ARLINGTON As the Arlington community looks to the possibility of a new building for their library, the Arlington Library celebrated its 25-year anniversary at its current location Sept. 30, drawing in civic officials, local entertainers and patrons new and old alike.
While Paul Nyenhuis piped in soothing Native American-style flute music, Sharmagne Leland-St. John presented a poem shed written in tribute to the Arlington Library, describing it as a world of words, that continued humanitys cross-cultural tradition of chronicling our achievements, out histories, they hand down our myths [] all preserved here for you to view.
Leland-St. John is a Native American poet, concert performer, lyricist, artist and filmmaker who, along with Nyenhuis, has made a habit of putting in appearances at the Arlington Library every equinox to share her work and her words with each seasons audience. She expressed the hope that the librarys space and accommodations would soon be able to grow to match the size of its patronage, especially since she sees libraries as catering equally to the needs of children and the elderly, both of whom are our greatest treasures.
While Judith Tilley painted faces and a balloon animal artist known as Owl Jester furnished children with their own inflatable pets, Arlington City Council member Sally Lien shared memories with Maggie Nathan over slices of cake. Nathan was the first librarian to work at the Arlington Librarys current location, back in 1981, and she echoed the sentiments of many patrons regarding the need for a new building by noting that the current facility was already too small, before it was even completed, for a book-reading, study-oriented community like Arlington.
At the same time, Nathan praised the librarys staff and surrounding community as fantastic, a compliment that was returned by Lien to Nathan, with the longtime City Council member describing the retired librarian as so good in the ways she had organized the library and fought our battles for us in the Sno-Isle Library System.
Fellow City Council member Scott Solla also attended the Arlington Librarys birthday celebration and likewise reflected on the importance of the library as a resource with strong support in the community. He recalled the completion of the current Marysville Library, back when hed been living there, and enthused that I look forward to seeing the proposed new Arlington Library.
Loki Smith-Apple has been checking out books at the Arlington Library for at least the past two years and cited the inter-library loan system and the camaraderie of her fellow frequent patrons as two of her favorite features of the library, since I can pick up the books I want, and still stick close to home, and about half of the folks I see here are regulars, like me.
By contrast, Homer Cook doesnt even live in Arlington, but as a friend of Leland-St. John, hes accompanied her on her trips up from her other home in California, and fallen in love with the Arlington Library as a result.
Our library back in Palm Springs is like a mausoleum, said Cook, who recently received his Sno-Isle Libraries card. This place is so much more alive. So many people come in and use these facilities, and with services like the Internet, its part of the 21st Century.