Libraries are bound to please variety of people


Dear Heloise: I would like to tell the other side of the library story. (The reader complained about noise, etc.) The fact of the matter is, the library survives on funding. Funding is determined by how many people walk through the door. While I would love for our library to be an oasis of calm, we need people.

Do you think we enjoy being the neighborhood baby sitters? There is only so much we can do. Our library has rules on how old a child can be to be alone, but over that age we do nothing about it.

As for keeping control of all of the kids, there simply aren’t enough workers to do everything that needs to be done and be baby sitters, too.

As for some of our loudness, we have several “little old ladies” who are hard of hearing. They help support us financially and are friendly to us personally. As for the person whose old library was always “as quiet as a deserted church,” I would just have to refer to the word “deserted.” That is what we try to avoid at all cost. We want people to use what we offer.

My suggestion to some of the die-hard library patrons is to volunteer some time to help with kids programs and other necessary projects. A Librarian, via e-mail

Libraries might not be as quiet as they once were, but they are still a great resource for everyone! Thanks for loaning out your advice. Heloise

Dear Heloise: Whenever I buy a lipstick at the grocery store, I have a problem keeping it from falling out of my big grocery basket. So, now I put it in one of those clear-plastic bags from the produce department and then lay it in the basket, and it doesn’t fall through the big gaps. Cindy in Spring, Texas

Love this idea! Many times, when you get to the checkout counter, a small cosmetic item is missing — so this will keep it handy and visible! Heloise

Dear Heloise: Birthdays are especially common in the spring-summer months in our family. So, for little children, I use the Sunday colored comics to wrap birthday gifts. For adult men, I use the sports or business page, and for a friend who is into recipes, I use the food edition with recipes on it. If the gift is too large for the newspaper wrap, I use the newspaper as I would use tissue gift paper in the gift bag. Bev, via e-mail

Dear Heloise: Our bakers rack sways a bit, and the wineglasses we hang on it kept bumping against each other. To keep them from accidentally cracking, I put a fat rubber band (like the ones that come on broccoli) around the widest part of each glass. Now they just bounce a little and won’t crack or chip. Candy Tutt, Woodland, Calif.

X Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate

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