Library Survey Results

Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent survey for the Whole Earth Library. We received a lot of useful and thoughtful feedback on the library's resources, programs, and services that should help us to direct our efforts more effectively. The 24-hr book return drop is certainly a priority, and we will work on one that is both secure and respects the historical integrity of the building. Suggestions are welcome. Some other findings we would like to share are:

• A major interest in resources on nonprofit operations and the practice of philanthropy. This is unfortunately one the smallest sections of the library, and it is good to know that we should be giving it more emphasis. Until such time, we would like to point out the excellent resources of The Foundation Center available downtown and on their website, as well as at your local public libraries. We do continue to depend largely on donations for our collection, so if you have books, guides, old textbooks, etc. on these topics and would like to share them, please consider giving them to the library. Other subject areas that people emphasized include sustainable development, social issues, environmental health, environmental justice, agriculture, food and nutrition, green living, permaculture, the transition movement, and personal development. There is also an interest in more fiction.
• A number of people would like to have more access to online resources such as journals and databases. This is an expensive proposition but certainly worthy of further discussion.
• Some support for book discussions. We found it to be a challenge in the past to arrange discussions such that enough people would read the book and have time to discuss it over lunch, but if anybody would like to try organizing them again or has ideas for an alternative model, the library would certain love to help and to support that.
• There is a strong desire to highlight the work of the tenant organizations, and as a community library we would like to emphasize your work more. There are a number of ways this could be done, including the library blog, the library website, the Thoreau Center website, speakers, or a special physical display in the library. If you have any opinions on this idea, please let us know. And if you ever have any work that you would like highlighted, do contact us. As much as we try, it is hard to keep up with everything that goes on at the center.

We would like this to be an ongoing discussion, so if you ever have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to contact John at library@thoreau.org or Bruce at bruce@thoreau.org. You can also follow the library blog at welibrary.blogspot.com for updates on the library and Thoreau Center events, and leave comments there. Thank you again for your feedback.

Finally, the winner of the $25 Books, Inc. card is: Gilden Chung of Benningfield Financial Advisors in Building 1016. Congratulations!

John Bertland
Librarian, Whole Earth Library at Thoreau Center for Sustainability
library@thoreau.org
http://library.thoreau.org