Community Corner

Top 10 Things Fairfax County Library Staff are Grateful For

The Fairfax County Public Library reveals what 10 things staff are grateful for in December.

The end of 2012 is almost here. To celebrate, the Fairfax County Public Library released a list of the top 10 things library staff in the county are grateful for in December.

The full list was sent out via the library's email newsletter, FCPLease:

10. Good weather and electricity! We’ve stopped taking either for granted since blizzards, hurricanes and derechos have come to Fairfax County; you can’t check out a book or recharge your e-reader without electricity, and we need our books. 

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9. No bedbugs! Yes, we saw the New York Times article that shows some libraries in other parts of the nation are dealing with bedbugs in library books. This has not been a problem in Fairfax County, but if you want to cross your fingers, toss salt over your shoulder and what have you, that’s fine too.

8. Authors! Okay, the library is not only about reading good books – sometimes we read “bad” ones like "Fifty Shades of Grey" -- but think how sad the library (and our e-readers) would be if the thousands of writers weren’t sweating over their computers trying to meet deadlines right now! We’re especially grateful to the authors who visited us in 2012 including Alice Hoffman, SJ Rozan, Peter Bergen and David Baldacci who was a special guest at the fundraiser in October.

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7. The frank discussions about the bond referendum and the many people who came to our bond reception in October. Special thanks to the Fairfax Library Foundation and Friends of Pohick Regional Library for hosting the event and donating e-readers as prizes. Thanks also go to the Friends of Reston Regional and John Marshall Libraries for donating gift cards for that event. (The bond referendum passed so four library branches will be renovated in the future. Yay!)

6. Our Facebook Fans! More than 3,000 people like us on Facebook. We’re so excited we feel like Sally Field at the Academy Awards. (Okay, not everyone got this reference right?)

5.  Our FCPLease readers! More than 8,000 people subscribe to the library’s weekly e-newsletter learning about library events, services, online resources and more; a special call out to our devoted Bookish Birthday fans. (You know who you are.)

4. Friends who cart thousands of books to and from meeting rooms so they can sell books to the public and give the proceeds to the library. They’ve bought carpeting, furniture, eBooks, magazine subscriptions, digital displays and so much more! (If you’re not a Friend; consider becoming one in 2013.)

3. The Fairfax Library Foundation which supports the library and the staff in so many ways we cannot list them all here, but if you missed the Library Jubilee in October, than you missed a grand party, so like them on Facebook and be among the first to know when they pick a date for 2013. Check out their webpage www.fairfaxlibraryfoundation.org.

2. Our Volunteers –Where would we be without all the people who work without pay to help the library? They sort books; adopt shelves; landscape; conduct programs; teach classes and more. Included among volunteers are the Library’s Board of Trustees which meets monthly to decide the library’s policies and direction. Come to a meeting in 2013 and meet them!

And the number one thing we are grateful for this December:

1. Library customers, of course, the reason libraries exist (that and the principles of the United States that provide for free and open government, access to information, equality, yada, yada, yada) but the customers who read books – even if it’s "Fifty Shades of Grey" – search for information – even if it is when they’re cheating  on the New York Times crossword puzzle – or use computers – even if it is to post a photo to Facebook that they absolutely promised their sister they wouldn’t post, we are grateful for all of them!

This list is republished in its entirety with permission from the Fairfax County Public Library.


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