I have always loved the movie, "The Wizard of Oz."

When I was a kid, it was run, on one of our five network TV stations, exactly once a year.

We watched for this big event in the TV Guide. But it was important enough that it was even featured (e.g., run as a story) in local newspapers.

When the show came on, we were always assembled, my three sisters, my brother, and I, on the floor in front of the TV, a good 10 minutes ahead of time. With luck, we'd even gotten our mom to let us shake up a little Jiffy Pop popcorn.

According to NEC research, roughly 2% of Internet content involves sex. The other 98% is a bewildering mishmash of direct international communication (with amateur genealogists, business people, religionists, politicians, hobbyists, and more) and the ability to search and display "information" of varying degrees of accuracy and completeness.

I am cursed with a poor memory. It took me years to figure out some coping strategies. The problem became acute when I moved into administration, with a host of timelines and projects to keep track of.

So I did what I should have done much earlier: looked up some books on the subject of time management. It turns out that the library has lots of such books -- a powerful testament to the need.

What makes a great building?

There are many factors. The first is community support. The Douglas Public Library District got that support in 1996, when the citizens of Douglas County voted to support a mill levy increase. Since then, that increase has funded library building projects all over the county, and there are more to follow.

Now, in the year 2000, we are almost ready to open the first public building in the heart of a new downtown, the 42,000 square foot Highlands Ranch library.