School Open House

Tonight was our elementary school open house, so I opened up the library for the parents to visit. My library aide volunteered to come and help out. I feel that the open house was a complete success in the library. The kids were so excited to see the aide and they were so proud to take ownership of their library. It was fun to watch the kids lead their parents around to show them where they look for books, and where they sit when they read. It reinforced in my mind how important the library is to a school district. It gives the students one more place to learn and take ownership. My aide does a terrific job with the kids and that was very clear as they gave her hugs and wanted to introduce their parents. I am very fortunate.
I really look forward to connecting the activities in the elementary library with the topics and activities in the classrooms. I know it will take time, but after tonight, I can clearly see it will be worth every effort.

Nice Rides

My daughter and I took a couple nice rides last week. Last Sunday morning we took a guided tour of the inner planets of the community Solar System. Sheldon Schafer, curator of the community Solar System, gave the tour. His knowledge and company were enjoyable, but what I really liked about the ride was that it took me places in Peoria that I have never been to before. The ride also took me places that I have been, but I have never really taken the time to explore; this is one of the things I love about riding.

Another ride we took was the mid-section of the Rock Island Trail. We rode from Dunlap to Stark. Besides discovering the new features of the trail and towns, the quiet of the trail north of Dunlap was very relaxing. We can't wait for our next ride.

It's Hard to Say Goodbye

For many librarians, it is the love of books and reading that was the draw to the career of librarian. But there is a word that strikes fear into books and library materials and to the librarians who must carry out this word's directive. The word? Weed(ing). The librarian uses many criteria to weed a collection and some of those criteria are age, last time it was used or checked out, quality of information, condition of the material, and more. Weeding has been on my mind in my library lately. Especially every time I walk into my back issue magazine room of my high school library. This room has several shelves filled with 39 different magazines many dating back to 1995. It is time to move some issues out. This isn't quite as painful as throwing away books because many times teachers will give these magazines a second life in the classroom. They are used for the analysis of advertisement, writing quality, study of photographs/editorial cartoons, editorials, or simply to cut out pictures for projects.
Books are another story. I hate to throw away a book. I don't know why exactly it is so hard, but I have trouble even tossing a book in which I have absolutely no interest. But even though it is hard to say goodbye, I will be saying farewell to many books over the next two years.
I will save the lament for tossing the old filmstrips, 16mm film, overheads, etc. for another day.

Triangle of Opportunity Cycle Tour

Last Saturday I joined my friend Rich on a 50 mile cycle tour through southern Tazewell and western McLean Counties. The weather cooperated with sunshine, lower temperatures and less humidity than the previous few weeks. The organization chose a nice route with good roads and scenery. A highlight of the ride was the two or three mile stretch of riding on old Route 66 to Funk's Grove. In Funk's Grove there was an enjoyable, serene, winding road in a wooded area that was fun to ride. And the historical value of Old Route 66 added a bit of nostalgia to the ride.

It was the first time I had ridden the Triangle of Opportunity Cycle tour, but I have ridden the roads around Minier, Mackinaw, and Tremont a few times. I recommend riding the roads of this area. One rider had mentioned the value of connecting the Bloomington/Normal area with the Peoria area using roads like the Old Peoria road from Danvers to Mackinaw. I have not studied the maps, but I bet it wouldn't be difficult to identify some county/township roads in rural areas that would connect some of our small to mid-sized towns. I wonder how much business it would take from cyclists for small towns to see the value of creating a cycling route with dedicated, painted lanes or added shoulders, or even old rail beds for cycling. Imagine, people might choose to use these routes for touring (out of state money), family rides (local and regional money), or even routes to ride to work (promoting community). Lots of business for small towns could be generated by this unique opportunity.

I hope someone with a bit more influence, money, and/or time reads this and sees some value. Talk to the people who organized the TOOC; they must see some benefit to their businesses and small towns. I know that I spend plenty of money without breaking the bank on lodging, meals, snacks and tourism when I tour in other parts of the state and region.