Board meetings, on the whole, are notoriously boring. And I hate to admit it, but the library is no exception…matters of a civil nature tend to be a bit dry. As I prepared for the one this evening, I tried not to dread it. I tried not to think of the things I needed to be doing that were More Important. Because, truly, I typically find my role as a public servant meaningful. As I headed out the door of my workplace, I called off-handedly, “I’m off to save Sevier County…one book at a time.” At the time I did not realize how fortuitous my words would be.
First of all, we led with a prayer, which was wonderful and I had been thinking about that the whole way there. I had been wondering why we didn’t every time, but thought it might be against some rule since we’re a public meeting. But I thought today, of all days, we could certainly use one. So thank you Mr. Sarten! It’s like you read my mind.
We’re taking care of regular business and in the agenda under new business is the innocuous heading “Recommendation by director to waive any fees for services for fire victims until further notice”
This seems pretty obvious, as they can’t very well bring back a book that is no longer a tangible item. But this also encompasses making copies of things that would normally cost 15 cents or whatever else. And as a public facility that is run by the local and state government, I would expect no less. So I made the motion. It was seconded, and quickly passed. (To be clear, whenever someone’s house burns, they are never responsible for books/ media that has been lost).
Alright, so we’re moving right along when the director again brings up a related fire issue. One of the children whose home was lost last week said of all the things she would like to have back were her books.
Then comes the bombshell.
The Reed family were patrons of our library. Staff KNEW them personally. They were regulars.
So of course Rhonda is crying, I’m crying, I don’t know who else is crying because I’ve got my arms over my ears & letting it roll. I could have been that little child, wishing for books. I could be the adult pining for books if our house burnt down. But I wasn’t crying for the lost books. I guess I was crying for the loss of innocence, the loss of heirlooms, loss of the comfort only your own home can bring.
Hardest. Board meeting. EVER. I would take a boring one any day over this mess. However, as has been the case so many times during this tragedy, comes another opportunity that will become a blessing. We are trying to partner with Amazon, Books-a-Million, and the vendors that we typically purchase from for a matching donation. We will be hosting a drive to get NEW books donated for specifically schoolchildren to replace their collections. For every book bought, we would like to see one sponsored by the company they are bought through. King Family is also planning to host a book fair in January. There were 500 students total in the county affected, and we would like to see at least ten books per student donated. This is all still in the works, but please keep this in mind this holiday season.
The library is a refuge. They offer an incredible amount of services and information at NO COST. Always have, and always will. They constantly have several programs going on for all ages. Come see our library soon. And I encourage you to donate to yours or mine. They are always in need, no matter if there’s been a tragedy of epic proportions, or just a family who has encountered some unfortunate luck.
On that note, we are also in need of some new blood for the board. Specifically, male members from the Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg areas. We need gentlemen (or ladies) who have a vested interest in promoting the library system. Please contact me if you’re interested, or have a suggestion.
As always, thank you for reading.
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