Thank you once again to Julio and Lilia Reyes of Julius at the Mannerchor Plaza for providing the food and venue for our KOLP Kickoff Fundraiser this past week. Thank you to Chris of Bill’s Bread on 26th St. for providing the rolls. And to our entertainment—Britches, Ruth Ann Scanzillo, and Matt Texter—thank you for lending us your talent.
One of the functions of a library is to bring a community together. It’s sad that in our case, it’s the threat to our library that is bringing us together. Although we have been disparaged as “four old ladies,” our group encompasses different generations, occupations, economic situations, genders, and races. Most of us didn’t even know each other prior to our efforts to keep a private, tax-exempt, religious institution from taking space in your public library. We just shared a love of the library. The coolest thing about the KOLP Kickoff was not the money we raised—although that was really cool—but the interactions I witnessed in the preparation for the event, the event itself, and the cleanup after the event. Everyone pitched in. We got stuff done. If something didn’t go as planned, we pivoted and made things succeed.
Unfortunately, as I’m sure you know, we can’t let our guard down. In addition to the lawsuit, the time for 2025 budget negotiations is approaching. We must remain vigilant so there is no cut in staff or services. How do we do this? By staying engaged. Make sure you particularly pay attention to the finance and personnel meetings, along with the general meetings. Information and streaming links are here: Stay Engaged. There’s also information on finding your rep on council if you don’t already know.
“Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities.”
~R. David Lankes
Keep Our Library Public! 