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A few days ago, Phyllis Theroux, author and journalist, came to the Mathews Memorial Library.  Accompanied by her husband, Ragan, Phyllis was prepared for a small rural library setting where she was scheduled to talk about her latest book, The Journal Keeper.  After all, Phyllis has talked in many such libraries, and furthermore, she lives in the small town of Ashland, Virginia.  What Phyllis and Ragan found was not what they expected.  In fact, as they described it, it’s the best library they’ve ever visited.  For a small library, they believe we’re in a class of our own. 

As staff and Board of Trustees and Friends, we could sit back and enjoy the compliments that frequently come our way.  We could rest on our laurels, which includes receiving the 2005 award as the best rural library in the U.S.   But, the community deserves our best – not just in 2005 or even in 2010 but, rather, our continuing efforts to strive to be a world class library and to maintain a reputation for excellence, seeking always to be at the forefront in our use of technology and providing services that fit the needs of the community.

What does it mean to be a world class library?  Although volumes have been written on the topic, how-to workshops too numerous to count held on the matter, and untold conferences featuring experts on the subject, the vision that emerges is relatively simple.  It starts with a warm, welcoming, well-informed staff and includes an inviting environment featuring organized shelves and a well-stocked store of books in multiple formats, spacious children and teen sections with friendly spaces and last, but not least, access to world-wide information through public computers available to young and old.

The recent acquisition of the adjacent “Radio Shack” facility adds an exciting element to the challenge of becoming a world class library.  If we are to achieve our vision of excellence for the 21^st Century, then this new addition becomes a key factor for reaching out in new ways to provide better service to larger audiences.  The staff is frequently asked how they think the space should be used.  While it is assumed that we have a ready answer, such is not the case.  Rather, we must think, not only of immediate needs, but work diligently to develop a vision of future opportunities for service.  Delivering the vision must be done in concert with the community, recognizing changes that have and will take place and responding to those changes.  Further we must work in partnership with users as we plan to ensure that our services and resources remain relevant to their needs.  We look forward to this exciting opportunity and express gratitude to all those who have made it possible. 

Can anyone convey, with a modicum of objectivity, what impact a book will have on those who read it?    Do reviews provide the means by which to convey a sense of how a reader will respond?  Words, sentences, and paragraphs are dynamic elements that may reach to the depth of an individual’s soul to reveal some inner truth or inflame passions that drive them to imprudent action.

The uncomfortable truth is that it falls to public library staff members to reflect upon, and choose, those works of literature that grace the shelves of libraries and thus become accessible to a diverse group of patrons from all walks of life.  Guided by policies that are broad and funding that is generally limited, experience and knowledge of community culture and interests become the tools of choice in collection development.  Even so, librarians frequently experience moments of discomfort when items in the collection are called into question. 

It is, however, a basic tenet that, although frequently under attack, the freedom to read is essential to our democracy.  Throughout our history, reading is perceived to be among our greatest freedoms.  The written word is the natural medium for new ideas and the preservation of a free society.  Further, the freedom to read is guaranteed by the constitution.  In light of the importance of this basic right and because of the significant role that libraries play in preserving it, the American Library Association (ALA) has adopted a “Freedom to Read Statement.”  Included in the seven propositions of the Statement are the following:

 It is in the public interest for publishers and librarians to make available the widest diversity of views and expressions, including those that are unorthodox, unpopular, or considered dangerous by the majority.

Publishers, librarians, and booksellers do not need to endorse every idea or presentation they make available. It would conflict with the public interest for them to establish their own political, moral, or aesthetic views as a standard for determining what should be published or circulated.

It is the responsibility of publishers and librarians to give full meaning to the freedom to read by providing books that enrich the quality and diversity of thought and expression.  .

The Mathews Memorial Library Collection Development Policy supports the ALA Statement by affirming: “The policy of the Mathews Memorial Library is to acquire materials for the collection that serve the interest and informational needs of Mathews citizens.”

Information policy is a sacred contract between information brokers, stewards and stakeholders.  It can be as heady as champagne or as mundane as locally brewed beer.  Its origins are as ancient as Greece and as new as tomorrow’s news reports.  It is an eternal good, wrapped in the principles of democracy, yet vulnerable to even the slightest shift in politics.  Nonetheless, the freedom to read is likely to remain an eternal good and will, in the end, persevere. 

Contemporary management gurus urge business tycoons to “think outside the box” if they wish to be successful.  As they define it: “Thinking outside the box is to think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective.”  This phrase often refers to novel, creative and smart thinking.  Libraries are not usually thought of as places where a great deal of time and effort is spent “thinking outside the box.”  This is no reflection on libraries or librarians, but rather reflects the deeply ingrained traditional nature of the mission of the world’s libraries; i.e., to make it possible for people to have access to information from a multiplicity of resources for a multiplicity of purposes.

Several years ago, the staff of the Mathews Memorial Library decided to take a serious look at “thinking outside the box,” with the goal of enhancing the role of the library in the community.  While we are certainly not the first library to engage in such an activity, we are quite likely among a limited number of those who have pursued it with such vigor.

A quick review of activities over the past several years reveals the degree to which we have adopted the precepts of out of the box thinking.  Let’s start with youth programs.  The July Summer Program for young people brings new vision and wider horizons through learning, doing and seeing while “Fantasy Trips” taken each April shower young participants with information about far away lands.   Adults, also, have the opportunity of participating in new and different library experiences.  While many libraries have book clubs, few have summer adult reading programs that culminate in a cruise party, complete with the chance of winning a real cruise, and even fewer schedule tea dances or music programs such as the “Lessons in Pleasure” led by Tom Steel.   Thinking outside the box is not enough to make possible such programs, however.  Without skilled staff and volunteers and the generosity of the Friends of the Library, creativity would be wasted.  Fortunately, all of these resources are available to the Mathews Memorial Library.

But, what about results?  Has creativity paid off?  A recent summary report provided to the Library of Virginia contains a myriad of statistics.  We’ll let you, our sponsors and Friends, decide if you think it is a good investment.  Current patron count is over 8,100; daily visits average 150; items borrowed during a month usually exceed 2,000; and, not surprisingly, library computer users average over 1,500 per month.  But, what about programs?  In 2009, there were 2,053 recorded youth program attendees and 1,464 adults who attended library sponsored programs. 

What do you think?  We invite you to join us “outside the box” in 2010. 

There were a number of reasons I could have used for skipping the library directors’ meeting in Richmond last week - several staff members were out, three programs were scheduled for the conference room and reports need to be written.  They were all good reasons but then I was reminded that the staff is experienced and flexible and can easily manage in my absence so I elected to attend. 

What does it take to change the way the world works?   The answer may well be THINK. 

 When Thomas J. Watson joined the forerunner of today's IBM in 1914, he brought with him the “Think” motto that the company still employs.   "Thought," he said, "has been the father of every advance since time began.”  This is somewhat the approach we are taking in our summer programs at the library. 

Throughout the month of July, thanks to the generous support of the Friends of the Mathews Memorial Library, children and young teens will explore “How Things Work.”  Scientists, including a physicist and an astronomer, will be their guides through exciting adventures of discovery, introducing them to famous people who used science to unravel some of the greatest mysteries in our universe.  Armed with information obtained at the weekly “Lemonade Lectures,” they will be able to make their own discoveries through various activities and travel on “Discovery Days.”

Adults also are being encouraged to THINK in the Adult Summer Reading Program, which began June 8^th and runs through July.  “Things I Didn’t Know” urges readers to “join in a quest for newly discovered facts, either new to them or even perhaps to the world.  Weekly submissions of such newly found facts deposited in the “Eureka” entry box make them eligible for weekly prizes plus a chance at the final grand prize.   

I would like to encourage members of the Friends of Mathews Memorial Library to THINK about how you might become more involved with the library.  Today, the library has 7,827     patrons whose visits to the library average over 200 per day.  Whether choosing a book, taking a computer class, using the resources of the Career Connect Center (C3) or just stopping in to read the newspaper, it is important that we be ready to serve.  There are numerous volunteer opportunities to help us continue to have the “best rural library in America.  THINK about it!