By Craig Scott, Director of Gadsden Public Library
A year ago, when I wrote the first article for this column, I wasn’t quite sure where the journey would take us. Twenty-five articles later, I’ve discovered there is never a shortage of stories to tell from your public library.
With this, my 26th for The Messenger, we have officially reached our one-year anniversary.
Every other week for the past year, I have had the privilege of sharing a small piece of life from the Gadsden Public Library. Sometimes the stories have been about programs and special events. Other times, they have taken readers behind the scenes to explain how a library works, what happens to donated books, how a book makes its way onto a shelf, or why some of the things we do may be very different from what people imagine when they hear the word “library.”
And that may be the biggest lesson from this first year.
A public library is about books, of course. Books remain at the very heart of who we are and what we do. But a modern public library is also about people.
It is about the child attending a library program and discovering something new for the very first time. It is about the teenager who finds a place where he or she feels comfortable and welcome. It is about the adult learning a new skill, using a computer to complete an application, researching family history, or simply finding a quiet place to spend part of the day.
It is about families filling the building for special events, students coming through our doors after school, patrons asking questions at the front desk, and community members who may come to us not looking for a book at all, but looking for help.
Over the past year, these columns have given me an opportunity to tell some of those stories.
We have talked about the programs that bring hundreds of people into the library, the partnerships that allow us to reach beyond our walls, the staff members who make everything happen, and even some of the less glamorous realities of library life — including what sometimes arrives in a box of donated books!
We have celebrated new opportunities, looked behind the scenes, and hopefully had a little fun along the way.
What I have enjoyed most, however, is having the opportunity to remind our community that this is your library.
The Gadsden Public Library belongs to the people we serve. Every program we plan, every service we offer, every book we purchase, and every new idea we consider begins with a simple question: How can we better serve our community?
That question has guided us for many years, and it will continue to guide us as the library changes and grows.
I am also very grateful to The Messenger for giving me this space every other week. In a world where so much information passes by us quickly, having the opportunity to stop for a few minutes and tell the story of a public library — and the people who make it special — is something I do not take for granted.
And I am especially grateful to those of you who read these articles.
Many of you have stopped me around town, mentioned something you read, asked a follow-up question, or simply told me that you enjoy learning a little more about what happens at the library. Those conversations mean more than you may realize.
So, after 25 stories and one full year, what comes next? Number 27, of course!
Because if this past year has taught me anything, it is that by the time another two weeks roll around, there will almost certainly be another library story waiting to be told.
And I look forward to sharing it with you.
- Gadsden Public Library: 254 South College Street, downtown Gadsden (next to the U.S. Post Office). Phone: 256-549-4699
- Genealogy Branch: 2700 West Meighan Boulevard, Alabama City (next to the Ritz Theater at the corner of West Meighan and Wall Street). Phone: 256-549-4688
