Library volunteer, Michele Nuttall, greets patrons with a smile (under her mask)!
Linda Bono, Friends of the Library
April 4 through 10 is National Library Week, and Welcome to Your Library is this year’s theme. Actress, author, and activist Natalie Portman will lend her star power to shine a spotlight on our nation’s libraries as the honorary chair for 2021. As she says, “Libraries show us anything is possible by encouraging a love of learning, discovery, and exploration.” This year will be the 63rd anniversary of this annual American Library Association celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities.
Our Robson Ranch (RR) Library is celebrating this annual event too. Our RR Library, although a volunteer-staffed library offering resident-donated materials is, in a sense, a microcosm of what a public library offers. At the same time, it partners with the Denton Public Library to make some library services more readily available to Robson residents. If you haven’t checked out the Robson Library, you’re missing a great opportunity. Located in the Creative Arts and Technology Center (CATC) building, it’s a community treasure!
During the pandemic, residents have been unable to enjoy some of the in-person Robson Library activities that add so much to our sense of community. The quarterly book discussions and the monthly New Yorker Reading Group, both sponsored by Friends of the Library (FOL), are currently not being held in the library, but are available on Zoom, and FOL hopes to return Puzzle Palooza to the library in 2021. Reading, relaxing, and enjoying jigsaw puzzles in the library, as well as FOL in-person activities, will return when virus restrictions are eased. Meanwhile, the library items to be checked out—books, DVDs, CDs, and jigsaw puzzles—are still available to all. The exceptional efforts of the library volunteers and volunteer board of directors continue to keep the library open for the community to enjoy.
Visit the Robson Library during the week of April 4, and you might just take away a little treat! Two special days during that week are worth noting. On Tuesday, April 6, consider stopping in the library to thank the volunteer on duty—it’s National Library Workers Day! Thursday, April 8 is Take Action for Libraries Day—a day to rally advocates to support libraries! Wouldn’t that be a great day to join Friends of the Library?
Friends of the Library—Robson Ranch will soon celebrate its third anniversary. Currently over 300 members strong, FOL is an active advocate for the library, focusing on increasing community awareness and supporting the Library Board of Directors. FOL dues ($10 per person annually, July 1 through June 30) and donations (FOL has established 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status) are directed entirely toward supporting and enhancing the library. To join, place your dues (cash or check) in an envelope (include name, email address, and phone number on the envelope) in the drop box in the library.
For more information on the Robson Ranch Library or FOL, go to www.RobsonLibrary.org.