For some people, the most meaningful place in town is the family dinner table. For some, it's church. For some, it's the local restaurant or bar or rec center. But for many, it's the local library.
On Friday I spoke at one of the few libraries in the area I haven't visited in the past.
Pollock Pines is a foothill town of 6000 people. It sits along Highway 50 on a ridge at 4000 feet of elevation and is approximately halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.
The library is quite small, a single good-sized room filled with well-organized bookcases, and an impressive collection of books. I met several of the staff, all book lovers of course! They were kind and fun and focused on the value of books. Clearly, the town is in good hands with these purveyors of information resources.
They brought in enough chairs to seat more than 30 people, all of whom were engaged, polite, and interested not just in my books, but in the process of writing. They had many thoughtful questions, and kept me speaking for an hour. We had a great time.
As I drove away, I once again had the very strong sense that a local library is the cultural center of any town, a magnet for people who desire information as well as for people who want to get to know others who are very intelligent and interested in a larger world. These are not people who spend all day watching TV. They are readers, well-spoken, well-traveled, well-educated.
If you move to any new community or simply visit a new community for any length of time, remember to stop by the local library. There you will find people who, like yourself, value the best that people have to offer.
In many respects, the best part of being a writer is meeting library patrons.
My thanks to Pollock Pines Library and all other libraries.
