A New Paradigm

photo from www.msr-making.com

A paradigm is a commonly accepted view of something.  A model of what is typical.
A paradigm shift is a change in thinking, a transformation of the accepted view into something new.
Paradigm shifts are caused by change agents, or things that happen to change people’s perspectives.

In the last century, libraries have experienced a huge paradigm shift.  We have come a long way, baby:

We have learned how our choices effect our environment.
We have learned that our resources are limited.
We have learned that all people deserve equal access to the library.
We have learned that libraries and other buildings can be used flexibly, for many different purposes.
We have learned that libraries should be monuments to communities, not just legacies to individuals.
Last but not least...libraries are FUN!

In the 21st century, when a library is built or renovated people expect them to meet these new criteria.  Gone are the intricate columns, flights of marble steps, acres of precious wood and dark interiors.  In their place we welcome new spaces like the Roseville Library, located outside Minneapolis/St. Paul in Minnesota.

To say that Roseville, MN is a commercial hub is an understatement.  If you need to buy something (anything) you can find it in Roseville.  It is a thriving city with a population of 33,000 and, after shopping, the resident love to go to the library.  In the last twenty years, library circulation increased by 70% and by 2007 there were 234 people stopping by the library every hour it was open.  It is the busiest library in Minnesota.  The county approved a $15.6 million budget, the library received $780,000 in grants and a major renovation began.

Instead of starting over, or tacking on, Roseville went up and added a story.  They were able to reuse 75% of the original building to create what looks like a totally new, fresh, modern library.  They even reused the original roof as the new second story floor!  Check out their photo gallery and if you don’t get excited than check your pulse.  It is the first LEED building in Ramsey County (see my post for more about what this means) and, like the other green libraries I’ve seen, has a young, fun vibe.

So what else did they reuse in Roseville?  For starters they used the sun to light up the interior and rain to water the garden.  They resurfaced an old fireplace from the original library, purchased garden benches made from recycled from milk jugs and chairs made of recycled yogurt containers.  They were even able to recycle 97% of the construction waste so it could be reused!

Our paradigm for re-using is changing as well.
Just like the library we are reconsidering what should be thrown out and what can be recycled or reused.
Rapidly filling landfills are a powerful and frightening change agent.
In the last few decades we have learned that recycling is good but reusing is better.  If you can give an item a second life then you save the time, energy and fuel needed to recycle it.  How can you adapt to this new paradigm?  There are many little ways to get the job done.

How can you reuse

• water:  put a rain barrel in your yard to water the garden or houseplants.
• clothes:  give or use hand me downs, donate to salvation army, have yard sales or save for rags.
• food packaging:  reuse the plastic wrap or bags from vegetables, margarine tubs for leftovers and bread loaf wrappers for lunchbags.
• newspaper:  use as gift wrap or weedblocker in the garden.
• books:  give to the library, school or senior center.
• food scraps:  start a compost heap in your yard.
• gift bags and wrapping paper:  unwrap carefully and use them for your next gift.
• furniture:  try spiffing pieces  up with paint, or recover an old sofa.

Changing paradigms mean we are thinking, learning and growing.  Hopefully they demonstrate that we have found better ways to do things.  Certainly LEED buildings show what is possible is when we reconsider our goals and approach our needs in creative ways.  Reusing doesn’t mean going without.  It means respecting the resources we have and treading more gently on the planet.

Minneapolis is an Open Book

I know as much about literacy in Minnesota as I know about making cheese in the south of France, which excellent reason to pour myself a cup of coffee and get busy.  A fellow student in my Creative Studies class travels from Minneapolis to take classes at Buff. State on the weekends (Buff State is renowned for it C.S. program) and when she heard I was a runner she suggested I run the Twin Cities Marathon in October and  invited me to stay with her in Minneapolis.  Certainly a testament to the friendly, welcoming people in the Mid-West.  She told me the Marathon was billed as the ‘prettiest marathon in the country’ which was enough to get me thinking and interested in learning more.

The cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are better known as the Twin Cities.   Although they are only 10 minutes apart they are in different counties and each serves as its county seat.  In Minneapolis,  St. Anthony Falls (the highest waterfall on the Mississippi) was responsible for the explosion of growth in between 1880 and 1930.  The mighty river powered mills for lumber, cotton, iron, paper and wool.  But the largest industry were the flour mills.  Cadwallader and William Washburn opened the Washburn “B” Mills at the falls and were joined by countless others, including a mill operated by Charles and John Pillsbury.  Pillsbury, General Mills and Smuckers are now part of General Mills giant “foodstuff” conglomerate, but happily their headquarters remain near Minneapolis.  Washburn “A” Mills is now the home of the Mill City Museum, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, a museum focused on the history of Minneapolis and the flour mills.

Before I even got close to the library, I learned that Minneapolis is the 3rd most literate city in the country, behind Washington, DC and Seattle, which is a remarkable statistic.  I knew something cool must be going on behind the scenes to get people so jazzed about reading (in case you were curious, Buffalo ranked 41st - ouch).  

Minneapolis’s commitment to books is, in fact, written all over the city and probably really got cooking with The Loft Literary Center, a non-profit agency created to support writers, foster a writing community and build an audience for literature.  The Loft is now the largest independent center for literacy in the country and offers writing classes to thousands of writers each year (on site and online).  But that’s only the tip of the iceberg.  I got the feeling the energizer bunny was behind the scenes, pounding on his drum and announcing new programs with every lap, “how about readings, festivals, and apprenticeships?”  “What about a writing contests, grants and magazines?”  “Let’s work in the schools, have a poetry fest, compile an anthology!”  It’s a good thing his batteries don’t wear out.  

Like all great successes, The Loft had humble beginnings and has slowly (but steadily) grown and gained momentum over the decades.  What sets them apart is a passion for writing, reading and books that seems to fuel their continuous growth and innovation.   A seat of the pants operation that began in 1974 with a rented room about Rusoff & Co. Book Dealers has grown into a immeasurable resource not only for Minnesotans but for the country.  

In 1999, The Loft joined forces with Milkweed Editions and the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts to create a facility called “Open Book”.  The $5.5 million project created a spectacular, fresh space that incorporated studio space, meeting rooms, classrooms, a bookstore, a publisher, a restaurant, store and performance hall.  

The Open Book website proclaims that it is is a “space for everyone, a meeting place or quiet sanctuary, a destination for all who are interested in or inspired by the literary and book arts.”  A great destination for book lovers (and coffee drinkers) who can afford to pay to play to indulge their creative muse.