THE SPRING ISSUE 2020 Friends of the (Jackson-Madison County) Library Newsletter THE PRESIDENT’S LETTER by Ann Van der Linde, President - Friends of the Library Board Are you reading? Are you letting your life, your days and nights, be influenced by books? Do you often let a book make you smile, feel afraid, rile you up, entrance and captivate you? Do you put off starting a new book because you know you have so much else to do, and if you get into a good book, there goes all your time? Is reading, whatever, one of your chief pleasures? Welcome to the club! Books! Books! Glorious books! A good book may get us wound up for a time, but ultimately a good book helps us unwind, understand, and grow our own selves a bit better than we were. Thank goodness, and the library, for good books. At the Friends of the Library we spend a lot of time with books. We read some of them, listen to the authors of some of them, sell some of them, and stack others of them by our bed in a kind of hope chest for our future delight. Please, come join us in our pursuit of good reading. All are welcome! In March we will “meet” Big Maybelle, an R&B icon from our own area. IN THIS ISSUE In April, Poetry Month, we will wrestle some poems to the ground, and President’s Corner..................................... 1 build some of own. We got this! And in May? You know May! It’s time to Director’s Column ..................................... 2 get outside and get dirty! We will get some motivation and knowledge Trustee’s Column .................................. 2-3 from an expert plantswoman from Memphis, Dr. Christine Bertz. And Adult Service’s Column ...................... 3-4 bring a plant or two to trade. We can all use more plants! Teen Room ............................................... 4-5 We all look forward to seeing you, so be sure you are there to be seen! Spring Programs ..................................... 5-6 Editor’s Share .......................................... 6-7 Love to all, Ann Van der Linde First Thursdays ........................................... 8 LIBRARY DIRECTOR’S COLUMN very eager to show you our newly arranged by Dinah Harris “Maker Space” and our newly renovated The Week of April 19-25, we will be celebrating “Tennessee Room.” Please stop by and check National Library Week. The theme this year is out what’s new at the library and see what we “Find Your Place at the Library.” Many citizens have to help you pursue your interests and goals. of Jackson-Madison County (and even beyond) can say with confidence that they have found TRUSTEE’S COLUMN their place at the library. With over 300,000 by Elaine Christian items checked out in 2019, over 45,000 public As our consultant, Anders Dahlgren, founder of access computer sessions, and over 12,000 Library Planning Associates, continues to conduct program attendees, I think the statistics affirm his analysis of our library and its needs well into that as well. the future, I think it’s valuable to see where we Community members find their place at the library are today. by exploring their passions and discovering new During this process, library staff has been pulling interests through free technology, programs and statistics for him to review, and I can tell you that services. even if you regularly come into the library, you The library is a place where all people are may not realize the depth and breadth of the welcome regardless of age, interests or services and resources that are offered, not to background. From audiobooks and job-seeking mention how many people take advantage of resources to knitting and Tai-Chi classes, the them. library has something for everyone. If I were to ask you to guess how many items Today’s libraries strive to develop and maintain circulate through our library on an annual basis, technology, programs and collections that are as what would you guess? If you guessed close to diverse as the populations they serve. Jackson- 300,000, then you would be correct! That Madison County Library offers a varied array of number includes books, DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, resources to meet the community’s needs and items from our new Library of Things, but it including a “Library of Things,” Memory Care Kits, also includes all the ebooks and eaudiobooks that and digital resources. people check out through Tennessee READS. It’s true that more people are consuming information Libraries have long served digitally; between 2012 and 2019, the increase as trusted and treasured in the number of ebook and eaudiobook institutions where we can all checkouts in READS has increased 635%. This come together, connect and year alone, that number was nearly 85,000, learn alongside one another. which represents nearly one-third of our total annual circulation, there are still over 200,000 On Tuesday, April 21, we will celebrate National physical items that circulate through our library, Library Week by having an Open House. We are page 02 and that requires plenty of space to house them. report will provide us with the information we But as you know, the library isn’t simply a place need to make the best decision for our patrons for people to check out physical or electronic and the entire community both in the near and items. distant future. I will say it again, the library is for the 100%! This is a place for community to gather and ADULT SERVICES COLUMN interact. Every day, whether they come to a by Jenci Spradlin library program or attend a meeting hosted by an April is Child Abuse Awareness Month, and the outside group, this community relies on the library is partnering with Madison County CASA library to be a safe and welcoming place. With for a community read of the memoir, Three Little only three meeting spaces at the Main Library, we Words by Ashley Rhodes- managed to host over 750 programs last year Courter. Three Little Words is with a total attendance over 12,000. Attendance an International Bestseller and at non-library sponsored programs was 5,400 details the inspiring true story over the same period of time. Can you imagine of the nearly ten years Ashley how many more people we could accommodate if Rhodes-Courter spent in the we had more meeting spaces? foster care system. Despite all odds against her, Ashley In looking at these statistics, I was also struck by triumphed over painful how many people use our library to connect memories and real-life horrors to ultimately find through technology, whether they are applying for her own voice. a job, accessing government services, or just communicating with friends. Through our 52 Copies of the book will be available at the public access computers and GIG WiFi, the library library for check-out beginning mid-March, so is the only place in this community that is we encourage you to join us in reading this equipped to serve in this vital capacity. Over poignant book. 45,000 individual sessions were logged on our CASA is planning several events as part of this computers, and our WiFi was accessed over project that will help highlight issues related to 33,000 times. The ways that people use children in our foster care system, how people technology will certainly change over the coming can be involved in helping these children, and decades, but there will always be a need for our how you can better understand the importance library to offer both the access and training for of organizations like CASA in helping children people to be successful in this high-tech world. navigate the system. Literacy, technology, and community - those We will host two book discussions in April to represent the three-pronged stool of our mission. allow readers to gather and discuss the story Looking at where we are is valuable as we look to and themes. One will be in the evening and where we want to be. I am hopeful that Anders’ page 03 another during the day. Check our next Program FROM THE TEEN ROOM Guide for the specific dates and times. Also, the Jessi Rieger - Teen Department Manager City of Jackson’s Poverty Task Force will be The Teen Room has a whole new look, thanks in screening the documentary Resilience at part to a generous gift from the Friends of the The Ned on April 2 from 6 – 8 pm. Library! This documentary is an engrossing study of how Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACEs) can be We rearranged linked to destructive behavior and medical furniture, got some diseases. new café-style tables and chairs (perfect for Another special event that will be hosted at the studying, playing library will be in partnership with the Foster games, or just Parent Association. They will be hold an hanging out), and Information Expo on April 28 in the evening to somehow, it seems, share resources and information for those created more space. interested in becoming a foster parent. We will A technology grant also have more details in our next Program Guide. from the Tennessee State Library and Archives enabled us to purchase We hope this collaborative project will raise new computers for the teen room, which have awareness to the needs and challenges of our enhanced capacity for online gaming. most vulnerable population. Participating in the reading and special events can help equip you to Furthermore, we’ve been spread that message of both challenges and hope expanding our collection of throughout the community. young adult Playaways, which are audiobooks that don’t require a CD player— just plug in your headphones or auxiliary cable and listen! If you’d like to know more about the Young Madison County CASA seeks to help children who Adult collection or programming at Jackson- are going through the court system by providing a Madison County Library, be sure to check out trained volunteer who is independent of the family our Teen Blog, which can be found at and the state to advocate for that child’s best jmclteenblog.wordpress.com, or follow the future.