Library Love

It was only a matter of time really, consider it a professional hazard.  As evidenced by the above title, tonight’s I [heart] Hibbing focus is the Hibbing Public Library.  Now the reason I’ve chosen to write about this actually has very little to do with the fact that I’m a librarian.  I was actually inspired to choose this topic by a suggestion to like a Facebook page from a friend the other day.  The page in question was “Arrowhead Legacy Events”, which is basically a central location for publicizing free history, arts, and culture events that are funded by Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment which are coordinated by the Arrowhead Library System (of which Hibbing is a member).

Perhaps the most popular and recognized component of this program are the free passes to select area museums, however, this program also covers various guest artists, musicians, and historians as I understand it.  Apparently it also provides funding for the creation of various art installations at public libraries in the region as shown in the pictures on the library system’s blog to be found here.  This, in my opinion, is a great example of how a community’s quality of life can be improved by people coming together for a common purpose. 

In my experience, it can be easy to brush aside local public libraries with the thought that their programming is solely for children and families with events like the popular children’s summer reading program.  Programs like the Legacy Amendment remind us that places like libraries can serve a much greater function in our community.  They are gathering places.  Places to seek information, knowledge, and entertainment.  And, in my observation, they are places that are easily overlooked or under appreciated.

Think about it.  When was the last time you visited the Hibbing Public Library?  What did you do there?  Have you ever taken advantage of the museum pass program or attended a cultural event?  Why or why not?  I invite you to share your thoughts below. 

    

  

Getting Back to Hibbing

Getting back to Hibbing.  It seems like a relatively simple endeavor, whether one is talking about getting back on track with a certain Hibbing-focused blog or returning to one’s hometown after being gone for a couple of months.  In theory, it’s easy; in practice, not so much. 

Multiple attempts to get back to this blog have been thwarted by the usual suspects: work deadlines, personal obligations, laziness and honest exhaustion.  Once an activity has been moved to the sidelines, it is difficult to return it to a place occupying front and center in one’s life.  For example, tonight after getting home from working the evening shift at the reference desk, the idea of crawling into bed was decidedly more appealing than sitting at my laptop and trying to come up with something coherent to say.  And yet, this blog is something important to me, something I’ve decided is worth getting back to. 

Getting back to Hibbing itself should also not be that difficult for me, particularly as I now live much closer than I have in the previous two years or so.  It is only a 7 hour drive from my current location, as opposed to a 7 hour plane ride from my previous home of Tallahassee, Florida.  However, a few weeks back when I returned home for the {moxie} fall style show, I was particularly frustrated by a string of road construction sites and detours (the one outside of Cloquet that routed me through West Duluth was particularly irritating). 

Either way you look at it, getting back to Hibbing takes a certain amount of resolve.  In the future, it may take even more resolve and varied transportation choices for those of us who live far from the town.  

I say this, of course, in response to the recent New York Times article about Delta Airlines looking at reducing or suspending air service to Hibbing through the Range Regional Airport.  This news is particularly sad to me, as I have flown out of and into what used to be called the Hibbing-Chisholm International Airport many times in my life.  I always appreciated how quick and easy it was to board in Hibbing versus the long lines of larger airports like Minneapolis-St. Paul.  After a long day of traveling it was also nice to not have to drive a long way (or have others drive a long way) to get to my final destination.  I think of how much harder it would have been for me to get home when I lived in Florida if I would not have been able to fly into Hibbing, how my family or friends would have needed to drive to Duluth or Minneapolis to fetch me.  Or I would have had to rent a car.  Of course either of the previous options would have been doable, and I know that many people take this approach, but the thought of losing the option of flying into and out of Hibbing makes me sad. 

So, the question is what to do about it.  Complain to Delta?  Complain to the government?  Complain to the public at large?  Eh, I have mixed feelings about what that would achieve.  My answer?  Fly HIB.  Seriously, book tickets to fly out of/into Hibbing.  Increase demand.  Show that this could be a more profitable venture for the company.  That type of collective action stands a chance of making a difference. 

The question is--citizens and ex-pats of Hibbing, business persons and tourists with an interest in visiting—is air service to Hibbing important to you?  If so, show it by how you purchase airline tickets.  I know plenty of people who prefer to drive to Duluth or the Twin Cities to fly to other locations across the U.S., largely because the cost of the ticket itself is cheaper.  That’s fine, do what you want to do; however, realize if you are consistently choosing to fly via airports outside of the region, our HIB has less and less of a reason to exist. 

So, the question comes back to: what kind of community are we trying to create?  What services are important to that community?  Are we willing to do something about maintaining something like air service, or will we simply lament its passing? 

Personally, I’m up for doing something.  What about you?  

Best Laid Plans

As you've probably noticed there have not been any posts here for a couple of weeks.  Illness earlier this month followed by significant professional and personal commitments have knocked me off the blog wagon, but rest assured, I will be back by next Monday.

In the meantime, I want to say "thanks" to those of you who read and comment on this blog.  It's been a great experience for me, and I always love running into people who love Hibbing as much as I do, whether we meet on the street or the interwebs.