Library Up introduction

   Library Up is a positive start to the new year.  Thinking constantly of how the library can be the UP force in the lives of people it serves is my first goal.  Library Up came from the expression Cowboy Up - which is older than the NIKE - Just Do It , meaning - let's get ready and do the job! 
    Libraries have always provided access to education and enlightenment.  Personal libraries,  and government - public or institutional - libraries have also included history to help us know where we have been to help us decide how to go forward.  Libraries for just plain entertainment are a truly new concept because for the most part before this century - no one had large amounts of time for pure entertainment. 
    One thing I would like to personally encourage all librarians I meet is to remember to BALANCE their collection.  Concept in college meant, balance expenditures for a variety of interests so your library was not only supporting current reader fads but providing overall access to variety of materials. 
   Balance should also be held in the views of positive and negative.  Too much current publishing - books, magazines, movies and more are negative -political rhetoric is sometimes hateful, horror fiction is often dark, demonic, bestsellers abound with murder and drugs and general mayhem.  Following trends on bestsellers, librarians could easily find themselves with negative collections.  Not a good thought.  Please check your selection plan for guidance and plan not to fall into a negative trap.  The responsibility of selection is a professional choice not a popularity contest.