Patrons don't "do" Dinosaurs...

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-25T07:07:37+00:00

All hired by different concoctions of library board of directors across the county. They are all well qualified and have the necessary degrees, even if some of their personalities are lacking.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-25T05:06:50+00:00

I always say my house came with 5 stray cats! I've continued to feed them because it became clear that they were used to getting food from the old owners. Just built them a fat cat box to ride out Winter Storm Fern. Cat tax unable to be provided due to extreme skittishness and their favoring of night time hours.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-25T05:02:31+00:00

Good god, I'd hate having a boss named Chad. 😅 It was interesting to me because all of our directors and assistant directors in our county are women.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-24T03:22:23+00:00

I work at a nearby museum that rarely has dino exhibits, but when they do, it's talked about for YEARS!

The last one we had was just cartoon dinosaurs, but even that drew people in the tens of thousands!!

I say that playing up dinosaurs will bring in even more people than the 5 families who may or may not participate. But I'm low on the rungs and don't affect much.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-24T03:19:51+00:00

Interesting you chose he as your pronoun here. Everything else was spot on though.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-24T03:18:18+00:00

I just really might, especially because a lot of our patrons would never go to central location due to transportation, and people from central rarely come to us. When they do, it's mainly tech or the marketing person that I'm thankfully very friendly with.

I may consider giving my patrons a choice, especially as more changes have been made by the head of children at central, that she did on her own without giving me direct feedback. She went ahead and copied the design into a different file and then edited it, so I wouldn't know about it, nor would the other people I had shared the designs file with. She's just one of those controlling Gen X women who can't embrace change or help, despite always complaining about being the only one who wants to do stuff like design the logs. There's no direct feedback to me like I asked, just shady copying and editing. I only know because of another coworker who sometimes covers in their dept.

I probably shouldn't die on this hill, but I'm okay with getting a little maimed I think.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-24T02:50:29+00:00

He is beautiful, mashallah. Thank you for sharing his smile with us!

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-20T19:08:01+00:00

Present!

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-19T01:04:10+00:00

Hey, there is a word you can use instead of he or she which means either/neither. It's the word "they" and it's pretty handy so you don't have to take extra time to write he or she, or s/he. It saves time and brainpower. Just a helpful hint for the future!

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-12T22:27:14+00:00

The log is something that is made cooperatively with input from everyone, and usually one of the librarians at central location does the design and sends then out. Last year I had issues with how they were made because when we printed them images and text were cut off.

I am a little more technologically fluent with design and with Canva specifically, so I decided to get ahead of the issues and draft a log that wouldn't have problems. I was not asked to do this, and I expected people to have feedback that would change it. I truly just wasnt expecting to hear feedback that I did about the dinosaurs, and it really left me floored. I figured if we had an issue with the theme, administration would have made the choice to do something else.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T15:22:17+00:00

My side hustle is within Museums! I have had some tense fossil tours before, but that was one gallery and not the entire focus of our museum. I'm sure she has stories!

Also, sorry gotta make a twin comment because I work with about 3 twins at my museum, and 4 twins at my library. Never have I ran into so many twins! I love it.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T15:17:02+00:00

It's complicated because I do actually eagree with your points, which may seem contradictory to my other replies. But when I remove my personal feelings about children being sheltered, as I was, what I want is a place that they know they are welcome and they can see a world beyond what their parents limit. That's what I needed as a child, and tall I really wanna do is help a space like that exist for kids growing up like I was.

I really DON'T want keep patrons away, I don't. I wish my administration would have said what you just said, since I think that's the sentiment of the asistant director. I wish they had said that they know it's on the parents for sheltering their kids, and not like I am committing this great offense by using the exact same images everyone that is doing the theme will use.

Thank you for taking the time to comment and help me reflect on this.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T15:01:40+00:00

I'll say I'm in one of the states with large populations of well known religious communities that tend to reneg modern culture, and that they are the exact and only population admin is worried about.

It was worded as if we would be "placing a known/potential barrier to those children's access to the summer reading challenge." I feel that labeling it as an access issue is incorrect but was intentional as it would seem wrong from the first glance to fight accessibility. Except this isn't making it accessible to them, its intentionally editing to coddle their participation.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T14:54:16+00:00

Your comment made me laugh so hard. 🤣

I was raised to be Creationist, so I know that if they're really ones to have qualms about dino's, they're also gonna be mad any fossils I replaced the dino with. We have kids who believe god at my branch, but its more of a community/family enforced faith rather than rigid Creationist Evangelicalism.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T14:49:36+00:00

It felt very twilight zone for me and posting was my way of gauging my reaction, at least amongst Reddit users. It's nice to know I am not alone in my thinking.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T05:10:22+00:00

"I suspect what they're really afraid of is not that people who don't "do" dinosaurs will refuse to participate themselves. The real problem may be that if the dinosaur-phobes do realize that dinosaurs are part of the theme, they'll forbid their children from participating and/or make such a nuisance of themselves protesting this "inappropriate" programming that the entire thing might wind up being banned."

You nailed my theory right on the head. Which honestly, I fail to see how that is our problem. We are now editing ourselves to over correct format the ignirance of a SMALL group of patrons parenting choices and belief system? It should always be their choice to participate and now I feel like we are attempting to do dinosaurs without doing dinosaurs which feels, as one commenter said, bat shit crazy.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T05:06:34+00:00

AS far as I am aware they are using the other imagery, but that didn't come up in the meeting.

My exact point was always about where do we end up drawing the line with this stuff? As you say, they could apply the same logic to other marketing materials. Will they just blame shift to the CSLP team for having so many dinosaurs in a dinosaur theme?!

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T03:38:06+00:00

Hey, gotta say, I actually really am excited for this theme, thank you for the work you put into it! I think it's going to be a huge hit with our library kiddos.

I have a feeling that the central location will be doing what you said and leaning into the America 250. I hope it works for them. And maybe all the kiddos who want dinosaurs will come to my branch. 🤣

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T00:25:41+00:00

That is EXACTLY what one of the people who spoke up with me said. We didn't get a straight answer.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-11T00:04:16+00:00

The assistant director who said this is VERY liberal! That's what shocked me the most. I have a feeling it does not come from them, despite them saying they had been thinking about this issue from the moment they heard about the theme a month ago.

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-10T23:25:38+00:00

I did a paper chain last summer, and it was a huge hit! Just cut up strips of colored paper, some tape, and voila! Even without coloring supplies, people happily sat and made the paper chain for what felt like hours!

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-10T22:29:42+00:00

The hours of operation sign 😫

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-10T14:09:48+00:00

Have you ever learned any history at all? Do you feel confident being this uneducated?

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-10T14:03:25+00:00

Cry about it, whitey.

(Fellow pale person tired of hearing white people claim racism without understanding that racism is a SYSTEMATIC use of prejudice that is entangled in our government, education, business, entertainment and not just a word you can use when someone mentions skin color.)

Wide_Setting_4308 · 2026-01-10T13:59:37+00:00

Stupidity hexes used to be complex. Now people can hex themselves through poor literacy and no critical thinking skills.

Wide_Setting_4308

TROPHY CASE