The world is a curious place. And what a wonderful thing that is! When we are lead by our curiosity, we are sure to be directed into some delightful, challenging and often enchanted places. Whenever we become curious, our senses are heightened and our imaginations are called forth. Exploration and discovery are imminent.
So, why all this talk about curiosity? Would you believe that Boulder Public Library has embraced curiosity as one of our guiding qualities? As we move into a new year, our curiosity—and yours—will be of keen interest to us. By dedicating ourselves to observing what makes us all curious we foster a culture of learning and innovation. This is how we are consciously growing our presence in the Boulder community and deepening our impact.
A Boulder Library colleague recently shared a story with me about a young man who came into our Main Library on a week day in late November. He spotted a sign that pointed toward the North Wing of the building. The sign pointed the way to GED Testing that takes place through our Boulder Reads program on a regular basis. This young man followed the signs until he reached welcoming library staff who encouraged him to take his first GED test. He wasn’t prepared with fees or even a photo ID. Sensing his curiosity and interest, a staff member snapped his photo for registration using her iPhone, arranged for the fee payment to be taken at a later time and set this young man up for success on his first two installments of the test! Cultivating curiosity in this case took a bit of encouragement, some creativity and much care.
What are you curious about? Where does that curiosity lead you? We hope that it often leads you right to your public library.
Tony Tallent, Library & Arts Director
Filed under: Director's Blog | Tagged: boulder reads, curiosity, encouragement, GED, High School, success
Sunday I came into the library to do extensive computer research and work but the problem was getting on a computer. I came at 4:05pm, 9 computers had reservations with 4:25pm & 4:30pm between 2 floors with no one showing up on these computers. A librarian cancelled my 5:25pm reservation to get on a 4:25pm computer. Then I got on with only 44 minutes to work. The problem is that anyone who walked in immediately was getting on a 4:25pm or 4:30pm computer while I was waiting 65 minutes with my reservation—rather than being next in line in front of all the people walking in the door.
There should be at least 9 computers not on your reservation system i.e., with a first come first serve basis—log on the computer directly—-not on your reservation system. So, people like myself with serious work to do are not waiting around wasting an hour waiting in a library to use a computer.