The Cat was wandering around in WebJunction, as she often does, when she re-discovered the Maintenance Checklist, a very useful tool.
Cats are surprisingly good at maintaining their environment. They can make it very clear when the litter box needs scooping, when the water hasn’t been changed in at least eight hours and which of the most comfortable chairs is reserved for the cat. They can even tell you when the water heater has died or the AC has quit, as if you hadn’t noticed.
Even the Cat can see that libraries are more complicated than private homes. So when she happened to run across the Maintenance Checklist the Public Library Standards Committee put together a few years ago, she decided it might be a useful tool that could use a bit of publicity.
The Maintenance Checklist is available at:
http://ks.webjunction.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=62250857&name=DLFE-15150006.pdf
The Maintence Checklist reminds librarians to make sure there is a regular schedule for maintaining each of the following: heating, cooling, lights, electrical systems, alarms, windows, equipment, elevators, floor coverings, parking, foundations, roofs, signage and grounds.
Proper maintenance is even more important when libraries cannot afford any extra expenses caused by neglect. Maintenance is less expensive than major repairs.
The Cat considers that humans have a talent for making life very complicated. But since libraries have lovely buildings, all sorts of wonderful toys, wonderful hiding places and very nice people, she has to agree that we had better take care of them.