Date: Fri 09-Jan-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

edink-Booth-Library-opening

Full Text:

Ed Ink: The Booth Library: The Final Touch

It seems like The Bee has been running so many stories about the various

finishing touches at the $4.1 million renovation and expansion of the Booth

Library that there couldn't possibly be anything more the library lacks. But

there is just one thing missing: people. And, with the Opening Gala on

Saturday night and the Open House on Sunday, that final key element should be

securely in place.

All the money Newtown spent on the library project, not to mention the

intangible tax extracted from all of us in the form of frustration and

exasperation over the countless construction delays, has bought us a fine

building, lots of new furniture and equipment, and library bragging rights for

the region. But the real riches to be realized from our new library don't have

much to do with bricks and mortar, or computers, or comfy reading spaces. The

return on our investment will come in the form of ideas, inspiration,

laughter, fascination, conversation, contention, enchantment, perception,

recollection, compassion, and thought. These things are the essential elements

of the human experience, and the library is one place where they routinely

emerge from the dross of everyday life.

When the library opens on Sunday, at 1 pm, a full schedule of events and

activities for children and adults will be set in motion. For kids, many of

the familiar reading programs and story hours will return. And adults will be

happy to learn that there will now be a regular schedule of events for their

benefit. In the coming weeks and months, there will be programs on topics

ranging from the Civil War to the Internet, along with classic and foreign

film series and instructional programs on yoga for beginners and writing for

seniors.

And, of course, there are the books. We look forward to the luxury of browsing

through the stacks again.

So the final touch for the new local showcase for literacy and culture is us.

The Booth Library needs people to become involved in programs and contribute

their time and intelligence to the many opportunities for learning there. The

true measure of what we get out of our library in the years to come will best

be calculated in terms of what the library gets out of us.