Comments from the Commons
Generosity.
It’s something we at the library witness regularly. There are days when we may interact with a few people who are donating the latest best-selling book they’ve purchased. Sometimes a patron will drop off a bag or two of books they’re donating from their personal collection and occasionally we’ll get a pickup truck loaded with books that didn’t make the cut on moving day or during spring cleaning. Many times, the newer books that have been donated end up being added to Sutter County Library’s collection. If not, the Friends of the Library sell them and donate the proceeds to the library.
Throughout the year, many kind and generous people provide cash donations to purchase books. Some of these gifts have no strings attached. A few, with kindhearted strings, may be in memory of a family member or friend and are accompanied with a request to purchase something in the subject area that pays tribute to their loved one. Great care is taken by library staff to choose appropriately, as we consider this an honor and privilege.
The generosity of some in our community is shown in other ways. One couple has been pruning roses for years – as well as washing the sidewalk and cleaning up the interior patio and windows. This power couple are also super library users, regularly ordering books from the online catalog to pick up at the main branch in Yuba City. They, and other patrons interested in pursuing lifelong learning, order approximately 35,000 books per year from other libraries in our partnership with Sacramento Public Library. This system demonstrates the generosity that libraries enjoy through working together in partnership.
Sutter County Library’s Literacy Program has gratefully enjoyed the generosity of those touched by the Adult English classes and Citizenship classes. Many who have learned English proudly gained citizenship or have experienced the kindness of the Literacy staff have become successful in business and careers that allow them to generously support the Literacy programs and events. Their gifts equaled nearly $13,000 in the last eight months.
The Friends of the Library and library staff have learned a lot about quiet generosity that translates into noisy and exciting programs. The kind generosity of some local women, who just happen to be sisters, has given the library community tens of thousands of dollars in beautiful books, provided sewing machines and crafting materials for the library’s Skillshare program and one of the sisters worked with the Friends to turn her donation into a beautiful castle where children can dream and play.
If you ever feel like nobody in this noisy world cares anymore, think about these people quietly making a difference in the lives of so many with their quiet generosity to our community.
James Ochsner is the director of Library Services for the Sutter County Library