Library’s September message | Pining for the future in hopeful anticipation of the past

By Anthony Morris, Assistant Director of San Juan Island Library

We’ve reached one of my favorite times of year, when the sunlight begins to take the molten hues of fall, and we see the signs of autumn around us. I take special delight in the changes that appear like magic, such as the new architectural marvels the spiders ingeniously weave in the most surprising of places.

The San Juan Island Library has also had a delightful change: We’ve replaced the flooring in the main salon, changing out the damaged and stained carpet for something new! If you haven’t seen it already, come check it out. The new floor has helped brighten the space while continuing the warm and welcoming environment of the library’s gathering space.

This is part of a larger project to re-energize the entire main salon and will be accompanied by other improvements, including replacing the heavily used furniture by the fireplace. We wanted to give a huge thank you to our community for your support in our SJICares campaign, in which we raised very nearly $3,500 for exactly this purpose. We are deeply moved by the community’s generosity and excited to use these donations to further improve this communal space. Thank you, thank you!

On the topic of changes, you may also have noticed that we have a new device, currently living close to the seed library. This is a self-checkout machine, which allows you to use your library card to check out your own items. We’ll always have staff at the desk excited to help you out, but for those days when you just want to grab your book and skip the front desk line, this is the technology for you!

We have other good changes planned! Look for an announcement about our planned community meetings about the New Building Project, and stay tuned for other exciting announcements from the library!