By Leela Ellis
Pittsboro, NC – I can’t overstate my gratitude for our Chatham County Libraries. I remember the Library when the building was quite small, and so was the size of the population of Chatham County.
Over the years people from all over the world have come to live here. Most technologies are hardly recognizable, and that includes library technology. And yet although we are only a small county, our library keeps pace and serves our people admirably.
It is a library — of course there is a collection of books. But there are many other informational services as well. There are current classes on and about computers. There are lectures and seminars on all kinds of diverse topics. Our Chatham County Library has offered, free of charge, multiple and diverse opportunities to enlarge the experience of all ages and interests. Very young people have been able to sit in circles of story telling for children. There have been seminars about veterinarians and our country’s veterans and service dogs. There have been offerings for people of different cultures and languages. That’s only naming a few.
I have been lucky enough to have used libraries at many universities, also in small towns, and frankly, they have all been operated with exemplary expertise. I have felt honored to be at each of them. Chatham County Library is no exception. However there is one quality that is constant. That is the quiet kindness, competence, and plain ole willingness to help experienced every time I have needed assistance from a Chatham County librarian. As we head into the new year, I believe I speak for many of us when I say thank you.