Name Year-Round Library is finger in eye to town's other libraries

To The Daily Sun,

After being open for more than five years, the Gilmanton Year-Round Library is mired in, from my perspective, a scratch-your-head financial malaise. Some of the most avid library users still advocate for no public funding. The selectmen still take no pride in a building and its services that greatly enhance the quality of life in Gilmanton.

When I was hired as the first librarian at the GYRL, the trustees and I agreed on several goals. Just about all were accomplished. We wanted to provide full library services for at least five days per week. We wanted to provide these services in a relaxed atmosphere outside of the politics and personalities of the town. We wanted the library to be a community living room and community meeting space welcoming to all. And we wanted significant collections in all media, including state-of-the-art technology and participation in the N.H. State Library Inter-library Loan Network. All services had to equal the building's potential. These goals were met and in the last four years enhanced.

We were optimistic that residents of Gilmanton would say, "I might not use this library, but many of my neighbors and their children will and it is a service that should be offered to the community."

Public libraries, by their very nature, are the center — not of any class or section — but of the entire community. The poorest family and the richest family have equal privileges. Children and young people and middle-aged people and old people have equal interest in a local library and its content. A library serves the whole community as no other institution in its midst does.

Now I know that most Gilmanton residents are both kind and open-minded. It was no secret that, as the GYRL's first librarian, I was born and raised in the Bronx and am an avid Yankee fan. But still, I was almost universally treated cordially and with respect by library visitors, school administration and staff, and town officials.

It is my hope that the Gilmanton Selectmen, Budget Committee and voters support GRYL funding. Given my experience at the GYRL, I do have several items for thought.

Item 1: Gilmanton Year-Round Library Trustees please change the name. It has been and still is a finger in the eye to the other two libraries in town. I like the name Gilmanton Central Library, halfway between the Corners and the Iron Works. But I am sure other polite names will come to mind.

Item 2: Create one online catalog for all three libraries so borrowers can find the closest library that has the wanted item. Also, coordinate hours open as to maximize the number of hours at least one library will be open. Coordinate book and other media purchases to get the broadest collection possible. This might mean a coordination of funding requests from the town and appeals for private funding.

Item 3: Remember libraries are cooperative, not competitive, organizations.

Gary Mason

First GYRL Librarian

Wolfeboro