Stand and Deliver

I’ve had a standing conversation with Fort Atkinson city council president, Dick Schultz, that goes something like this:

[Dick]  “Have you ever seen the movie (fill in the blank)?  It was so well done and I have it in my personal collection.”

[Me] “No, Dick, I hardly ever have time to watch movies.  I’m too tired and have been since my children were born 20 years ago.”

[Dick] “Well, you should see it because it was a masterpiece.  I have quite a collection of movies, documentaries, foreign films, and even some for children that adults can enjoy.  I loan them out.  Would you like to watch something?”

[Me] “Dick, that’s amazing!  Good for you.  The library would love to develop its collection of DVDs but our budget isn’t exactly conducive to a fast expansion.”  (This was a hint on several levels.)

[Dick] (Blatantly ignoring my comment above)  “Yes, I have developed this collection over the course of many years.  I worked hard to purchase the DVDs when they weren’t list price anymore, scouring the deals at the local video stores.  But I only purchased what I considered quality works.”

[Me]  “Yes, (sigh), it must be quite a collection.”

[Dick]  “Let me know if you’d like to borrow one sometime.  I love to share them.  I’m happiest when the DVDs are being used.”

I understood that remark to the depth of my being because it’s how I feel about the library’s collection.  I’m happiest when items are checked out and being enjoyed.

Imagine my surprise when fellow collector Dick Schultz made his way to the library a few weeks ago to ask me if we wanted to receive a gift of his personal DVD collection, numbering approximately 1,600 titles.

Our current DVD collection contains about 2,500 titles.   The thought of almost doubling it made me ecstatic.

[Me]  “Wow, Dick, we’d love to receive your generous gift!  But can you please put the boxes in my office when you bring them in so we don’t give our cataloger a heart attack?  She’s the one who will have to do the work once you deliver them.”

[Dick]  “Yes, I’ll get them to you soon.  I’d like to see the walls of my house again.”

They’re all here now.  It’s an amazing collection and I’m so glad we could say yes to this donation because we actually have room for them.

What a wonderful gift to our community.  Thank you for sharing, Dick!

Staff is working hard on getting them cataloged and processed.   We’ll be funneling them into the collection as we finish them.  I see a cart of them in the back room nearly ready to go.  I’m happy to report no heart attacks were suffered in the processing of the first batch of DVDs.   But beyond owing Dick Schultz a debt of gratitude, I’m pretty sure I owe Mary Kay some chocolate.