Adult Services Assistant Susan Cantonwine offers a potpourri of updates and events for your Must-Do list in this column for the October 20, 2021 edition of the O’Fallon Weekly.

Recently, Heidi Wiechert, the OFPL Social Media and Events manager, and I were discussing what makes the library so vital and fun to work at. She pointed out that the library is a reflection of all of us – the schools, churches, and small businesses – the beating heart of the community. 

It’s true, I thought. We are the ones who get to see and hear real people who are directly in front of us – not some wireless facsimile or chat box.

We are often the hands that help and the voices that soothe and commiserate.  We see people – their expressions and eyes above the masks and their body language; we hear what they need, what affects them every single day – all without the buffered time delay and dropped words of wireless communication. 

And we want to hear from you, Heidi said, as we plan our programming for the coming year. 

“This is a call to action,” she said.  “Email your ideas of things you would like to do, make, or learn more about….”

In the subject line just write ‘attention Heidi’ or ‘OFPL needs this….’” The email address is: Heidi@ofpl.info; or call (618) 632-3783 ext. 4344.

Since the library is a reflection of the community, don’t keep us guessing. Let us know how we can serve you.

One thing we are sure of is folks enjoy a great bargain, especially for holiday shopping.

The 4-DAY Friends of the Library Book Sale, is Thurs, Oct 28 – Mon, Nov 1.  Browse through a wide collection of books, DVDs, CDs and more There’s something for every age group, and new items will be added throughout each day of the sale.

All proceeds benefit the library and support reading as a pathway to lifelong learning, equal access, and the freedom to seek, receive, and share information. 

Speaking of access to learning, the library is once again offering free tutoring with SIUE America Reads tutors! Students K-8 are eligible for this free service. Registration is required, so call or visit ofpl.info/homework.

This week we have more opportunities to comfortably interact with socially distanced people.

Tuesday, Fiction Addiction meets at 6:30. What can be better than a teen book club where you don’t have to read a book that somebody else chose, where snacks are provided, and there’s a prize drawing? October is Horror.

This is free and you do not need a card to participate. But space is limited so register ASAP.

And check out more upcoming events on our website, ofpl.info.

Finally, here’s a shout-out to the O’Fallon Weekly for its continued support of the library and the community.

As Elaine Godfrey described in her article for atlantic.com, local newspapers are the “connective tissue of a community.”

And as R. David Lankes, winner of the American Library Association’s 2016 Ken Haycock Award for Promoting Librarianship, said,  “Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities.” 

So, let us know how we can best reflect you.

And Happy Reading, Susan C.

Recommendations:

Be sure and check out Heidi’s list of resources for National Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence by Anita Hill – From the woman who gave the landmark testimony against Clarence Thomas as a sexual menace, a new manifesto about the origins and course of gender violence in our society; a combination of memoir, personal accounts, law, and social analysis, and a powerful call to arms from one of our most prominent and poised survivors. In 1991, Anita Hill began something that’s still unfinished work. The issues of gender violence, touching on sex, race, age, and power, are as urgent today as they were when she first testified. Believing is a story of America’s three decades long reckoning with gender violence, one that offers insights into its roots, and paths to creating dialogue and substantive change. It is a call to action that offers guidance based on what this brave, committed fighter has learned from a lifetime of advocacy and her search for solutions to a problem that is still tearing America apart.