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In all likelihood

As of this writing, IRS' Facebook page has been "Liked" 17,878 times.Surely it's OK to express surprise.   Noting that Round Rock Public Library has 1,687 Likes and we're SOmuch nicer wouldn't be quite...

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A tale of two

Jennifer Lawrence and I face different challenges.I worry about income tax filing and furry rooftop intruders at home and maxed-out Fiction shelving at work. Poor Jennifer, on the other hand, is tasked...

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The bond passed. Now what?

Congratulations, your new library is underway! Let's review what happened in November since we've all just recovered from our turkey comas and shopping marathons. The majority of citizens approved the...

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Over there and back again

For this significant anniversary, choose when you wish to observe it.  (Don't try this at home; a wedding date is a wedding date.)With World War I's centenary, the approach makes sense.  Nations...

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The ghost who got a warm reception

In Valerie Martin's new The Ghost of the Mary Celeste, famed British author and Sherlock Holmes creatorArthur ConanDoyle is touring the United States.  Though gracious among his fans, Doyle finds every...

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Self-help on many levels

We don't operate within Downton Abbey-like social strata, and no impenetrable physical barrier (that we know of) seals off the library's first floor from the second.  Still, top-floor reference...

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Do you have a good reimagination?

Perhaps we should make TCM's Robert Osborne an honorary library staffer.  He enhanced a customer interaction this week.The caller queried, "I don't owe any fines, right?"  Extra-busy recently, she'd...

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Would you like a film with that?

For someone who pokes fun at shallow social networking relationships (one click and you're a "friend") I am awfully quick to claim comradeship with noted authors. Without demonstrating equal talent,...

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This month: rhyme AND reason

April's first fifteen days may represent other priorities for you, but this is National Poetry Month.  The Academy of American Poets websiteoffers a multitude of ways to celebrate, including Poem in...

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A-twitter over e-books

Ever had an unflattering photo making the rounds on social media?  This happens to libraries, too.   A valued (and justifiably frustrated) customer tweeted an image of the library's copy of Flowers for...

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The art and (mad) science of summertime

On those first Tuesdays when the library opens an hour later for all-staff meeting, we're almost never discussing what you'd think. Literary chat would be fun, but other priorities rule the agenda....

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And the hints just keep on coming

In the run-up to Book Expo America next week, I'm doing my exhibitor homework:  assessing which autographed publications and advance reader copies would most interest Round Rock readers.Paula Daly, I...

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Which came first: the fried chicken or...?

“What was the weather like?” That’s the first question co-workers asked about New York last week (I attended Book Expo America).  Answer: “I wore my coat every day!” Ignoring the forecast for weeklong...

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Just wait 'til you hear

We understand why library customers ask us The Question (how we feel about “libraries going away now that we have ebooks and the internet”).  Earlier this week, one such inquirer stacked her pile of...

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All I want is more

Remember when "binge" was a word we didn't take lightly? Formerly, it applied to individuals straying into saloons or meeting with bad company and succumbing to more beverages than originally intended....

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Going up?

Right now, our new library building exists in that ideal theoretical dimension in which all things are possible and nobody's dreamed-of architectural vision clashes with anyone else's (or with...

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How to be a novel employee

We're sometimes asked whether folks who apply for City of Round Rock jobs are required to live here.  No--and that's a good thing.  Employees who reside elsewhere can share insights from those...

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Travel essentials: cheese, diamonds, someone to watch your back

At the Reference Desk, fear of disappointing our customers should we not possess (or can't for some reason retrieve) the information they seek is ever present.  But last Friday a library patron was let...

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That's the spirit

This happened before Youtube and smartphones; otherwise the moment would have inevitably been shared: we're among a summertime gaggle of tourists entering the Alamo--pausing inside the threshold to...

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Feeling listless?

Which of these is the wrong answer to a reference question? A.  You're kidding, right?B.  Sorry, no can do.C.  Ummmmm....D.  All of the aboveI did use "C" recently--following up, thankfully, with...

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That ship has sailed. Hope there were books aboard...

Did you celebrate New Year’s last week?  Beginning October 1, City of Round Rock is operating in fiscal year 2014-15.  Friends of the Round Rock Public Library hosted a clever “End of Fiscal Year”...

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Pre-owned and priceless

Some museum curators travel the globe to acquire items of significance.  A more budget-friendly strategy:  pick up the phone and graciously accept when, out of the blue, a caller offers to donate and...

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All I want is a room somewhere (else)

It’s tempting to channel Eliza Dolittle, imagining what would be architecturally “loverly” even before blueprints for the new library get underway. Recently I speculated how our workflow would benefit...

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The gift that keeps on changing

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like a wrapping a present and not giving it.  –William Arthur WardThere!  With someone else’s graceful expression, I address the...

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Round Rock Night before Christmas 2014 (or, The Truth about Our Favorite...

‘Tis Christmas Eve night, and Round Rock’s slumber-bound,In the mood for a holiday story profound.We desire an account of Saint Nick’s successesWith gifts all conveyed before dawn coalesces.But what...

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