With the economy in the state it is in, libraries seem to be taking the hit horribly. Our family is a huge fan and patron of our local Cushman Library in Bernardston. I know how hard the librarian has to fight to keep her funding coming from the town. I'm not sure why the Board of Selectman don't see the value of the library. I could go on and on about this, but I won't. Let's just say, they perhaps should spend a few hours in the library, seeing what goes on, who goes in and out, and how important it is for the people who pay taxes in their town - especially as families are struggling to pay for heat, food, and mortgages. (Let it be known that our house is not in Bernardston but the town next door but we pay property taxes to the town and have for close to 30 years. It is the town that The Farmer grew up in.)
Our Amherst Farmers Market friend Julie has been sharing with us the saga of building a new library in the tiny town of Shutesbury, MA (population 1800). (Julie works for the great local bakery Bread Euphoria.) Shutesbury is also the home of knitwear designer Gudrun Johnson. The "new library" has been voted down a couple times - they need to raise $1.4 million in order to receive $2.1 million from the state. Their deadline is June 2012. The library community has gotten very creative and made a sweet little video which I am sharing here. (Julie is in the video and sings and plays the uke.) Yesterday it got picked up by BoingBoing. WOW! Sorry about the size not fitting my blog template correctly - I have not a clue how to fix it.....
This may seem an odd thing to post here, but I hope by spreading the word and the creativity, the Shutesbury Library may have a chance. I also hope that this idea may help other public libraries who are feeling the pinch of funding. I've already donated and if you want to, here is the link.
A few new interesting links:
Creative Mornings: CreativeMornings is a monthly breakfast lecture series for creative types. Each event is free of charge, and includes a 20 minute talk, plus coffee
Sasha Kagan's 40 years of Knitwear Design is on display in Wales. Wish I could go....
2 comments:
Thank you so much for your support Kristen!
That was a brilliant video. Even though I'm on the left coast with it's own library woes, I was moved to dig into the wallet. You rate the gold fundraising star today, Ms. Nicholas.
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