?
Thanks again for the opportunity to write the weekly Sunday column and I wish you and your fine staff good luck.
Fred Black
Dear Editor:
In the first 120 days of 2007, we probably have not received our paper on one-third of those days. Calling the Herald-Sun “customer no-service” line produces even greater frustrations, especially when the voice tells me that they “deliver more news seven days a week.” Of course, if they did deliver it, I wouldn’t be calling. Sometimes after calling, the paper eventually gets to our driveway and sometimes it doesn’t.
With all of the challenges facing the print media these days, you would think a paper’s owners would do all that it could to retain paying customers. I have personally had conversations with the district manager, the circulation manager, and even the publisher about not getting our paper but it continues to happen. I just can’t understand why, as the other paper that we pay to receive has missed delivery only once in the last 120 days and the free paper comes twice a week without fail. Whatever the explanation, deeds, not words, should be the coin of the realm for consumers.
We did not get this Sunday’s paper, again. We called and were told that they would try to deliver it; it never came. It didn’t come Monday morning either, but the “customer no-service” rep said that they would try to get it out to us Tuesday. I assume that my Sunday column was printed but I have no personal confirmation. What’s wrong with this picture?
Thus, in good conscience I can no longer be an unpaid weekly columnist for an organization that seems to care so little about its customers. I have enjoyed my time writing for the Chapel Hill Herald and I especially value all of the feedback from readers. I understand that, as editor, you have no control over the business aspects of the paper, but I hope you understand my decision. I also hope that somehow, the Paxton chain will devoted the necessary resources to improve delivery and its customer service approach before it’s too late. Our community needs a community-focused newspaper, but is this a corporate commitment?
Thanks again for the opportunity to write the weekly Sunday column and I wish you and your fine staff good luck.
Fred Black
Sunday, April 29, 2007
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? ANYTHING?
It seems like that in the last few weeks, we have had event after event that has caused me to pause and wonder a lot about our current human condition. These events, both locally and nationally, have been gripping in their media appeal and ability to dominate the cable news, talk radio and grab the headlines in the print media.
But as one event knocks off the prior one for the top spot, I keep asking myself, what is that we’ve learned? I know that there is no law stating that we have to learn anything from any event, but for a community of thinking people with enormous intellectual capacity and who seem to value social progress, it seems to be a reasonable expectation. It’s as if we must be a living testament to George Santayana’s oft quoted line, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Let’s look at two examples. First, the Duke Lacrosse case, or the stripper false allegation case as some call it. When the case first broke in the media, the uproar was deafening and the responses were certainly predictable. Anger, disgust, outrage, hate, and repugnance were evident and came through in media reports loudly and clearly. The lacrosse players and their coach, and those defending them, appeared to have little support.
People firmly on both sides of the case accused those of us of all sorts of things when cautioned that in situations like this it was best to wait for some facts to come in before reaching a judgment. So when people called from all over our country and asked about the case, I responded that it had all of the ingredients that the media loves: race, sex, class, an elite university, and disreputable employment.
When the North Carolina Attorney General declared the three young men innocent, reactions were just as loud. Of course, some argued that they knew it all the time and others claim that you can’t be innocent when you have a team party with alcohol being served to underage teens while watching an “exotic” dancer. But the key point is that those who knew what they knew in the beginning were just as adamant when this development became public.
Then comes Imus and his non-humorous attempt at humor (he claims) and the Duke story is no longer number one. Again, we have race and a verified assault on a group of young women. People who supported Imus referenced the 1st Amendment and his opponents argued that he had no right to do what he did to those young ladies. No attorney general declared him innocent or guilty, the marketplace did.
When the broadcast sponsors were bombarded with complaints from the public, the TV and radio networks went from a suspension to a firing, but not because they really didn’t like what their star jock said, but because the market forces aligned against them.
What troubles me in this situation is that we didn’t get to discuss more fully the issues raised in this case. In particular, how much discussion has there been about the rest of what Imus said, that the University of Tennessee girls were “cute?” What was he saying? Was it solely because of the absence of tattoos or was it because of straight hair and fair skin? Note that this is not a new race topic that we can’t seem to discuss openly or honestly.
Do you see a pattern? We know what we know and the facts, whenever they surface, are not going to keep some of us from our rush to judgments in hot button cases. There are so many outlets these days like blogs and chat rooms where we can express whatever opinion we have without having any responsibility to know what we are talking about. After all, we have a right to our opinions and therefore the right to be 100% wrong.
But when it comes to both sides of the hot buttons of race, class, sex and other captivating topics, why is it so hard for even people of goodwill to have candid and honest discussions? Hence, I must keep wondering what it is that we’ve learned from these cases. It’s interesting that 30 years ago when the TV docudrama “Roots” first aired, we seemed to be on our way in making some progress towards being able to discuss hard topics. Now, I’m not sure we’ve progressed.
In our local community, we are facing some hard issues like redistricting and the achievement gap where race and class are prominent factors. How can we achieve solutions if we can’t have honest and open discussions? I want to be optimistic that we can show that we’ve learned something constructive and beneficial from these recent events. If we can do that, it would be a good thing.
But as one event knocks off the prior one for the top spot, I keep asking myself, what is that we’ve learned? I know that there is no law stating that we have to learn anything from any event, but for a community of thinking people with enormous intellectual capacity and who seem to value social progress, it seems to be a reasonable expectation. It’s as if we must be a living testament to George Santayana’s oft quoted line, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
Let’s look at two examples. First, the Duke Lacrosse case, or the stripper false allegation case as some call it. When the case first broke in the media, the uproar was deafening and the responses were certainly predictable. Anger, disgust, outrage, hate, and repugnance were evident and came through in media reports loudly and clearly. The lacrosse players and their coach, and those defending them, appeared to have little support.
People firmly on both sides of the case accused those of us of all sorts of things when cautioned that in situations like this it was best to wait for some facts to come in before reaching a judgment. So when people called from all over our country and asked about the case, I responded that it had all of the ingredients that the media loves: race, sex, class, an elite university, and disreputable employment.
When the North Carolina Attorney General declared the three young men innocent, reactions were just as loud. Of course, some argued that they knew it all the time and others claim that you can’t be innocent when you have a team party with alcohol being served to underage teens while watching an “exotic” dancer. But the key point is that those who knew what they knew in the beginning were just as adamant when this development became public.
Then comes Imus and his non-humorous attempt at humor (he claims) and the Duke story is no longer number one. Again, we have race and a verified assault on a group of young women. People who supported Imus referenced the 1st Amendment and his opponents argued that he had no right to do what he did to those young ladies. No attorney general declared him innocent or guilty, the marketplace did.
When the broadcast sponsors were bombarded with complaints from the public, the TV and radio networks went from a suspension to a firing, but not because they really didn’t like what their star jock said, but because the market forces aligned against them.
What troubles me in this situation is that we didn’t get to discuss more fully the issues raised in this case. In particular, how much discussion has there been about the rest of what Imus said, that the University of Tennessee girls were “cute?” What was he saying? Was it solely because of the absence of tattoos or was it because of straight hair and fair skin? Note that this is not a new race topic that we can’t seem to discuss openly or honestly.
Do you see a pattern? We know what we know and the facts, whenever they surface, are not going to keep some of us from our rush to judgments in hot button cases. There are so many outlets these days like blogs and chat rooms where we can express whatever opinion we have without having any responsibility to know what we are talking about. After all, we have a right to our opinions and therefore the right to be 100% wrong.
But when it comes to both sides of the hot buttons of race, class, sex and other captivating topics, why is it so hard for even people of goodwill to have candid and honest discussions? Hence, I must keep wondering what it is that we’ve learned from these cases. It’s interesting that 30 years ago when the TV docudrama “Roots” first aired, we seemed to be on our way in making some progress towards being able to discuss hard topics. Now, I’m not sure we’ve progressed.
In our local community, we are facing some hard issues like redistricting and the achievement gap where race and class are prominent factors. How can we achieve solutions if we can’t have honest and open discussions? I want to be optimistic that we can show that we’ve learned something constructive and beneficial from these recent events. If we can do that, it would be a good thing.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
INTERESTED IN RUNNING FOR OFFICE?
One of the truths of our civic culture is that there are two distinct groups of citizens. In one group we have those who are willing to seek office to serve their community and the other group is made up of those of us who observe the first. Clearly, both groups are necessary for our system to work but we should acknowledge that it takes a lot of courage to be in the first group.
What if there were an election and nobody was on the ballot? Not very likely you say because there are always those who are willing to be group one folks. I guess that’s been true, and anyway it’s probably more likely that there could be an election and too few came out to vote. But it takes real bravery to sign on to be in group one and no courage at all to not participate in the electoral process.
How would you decide whether to run for office? After deciding to run what else do you have to do to enhance your chances of success? That is such a good question that the Community Action Network (CAN) decided to sponsor another free and nonpartisan campaign and elections workshop that will be held at the Chapel Hill Town Council chambers on Saturday April 28th from 10 a.m. to Noon. Registration is not required.
The workshop will cover running for the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, the Chapel Hill Town Council, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, the Hillsborough Town Council and the two school boards in Orange County. Those interested in running, as well as those just interested in working on a campaign, are the prime target audience.
Here is how it will work. The workshop will have three components. The first will consist of questions from moderator Rosemary Waldorf (former Chapel Hill Mayor) directed to a panel of former elected officials and volunteer campaign workers. The questions will focus primarily on deciding to run for office, campaign staffing, scheduling, financing, publicity, election laws, and the use of technology. In the second component, members of the audience will be able to participate directly by asking questions of the panel members.
The panel members scheduled to participate are Nick Didow, a former Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board member; Steve Halkiotis, a former Orange County Commissioner; Susan Halkiotis, a former Orange County School Board member; Tom Jensen, a recent UNC-CH graduate who has been active in a number of local campaigns; Thomas Mills, a political consultant; Ruby Sinreich, a former candidate for Chapel Hill Town Council and a computer technology usage expert; and Allen Spalt, a former Carrboro Board of Aldermen member. Others may be added in the run-up to the workshop.
After the panel discussion and questions from the audience, panel members will break into several small informal groups. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss specific questions that they have and follow up on topics that were covered in the first two components. The last time that CAN sponsored the workshop, the small groups were very popular and the added benefit was that participants were able to establish relationships with the former office seekers and campaign workers.
There will be some useful information to take home, as CAN has prepared a resource packet. It will include basic information about how to file for elections, samples of reports required by the Orange County Board of Elections, and a campaign activity timeline.
Why is CAN doing this? As a nonprofit membership organization that advocates for the general public interest, the board sees this activity as a perfect way to increase public awareness of this critical civic activity. Additionally, no organization other than CAN has done a similar workshop so it fills a need. Several attendees at the last workshop did in fact run for office and thought that the workshop was useful.
Since it might be difficult for some to get to Town Hall on a Saturday morning, the session can be seen in real time on Chapel Hill cable channel 18 and it will be rebroadcast on future dates on the People’s Channel.
I hope that many people come to the free workshop or watch it on TV. I also hope that more than a few people in Orange County will be motivated, after some serious thinking and analysis, to seek office. Having a good pool of candidates means that we will continue to have good political leadership. After all, we have some tough policy issues to navigate.
Just as CAN has tried to be “a positive force for positive action” in the Orange County community, having positive individuals who are willing to serve us is a good thing; having to choose from a slate of many good candidates is an even better thing!
Fred is the past chair and a current board member.
Previous columns are available at www.columnsbyfredblack.blogspot.com
What if there were an election and nobody was on the ballot? Not very likely you say because there are always those who are willing to be group one folks. I guess that’s been true, and anyway it’s probably more likely that there could be an election and too few came out to vote. But it takes real bravery to sign on to be in group one and no courage at all to not participate in the electoral process.
How would you decide whether to run for office? After deciding to run what else do you have to do to enhance your chances of success? That is such a good question that the Community Action Network (CAN) decided to sponsor another free and nonpartisan campaign and elections workshop that will be held at the Chapel Hill Town Council chambers on Saturday April 28th from 10 a.m. to Noon. Registration is not required.
The workshop will cover running for the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, the Chapel Hill Town Council, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, the Hillsborough Town Council and the two school boards in Orange County. Those interested in running, as well as those just interested in working on a campaign, are the prime target audience.
Here is how it will work. The workshop will have three components. The first will consist of questions from moderator Rosemary Waldorf (former Chapel Hill Mayor) directed to a panel of former elected officials and volunteer campaign workers. The questions will focus primarily on deciding to run for office, campaign staffing, scheduling, financing, publicity, election laws, and the use of technology. In the second component, members of the audience will be able to participate directly by asking questions of the panel members.
The panel members scheduled to participate are Nick Didow, a former Chapel Hill-Carrboro School Board member; Steve Halkiotis, a former Orange County Commissioner; Susan Halkiotis, a former Orange County School Board member; Tom Jensen, a recent UNC-CH graduate who has been active in a number of local campaigns; Thomas Mills, a political consultant; Ruby Sinreich, a former candidate for Chapel Hill Town Council and a computer technology usage expert; and Allen Spalt, a former Carrboro Board of Aldermen member. Others may be added in the run-up to the workshop.
After the panel discussion and questions from the audience, panel members will break into several small informal groups. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss specific questions that they have and follow up on topics that were covered in the first two components. The last time that CAN sponsored the workshop, the small groups were very popular and the added benefit was that participants were able to establish relationships with the former office seekers and campaign workers.
There will be some useful information to take home, as CAN has prepared a resource packet. It will include basic information about how to file for elections, samples of reports required by the Orange County Board of Elections, and a campaign activity timeline.
Why is CAN doing this? As a nonprofit membership organization that advocates for the general public interest, the board sees this activity as a perfect way to increase public awareness of this critical civic activity. Additionally, no organization other than CAN has done a similar workshop so it fills a need. Several attendees at the last workshop did in fact run for office and thought that the workshop was useful.
Since it might be difficult for some to get to Town Hall on a Saturday morning, the session can be seen in real time on Chapel Hill cable channel 18 and it will be rebroadcast on future dates on the People’s Channel.
I hope that many people come to the free workshop or watch it on TV. I also hope that more than a few people in Orange County will be motivated, after some serious thinking and analysis, to seek office. Having a good pool of candidates means that we will continue to have good political leadership. After all, we have some tough policy issues to navigate.
Just as CAN has tried to be “a positive force for positive action” in the Orange County community, having positive individuals who are willing to serve us is a good thing; having to choose from a slate of many good candidates is an even better thing!
Fred is the past chair and a current board member.
Previous columns are available at www.columnsbyfredblack.blogspot.com
Sunday, April 15, 2007
REMEMBER NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK
Yes, April 15 to 21 is National Library Week 2007. It’s a time to celebrate again the contributions of our nation's libraries, our librarians, and our library workers, as well as to promote library use and support. That’s what the American Library Association says about the annual event that it has sponsored since 1958.
In our community, we are blessed with our outstanding local and county libraries and the richness of the exceptional academic libraries at UNC. Libraries are a vital component of the quality of life that we enjoy and I think it would be a rare citizen who couldn’t think of a way that a library has made a difference in their life. To say that libraries are transforming places would not be an overstatement.
We are also blessed in Chapel Hill with having a top-notch library director, a truly wonderful group of committed professional staff members, tireless volunteers, and two special organizations dedicated to enhancing our library, The Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library, and The Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation.
For me, libraries have always been extraordinary places to learn and grow, as well as find new materials to explore, and new ideas to ponder. And best of all, they are places that offer unlimited enjoyment. When we initially arrived in Chapel Hill, one of the first things I did was to go get my library card. As a fan of libraries, I was amazed with how robust a collection and how beautiful a facility we had here in our community.
Not too long after getting my card, I met a friend from our New York days who also had moved to Chapel Hill. She was on the Library Board of Trustees and knowing that I had chaired the library committee for an academic institution in New York, she encouraged me to get involved here. I eventually served on the Library Board and had the opportunity to serve as its chair for two terms.
Working closely with an academic library and then a community library, I have been able to witness personally the technological revolution that has occurred, and in my opinion, changes made have been for the good of all. I can’t tell you how outraged some of those professors were back in the early 1990s when they learned that the card catalog was being retired and would be replaced by a terminal. They were not shy about expressing their feelings, as they were uncertain about the coming changes. Now, those terminals seem very much at home in libraries and we have adjusted to the change.
In Chapel Hill, our automated catalog now uses a graphics environment and provides patrons with much more online information about the collection than it once did. We also have a beautiful web page that provides lots and lots of information and has content in Spanish. Our library also has Internet access and a wireless capability throughout. In other words, we are high tech and will become even more so in the years to come.
But libraries are not just about machines and technology, they are also about people and the services that are provided. For example, in partnership with UNC, we have computer classes. In conjunction with The Friends, we have several popular programs like the “Books Sandwiched In” Club, “meet the author” opportunities, and special learning occasions like the series on the Constitution.
Children’s programming and circulation continue to grow at a rapid rate; and overall, the Chapel Hill Public Library continues to be the busiest per capita circulation public library in North Carolina. This demand locally for library programming is matched with the demand for accessible community meeting space. Hence, the bond that voters approved to expand our beautiful facility should allow us to offer more space to provide what citizens clearly want.
Go to the library web site < http://www.chapelhillpubliclibrary.org> and see what’s happening during National Library Week and beyond. You can also go to < http://www.friendschpl.org> and see what The Friends are doing to further the excellence of Chapel Hill Public Library. They raise money for library needs through their book sales, sponsor programs for adults and children, and foster interest in the library. Another place to visit is < http://www.chplfoundation.org> to see what the Library Foundation is doing as part of their “ensuring excellence” campaign. They and The Friends have made significant contributions to the library and they solicit community support to make it possible.
Yes, this week is National Library Week, and our library is a truly special resource. Use it! Everyone who helps to make it the special place that it is should be remembered not just during this week, but every week. After all, having a community jewel is a good thing, and recognizing that it is so special is even better!
Previous columns are available at www.columnsbyfredblack.blogspot.com
In our community, we are blessed with our outstanding local and county libraries and the richness of the exceptional academic libraries at UNC. Libraries are a vital component of the quality of life that we enjoy and I think it would be a rare citizen who couldn’t think of a way that a library has made a difference in their life. To say that libraries are transforming places would not be an overstatement.
We are also blessed in Chapel Hill with having a top-notch library director, a truly wonderful group of committed professional staff members, tireless volunteers, and two special organizations dedicated to enhancing our library, The Friends of the Chapel Hill Public Library, and The Chapel Hill Public Library Foundation.
For me, libraries have always been extraordinary places to learn and grow, as well as find new materials to explore, and new ideas to ponder. And best of all, they are places that offer unlimited enjoyment. When we initially arrived in Chapel Hill, one of the first things I did was to go get my library card. As a fan of libraries, I was amazed with how robust a collection and how beautiful a facility we had here in our community.
Not too long after getting my card, I met a friend from our New York days who also had moved to Chapel Hill. She was on the Library Board of Trustees and knowing that I had chaired the library committee for an academic institution in New York, she encouraged me to get involved here. I eventually served on the Library Board and had the opportunity to serve as its chair for two terms.
Working closely with an academic library and then a community library, I have been able to witness personally the technological revolution that has occurred, and in my opinion, changes made have been for the good of all. I can’t tell you how outraged some of those professors were back in the early 1990s when they learned that the card catalog was being retired and would be replaced by a terminal. They were not shy about expressing their feelings, as they were uncertain about the coming changes. Now, those terminals seem very much at home in libraries and we have adjusted to the change.
In Chapel Hill, our automated catalog now uses a graphics environment and provides patrons with much more online information about the collection than it once did. We also have a beautiful web page that provides lots and lots of information and has content in Spanish. Our library also has Internet access and a wireless capability throughout. In other words, we are high tech and will become even more so in the years to come.
But libraries are not just about machines and technology, they are also about people and the services that are provided. For example, in partnership with UNC, we have computer classes. In conjunction with The Friends, we have several popular programs like the “Books Sandwiched In” Club, “meet the author” opportunities, and special learning occasions like the series on the Constitution.
Children’s programming and circulation continue to grow at a rapid rate; and overall, the Chapel Hill Public Library continues to be the busiest per capita circulation public library in North Carolina. This demand locally for library programming is matched with the demand for accessible community meeting space. Hence, the bond that voters approved to expand our beautiful facility should allow us to offer more space to provide what citizens clearly want.
Go to the library web site < http://www.chapelhillpubliclibrary.org> and see what’s happening during National Library Week and beyond. You can also go to < http://www.friendschpl.org> and see what The Friends are doing to further the excellence of Chapel Hill Public Library. They raise money for library needs through their book sales, sponsor programs for adults and children, and foster interest in the library. Another place to visit is < http://www.chplfoundation.org> to see what the Library Foundation is doing as part of their “ensuring excellence” campaign. They and The Friends have made significant contributions to the library and they solicit community support to make it possible.
Yes, this week is National Library Week, and our library is a truly special resource. Use it! Everyone who helps to make it the special place that it is should be remembered not just during this week, but every week. After all, having a community jewel is a good thing, and recognizing that it is so special is even better!
Previous columns are available at www.columnsbyfredblack.blogspot.com
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