I’ve spent enough time with marketers to know that “community” is a buzz word to use often in your messaging to evoke a warm and fuzzy “togetherness” feeling.
When you use the term often enough, it starts to feel artificial, especially when you hear so many negative stories about the worst of human nature listening to or reading the news.
But these last few weeks, as we wrap up our construction of the new library, I have come to realize that the true meaning of community is alive and well in our small town.
If you visit us on any given day, you will see volunteers in our gardens. These are not the type of people who do good works for the public recognition; in fact they probably don’t want their names in lights. So, I’ll stick with first names. There’s Wayne, a man passionate about good soil and pergolas, who is determined to expand our gardens the full perimeter of the new building, well beyond the planned west-side plaza. Even in the relentless heat, Wayne can be found moving rocks and hauling mulch.
Then there’s West, the king of compost, a self-described compost evangelist who’s building a three-section compost bin so all the remnants of our expanded gardens can transform into mulch the following year. He’s brought us rotting aspen logs to build the layers of our children’s grow troughs and schooled us on how to build soil that will grow beautiful gardens in this parched earth environment.
Ryan, an artist who transforms stone into works of art, will place one of his masterpiece fountains in the center of our new garden, a gift from his heart. He’s also helping us source a big rock to mount a sign that thanks all the major donors to our campaign.
I am not one to easily give praise to writers, but Diane amazed me with her one-page pitch to Colorado Garden Foundation to help fund our additional library green spaces. Her eloquent description of the stress on Pagosa during the floods, fires and road construction, and the gift more gardens would bring to us all is a winner.
While Taylor and I were out moving things around in the kids’ garden, a woman stopped and asked if her landscaping business could donate lots of plants for the new grow troughs. When we asked a local business if we could have a few bags of soil and compost, they cheerfully provided 12 bags of each. A local tree farmer, Mark, brought us a whole dump truck of good dirt. And wait till you see the park benches provided by Grace, the sculpture donated by Randall and Trish, the painting of Ruby Sisson’s ranch donated by Jim and family, and the embroidered children’s piece from Jeanie.
Our local small businesses provided funds to make this the best Summer Reading Program ever (see a full list of sponsors in the library newsletter) and, boy, did we deliver.
Community? Yup, we’ve got it. How lucky are we to live where everyone pitches in and generously lends their time and talent to create what some towns only dream about — a nurturing place where we all thrive, a place we can truly call a community?
I’m so grateful to have landed in Pagosa. Thank you all for the opportunity to help create the most beautiful little library in America. Let the future begin.
You beat our summer reading challenge
In just two months of our Summer Reading Program, Read Wild!, you surpassed our lofty goal of 250,000 minutes read.
We’ve beat one record; let’s go for two.
Can we read 350,000 minutes, Pagosa?
We know you can do it.
There’s still time to participate. Read Wild! continues through Aug. 28. Visit pagosalibrary.org/summer and start earning rewards for reading.
Then, join us for an end-of-summer celebration on Aug. 28 from 1 to 3 p.m. in the new Children’s Garden.
Group meeting room available
While we’re waiting for the full library to be completed, we have carved out a meeting room space for small groups of six to eight people to use by reservation. Give us a call at (970) 264-2209 to reserve your spot today.
Colorado Parks Passes for checkout
Summer is slipping away. Have you visited a Colorado state park this year? Colorado state parks require a paid pass to enter, but you can borrow one from the library for a few days at no cost to you.
Passes come with a backpack filled with nature guides, binoculars and fun activities. Reserve yours today.
Note: Colorado State Park passes are not valid for Chimney Rock National Monument.
Tech Time
Free in-person slots are available from 2 to 4 p.m. on Thursdays. Taylor helps with basic questions relating to computers, smartphones and tablets, and also provides assistance in accessing the library’s online resources. No appointment is needed, but please bring your device’s charger and passwords with you.
New books collections brimming with interesting titles
For a full list of new titles and to reserve your copy, go to www.pagosalibrary.org and choose “Search the Catalog” at the top of the screen.
Don’t forget, if there is a waiting list for the book, it may be available now as an e-book or e-audiobook on CloudLibrary or Libby.
During our transition period, most books are in storage, but the new books are available to browse, and you can reserve any title in the catalog and have them brought in from other libraries. All the children’s collection is available in our bright, new, shiny children’s room.
Need help? Just ask. We love talking about books.
New in large print
• Western writer Robert Vaughan brings us a new story featuring railway developer Gabe Hansen as he meets obstacles from landholders and financiers in his quest to build a railroad from Albuquerque to the Pacific Ocean in “Iron Horse.”
• Historian Michael Auslin analyzes the Declaration of Independence and its significance to modern day in “National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America.”
• Pulitzer Prize winner Beverly Gage takes us on a guided tour of 13 places and 13 key moments that define America’s greatest successes and challenges in “This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U.S. History.”
New fiction
• Steph Harper dreams of moving from the Oklahoma Cherokee Nation reservation of her upbringing to the moon as a NASA astronaut. How many relationships will she test to get there? “To the Moon and Back,” from author Eliana Ramage, is a Reese’s Book Club pick.
• “Everything to the Sea” is a debut novel from Alicia Upano and follows aspiring artist Jane, who leaves Hawaii and the love of her life after a devastating tsunami, only to reunite on another coast.
• “Beginning, Middle, End” from author Valeria Luiselli is set in Sicily and follows four generations of women, weaving myths, ancient philosophy and natural history.
New in nonfiction
• For those of you who were glued to the recent FIFA World Cup, we offer “How to Watch Soccer Like a Genius: What Architects, Stuntswomen, Paleoanthropologists, and Computer Scientists Reveal About the World’s Game” by Nick Greene, in which the evolution and meaning of soccer is explored.
• “Why We Fight: A Transformative Road Map to Healing Conflict in Any Relationship,” by relationship coach Kim Polander of social media fame, “provides a path to understanding why we experience repetitive arguments and contention in our intimate relationships, and how to change that before it’s too late.”
• “A Death Doula’s Guide to a Meaningful End” by end-of-life doula Jane Callahan explores how our culture’s resistance to talking about death leads to preventable suffering and how we can do better.
See you at the library.
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