I Love my Library

I love my library. Yes, the one where I teach. Obviously. But I have other library loves. And the Westport Public Library is high up on that list. I teach in New Canaan (CT), but I have been a Westport resident for over twenty years. When I first moved to Connecticut as a stay-at-home mom with my husband and our then eighteen-month-old daughter, I remarked to a friend, “It’s like war time during the day. There are very few men.” (Please forgive that World War II-like perception of what war time looked like. Our  Millennial wars set me straight.). Coming from New York City, it felt like all aspects of my daily routine required some kind of an adjustment - not always a welcome one - with one exception: the library. Our town library was a haven to me. It provided cultural diversion, parenting assistance, entertainment, and always great reading material. The library’s patron base seemed more heterogenous than the customer base on Main Street. I found a home in that library. And then, a few years later, I went back to work - teaching in Bridgeport, CT. Again, the Westport Public library was my lifeline. We had limited classroom resources, but with the library’s exceptional staff and liberal lending policies for educators, I was able to bridge the gap between what I had, and what I wanted for my students. Later still, I became a librarian - and sadly, once I had a library of my own, my routine visits to the Westport Library came to an end. Sometimes, I have guilt pangs when I drive by, or read about an amazing library-sponsored program that I know I won’t get to.

So - and yes, THIS is the point of my library story. I needed context for what I am about to say. Imagine my surprise and joy when I was invited to speak at the Westport Public Library’s TEDx event on May 3, 2014 themed around Retinkering Libraries! The speaker list featured a line-up of experts in their respective fields - an architect, a business consultant, a publisher, a marketer, and a tech guru (because what else can you call David Pogue?). It was a great honor to be included among them. The image map below links to all the presentations, the playlist itself and of, course, a link to the Westport Public Library. Just hover and look for the buttons.

Update: À propos of the what we can teach millennials, and what we can learn from them in return (the subject of my talk below), some experts agree! Check out this June 12, 3014 Wall Street Journal article - How to Use Tech Like a Teenager! Great insight!