I wanted to take a moment today, to share this writing space to say ”thank you” to the library that has meant so much to me and my family.

 

The millage increase is going before voters today, and will help support an amazing expansion of one of the greatest existing libraries in the world. (Not just my opinion, but has made at least one global top 50 poll)

 

When we moved to Northwest Arkansas from Europe to launch a small business in the city I had spent most of my adult life in, the library quickly became a focal point for us.

 

We showed up early on the children’s reading days so our daughter could hear stories with other children during the summer months. I can remember the crowd that day we heard Grammy award winning musicians sing songs to them on a day we just happened to show up returning books. These kind of memories are so common, it’s hard to pull out my favorite.

 

I will never forget taking her and hearing a history of Broadway through music, and I’ll never forget how still that 6 year old sat for 90 minutes.  The quality of things that happen in this library are outstanding.

It has an energy that is contagious.

Sitting outside on the library deck with the mountains in your view is an epic place to find your zen. I would stop my commuter bike and take my backpack and have an iced coffee and just think about…nothing.  Just walking through these memories is giving me a warm feeling about the magnitude of inspiration it evokes.

 

I would often meet employees of our animal care company in the front area, or interview perspective associates with a warm cup of coffee or an icy specialty drink from one of my favorite coffee shops in the world, Arasaga’s.

Yeah, I have spent so much time working, creating, thinking, brainstorming…I owe a lot to this library.

 

It entertained us, it connected us to new people, and it allowed us to enrich our souls at no cost to our wallet.

 

So the least I can do is to share a thank you and hope that the voters in Fayetteville have experienced some of the same miracles our family was blessed to experience.

Vote YES, and together we can watch this expansion continue to add richness and diversity  to an already amazing community in Arkansas.

The library card is a passport to wonders and miracles, glimpses into other lives, religions, experiences, the hopes and dreams and strivings of ALL human beings, and it is this passport that opens our eyes and hearts to the world beyond our front doors, that is one of our best hopes against tyranny, xenophobia, hopelessness, despair, anarchy, and ignorance.

–Libba Bray