The Library is changing all the time to best suit your needs. Twenty years ago, there would have been a fraction of the media offerings we have today.
You'll notice, as you go through the stacks, more videos, more DVDs, more graphic novels and more CDs than ever before. The library evolves to serve its patrons. And what many people want is less print and more visuals.
When I was an educator in the classroom I bemoaned the amount of time kids spent in front of the TV; after all, as Neil Postman said in his book The End of Education, you get good at what you do most frequently.
If you read a lot, you become a better reader; if you watch a lot of TV you become a better TV watcher.
Postman wrote in the '90s that the evolving way in which we receive knowledge would create a sea change in our society. It is coming to pass. He suggests the printed word encourages logical and sequential thinking, detachment and discipline.
The world of media has an emphasis on imagery, narrative, now-ness, intimacy and immediate gratification. Just as the written word overtook memorized story telling, as the printing press overtook hand copying and now, as computers take their place in the school and workplace, and the television is how we amuse ourselves in the evening, we are witnessing a fundamental change in our world.
Something is lost as something's gained.
I have to admit though; you'd go a long way to beat settling down in the evening to watch something from one of the library's huge collection of media series. There is no worrying about missing an episode, no turning the set down to miss the ads and membership drives!
We're enjoying Monk at the moment - the crime solving adventures of an obsessive - compulsive detective based in San Francisco. The iconoclastic Boston Legal series with William Shatner was a real treat, as was the beautifully acted Noel Coward series and - if you haven't seen them, the BBC's Poirot and Jeeves and Wooster sets (both of which were based on books) are first rate.
Many critically acclaimed recent TV series such as Ugly Betty and Lost are now on the library's shelves.
Skills, such as crocheting or making a pot on the wheel are easily demonstrated in video, where a book can only give you a series of pictures and a written description.
A CD of either a book or music is a great way to while away the time on long journeys, and a good way to familiarize yourself with a new language.
For most of us, a mix of print and media to answer our reading and viewing needs is exactly what the library is providing.
The library responds to your suggestions and ideas as to what should be in the collection. Go to our home page squamish.bclibrary.ca, and click on the suggested purchase form.
