Author Archives: Cheryl Dobbs

I don’t know about you, but Thanksgiving puts me in a good mood. Not so much the holiday, but the act. What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?  I’m thankful for my family, for a job I love, and the roof over my head each night. But if I give it very much thought at all, the list just grows and grows.

• I’m thankful for each of the children who sit enraptured by stories in our children’s room. I did not have stories read to me at that age – I’m so grateful they do.
• I’m thankful for a step-mom who read to a 10-year-old who thought she was too old for it, and helped me fall in love with stories for the first time – she was a librarian. I’m thankful for librarians!
• I’m thankful for the teens who need a place to grow and belong but who sometimes stretch our patience – I was banned from my junior high library my entire 8^th grade year – it’s hard not to identify with them.
• I’m thankful for those of you who use our computers to find jobs or who find a quiet nook in the library to study or read. I have been unemployed, and I have needed quiet spaces in my life.
• I’m thankful for our community who rallied around us and believes in us. What would we do without them? Without you?
• I’m thankful for our board of trustees. They are seven very smart individuals who volunteer their time to preserve and advocate for a crucial community resource. I so admire their generosity and their passion.
• I’m thankful for our volunteers who understand that tasks such as moving books around the building or cutting out 200 stars really do translate into making their community a better place. They inspire me.
• I’m thankful for our enthusiastic, hard working, and resilient library employees who love the community of Greenwood in very practical ways every day. They make my job easy and I am so proud of each one of them.
• I’m thankful for being a part of our vibrant library where against all odds, the lights are on, the parking lot is full, and our community connects every day. 

I’m sure there are things I could complain about, too, but I can’t quite remember what they are right now. Being thankful changes your perspective. Maybe I should do this more often!

How long will your list be? There are still a few more days until Thanksgiving – what are you thankful for?

Have you ever wondered what makes one community shine while others remain unremarkable? Why do some towns become destinations and others do not?  Doubtless this kind of success is the result of many years’ work by leaders and citizens, but there is usually an identifiable moment in time when the energy ignites – something Malcolm Gladwell describes so well in his book The Tipping Point as “that magic moment an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” Greenwood has come a long way since its incorporation in 1864. Our heritage is present in the architecture of Old Town and we can boast shopping districts both quaint and modern. Our residents enjoy a great educational system, libraries, and parks. But sometimes it still feels as though we could “tip” either way.

The factors that tip a community toward success are numerous, but many citizens assume that complete responsibility for their city’s success rests in the hands of elected officials, and that their own role is limited to Election Day. But the true power of a community to succeed or to fail has always been found in the opinionated, passionate, and diverse voices of its people – not merely in protest or campaign, but in conversation.

At the library, we realized that we were not putting a high enough priority on being a part of the conversation in our community. So we made a plan. First we began taking our monthly management team meetings on the road. We visited local schools and other organizations, heard about their work in our neighborhoods, and got to know them a little bit better. We’ve been to a fire station, several schools, a non-profit organization, and a community foundation, among others. With every tour we feel more connected to our community and have truly been inspired by the people we meet and the work they do.

Next, we began attending every City Council meeting.  One of our management team members attends each meeting and reports back. We are learning about our community and can witness laws being created and revenue being managed.  We have seen citizens come forward to speak passionately to the council – either in support or protest – and have their voices heard. One of our team members put it this way, “The public should have a voice, and it was pretty cool to see it happen in reality.” Sometimes those who voice their opinions find the resolutions they seek and sometimes they do not, but without their presence the conversation can’t be complete.  It is true that some meetings are more interesting than others, and that most of the agenda items do not directly impact the library, but our presence is a statement of our organization’s commitment to the conversation.

We have noticed that citizens who come to speak to the council usually leave as soon as their agenda items are addressed. But there are a few citizens who attend each meeting with no agenda except to learn and to be a part of the conversation. I should not have been surprised to find these community advocates in attendance. I have met many people like them as I’ve gotten to know Greenwood. These are the individuals who volunteer their time to make a difference. I see them at the library, on local boards, or serving with local community organizations. They truly are Greenwood’s heroes, but they may be even more than that. They may be a part of the tipping point Greenwood has been waiting for.

Whether you are an individual citizen, a business owner, or the leader of a non-profit organization, I encourage you to consider how you might become a bigger part of the conversation in your community. We can’t let a challenging economy, crime, and indifference tip the scales the other way. Whether you agree or disagree with the current course your city is on, be a part of the story. Check out The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell (at your local library) and be inspired by the possibilities.

 10. FREE Summer Reading – Fun and prizes, but also improved reading skills for the next school year!

9.  FREE computer classes!

8.  FREE moments of innovation and imagination for all ages.

7.  FREE teen programs which build mentoring relationships.

6.  FREE early literacy programs to help Greenwood’s children be ready for Kindergarten.

5.  FREE foodie, craft, and educational programs to enrich lives.

4.  FREE teen film festival – a program now county wide!

3.  FREE laughter, giggles, and bubbles in the children’s department daily.

2.  FREE community connections.

1.  You may not know, but the Friends of GPL supports all of the above work. The #1 reason to support the Friends is because that support will help us continue to provide amazing programs for our community. It is in our daily interactions, in our programs, and in our events that real community is formed. Friendships are formed, excitement is shared, and suddenly a library is a little more like a second living room. A city is a little more like a community.

So if you were looking for reasons to attend our upcoming fundraiser on November 7th, we hope that one of these ten reasons speaks to you. But the fact is that there are as many reasons to support GPL as there are patrons walking through our doors.  If you believe in the work being done at your library and want to see it continue, please consider attending The Holidays are Served. Only a few days remain to purchase tickets, but there is still room for you. Vino Villa is a wonderful venue, silent auction items will be available, and your ticket includes dinner, one glass of wine, and dessert. A delightful evening awaits you.

The Friends of the Library and I look forward to seeing you there. And thank you for supporting GPL!

All you have to do is watch the news to feel overwhelmed by the many great needs in our community and in our world. We are asked to give so often that it is easy to begin to tune out the constant pleas. It is understandable in the face of such great need to feel that our small contributions cannot possibly make a difference. But there are those among us who have made giving a way of life, and who never doubt that they can make a difference.  I don’t know about you, but I’d like to be more like them.

Carolyn Eddans was one of those people. She spent much of her life serving others, even living abroad for years to serve the people of Japan. She loved to cook, and enjoyed hosting others and sharing meals together. At the library we saw her as one of our regular Project Foodie program attendees. She also attended our free computer classes. When she attended these programs in 2012, I’m sure she heard about our financial struggles, but we had never spoken with her directly about donating. She never told us of her plans.

Carolyn passed away in July of this year. She was 68 years old. Months later I received a letter from a distant attorney, informing me that the library had been named as one of the beneficiaries on her life insurance policy. Carolyn’s gift to the library was a surprise to all of us. When I got the news, I looked up her picture (above) and saw the smile of someone who truly found joy in the giving. She didn’t see herself as powerless to impact her world – in fact, she spent her life doing just that.

Her quiet, unassuming gift to GPL will fund Project Foodie for five years, and several trees will be planted in her memory. We are grateful that Carolyn trusted us with this piece of her legacy, and hope that she would have been pleased that it will help continue some of the programs she herself enjoyed. I do wish we could have told her thank you in person, but I also suspect that she enjoyed thinking about that moment of surprise when a letter would be delivered to GPL containing news of her gift. There is no doubt her gift will make a difference. We will remember her life, her joyful smile, and her generous spirit with gratitude for years to come.

If you know where to look, we are surrounded by Carolyns. Sometimes they are working around our building as volunteers. Or they are incognito as patrons or staff who have pledged three-or-five year gifts to ensure that GPL’s community services continue. Some are even business owners who sponsor programs like storytime, or community foundation board members who grant us support for teen programs. Even in large corporations like Kohl’s or PNC there is an executive somewhere who believes in making a difference with sponsorship and community involvement. No matter where they are, no matter what they have, givers find a way.

I want to be a Carolyn. Don’t you?

When you read the words “book club,” what image comes to mind? Well-coiffed ladies drinking tea with pinkies raised? Stuffy, erudite discussions of obscure literature? If so, you’d be surprised by my book club. I began “leading” them about five years ago, but they had been meeting together for years before I arrived, led by various library staff members. They are a passionate group. They will read almost anything (and have), love to laugh, and never lack for an opinion. Awkward silences are an unknown phenomena.

Don’t get me wrong, we love a good cup of tea and a deep discussion as much as the next book club, but each meeting is about so much more than that. The group still boasts a few founding members – ladies who have been retired for some time after lives spent working, reading, and raising families. Some members are professionals who sprint to bookclub after work, fitting in dinner and getting kids to football practice along the way. We were recently joined by a bright-eyed 13 year old boy, the son of one of our members. In the midst of our chaotic, lively discussion, he made himself heard by raising his hand respectfully to give his (rather intelligent and mature) opinions.  The rest of us laughed and considered whether we all should raise our hands, since talking over each other is a common result of our enthusiasm. Our members ages are scattered across seven decades, and yet when you leave each meeting you have forgotten that such a thing as age even exists. All are equal, with wonderful insight, experiences, and points of view.

No two book discussions are ever the same. Books are passionately loved, roundly despised, yawningly tolerated, or controversially debated.  You never, ever have to worry that someone won’t tell you what they think. We have had some of the best discussions over books we really didn’t like. Being a part of the book club is something I wasn’t sure I could keep doing when I became director – but in truth I can’t give it up. This group of people cares about each other more than just the books they read, and it makes the books that much more interesting.

The kind of community we find in our book club exists throughout our library. It is a place where people have invested, not just in our library, but in their community. Community exists in book clubs, craft clubs, study groups, story times, and volunteer work. It is in the long conversation between an eight year old and staff member while checking out a stack of books, or in the dramatic description of a school day between a teen and a librarian. Our community is why we are here, and they make everything we do worthwhile.

Maybe my book club can’t beat up your book club (it’s just a saying from a t-shirt, after all), but it sure is one of my favorite places to be.