Church & Synagogue Libraries, Volume 25, Number 5, March/April 1992 Page: 6 of 21
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Quiet Ministry, Continued from page
has a built-in 1" measure for uniform
labeling. I place the label and overlay
the "Scotch" tape in the same operation.Spine-labeling machine
Last week I had a long unused stamp
machine renewed with the new slogan
"the QUIET MINISTRY, Kalamazoo
Wesleyan Church Library." I just picked
it up today.
Currently I am adding 47 lineal feet of
additional shelving to relieve the
overcrowding. The library is growing.
I have trouble recruiting helpers - no
ones schedule matches mine - but I have
more understanding why housewives
couldn't "promote" it.
I have seen some excellent church
libraries and some which have not been
developed at all. I feel that many are
neglected for lack of promotion and
probably some of the conditions existing
that I am coping with.
Even a small church library has great
potential to teach and feed the
congregation with Christian literature.
This is a ministry that needs the
backing and active support of the
denomination. Surprise - literally
shock - your denominational editors by
writing a note of appreciation for their
efforts to promote the library!
So - I am learning to be a librarian.
There is much to learn and much to do.
As a retired person I can spend more
time at it."WHAT DO YOU DO
WITH DONATED
BOOKS?
by Betty Giesbrecht
ibrarians are so trained to get
books onto the library shelves and
out into reader's hands that it is
actually difficult to discard books. I
remember working with one who held
us back from weeding in the library
because we would have to face the task
of what to do with the pulled books.
I was asked recently "What do you do
with donated books?" I answered, "In
our library we have...
- Accepted many thankfully for our
collection,
- Given some that were not suitablefor
our collection to the pastoral staff for
their personal resource libraries,
. Presented several, especially small
paper back books, to prison visitation
programs,
- Donated duplicates to new libraries
that are just beginning a collection,
- Sent some to a thrift shop that raises
money for third world needs,
- Mailed Bibles to an agency for dis-
tribution within their network of
needs,
" Donated books of a language other
than English to a senior care home
where many can still read that
language,
" Shared duplicates at "book exchange
tables" at library conferences,
" Shared with teachers who can make
special use of very large and/or thin
editions that might get lost in the
collection,
" Donated some to a local college library
when the topic was such that few
congregational readers would have
borrowed the volume,
- Some have gone to the fireplace in
recognition that they were too old and
yellowed or torn to attract readers, or
simply did not meet the standards for
quality Christian lit-erature.
- We have heard of others who have
sales and internal church bookexchanges but we have never followed
those routes. That experience may be
right one day soon also.
- Occasionally we receive books that
defy our finding a proper solution for
its disposition.
We have a written statement in our
library policy that announces our position
on donated books. It allows the library
staff the freedom to select where to place
books. That thought is even expressed
on a "donation box" we keep in the
library. Should a donor not wish to give
us that freedom, we cannot accept the
donation. We have had no difficulty with
this position, and donors are welcome to
reclaim their books.
Our best "tool" we find, is TIME to
dispose of donated books properly. Some
will go in a donation box for the right
recipient, and others may be held on a
"query shelf" until the right location
presents itself. But, time and patience
goes along way for all solutions.
Betty Giesgrecht is past-president of CLABC,
Congregational Libraries Association of
British Columbia, and currently serves as
librarian at the Bakerview Men. Bretheren in
Clearbrook, B.C. Canada.
Exhilaration is that
feeling you get just after a
great idea hits you, and
just before you realize
what's wrong with it.
- - Unknown4
6/Church & Synagogue Libraries
25th Annual
CSLA Conference
Where?
Harley Hotel
East Lansing, MI
When?
July 12-14, 1992I
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Church and Synagogue Library Association. Church & Synagogue Libraries, Volume 25, Number 5, March/April 1992, periodical, March 1992; Portland, Oregon. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1457896/m1/6/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.