Library Happenings - May 2021

Happy May!

 

Sometimes you can work somewhere for *ahem, cough* over 40 years and still be excited by our services. Actually, you can even be surprised when someone figures out how to get the most from their library in ways you might not have considered.

 

Case in point: I was on the phone recently with Nancy Gessner, and she told me I should share with newsletter readers how Bob gets the most from his library card. They have grandchildren who live out of state and, during the pandemic, physical visits were impossible. So, Bob’s smart business mind turned towards making memories in a different way. Using his Massillon Public Library card, he borrowed children’s books weekly from our digital collection and shared the pages on his computer screen with the grandchildren. He read chapter books with the older child and picture books with the little one. Friends, I have my own little grandson who lives out of town, and I never thought of that! Instead, I was trying to hold up board books in front of my camera while losing a one-year-old’s attention. Duh! Lol!

 

I repeated that story to several state representatives and senators during virtual visits throughout Ohio Library Week in April. As budget negotiations start, we again are in danger of a reduction of funding from the state. It’s very easy for me to come up with a list of reasons, numbers, and statistics that prove libraries are essential more than ever - the cost of ebooks vs. print; the cost of staffing virtual programming and expanding homebound service; the government’s own reliance on public libraries for everything from providing computers for unemployment filing to distributing COVID test kits. But nothing brings about that “aha moment” like hearing someone you know who uses the library and how it makes a difference in their life. I could honestly see light bulbs turning on! Thanks, Bob, for being a role model. I’m sure people are going to be asking us how to do the same thing with their own grandkids.

 

I would love to hear YOUR story. How do you use the library? Email me at brownsh@massillonlibrary.org and share! We can all learn from each other. (Hi! PR Manager here! What a great spot to mention our upcoming Summer Reading Club theme of “Imagine Your Story!” June 14 through July 31 at all MPL locations and for ALL ages! See Page 3 for more details!)

 

As for reading, I’ve stretched myself this month. The two books I just finished are not typical choices for me, but wow! I can’t stop thinking about either one. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro views the world from the eyes of a robot. Imagine a very near future, when children are selected for genetic modification (being “lifted”) and only those children will go to college, and their “AFs” (artificial friends) are purchased to provide further stimulation from something like an Apple store. What if your human requires a sacrifice from you for their well-being? Can a robot actually LOVE? No wonder Ishiguro is a Nobel winner for fiction. It’s not techie stuff; it’s humanity stuff. Also, it is currently #5 on the New York Times Best Sellers list. And, in the same near future, what if a socially awkward young astronaut is the only one who knows for sure that a mission crew is definitely alive five years after communications ceased? What if she knows because it’s her uncle who designed the fuel cell being blamed for the mishap, and he raised her? This space nerd loved In the Quick by Kate Hope Day. I’ll get back to historical and/or literary fiction next!

 

 

Sherie Brown, Director

 

 

 

Download the entire May newsletter.