“I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career,” is a memorable quote from a very impassioned speech by Lloyd Dobler in the movie “Say Anything” (coincidentally available to check out on DVD by asking the staff at a library branch closest to you).
The movie and Lloyd’s desire not to “sell out” was the prevailing ethos when I was growing up in the ‘80s in Des Moines, Iowa. The circuitous route that brought me from Iowa to the role as executive director of the Garfield County Public Library District (GCPLD) are breadcrumbs that I hope to describe when they are relevant to the topic at hand.
As I was thinking about my first submission to The Sopris Sun, I thought a lot about how I wanted to introduce myself. I also reminisced about how when I started as the manager of the Glenwood Branch three years ago, that I would have bet you the cost of a mid-sized sedan that I would not be writing this column. Most of all, I thought about the privilege I have been provided by Garfield County Library trustees, my colleagues of the past three years and the residents of the county to be the caretaker of an entity that has been described as having firehouse levels of approval (80%) in a survey done this year.
What I have the privilege of “selling” is an organization that positively impacts the quality of life through six libraries from Parachute to Carbondale. In these six branches, my approximately 100 creative and empathetic colleagues support a half-million-item checkout list, almost as many visits to our six branches and 45,000 members of the community attending programs — from storytime, holiday concerts, author talks and local history presentations.
If I am declaring to the readers of The Sun that our libraries don’t need selling, I should refrain from turning this column into a written infomercial. Our daily lives are already inundated with constant sales pitches for products we don’t need. If you will indulge me, I plan to use this column to highlight my colleagues or the impact of the libraries on the community.
More so, I would like to use this opportunity to address concerns the community has brought to my attention, provide insights into how our branches work (more hard work than magic), discuss local challenges and how we can be part of the solution, and as a way to introduce myself to you. I am a believer in providing the “why” behind the district’s decisions and priorities. One of these priorities is our six spaces.
The idea of having a third space, a physical space outside of home (first place) and work or school (second place), where we spend time, continues to be an important role public libraries play. I am proud to represent and promote the safe and comfortable third spaces that make up our six branches open to Garfield County residents and visitors.
In the three years I interacted with the community in Glenwood, I noticed how much the building itself impacted residents. It almost seems counterintuitive, but the more each of our lives recede into screens — from the second we open our eyes to when we finally close them at night — the more we need public spaces open to everyone.
Our six library buildings allow all to come and go as they desire, with no costs for the use of the buildings, the programs or events or books and other materials. Although Garfield County voters reported visiting one of our six branches at least once a month, it would probably surprise most of our patrons to learn about the remarkable ways our library spaces are used by our residents.
All six of our libraries have spaces for community meetings and smaller “study” rooms. The more than 17,000 yearly uses are a testament to their popularity. Although we informally refer to the smaller rooms as “study” rooms for their size and typically having a square table, four chairs and a whiteboard, I have observed a number of unique uses. In addition to individual or group work or study, I have seen patrons practicing musical instruments, recording podcasts and CPR training, just to name a few.
The only requirement of a group using a meeting room is to put the room back the way it was found for the next group. Groups abide by the leave no trace ethos in a remarkable way. These community spaces are the same rooms our staff use to host events and programs, and sometimes for a staff meeting. The community spaces are used for training and education, by nonprofit organizations hosting events, by HOA residents, political party gatherings, homeschool families to come together and for hundreds of other purposes. If you are interested in reserving a meeting space or study room, ask the staff at the branch closest to you or by visiting gcpld.org
Unlike Lloyd, if you ask me, I do want to sell everything about our libraries, buy ideas from staff on how to make the branches better, process patron input on ways GCPLD can contribute to the quality of life and do that as my career.