Colin Powell said, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” I know the key to success at the Patrick County Library is our team and amazing patrons. I must start this month’s report by thanking my amazing staff. I am so grateful for each and every one of them. The energy and creativity that is part of the Patrick County Library team is top tier. Lucia Gullatt, our new children’s programming/assistant branch manager, is rocking her new role and coming up with new fun ideas for future programming. Also, this month, we have a new part-time circulation assistant to join our team, Alicia Tiller. She is positive and enthusiastic and those are two necessary qualities to have when working with the public.
This month we only had two patrons attend our technology class entitled, “Basic Internet Q&A”. The goal was for patrons to come and ask questions on how to navigate the internet; however, it ended up being two sweet ladies who came and needed a tutorial on Microsoft Word and some Excel on how to make a table or chart to keep records. I figured why not and they caught on pretty fast. This program made me think of the Friends episode where Ross and Chandler had to “PIVOT!!!” getting the sofa up the stairs. Sometimes doing these kinds of programs, one must pivot and that is okay.
Storytime and Lego Club went great this month. Lucia is finding her own way of doing Storytime and I am so proud of her. Preschoolers learned about butterflies and first days of school, among other things. Thank you all for attending those programs and for your patience as we get back into our groove, post summer reading.
Ann McConnell and other DAR members came to the library every Thursday this month and set up for their “Finding Your Patriot” program. The goal for this program was to help women in the area to learn how to start or continue a genealogy search on whether they had ancestors who were part of the Revolutionary War. I am so happy Ann came to me with this idea and we were able to provide the marketing, location and some reference resources for them to have such a successful program.
Cindy Howe came back on Aug. 8 to continue her “Fantasy Flower” series and those who attended her prior class were able to keep learning techniques on how to paint one stroke flowers. Also, that day on the other side of the library, we had our first official CCC meeting. The Crafty Chapter Club is an opportunity for bookish people to come to the library and craft something bookish and continue bedazzling their previous month’s item. It is also a time for junk journal enthusiasts to bring their collection of items and work on their own projects. Sheri Fink said, “Every day is a great day to give love, spread joy, and sparkle!”, so that motivated me to make bedazzling a part of our CCC monthly meeting, in case someone only wants to play with sparkly jewels and do nothing else for two joyful hours. Eleven came to this month’s meeting and we made acrylic book marks and bedazzled books. One person brought her plastic tote of “junk” to work on her junk journal and then she decided to add some sparkle to it, resulting in a blingy journal. I think to say between Cindy and the CCC, that Saturday was as artistic as we could get at the library.
Speaking of junk journaling, this month I was invited to be the August speaker at this month’s Stuart Book Club Meeting and I introduced them to Junk Journaling. Scrapbooking, if you will, on a smaller, much less structured scale. We used stickers, old magazines, washi tape and decorative items to start our new journals. I love having the opportunity to bring the library out into the community and appreciate the invite. It was a fun afternoon.
Leandio’s “Wings at the Window” class was full and guests left raving about the cute little bird feeders and the food. Thank you, Leandio! We already have The Bee Suite class at the Fab Lab full! I am so excited to hear about that fun event. Joni’s yoga classes keep on keeping on. She is amazing and I have people signing up for the waiting list all the time.
Our biggest event of the month was Once Upon a Blue Ridge’s production, “Girl of the Holler” performed by the girl herself, Christina Boyd Holland. This memoir performance was attended by 43 people who all enjoyed her story so much. Her focus is on mental health and all that comes along with it. To let people know, they are not alone. There is no shame in it. There were several laugh out loud moments, some shocking parts and I even teared up at one point. I feel like we all left the library that evening, loving one another more and being more appreciative to everyone’s situation. You don’t know the struggles some people have gone through or are going through, so we should be more empathetic and give grace to our neighbors.
That was my feeling anyways as I left the library that night. A good reminder for us all. Christina and Peter Holland– you are both amazing and I am so appreciative for all you do.
Book Bingo this month was packed. I had announced it on our local radio station, WHEO, the day prior and apparently people heard about a program that they really liked. I had to set up additional tables and chairs and the meeting room was full. Kaye did an incredible job and even had to create a roster to keep tabs on winning games for book prizes at the end.
Our monthly quilters came out and continued working on their current projects and teaching beginners some tips and tricks. Sit and Stitch was attended by our regulars, who are working on rugs and crochet (I think).
August’s Homeschool Bookworm theme was Board Game Day. It was a hit. During summer reading I met several new homeschooling families to the area and told them about the HB program that we offer each month. They told some other people and we ended up going from maybe four people each month to in August, having 21 people. I was blown away. I discussed with the parents, whether they would be interested in doing “board game day” monthly and they were all for it. Later in the week, I discussed a possible one Wednesday a month, board game day for another group of older homeschoolers with some other homeschool moms and they were so positive about it. So, look for that program to start to become a regular again twice a month. How fun!
Trivia night was another success that came out of August. We had six teams answering general knowledge fifth grade level questions for 90 minutes. It was loud and entertaining and the winning team “The Average Joe’s” showed they were above average, scoring 93 points. One family came for the first time, after hearing about it at the Homeschool Bookworm program. Everyone seemed to have had a wonderful time and I look forward to the next one, which will be Sitcom September Trivia.
We finished out the month with our Senior Social. This month’s event was a Finger Food Picnic. Essentially a potluck except with finger foods. Guests brought pimento cheese croissants, turkey Hawaiian rolls, fruit salad, tomato-basil-mozzarella bites, oatmeal bar cookies, mini cheesecakes, sausage balls, antipasti salad, blueberry muffins, chocolate chip cheesecake bites, chips and salsa, chips and pickle dip, pumpkin rolls, lemonade, sweet tea, coffee and water. I told guests in my welcome speech, that if they left the library hungry, then it was their own fault. It was a good day and a great way to end the month.
What does September have in store for us here at the Patrick County Library? Lucia will be delivering a program on how to navigate the catalog and use our website to its potential and the Caring Hearts Free Clinic will be coming at the end of September to do free blood pressure checks to anyone who wants that service. There is always something to do here at the Patrick County Library for all ages. Thank you for your continued support and, as always, happy reading!
*Don’t forget on the second Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., I will be revealing three free trivia answers on WHEO. 92.7 FM or go to the website and listen to it streaming. WHEO Radio – Lightning Stream Player
Should you have any questions, comments, or concerns—please email me or call during normal business hours. 276-694-3352, press 1.
