The People's University

The public library in the United States has been called the "People's University"; a free place where one can improve oneself and  money or social status do not matter.  Our role, our mission and our strength as a community asset is our ability to transform lives in ways both small and large.  Write a resume, learn computer skills, roof your home, invest your money, research your medical condition, be a better parent, help your child along the path to literacy, find a classic movie to watch - all of these things are possible at your public library.  Our collection numbers about 70,000 volumes of carefully considered materials in various formats for education and recreation, as well as the resources of many other public and academic libraries through inter-library loan.  As our collection has grown over the sixteen years since our current library was built we have increasingly struggled to find room for everything while maintaining shelving access, aisle width, and seating for library users.  Books and other materials are stacked from floor to ceiling, making access difficult for those who are elderly or simply too short to reach the top shelves.  Books are so tight on the shelves that we have difficulty putting them away; tables and chairs have been stored away to make room for shelving.  More shelving and more shelving room thus becomes the third major need identified in our library addition, along with a larger children's area and quiet study areas. Shelving seems so simple, it seems to be what we are all about.  But shelving takes up a lot of space, and our addition has been designed to maximize shelving room with growth for the future without sacrificing program and study areas.  The interests and needs of the public are infinite - even after all the years that I have been a librarian it still amazes me to look at a cart of book returns and see all of the diversity that it represents.  It will be a joy to have room to shelve those materials in a way that is accessible to all, with room for display and lots of room to browse, learn and discover.