01.27.09
Midwinter Tuesday: It’s a Girl @ your library
I visited Denver Public Library this morning, invited by DPL writer/editor (and author of AL’s Midwinter dining guide this year) Sherry Spitsnaugle. It was a lovely tour of a wonderful building, but the whole event was overshadowed by the big event of the day.
This morning, a woman who was riding the bus to work went into labor. The bus was passing the library at the time, so she got off and got help inside the building, and the girl was born (before opening hours) in the library foyer.
While details weren’t well-known, the news was still on the lips of all of the staffers, with many brainstorming names for the healthy baby girl (my favorite: Dewetta), and the librarians in the children’s department quipping that if only the ambulence had been a bit slower to arrive they could have finished the paperwork to get the child her first library card. The library, naturally, is eagerly seeking more information, and the Denver Post is following the story.
With that happy news on our minds, Sherry gave me a tour of the building. Several photos from that tour are below.
East entrance to the Denver Public Library
West entrance to Denver Public Library
Denver Public Library's Western History Room, which is also often used for events.
The Legacy Table, where ten world leaders met at the Denver Public Library for the Denver Summit of the Eight June 20-22, 1997.
President Clinton's nameshield on the Legacy Table.
Paul Signorelli said,
January 28, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Spooky how we all seemed to have been plugged into the same thoughts on this one. Hearing about this while visiting the Denver Public Library yesterday, I sat with Denver Public Library Training and Development Coordinator Sandra Smith to get the details, draft a piece, and post it last night on Infopeople’s Infoblog (http://infoblog.infopeople.org/2009/01/ala_midwinter_conference_posts.php) under the title “ALA Midwinter Conference Postscripts: It’s a Girl @ Denver Public Library”" (compared to your “It’s a Girl @ your library”). I’ve already seen at least one other posting which takes the approach I did and mentions it as a customer service coup. Enjoyed reading your rendition, and am obviously looking forward to any updates any of us can provide.