I am getting to do something I never imagined I would do.
A year ago, I volunteered for my small town's library advisory board. I knew we had passed a bond election to build a new one, and that sounded really fun to be involved with.
I love libraries. No matter how many computer programs they store, videos, when you walk in, you can smell the invigorating odor that lots of printed books living together generate. I love that smell.
I love the reading programs we offer for pre-school, the enrichment programs--I finally got to this week's enrichment on raptors. Didn't know we had kites in Texas. Loved the owls and hawks. No eagles this day. And red-tailed hawks are still numerous across the land.
Last week, we had miniature therapy horses and 70 kids and adults to pet them, hug them, yes, raise their lips to show the teeth. It really was magnificent fun. We have other programs coming up. At libraries, we try to offer the virtual and the real, We have classes. We have programs. We try to deepen community experience. I can now say we, because I am a small part.
The library here is small. The new one will be at least 5,000 sq. ft., still small but bigger. And with room for expansion. We aren't paying for new stacks and furnishings. Fundraisers and grants will pay for those. We want a library with the most technology we can build into it to support the future. The new library will offer the first available community room in town outside the schools and city hall. That matters to the culture of the community,
We are ripe. New subdivisions are going in all around us, if not in city limits, then in our zip code.
Today, we met with the architectural planners to see the bones of it. We made some early decisions on the brick, the metal roofing, the flooring. We. that means I had a vote. Heady stuff.
For me, it is leaving a little bit of legacy to a town I have come to love.
I am so excited about the future. I want to be here when it opens. I want to contribute to further success. I want to see the dream fulfilled. I believe in libraries. I want to see our citizens using ours.
Maybe that's not on your bucket list. Believe me, it is on mine.
I am retired. I volunteer in what I believe in, what is helpful. Oh, and fun for me to do.
Yeah, there is work involved. I'm kind of excited about that, too.
Yet another excuse to put off mopping the bathroom floor.
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2 comments:
Charlotte, its wonderful that you are getting see and be a part of this transformation in your community. I, too, love libraries and there is nothing quite like the smell and yes, it is wonderful. Your library sounds like loads of fun. It's great that the love of books is getting passed on to our young people.
Thanks for your comment. I wrote this pretty close to leaving on my first vacation in six years. (I keep thinking retired people don't need them, but I think I have changed my mind.) We are waiting for the constriction start date. It's kind of like waiting for Christmas, but you don't know when it happens.
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