I Feel the Earth Move

The first song that came into my head this week, as I heard about the moderate earthquakes in Colorado and the East Coast, was Carole King's I Feel the Earth Move. I was here in the Polley Music Library when I heard about the quakes, and I know from experience that "I feel the earth move under my feet" is the usual feeling in an earthquake (although I went through a few as a child oblivious to what was going on).

For those people who don't expect quakes because they don't live in "earthquake country," earthquakes may be frightening. As a child I learned to "duck and cover" for earthquakes (just like for civil defense drills). Get under a sturdy table or desk and protect your head. I also learned as a child that another place to ride out an earthquake is in an interior reinforced doorway, where the frame may provide some protection as the building sways. The bookstacks in a library are not the place to be in a quake, as not just the books, but the book stacks themselves, may sway to the point of failure, crushing anything in the path on the way down. Leave the book on the shelf and get to safety away from the book stacks -- then duck and cover, or these days, "duck, cover and hold."

May all your library visits be safe ones.

The Public Music Library in Budapest

Budapest's public library, the Metropolitan Ervin Szabo Library, has a very large music collection located in the Palffy Palace across the street from the main library. A lovely fenced garden with a statue of Bartok enhances the facility. The building is beautiful, but the music library faces the challenges of providing modern music library service in the historic structure.

The music collection focuses on classical music, jazz and folk music. Popular music, especially on compact disc, is located in the popular materials collections of the public library. The music collection contains a huge number of scores, as well as periodicals, music books, and audio and video recordings.

As with most libraries, the librarians are working hard to increase patronage. To this end, they offer concerts -- many in the music library itself, with a few in the main library. To make space for the performers and concertgoers, the librarians move book shelves and tables, and voila, a concert space is created. My first thought on seeing the garden was what a perfect place it would be for a guitarist to perform on a summer evening.

I had a wonderful visit at the music library and with the music librarians. In Budapest and in Lincoln we share many of the same library issues; we're all working hard to turn challenges into opportunities and to ensure that our music users will have access to the collections and information they and you need.