Love and Other Impossible Pursuits

— from Rachel Newcombe —

Ironically, the best-kept secret about America’s libraries is that they are wildly, deeply, and incontrovertibly popular. They are as actively used as ever, if not more. —Anna Clark, journalist. Pacific Standard, The Science of Society

This was the new Ayelet Waldman novel that I was aching to read before I left New York City: Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. With all my packing and tending to last-minute details I did not have time to stop in at Labyrinth Books on 112th Street and treat myself to a new book to read on the plane. Oh, well.

About a week after I arrived on Orcas Island, I remembered wanting to read the Waldman novel. I wandered up to the library and was hoping they had a copy. I assumed it might be checked out since it was a new book. How wrong I was. I went over to the New Fiction section and there it was on display. Admittedly, this may not seem like a big deal, but for me this trip to the library that was a very big deal. Walking up to Rose Street I knew the library would provide a sense of safety. Finding my coveted read was not the main event — the main event was knowing that the Dewey Decimal System would provide familiarity in my geographical shift from urban to rural living. In the library I could count on a predictable order. In the 100s I would find the psychology books, and waiting for me in the 640s would be the cooking books, and over in the 800s I would find books on writing, literary criticism and poetry. When everything on the island felt so new and unfamiliar, there was relief in knowing that all I had to do was go to the library to experience a sense of belonging.

That was 2005.

Now, nine years later I am into my fifth year serving as a library trustee. Life is unpredictable… one day I am looking for a novel and the next day (or so it seems) I am working with my fellow trustees embarking on a library expansion project.

One thing our board knows for sure is that our library is bursting at the seams. After surveys, focus groups and research, the board, along with Library Director Phil Heikkinen and staff, is embarking on a library expansion project that will be funded by private donations. Our fundraising goal is 1.3 million dollars; in addition to that, we have already secured almost $300,000. The Friends of the Orcas Island Library generously pledged $100,000 to the expansion project. This is another example of how the Friends group is an invaluable resource and treasure to our library.

The library houses books, magazines, music, audio-books, classes, computers and story hours, all of which nourish us — but it also houses a lot more. And some of these things are not immediately measurable. Our library provides an atmosphere that is a beautiful backdrop for making connections — human connections. As a Sunday volunteer I would see so many people coming in not just for books but to have conversations or to go to workshops in the community meeting room. Our library is the essence of books and beyond. We are a building that provides the access to information that is free for all.

We envision our expansion as a building structure that will provide small meeting rooms and serve as a community gathering place for information. We are partnering with the Orcas Island Community Foundation and others to develop a true community hub for information. We see the library as an ideal match to actualize this goal. The library is a place where people can meet with experienced professionals to help them navigate government bureaucracy, apply for benefits, and locate social services on and off the island.

Throughout the next few months we will continue to share with you our ideas about the building expansion project. In the meantime, please know that the Orcas Island Public Library offers every individual equal access to information and knowledge. Once any of us steps foot in the library we all have a chance to discover love and other impossible pursuits.

Who knows? One of these pursuits might just be serving as a library trustee. There will be an open position in January 2015.

For more information about the library you can visit www.orcasislandlibrary.org or stop by and ask to talk to Phil Heikkinen. Orcas Island Library 500 Rose Street 376-4985.

Rachel Newcombe is President of the Library Board of Trustees.