Jeff Riley, Executive Director

Happiness at the Library – A Letter From our Executive Director

Dear Friends,

I hope that your 2022 ended well and that 2023 will be good for each of us! As I celebrated the new year and made resolutions, I started thinking about the common wish we give each other for happiness. Happiness made me think of Aristotle, so I will go off about the ancient Greeks in this newsletter!

Do you know about and/or remember Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle?

  • One of Socrates’ well-known sayings was: Strong minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, weak minds discuss people.
  • Socrates’ favorite student was Plato, who suggested that the purpose of life was to pursue knowledge.
  • Plato’s favorite student was Aristotle, who said that the purpose and ultimate goal in life is to achieve happiness.

Where am I going with this? I am going to the library. There is no better place to pursue ideas, knowledge, and happiness than the library!

And this is particularly true because 2022 saw tremendous things happen for the library. With the passage of new dedicated funding, the library is in a wonderful position to more fully deliver on its mission of building a strong community. The library is actively working on increasing staff, expanding hours, and buying more books and materials for circulation. The renovation of the Central Library is going very well. Several other branch renovations are occurring, and they are all on schedule as of now. These renovations will remake and improve the experience of going to the library. By voting or donating to a strong library, you helped make this happen. Thank you for doing that!

My new year’s wish for you in 2023 is many trips to the library where you can successfully pursue ideas, knowledge, and happiness – just like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle suggested!

Best wishes,

Jeff