The Douglas Public Library District was formed, by direct citizen vote, in November of 1990. Before then, we were a county department. Since then, we have been an independent taxing entity, funded largely by property taxes.

Last week, the Philip S. Miller Library in Castle Rock hosted a series of events, culminating in a Saturday family picnic. This was our first "Celebrate Your Library Week," and it was a big hit.

The events were varied. Our staff sponsored children's story times and puppet shows, a teen coffeehouse, live Internet demonstrations, and more. But the week owed its luster not only to staff.

It's hard to understand. Librarians have had such a profound effect on the course of history. (Trust me.) Yet the only librarian anybody knows by name is Dewey.

Melvil Dewey was indeed a praiseworthy man. Most public libraries still use his Dewey Decimal System, although many larger institutions have moved to the Library of Congress classification.

Something happens to you when you become a parent. Before you have kids, when you watch a movie about a boy who runs away to join the circus, you think, "What a brave young man!"

After you have kids, you think, "What, you're not going to phone your mother?"

Let's face it. We don't do much to prepare ourselves to be parents. You have to take driver's ed before you get a license. Heck, you need a license. But with parenthood, it happens when it happens. The qualifications are entirely physical.